| Where: | London - Procession starts at Seething Lane Garden for the cutting then All Hallows by the Tower |
| When: | Date and weekday can vary - currently often a Wednesday in early June |
| Time: | 10.45 |
The Knollys Rose Ceremony is a revival of a custom in which a rose was given as payment for a fine. Back in 1381 a footbridge was erected without permission between two properties on Seething Lane owned by Lady Constance Knollys and for this transgression she was fined one red rose; the custom was revived in the twentieth century and is carried out by the Company of Watermen and Lightermen of the River Thames. The Master of the Company chooses a rose from the garden on Seething Lane (back to this location now that long-term work at Seething Lane is completed); the cut blossom is carried ceremonially on a velvet cushion by the Verger of All-Hallows-by-the-Tower in a colourful procession to the Mansion House, where is it presented to the Lord Mayor in a private ceremony.
Helpful Hints
It usually takes place in June but the date and weekday can vary depending on the availability of the Lord Mayor so is agreed on a year-by-year basis rather than being firmly fixed.
In 2023 it was on Monday June 19th- 2024 date is yet to be announced (see Company website link below).
Anyone can watch the rose cutting and procession – just don’t expect to get into the private ceremony at the Mansion House. For several years the rose was plucked from a bush in the garden immediately outside the East wall of the church of All Hallows, in front of the coffee shop, and the Procession passed the site of Knollys House on Seething Lane on its way to the Mansion House. This was owing to works at the Seething Lane Gardens site, which have now been completed.
“Knollys” is pronounced just like “Knowles”.
Click here for the Company’s website: https://watermenscompany.com/category/events/
Click here for the church website : https://www.ahbtt.org.uk
Another of those quaint City Customs. I managed to get a late October picture of the middle of Seething Lane Gardens, for a lecture and one of the roses was flowering even then. I hope the custom continues. It is on my lengthening list of jobs to go to the ceremony ,one day
You & me both, Bob! There are so many interesting things to see that my list lasts until at least 2020…
Best Wishes,
Averil
Please note our surname is pronounced as in Knowles – it’s just a different spelling!
Thanks for that Victoria – I expect quite a few people wonder how to pronounce it correctly!
Averil
Please advise when date is announced, if possible.
HI Katherine,
I’ve just emailed my contact for the event so hopefully should hear back soon(it’ll probably be into next week as we’re out of office hours now). I’ll let you know asap!
Averil
Hi Katherine,
I’ve just found out that the Knollys Rose Ceremony will be on Monday June 23rd. The Seething Lane garden where the bloom is usually cut is currently a building site so I’m advised that the rose will be cut at the garden at All Hallows by the Tower this year.
Best wishes,
Averil
I visited this church yesterday. It’s a lovely building, with a cafe and a museum in the crypt, which has quite an eclectic collection, ranging from a Roman tessellated pavement to a model of the church before it was bombed in World War II. It has many reminders of World War I, due to it’s connections with Tubby Clayton and Toc H. I noticed that it had a description of the Knollys Rose ceremony, and also information on the Beating of the Bounds. The church beats the bounds every year on Ascension Day, and the museum has photographs of somebody whom I presume is a volunteer, being held upside down over the Thames so that he can beat the river. Also, “every third year the ceremony includes a ‘battle’ with the Governor and Yeomen Warders of HM Tower of London at the boundary mark shared by the Tower and the church.” This sounds another interesting event.