| Where: | London at the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand |
| When: | Weekday in early October (often Wednesday) |
| Time: | 3pm for 3.15 |
A Quit Rent is the process of avoiding a monetary rental payment by offering an alternative. In what is believed to be the oldest legal ceremony in England apart from the Coronation, the City of London Corporation hands over two knives (traditionally an axe and billhook but now a new set of knives is made every year), 61 nails and 6 giant horseshoes to the King’s Remembrancer, whose job it is to collect all dues owed to the Crown and who presides over the court resplendent in robes, a full wig and a tricorne hat. The same objects have been presented annually for generations…in fact nobody knows exactly where the pieces of land are located that the rent is paid for, as that information seems to have been lost to history (one is somewhere in Shropshire near Bridgnorth, the other in London). The ceremonial horseshoes and knives are displayed upon a chequered cloth in the court, as the King’s Remembrancer is the last remaining officer of the now defunct Court of Exchequer. During the ceremony one knife is used on hazel sticks and must be blunt enough not to mark them when struck, while the other must be sharp enough to cut through the sticks – this accounts for the Shropshire moorland and dates back to 1211, while the shoes and nails pay for use of a forge near the Strand and date back to 1235. If all is well, the Remembrancer pronounces “Good Service” in acknowledgement of the payment (this always happens!). Following the ceremony, the items are loaned back to the City until the next year. Two new Sheriffs will also be presented with their Warrants at the ceremony, and a relevant speech given by an invited guest.
Helpful Hints
In 2024 it was on Wednesday 9th October – 2025 date is yet to be confirmed. It is usually held on a Wednesday early in the month. The Public Gallery should be open from around 2 pm, on a first come first served basis (in 2021 admission was for invited guests only due to covid restrictions but it’s now back to first-come-first-served with no restrictions/reservations).
Visitors are normally welcome to attend but arrive in plenty of time as the public gallery has limited space (there was ample room for a few more when I visited) – admittance is usually permitted after about 2pm and access to the public gallery is up a fairly tight spiral staircase at the back of Court 4. All visitors must pass through security upon entry to the building and photography is strictly forbidden (that’s why I only have exterior views and a photo of my slightly crumpled information sheet from the Ceremony).
Click here for the useful Livery Company diary which includes the Ceremony (scroll down to Diary): http://www.liverycompanies.info
and here for the Royal Courts of Justice: https://courttribunalfinder.service.gov.uk/courts/royal-courts-of-justice
13 October 2021. I discovered that admission was not for the general public, but by invitation only. This was blamed on COVID.
Thanks for that Malcolm- I’ll put a note on the page. This is the first time that this has happened and while I easily found the date for this year there was no mention of restricted access -until now all were able to get in. What a shame!
Averil
Dear Sirs
THE SHROPSHIRE SOCIETY IN LONDON
QUIT RENTS CEREMONY (11 OCTOBER 2023)
Every year several of our members attend the above function as one of the Quit Rents concerns Shropshire.
Also every year two members have been fortunate to receive invitations to the reception held in Middle Temple after the event.
I am informed these invitations are issued by the City of London. Therefore I am writing to ask if it is possible for our Society to receive them this year.
Yours hopefully
Christabel Winny (Miss)
I’ve emailed you about this,
Best wishes,
Averil