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Home > Heritage > Watch vehicles getting branded with a hot iron in London

Watch vehicles getting branded with a hot iron in London

By Caroline King - July 14, 2019Posted in : Heritage

This Wednesday (17th July), the traditional Cart Marking Ceremony will take place at Guildhall Yard, in the heart of the City of London.

Curiosity of the Week - London Cart Marking Ceremony 2018
London’s unique Cart Marking Ceremony

The Cart Marking Ceremony is a little known annual event, that everyone is welcome to head along and watch.

Thought to be the earliest form of vehicle licensing, carts that were allowed to trade or ‘ply for hire’ in the City were once marked or branded every year. This branding was carried out by the Worshipful Company of Carmen.

Today, the token branding of vehicles is carried out once a year, as a way of keeping the tradition alive. The ceremonial marking sees all types of vehicles – horse-drawn waggons and carriages, steamers, veteran and vintage lorries, buses and coaches, and modern trucks and tractor units – turning up at Guildhall Yard to be branded.

London’s Cart Marking Ceremony

The branding is usually carried out by the Lord Mayor, with a hot iron, onto a wooden plate attached to the vehicle.

When: 17th July 2019, 10am
Where: Guildhall Yard, City of London EC2V 5AE
£: Free

More info: www.thecarmen.co.uk

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