Annual Mayor Weighing-In & Heritage Fayre returns to High Wycombe
High Wycombe celebrates the 300+ year old Mayor Weighing-In custom as part of a Heritage Fayre on the High Street – Saturday 20th May from 11am – 4pm
The ceremonial ‘Mayor Weighing-In’ takes place from 11.45am
Not to be outdone by the King’s recent celebrations, High Wycombe will be once again rolling out the red carpet on Saturday 20th May 2023, for the annual ‘Mayor Making’ event, a practice which has been taking place on the High Street since 1678.
The historic custom, which sees many of the town’s dignitaries weighed-in on traditional ceremonial seated scales, takes place each time a new town mayor is elected, and represents the ‘tolling out’ and ‘weighing-in’ of the officials – a method originally used to measure corruption in the town. High Wycombe is the ONLY town to continue the ‘Weigh-In’ tradition.
With High Wycombe soon welcoming its new Mayor, Cllr Paul Turner, the 17th Century scales are being brought out once again to continue the tradition. The ceremony will begin from 11.45am, adjacent to The Guildhall, with the Town Crier lending his full voice.
This year’s event will be the centrepiece of a Heritage Fayre, hosted by HWBIDCo – the High Wycombe town centre team – and will see a whole host of activities celebrating the town’s rich traditions, including interactive historical Storytelling, the ‘Ancient Apothecaries’ who’ll share their archaic remedies, musical Minstrels and juggling Jesters, as well as a Bodger – famed for their skilled furniture making synonymous within the region. PLUS, there’ll be a GIANT Chair, High Wycombe Monopoly Tombola and much more…
Melanie Williams, Chief Executive of HWBIDCo, commented; “The Mayor ’Weighing-In’ is such a big part of High Wycombe’s heritage, it’s great to be able to share this ceremony with the public and bring it to the town centre. We’re proud to help keep this tradition alive, and encourage everyone to bring their voices and join in the ‘cheers & boos’, and be a living part of our town’s history.”