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
Stephen Foster (Lord Mayor of London) William Rowley's (15861626) play "A New Wonder, a Woman Never Vexed", based on their lives. Stephen Foster (Lord Mayor of London) Sir Stephen Foster (fl. 1454) was a fishmonger and later Lord Mayor of London. He was the son of Robert Foster of London, a stockfish merchant. Elected Sheriff of London in 1444, he became Lord Mayor of London in 1454, and served as the city's Member of Parliament in King Henry VI's 13th parliament. According to historian John Strype, Foster married a widow named Agnes, who enlarged Ludgate prison (where Foster had at one time been imprisoned for debt)