The Knollys Rose Ceremony
Each year the church of All Hallows by the Tower hosts the start of the Knollys Rose Ceremony organised by Watermen’s Company.
The short version of the story behind the ceremony is someone’s wife built a bridge without planning permission in 1381 and was ordered, as punishment, to deliver a red rose every year to the Lord Mayor. No-one said stop so, every year, a rose is cut in the church garden and there is a procession to deliver it, with great formality, to the Lord Mayor at the Mansion House (close to the Bank of England).
Basically a group of people get dressed up and walk a rose across the City of London – it is another of the City’s many ancient customs and it is lovely to watch.
The pictures on this page were taken on 20th June 2018. More on the Knollys Rose Ceremony can be found at the All Hallows by the Tower web page.
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