Mayor of the Borough of Birmingham (1889 - 1896), later Mayor of the City of Birmingham...

The records of the Lord Mayor’s Parlour comprise mainly seal registers, as well as correspondence, invitations and publicity relating to civic functions and events involving the Mayor. For minutes of the Lord Mayor's Advisory Committee (which reported to the General Purposes Committee) see BCC 1/AG/15).

There is also numerous material from the Lord Mayor's Parlour, Birmingham City Council, in the former Local Studies and History Collections, Floor 6, Central Library, including a Visitors Book dated October 1924 - March 1944 [ref: LS SC 8] and a volume of Mayor's Invitation Cards for various civic events [ref: LF 32].

The departmental records of Birmingham City Council have been given a blanket closure period of 50 years, unless otherwise stated on the catalogue entry.

The first mayor of Birmingham was William Scholefield, elected on 26 December 1838. As head of the community, the Mayor was expected to represent the Corporation on all public, official and ceremonial occasions. The Mayor was also expected to be familiar with the business of the all of the Council?s committees and departments, attend meetings of the Council and serve on its committees throughout his year in office.

On 7 May 1839 the Mayor was enabled to put before the Council the document granted the borough regular courts of Quarter Sessions. On 24 June 1839 a Mayor?s Court was established in 1838 for the recovery of debts of up to £20, although no serving Mayor actually took part in its proceedings. The court?s officials comprised the recorder as judge and a registrar, officially deputy to the recorder, although with much more practical influence.

The court met only four times a year at the end of each Quarter Sessions in a court house at the corner of Broad Street and Easy Row. The court proved increasingly unpopular due to the high cost of the proceedings in relation to the relatively small debts it was set up to recover, but continued to sit until its abolition in 1853, despite the establishment of the County Courts in 1846, who had the power to recover debts of under £50 in cost.

On 5 October 1841 the court proposed to establish a salary for the Mayor, despite the objections of certain members of the Council, but although the resolution was eventually passed, the mayor, William Scholefield, declined any remuneration, and the question was shelved for the time.In 1889 the Corporation was granted a Royal Charter conferring city status upon the Borough, and on 3 June 1896 Letters Patent were signed under the Great Seal granting the Chief Magistrate the status of ?Lord Mayor of Birmingham?. A new coat of arms and seal was also designed for the Council, adopted by a resolution of the Council dated 2 April 1889. A new silver mace was offered to the authority by Messrs Elkington and Company in 1897 ?as a memorial of the completion of Her Majesty the Queen?s reign of sixty years, and a record of the honour conferred upon the City by the appointment of a Lord Mayor?, although the Council rejected the gift as too extravagant and expensive.

The Lord Mayor continues to be non-political and non-executive throughout their year in office. Their ceremonial role is important in that they not only represent Birmingham's Council but also its people, and as 'First Citizen' is a key figure at most major civic functions. The honour of serving as Lord Mayor (as of 2008) is usually alternated between councillors representing the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat groups in the Council, with the Lord Mayor standing as Deputy Mayor the following year.

The Lord Mayor's Parlour has been in existence since the office of Lord Mayor was established, and is based at the Council House. Parlour staff support the Mayor by managing the Civic Diary and assisting the Mayor to reach all sectors of the community. The Parlour also coordinates major annual events, including Remembrance Day, and Civic Receptions to regional, national and international visitors. Support is also given to the organisation of many charity fund-raising events.