Lichfield City Council is the custodian of many historical customs and traditions. Some of which date back for centuries and most relate to the office of the Mayor and Sheriff, with their origins in civil legislation and governance.
The two Court Leets, both now held in a light hearted manner; on St George’s Day and Spring Bank Holiday, hark back to medieval England when the Lord of the Manor held rights of administration over his tenants. This included the ’view of frankpledge’ or literal translation ‘peace-pledge’ by which tenants were responsible for the actions of their kinsmen - at the courts, petty grievances would be resolved.
The St George’s Day Court – still appoints 7 Dozeners, who originally would have been responsible for approximately 12 households, and would report to the court annually.
The Court of Arraye still has an inspection of ‘men-at-arms’, originally this would effectively have been the audit of potential military strength – should the Lord of the Manor need to conscript his tenants.
There are a number of civic events many of which are free to watch or take part in – for the full list please refer to the Civic Events list.