Coat of arms of the City of London 13th-century seal, and on two embroidered seal-bags of 1319, that depicted St Paul holding a sword. It is sometimes said that the sword in the 1381 arms represents the dagger used by Lord Mayor of London William Walworth to kill Wat Tyler, leader of the Peasants' Revolt, on 15 June 1381. This tradition dates at least as far back as the first edition of "Holinshed's Chronicles", published in 1577, but cannot be correct, as the arms were in use some months before Tyler's death. The crest and supporters came into use in the 17th century, but were used without authority
William Cotton (Lord Mayor) Sheriff of London and Middlesex from 1868 to 1869, and Lord Mayor of London from 1875 to 1876, during which years he opened the new poultry and provisions market at Smithfield and presided over a grand banquet welcoming the Prince of Wales on his return from a tour of India. In 1868 he had stood for parliament unsuccessfully at Southwark. At the 1874 general election he was elected Member of Parliament for City of London. He lost his seat in parliament in the 1885 UK general election after representation was reduced from four to two under the Redistribution of Seats