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The Shrieval badge and chain -
The Court Drawing Room at Fishmongers' Hall -
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Sheriff Elect, Alderman the Hon Tim Levene -
Fishmongers' Hall seen from Glaziers' Hall
Shrieval Chain presentation
22nd September 2026Fishmongers' Hall
Each year, our Company makes a donation to the appeals set up to raise money towards the cost of creating the beautiful badges and chains worn by the incoming Sheriffs. These appeals are led by an enthusiastic group of election supporters for each, affectionately known as the “Chain Gangs”.
This year the Election held during Common Hall on 24 June (see earlier blog post) was uncontested, with Alderman the Hon Tim Levene and Alderman Prem Goyal being elected.
On Tuesday 22 September I was delighted to attend the presentation of the Shrieval Chain to Sheriff Elect Tim Levene, which was held in the magnificent surroundings of Fishmongers’ Hall, overlooking Glaziers’ Hall across the Thames where I had spent the previous evening with the Modern Liveries.
I walked from Gresham Street to the north end of London Bridge with the Master of the Gold & Silver Wyre Drawers’ Company, and we were the first to arrive. This gave us plenty of time to admire this large, 19th century Hall, extensively rebuilt in the 1950s after the Blitz. The gorgeous thick carpets even seemed to invite a little wandering around! There are treasures everywhere, including the two famous narwhal tusks, now so beautifully repaired using the Japanese kintsugi technique. They remain a poignant reminder of a dreadful day in London's history.
Fishmongers’ Hall is home to one of the most famous portraits of the young Queen Elizabeth II, painted by Pietro Annigoni, which shows her wearing the dark blue silk robes of the Order of the Garter. It was commissioned in 1954, the year that our own Company was founded, and created a sensation when it was first shown at the Royal Academy's 1955 Summer Exhibition, with crowds standing ten deep around it. It's in the Court Drawing Room, so I took the opportunity to open the doors and peep inside, grateful to be able to admire it all by myself.
The staff at Fishmongers’ Hall make their own lemonade, and I was extremely happy to see it after the slight excesses of the Modern Liveries’ dinner the previous evening.
Tim's Shrieval "chain gang" leader, Lars Andersen, was beautifully turned out in full morning dress, as was Tim, while Tim's wife Katie looked elegant in a lovely dark blue silk dress. Former Lord Mayor and Honourable Liveryman of our own Company, Alderman Sir Andrew Parmley, made the presentation speech for Tim, who replied in similarly good-humoured vein as he described the design of his badge, which has been attached to the Mayoral chain belonging to his father, the Lord Levene of Portsoken, who was Lord Mayor from 1998 to 1999.
Tim was followed by Lady Wendy Parmley, who made the presentation speech for Tim’s wife, Katie – or the “Sheriffina”, as Sir Andrew referred to her. Katie replied with equal warmth and good humour, explaining her own design for her beautiful Consort's brooch.
Both the Shrieval badge and the Consort's brooch were made by the renowned silversmith Grant MacDonald MBE and are quite simply incredible works of art and skill.
It was a warm day, with the sun streaming through the windows, and by the end of the ceremonials I was quite ready to escape to Monument Station and head back to Paddington.
There was little prospect of putting my feet up, however. I return to the City tomorrow for our Court meeting and dinner, followed on Thursday by a Guildhall School concert in the Barbican, then the Magical Taxi Tour at sparrow's wake-up time on Friday morning, followed by a day out at the Master Poulter’s turkey farm on Saturday and the sheep drive on Sunday, where I'll need the robe and full works.
With all that still to come, I won’t be home again until Sunday evening. Packing for a week in the City requires rather more forward planning than simply remembering to bring the Consort!