Please note that lunch is now SOLD OUT - if you would like a place at lunch, please contact the Clerk's Office direct.

The "Livery assembled in Common Hall" elects two Sheriffs each Midsummer Day at Guildhall. This delightful piece of City pageantry is the first of two elections (the other being at Michaelmas to elect a Lord Mayor), and, in the summer sunshine and with all the civic member carrying posies of flowers, a colourful and highly photogenic affair.

Normally, one of the Sheriffs is an Alderman, who will hope to go on to become the Lord Mayor one day; and the other, sometimes referred to as the Non-Aldermanic Sheriff, takes on this senior civic role for just one year at the Old Bailey.

If you are a Liveryman and were clothed before 31st May 2023, then you should contact your Livery Company’s Clerk for more information on how to vote and when to arrive. Freemen Entrepreneurs and guests (who are not Liverymen clothed before 31st May 2023) cannot vote, and should make their way to the public areas of Guildhall to join the Master Entrepreneur and Clerk to watch proceedings on the big screens.

This is always a very popular event for Liverymen - who should arrive early (from 11 o’clock) to secure a seat in the Hall. By contrast, there is usually plenty of space in the public areas, and Freemen Entrepreneurs and guests should arrive in time for the 11.45am start.

Irrespective of whether you have attended/watched Common Hall, all Freemen Entrepreneurs and their guests will be very warmly welcomed by the Master Founder, Mr Nick Butterworth, to Founders’ Hall in Cloth Fair for lunch afterwards. Please book early - a number of other Livery Companies are also lunching at Founders’ Hall, and places are limited.

Dress code : lounge suit (some wear morning dress, but this is now the exception rather than the rule)

Cost (lunch) : £72