There has been a mayor of Winchelsea for over 700 years and the tradition of swearing in a new mayor is a wonderful pageant which takes place each year on Easter Monday.
On bank holiday Monday, April 10 David Merrifield was sworn in for his second term as mayor for 2023-24. After the swearing in ceremony in the Court Hall in front of the jurats and freemen, the mayor and his entourage walked in the rain to the church of St. Thomas where there were over one hundred and fifty people waiting for the public part of the ceremony to begin, including the deputy lieutenant of East Sussex, the high sheriff of East Sussex, our member of Parliament and mayors from eight neighbouring towns along the coast.
The mayor’s address to the public began with the exciting announcement that each of the Cinque Ports mayors have been invited to the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla and will attend as Barons of the Cinque Ports.
This year the mayor was pleased to announce that a new mayor’s cadet for Winchelsea would be appointed and Theo Burton’s installation took place during the mayoring ceremony. Theo is fourteen and is a member of Rye Sea Cadets.
He said after the ceremony: “It is a great honour to be chosen as the mayor’s cadet for Winchelsea. I look forward to representing Winchelsea as David Merrifield’s cadet.”
Four new freemen were created being Alison Casey, Christopher Chappell, Philip Mack and Jonathan Murphy. In addition Angela Hill was created honorary freeman.
Following the mayoring a reception for the invited guests was held in the New Hall and in the evening a second reception took place for residents of the town. The mayor would like to thank all those who helped to make the day a resounding success.
The high sheriff, Richard Bickersteth said: “I understand this was the 729th annual Winchelsea mayoring. To be present in the ancient Court Hall amongst all the jurats and other mayors of the Cinque Ports to witness the mayor of Winchelsea’s oath of office was a great honour. My police cadet and I found the whole event fascinating learning about part of our local East Sussex history neither of us knew much about before our visit. We certainly want to visit again to explore the cellars we were told about!”
Image Credits: Kt Bruce .