Before describing the Swindon mayoral mace, the following historical notes will be found helpful in understanding the part that the mace plays in civic ceremonial and how and why the various forms of decoration have been added.

History of the Mace

Originally, the mace was a weapon, effectively a wooden club, larger and heavier at one end. Warrior bishops carried it into battle instead of the sword, in order to conform to the canonical rule forbidding the shedding of blood by members of the clergy. The Bayeux Tapestry (a full length reproduction of which can be seen in Reading Guild Hall), depicts the Battle of Hastings and shows only Odo, Bishop of Bayeux armed with a mace.

With the introduction of armour, the original wooden club became less effective as a weapon and so was bound with iron to make it heavier and more deadly in battle. By the time of the 11th and 12th Centuries, the mace was almost entirely made of iron or steel.

In this time, close fighting, armoured men used an iron or steel mace roughly two feet long. One end would be moulded into a ball fitted with spikes, which would be capable of penetrating either armour or an adversary's helmet. The other end of the mace was the handgrip with a small knob to prevent the mace from slipping out of the hand or mailed glove. By the time of Henry Vlll, the mace was in general use by knights at military sports events such as jousting tournaments.

The serjeants-at-arms appointed to guard Philip ll of France (1180-1223) from suspected assassins first adopted this weapon, and a similar bodyguard was instituted by Richard l of England, for his own protection.

It soon became the custom for the sovereign’s sarjeants-at-arms to have the royal arms engraved on the knob at the handle end of the mace. The sovereign’s sarjeants-at-arms, and other similar officers who attended upon sheriffs and mayors, over the years, gradually became less and less armed bodyguards and more and more the messengers or envoys who conveyed orders to local dignitaries. And so, the mace carried by these messengers which had the royal arms upon it became more and more a visible token of the royal authority.

Over the years, as the mace became less of a weapon, the handle end with the royal arms on it came to have more significance, and so was enlarged and adorned with silver and enamel and later a coronet was added. The sharp hitting spikes gradually disappeared and the coronet at the handle end expanded into a full crown. By the end of the Tudor period of English history, the ceremonial mace was transformed from a weapon of war to a fully fledged ceremonial piece.

The Swindon Mace

The Swindon mayoral mace is of silver gilt. it measures four feet in length and is of the customary form with an open arched crown surmounted by an orb and cross. On the cap beneath the arches is a replica of the royal arms.

The mace head, surmounted by four fleur-de-lie and four crosses where the arches rise, was partially divided by four arch mouldings each containing a rose with two leaves. The four arched compartments contain the royal cipher 'E Vlll R', the coats of arms of Thamesdown (1974), the coat of arms of the former Borough of Swindon (1900-1974) and the coat of arms of the Borough of Swindon (1997) enamelled in full colour.

The Tudor roses that originally occupied two of the arched compartments were removed to accommodate the new coats of arms of Thamesdown (1974) and Swindon (1997).

The swan on The Swindon coat of arms (1997) is shown with wings raised. Yet the swan on the Swindon coat of arms on the mace is depicted with wings folded. The reason for this is that just below the arms is the hallmark, and to have the wings raised and keep the new arms in proportion to the existing arms would mean that the arms would have to be lowered, thus covering the hallmark.

Below the mace head are four oak leaf and acorn brackets. The staff is divided into three sections, by two ornamental spheres, and terminates in a decorative foot knob. The foot knob is divided into six compartments and one of these contains the inscription '1936, presented by W. E. Morse Esq., J.P., C.C., Mayor of Swindon 1914 –1916'. It is hallmarked 'London 1935'.

The Swindon mayoral mace is of considerable interest bearing, as it does, the royal cipher of Edward Vlll,  who abdicated in 1936 just a month after the mace was presented to Swindon Council.

There is another mace with the same cipher in Vancouver, Canada, which was presented to Vancouver City Council by the Lord Mayor of London to celebrate Vancouver’s 50th anniversary year.