Court of Aldermen

The Court of Aldermen forms part of the senior governance of the City of London Corporation. It comprises twenty-five Aldermen of the City of London, presided over by the Lord Mayor (becoming senior Alderman during his or her year of office). The Court was originally responsible for the entire administration of the City, but most of its responsibilities were subsumed by the Court of Common Council in the fourteenth century. The Court of Aldermen meets seven times a year in the Aldermen's Court Room at Guildhall.^[1] The few remaining duties of the Court include approving people for Freedom of the City and approving the formation of new livery companies,^[2] appointing the Recorder of London and acting as the Verderers of Epping Forest.

City Court of Aldermen
Aldermen (robed in scarlet) at Guildhall
Type
Type	Committee of the City of London Corporation
Term limits	None
History
Founded	Time immemorial
Preceded by	Court of Husting
Leadership
Lord Mayor	Michael Mainelli since 2023
Structure
Seats	25 Aldermen
Independent	25 / 25
Meeting place
Guildhall of London

History

It is probable that no definite account of the origin of the office of Alderman, or of the body known as the Court of Aldermen can ever be written for, and is likely that the office of the Aldermen of the City of London came into existence by a process of natural growth and development created by the necessities of the times.^[3] The first possible mention of the court comes from 1200, 'fiveand-twenty of the more discreet men of the City' were 'sworn to take counsel on behalf of the City together with the Mayor',^[4] although this could possibly be an early form of the London Common Council, as in 1200 there were only 24 wards.^[5]

Term of office

Although there is no compulsion by law to do so,^[6][7] Aldermen usually submit themselves for re-election every six years and by custom retire at the age of 70.

In 2020, David Graves declined to stand for re-election after six years as Alderman for Cripplegate, stating "given the current CV-19 concerns and limitations, I decided that to trigger a 42 ... day electoral process now would be inappropriate and unsuitable for the good conduct of a fair election". He again deferred standing for re-election in 2021 for the same reason, triggering calls for the reform of the law relating to this election.^[8]

List of current aldermen

Ward	Alderman	Notes
Aldersgate	Christopher Makin
Aldgate	Dame Susan Langley	Sheriff 2023/24; Supported by the Court of Aldermen for election to office of Lord Mayor 2025/26
Bassishaw	Tim Hailes	Sheriff 2017/18; Supported by the Court of Aldermen for election to office of Lord Mayor 2026/27
Billingsgate	Bronek Masojada	Sheriff 2023/24; Supported by the Court of Aldermen for election to office of Lord Mayor 2027/28
Bishopsgate	Kawsar Zaman
Bread Street	Sir William Russell	Sheriff 2016/17; Lord Mayor 2019/20 and 2020/21
Bridge and Bridge Without	The Hon. Timothy Levene
Broad Street	Michael Mainelli	Sheriff 2019/20 and 2020/21; Lord Mayor 2023/24
Candlewick	Emma Edhem
Castle Baynard	Martha Grekos
Cheap	Robert Hughes-Penney
Coleman Street	Sir Peter Estlin	Sheriff 2016/17; Lord Mayor 2018/19
Cordwainer	Alexander Barr
Cornhill	Robert Howard
Cripplegate	Elizabeth King
Dowgate	Alison Gowman	Sheriff 2021/22
Farringdon Within	Vincent Keaveny	Sheriff 2018/19; Lord Mayor 2021/22
Farringdon Without	Gregory Jones KC	Sheriff 2024/25
Langbourn	Simon Pryke
Lime Street	Sir Charles Bowman	Sheriff 2015/16; Lord Mayor 2017/18
Portsoken	Prem Goyal
Queenhithe	Alastair King	Sheriff 2022/23; Supported by the Court of Aldermen for election to office of Lord Mayor 2024/25
Tower	Nicholas Lyons	Sheriff 2021/22; Lord Mayor 2022/23
Vintry	Sir Andrew Parmley	Sheriff 2014/15; Lord Mayor 2016/17
Walbrook	Jennette Newman

See also

• Wards of the City of London
• Sheriff of the City of London

References

1. "How the City of London works". Archived from the original on 5 April 2008. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
2. http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Council_and_democracy/Councillors_democracy_and_elections/appointment_process.htm#alderman ^{[dead link]}
3. Baddeley, John (1900). Aldermen of Cripplegate Ward. p. 137. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
4. Fitz-Thedmar, Arnald. Liber de Antiquis Legibus [Chronicles of the Mayors and Sheriffs of London]. p. 2.
5. Round, John Horace (1899). The Commune of London. ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE AND CO. p. 241.
6. "Report – Policy & Resources Committee in consultation with the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen, Bill for an Act of Common Council: Aldermanic Eligibility" (PDF). cityoflondon.gov.uk. The City of London. 25 April 2013.
7. "The Court of Common Council - London Metropolitan Archives, Information Leaflet Number 13" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
8. "Alderman Postpones Date for His Re-Election".