Book your tickets on the The Becket Pageant website.An unforgettable day of fun, culture and celebration in the ancient heart of the City – Guildhall Yard – June 17-18 2022.
DISCOVER the legacy of London’s former Patron Saint, Thomas Becket, on his historic triple anniversary.
RE-LIVE the story of Thomas Becket’s dramatic life in a brand-new musical, inspired by a 1519 City pageant – London’s Turbulent Son By Emmeline Winterbotham (Music – Vahan Salorian)
IMMERSE YOURSELF in the lively atmosphere of Guildhall Yard where past and present come together just steps from where Becket was born.
Street Entertainers
Signature Becket Beer
Living crafts
EXPLORE the trades which have shaped the City from the time of Becket, with successors of the original London guilds.
Live Displays
Exhibition of Apprenticeships Past & Present
JOIN US on 17 & 18 June in iconic Guildhall Yard and be part of history.
Free Entrance to Crafts’ Fair.
“An exceptional opportunity for the livery movement to showcase its continuing relevance to our times, as well as its enduring dynamism, creativity, and contribution to the wellbeing of the whole City community. I very much hope to see you there”
The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor, Alderman Vincent Keaveny, Patron of Becket Pageant for London and Livery Crafts Fair
The pageant of 2022 will take its inspiration from an historic Becket Pageant which was performed in 1519, four hundred years after Thomas Becket’s birth on Cheapside, while he was still Patron Saint of London.
From the extensive work done by scholars including Professor Anne Lancashire, (editor of the comprehensive three volume edition of the Records of Early English Drama covering the medieval period) we know that this would have been a processional entertainment moving through the principal streets of the City, with large numbers of porters bearing wood and canvas boards above the crowds which supported a number of ‘tableaux vivants’ (moving narrative pictures or dumbshows) performed by guildsmen, child actors and a small number of professional actors on horseback. The procession continued well into the night with torches lighting the way.
