Ceremonial clothing

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Dear Mr Wren,

Thank you for your request dated 16th August 2009, a copy of which is
attached below.

Civic Robes

Bristol City Council keep a stock of civic robes which are available to
members to use on civic occasions. The robes are loaned to elected
members and are returned to the City Council. If a Councillor is
selected to be an Hon. Alderman after he/she retires, then they would
also be eligible to use a robe at civic services. There are no specific
rules as such applied to wearing robes, it is non-obligatory at civic
services and ceremonial occasions. However Councillors robes should
only be worn by the Hon Aldermen or Councillors at major Civic Events in
procession, when advised to do so by the Lord Mayor's Secretary. They
should not be worn on any other occasions.

The City Clerk will wear Black Robes and a wig at City Council meetings
and at major Civic events. The City Treasurer will wear back robes at
major Civic Events.

We have 72 members and keep a stock of approximately 35 robes, which we
are unlikely to increase.

The 2009 costs are as follows

Robe £745.00.
Hat £236.00
Jabot £63.00
Gloves £12.00

Suppliers are Michaels, 83 Wade Road, Filton, Bristol, BS34 7EB. I do
not have a photo however the robes are red wool panama with velvet and
fake fur trim.

The Head of Legal Services has a wig and gown, however due to the age
of the items, the original cost is no longer held.

Ceremonial Dress for the Lord Mayor

Each new Lord Mayor is provided with
Mayoral Red Robe trimmed with fake fur £710
Tricorn hat trimmed with ostrich feathers and cut steel loop (or
similar) £449
Jabot £55.
Former Lord Mayor's are allowed to wear these robes at major civic
events as directed by the Lord Mayor's Secretary.

All of these were purchased from Michaels Civic Robes 83 Wades Road,
Filton, Bristol BS34 7EB.

In addition the Lord Mayor can also wear Velvets i.e Velvet Court
Dress. This Lord Mayor's Office keeps two sets of these which have been
held by the Office since at least 1983, when the current Lord Mayor's
Secretary took up post. An additional set of Velvets was purchased in
2004 at a cost of £900, however this cost was met by private donation
not the City Council. With the Court Dress, silk stockings or tights are
worn. Each Lord Mayor who wears the velvets are advised to purchase
their own tights.

The LM Robes can be worn at anytime time by the Lord Mayor with the
agreement of the Lord Mayor's Secretary, usually the wearing of the
robes is restricted to major Civic Events or events which involve young
children, e.g. visiting schools or opening school fetes.

The velvets can be worn at major civic events under the robes, or on
their own, at major dinners when the Lord Mayor is the guest of Honour
while Dinner Jackets or White Tie and Tails are being worn.

At the Council Meetings, the Lord Mayor will wear a black robe, no new
robes have been purchased since prior to 1983.

Ceremonial dress for City Sword bearer

In addition to the Lord Mayor there is a City Sword bearer who wears
Court Dress made from moleskin. The current uniform dates back to before
1983, however an estimate for new robes were given in 2006 for £1150.
New Robes were purchased at that time but again by private donation and
at no cost to the Council.

In addition the Robes the Sword bearer wears a Cap of Maintenance (a
fake fur hat). The original hat was replaced in 2004 at a cost of £189
form Michaels Civic Robes.

On occasions, the Sword bearer will wear a black robe. No new robes
have been purchased since prior to 1983 and the cost of this is not
held. He/she will also wear a jabot, which has a cost of £55 from
Michaels Civic Robes.

The Deputy City Sword bearer only wears the Black Robe and the Cap of
Maintenance. A new hat was purchased in 2004, the black robe dates back
prior to 1983 so no cost for this is held.

This response should answer your request in full, however if you are
not satisfied with this response or wish to lodge an appeal against any
exemptions that may have been applied, you can do so by writing to the
Data Protection Officer at Bristol City Council Legal Services, The
Council House, College Green, Bristol, or [Bristol City Council request email]. Details
of the complaints procedure can be found at
http://www.bristol.gov.uk/complaints.

If, after you have exhausted the council’s complaints procedure, you
are still not satisfied with the response you have received you have the
right to complain to the Information Commissioner, details of your right
to complain can be found at http://www.ico.gov.uk/complaints.aspx

Copyright notice
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does not imply a right to reproduce or commercially exploit such
information without the Council's express prior written permission.
Reproduction or commercial exploitation of materials supplied under
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parties. Permission to reproduce or re-use such material must be
obtained from the copyright holders.

Yours sincerely
For Head of Legal Services
S. McNamara

show quoted sections

2009 12:14 >>>
Dear Sir or Madam,

Please could you supply me with a list of all the ceremonial
clothing held by Bristol City Council and/or its agents (eg.
councillors, Aldermen, officers etc.)

If possible could you also tell me with the cost of these items
and
provide me with a list of the suppliers?

I would also like to see any copies the council holds of rules,
regulations or etiquette in regards to the use of these clothes.

Finally, if you have any photos of the clothes could I have these
as well?

Regards,

Bill Wren

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______________________________________________________________________
'Do it online' with our growing range of online services - http://www.bristol.gov.uk/services

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