A Secret City within a City

On November 9, 2019, the Corporation of the City of London will celebrate its 804^th Lord Mayor’s Show. This Corporation is also called the Square Mile. It is the richest financial center in the world (with a few conspiracy theories thrown in). So it is an extremely wealthy and powerful place. It is home to some 7,000 people.

Keep in mind, there are two Londons, the one discussed here is the ‘secret city.’ It is unique with its own complicated history: a city within a city and a country within a country. (The other London is Westminister). Before the Romans came, the city was Caer Lud, said to be founded around 130 BC. Lud was a Celtic king. Then came the Romans!  At one time the city, then called Londinium, was the capital of the Roman province of Britannia........then followed the Saxons, the Jutes, period of abandonment, resettlement, and so on to the present day!

The city within the city

The Corporation has its own government.  The mayor of the city of London has no jurisdiction over the Corporation of the city of London, neither does the monarchy. The Corporation, however, has a representative, the remembrancer, in parliament to watch for the Corporation's interests. Laws passed in parliament do not necessarily apply to them. The Corporation has its own flag and coat of arms.The Corporation also owns property outside its border.

Coat of Arms

Even way back when the British crown was replaced with Parliament, the Corporation of the City of London retained its own laws and practices, its assets and its ancient privileges persisted. The corporation itself is 950 years old. There is some clamor for change today. However, zeitgeist lives on. Imagine you can handle something 2,000 years old for real right there in the Square Mile. If you are ever in London, you can step into the ruins of London's Roman Amphitheatre and discover the hidden history. And who knows what else is there to be discovered if any of those layers underground were to ever be revealed. 

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