The Mayor's insignia of office

Mayoral chain of office

The Mayor's chain of office has its origins in the 'livery' collars of the Middle Ages. Livery was granted by a person or corporation to their followers, friends or servants as a visible sign of service. The term actually comes from the French word 'livree', meaning 'donated' or 'handed over'. Therefore, just as the important royal or noble officials of the day adopted the gold chain as their symbol of office, so too did mayors, as the chief officials of medieval towns.

The Mayoral Chains for the Borough of Hastings were presented at a Council meeting of 12th November 1936.  The Chains were commissioned to commemorate the 50th Jubilee of the Hastings Borough Council constituted in 1886.

The Chains were made and presented by Mr B M Kessell, Jeweller of Hastings.  Mr Kessell was born in 1886 and reached his half century in 1936 and wished to present the chain as a “token of pride and loyalty in a citizen who has the interests of our town at heart”.

Civic ceremonial robes

The ceremonial robes for the Mayor of Hastings were presented by the Hastings Junior Chamber of Commerce to Hastings Borough Council in 1956 in preparation for civic celebrations when Hastings was proclaimed city status on 8th September 1956. The robes are based on the common winter design for the Lord Mayor of Westminster with a bicorn hat.

It is common for the mayors of local governments in New Zealand to adopt the tradition of wearing ceremonial regalia on special occasions such as formal functions, council meetings and citizenship ceremonies.

Initially adopted in the 1300s when mayors were responsible for law and order in their civic districts, the robes served as a symbol of authority.  Today, the regalia generally consists of a set of robes, chains of office and a hat.

Whilst there is no standard colour for mayoral robes, some common colours are black, purple, blue, red and gold.  They can be lined in silk and trimmed in velvet, fur or mock fur. Sometimes they are worn with a lace fall or jabot, and a hat.  The hat can be bicorne or tricorne with some form of gold embellishment and feathers.

With the Reform Acts of the 1830s onwards, there were changes in costume, whereby the robes of office were no longer individually designed and owned, but were passed onto new mayors as they took office.

Civic ceremonial robes:

Scarlet robe:
The robe is of scarlet wool with black velvet border around hem and sleeves, trimmed with facings of fur down the front edges and edges of the sleeves, lined with cream satin.  At the shoulders are two ribbon neck ties.

Bicorn ‘cocked’ hat with gold hat loop:
Bicorns, also known as “Cocked Hats” and Tricorns have been worn since 17th Century. The Mayoral hat changes shape depending on the gender of the Mayor. If the Mayor is female a tricorn hat is worn, and if the Mayor is male, a bicorn hat is worn.

Lace jabot:
The jabot or lace collar historically worn over the robes is an import from the French nobility.

Town clerk's municipal robe:

Municipal robe:
The Chief Executive as the modern Town Clerk wears a variation of a legal gown adorned with tassels hand sewn onto the sleeves and back of gown.  The robe is black with velvet shoulder caps and fronts ending with a square collar.

Legal wig:
The headdress worn with the Municipal Robe is the legal wig.  Wigs first appeared in the legal profession in the 17th century during the reign of King Charles II in the time of the Restoration of the English monarchy.

They were fashionable amongst the English upper class after Charles II was inspired by the court of Louis XIV of France. Despite going out of fashion in the reign of King George III, barristers and judges continued to wear them in court to distinguish their profession from other members of society.

Barrister’s bands:
Are a form of formal neckwear, worn by clergy and lawyers, and with some forms of academic dress.  They take the form of two oblong pieces of white cloth, which are tied to the neck.

Those worn by clergy are often called preaching bands and those worn by lawyers are called barrister's bands or, more usually in Ireland and Canada, tabs.  The two bands are sometimes said to symbolize the two tablets of the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses.