Lord Mayor of London The ceremony is known as the "Silent Ceremony" because, aside from a short declaration by the incoming Lord Mayor, no speeches are made. At Guildhall, the outgoing Lord Mayor transfers the mayoral insignia — the seal, the purse, the sword and the mace — to the incoming Lord Mayor. The Lord Mayor to be elected in November 2017 was known in April of that year. The day after being sworn into office, the Lord Mayor leads a procession from the City of London to the Royal Courts of Justice in the City of Westminster, where the Lord Mayor swears allegiance
James Townsend (Lord Mayor of London) James Townsend (Lord Mayor of London) James Townsend (baptised 8 February 1737 – 1 July 1787) was an English Whig politician and Lord Mayor of London in 1772–73. It has been claimed that he was the first person of mixed race to hold such positions. James Townsend was baptised on 8 February 1737 at the church of St. Christopher-le-Stocks in London. He was the son of London merchant (and later MP) Chauncy Townsend and his wife Bridget Phipps. He attended Hertford College, Oxford in 1756. In politics James Townsend was closely linked from the 1760s with the Whig grandee William