Livery Companies Pancake Day Race

The City's annual inter-livery Pancake Race sees teams racing around the Guildhall yard at noon on Shrove Tuesday competing for frying pan trophies awarded to the winner of each class. It's a colourful event with each aspect of the race allocated to the relevant livery - the Gunmakers start each heat with a bang, the Clockmakers are responsible for the accuracy of the timing, the Fruiterers provide lemons, the Cutlers plastic forks, the Glovers white gloves worn by each runner, and the Poulters the eggs essential in the making of the pancakes. A recent additional attraction has been a specially commissioned piece sung by the Musicians Company. Original participants were Livery companies in some way associated with the making of pancakes with invited teams from the Mansion House and Guildhall but thankfully this has been extended to include other Livery Companies and Corporation Departments such as The Old Bailey, preferably with a relationship to the making of pancakes.