There are 25 Wards of the City of London. Each is represented on the Court of Common Council (the decision making body of the City) by an Alderman and a number of Common Councillors.  Each Ward has a Ward Club (some Wards share a club) primarily aimed at residents and those who work in the City. The Clubs organise the Wardmote (Ward Moot) at which candidates for election to the office of Common Councilman or Alderman are elected.
The Ward Clubs also have a strong social side with lectures, meetings and dinners. A number of Liverymen and Freemen of the Water Conservators are members of Ward Clubs which also invite guests to their events.
Recently the Broad Street Ward Club invited Past Masters to a lecture and reception at St Margaret’s Church, Lothbury, by James Nye, historian and Chair of the Antiquarian Horological Society.  He was amazed that Lothbury, a street, less than 200 metres long, could be home to so many early seventeenth century clockmakers. He described a pre-Fire cosmopolitan community, drawn from the rich as well as those fallen on hard times, engaged in trade, both local and international. The parishioners lived in a troubled political climate, as well as in a dark and poisonously smoky atmosphere due to the use of high sulphur sea coal. Clocks are unusual as it is often possible to tie them to a very precise place of origin, and perhaps timeframe. We learnt about the changing residents, professions and social changes in a different world immediately before the Great Fire of London.
It was a fascinating evening and thanks to the Clerk and team at the Broad Street Ward Club for their hospitality.
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