Shropshire's Tim Ashton set to speak at ancient ceremony in London this week

Tim Ashton, whose family own Soulton Hall, near Wem, will attend the ceremony and give the address at the invitation of the City of London following the presentation of the Who Is Old Sir Rowland? picture presented at St Mary Abchurch in January 2024.

The Quit Rents Ceremony is one of the oldest legal ceremonies in the country, dating back over 800 years. The 2024 event will occur in the court of the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales at the Royal Courts of Justice on Wednesday.

The ceremony will involve the City of London Corporation paying a nominal rent to the Crown for lands or property it holds in Shropshire.

The ceremony is so old that the exact location of these fields has been forgotten although some believe that they are at Moor House near Hampton Loade on the banks of the River Seven near Bridgnorth.

The ceremony will be presided over by the King’s Remembrancer, a role that is one of the oldest in the British judiciary, also dating back to the 13th century.

The City Sheriffs, dressed in their traditional robes, will present the rent to the Remembrancer in a courtroom at the Royal Courts of Justice. The rent is symbolic and includes the presentation of a blunt knife and a sharp knife, as well as six horseshoes and sixty-one nails.

Mr Ashton said: "This invitation is due to the growing interest and relevance of the legacy of Sir Rowland Hill, who was Lord Mayor of London in 1549-1550.

"Hill’s legacy is significant across diverse areas such as Shakespeare, the story of the Geneva Bible, the intellectual life of the Tudor period, and the way his house at Soulton Hall holds itself to carry codes and freight meanings."

Mr Ashton is aiming to level up Shropshire's cultural clout and adds that the ceremony will offer a "remarkable insight into London and the relationship between the City and the Crown.

"London enjoys privileges that predate even the 1066 Conquest and can be traced back to the time of St Erkenwald in the seventh century, like the office of sheriff.

Mr Ashton will also represent his family, Shropshire, and the legacy of Sir Rowland Hill at the Lord Mayor’s Show in November.

The Lord Mayor’s Show is a grand city pageant that is the successor of the Midsummer Watches, which Sir Rowland Hill supported as an arts commissioner.

In Tudor times, these spectacles had become so extravagant that they were banned by the king due to the financial strain they placed on the Lord Mayors.

However, Sir John Gresham and Sir Rowland Hill revived them and were recorded as watching them with Henry VIII and Jane Seymour.

Meanwhile the Shropshire Society in London currently has around 215 members.

It was founded in 1750 and re-formed in 1899 with the aim of welcoming Salopians to the capital and ensuring they immediately had a network of friends in London and enabling them to participate in some enjoyable events in the capital and in Shropshire – often at venues usually not available to the general public.

Past events and visits have included the Great Hall of the Middle Temple, Royal Courts of Justice, RAF Club, Acton Scott Hall, The Wallace Collection, Midlands Air Ambulance Headquarters, and Cosford Grange.

This year it celebrated the Society’s 125th anniversary with a Civic Service at Shrewsbury Abbey and a Gala Dinner at Netley Hall.

Every year there is the opportunity for a limited number of people to attend the Quit Rents Ceremony at the Royal Courts of Justice.