Exploring Medway's mayoral treasures

Medway holds an impressive archive of ceremonial items that tell the history of our towns

I had noticed Andrew “Taff” Barker before, opening the door of the Mayor of Medway’s official car at various events. He cuts a striking figure, with a neat waxed moustache, some impressive tattoos, and an unmistakable military bearing. I was delighted to be asked to join Local Authority’s Steven Keevil to meet him and be shown around some of the collection of civic gifts and regalia held in the Mayor’s Chamber.

Taff is, of course, much more than the Mayor’s driver, his full title is Civic Ceremonial Officer (CCO). Traditionally local councils would have employed a range of officers with different job titles: town sergeant, mace bearer, sergeant at mace, mace sergeant, chauffeur, civic attendant, mayor's attendant. At one time a mayor might have had up to twelve of these attendants, including one who travelled alongside the driver simply to open the car door upon arrival. Taff’s role is a fusion of these historical roles. As he says, “We're basically a bit of everything.”

While the role does not require a military background, his service with the Honourable Artillery Company can’t help but bring some additional gravitas and ceremonial knowledge, especially valuable in a place like Medway, with enduringly strong military connections. Importantly, the CCO plays a vital role in preserving and interpreting ceremonial duties, guiding mayors through civic responsibilities, hosting international guests, supporting military ceremonies, and maintaining the objects that tie Medway to its past.

He has laid out a small selection of the impressive amount of gifts that have been made to the mayor’s office over centuries of ceremonial engagements. This selection of historical items gives an insight into the evolution of civic life in Medway and its predecessor boroughs of Rochester, Chatham, and Gillingham.

Most of the items spend their time in storage due to a lack of public display space and less of a focus on civic hospitality, with fewer formal banquets that required tables filled with silverware. As a result, these objects now serve less as functional objects and more as symbols of Medway’s historical ties to communities, military connections, cultural celebrations, and reflect the broader challenge of preserving local heritage in ways that can instil civic pride into the people of the Medway Towns.

Taff explains that everything has been inherited from the three former borough councils, Rochester, Chatham, and Gillingham, rather than commissioned. The richness and luxury of some of these goblets, presentation bowls, and other silverware dates back to when local government carried more ceremonial weight. Taff notes, “We don't have the opportunity to bring them out. It’s just not really the done thing anymore.” This decline in civic hospitality over recent decades means many of these historic items remain in limbo in storage, rarely displayed or visible to the public.

One of the more impressive objects is a silver candelabra from 1837, believed to have been a gift from King William IV, making it the oldest piece currently on display. It’s a fascinating piece of silverware, writhing with decoration. William IV’s reign was relatively short, which meant it never really gained its own “style,” unlike the Regency or Victorian periods. It was later described to me by an expert as stylistically “quite deranged!”