The chain and badge of office
Wandsworth's Mayoral chain and badge has been described as one of the finest in London. It was designed in 1901. This followed the first meeting of the newly constituted Wandsworth Borough Council, which was held at the Council offices at the top of East Hill. This elegant Victorian building, with its prominent clock tower, is now occupied by the Book Trust.

The original chain was 18 carat gold, in the Renaissance style, with an armorial crown indicating the position of the metropolitan borough at that time.
In the early design, near the top of the badge, were standards. One of the standards was enamelled with the St George's Cross and the other was blazed with the dragon as on the sail of a Viking ship.

The Mayoral chain consisted of a series of links with enamelled shields bearing the names of successive Mayors and their year of office. The chain's centre link has the initials of the first Mayor of Wandsworth, enriched with rubies and diamonds, and with miniature maces gracing either side.

The connecting link, which joined the chain of office to badge, featured the letter W for Wandsworth, in enamel with festoons of ornamental shields depicting the initials of the other four parishes of the borough - these being Clapham, Putney, Streatham and Tooting.

When the London Borough of Wandsworth was formed in 1965, the geographical shape of the borough was altered considerably with the loss of Streatham and Clapham to Lambeth and the inclusion of the former Metropolitan Borough of Battersea.

To accommodate this change, a new armorial bearing was granted by the College of Heralds and the task of updating the Mayoral chain was undertaken by the Crown Jewellers, Garrards of Regent Street.

Poland honoured
In 1983, a notable alteration was made to the Wandsworth chain. In May of that year, Cllr Frank Staff was installed as the Mayor. Cllr Staff was a Polish national, who had taken up British citizenship after the Second World War and who became the United Kingdom's first Polish Mayor. To mark this achievement, the Polish community of Great Britain, presented an enamelled roundel, depicting the Polish Eagle. This was then set as an additional link between the chain and the badge.

The Badge of Office
The Mayor's badge used to bear a blue and gold chequered design at the top which is shown on the crest above the Town Hall gate. This represented the arms of William de Warren, who was created First Earl of Surrey by William Rufus. In those days, Wandsworth was part of Surrey. Below the chequered design were five stars, each representing the five parishes of the borough at that time.
When the new Borough of Wandsworth was formed in 1965, Garrards the Jewellers, were instructed to incorporate both Battersea and Wandsworth badges in a new, single image. In the new design, the main part of the badge is enamelled in blue and white, with a zigzag line depicting the River Thames setting of Battersea. The arms of the Earl of Surrey were reduced in size, and a design depicting the tears of the Huguenots was also featured.

The photograph shows the Mayoress's badge at the top, the Mayor's badge bottom right and the Deputy Mayor's badge bottom left. This is also the badge of the old Borough of Battersea.

The Battersea Chain and Badge
The Battersea Chain and Badge was made in the same style as Wandsworth's and is also 18 carat gold with a white enamel decoration. The main difference between the two is that the Battersea chain is lighter and has no jewels. It was presented to the Borough of Battersea in 1911, the cost having been raised by private subscription. The Mayoress's badge was presented to the borough in 1916.

The chain originally had 16 shields with a further six being added from 1930 to 1936. The shields are engraved with the names of past Mayors. The original badge showed the Battersea Coat of Arms, which was granted in 1955. The Council had unofficially used a similar design for about sixty years. Indeed, records show that the old Coat of Arms was in existence from the middle of the 17th century, belonging to a family by the name of Hickman and then to other families.

The motto of the Borough of Battersea, "Non Mihi, Non Tibi, sed nobis," adopted at the start of the century, is translated thus: "Neither for me, nor for you, but for us." In 1965, it was agreed that the Battersea chain and badge be used for the Deputy Mayor. The new design incorporates part of the old Wandsworth and part of the old Battersea Coats of Arms. Also, a new roundel was added to separate the chain and badge, which bears the legend Deputy Mayor.

Regalia for the Mayoress
Until 1988, the Mayoress of Wandsworth wore a gold and enamelled badge on a lightweight gold chain. The Mayor of that year, Cllr John R Garrett, decided to bestow upon the borough a generous gift. Garrards, the Crown Jewellers, were asked to produce a replica of the Mayor's chain and badge for use by the Mayoress. This was formally presented to the Council by Cllr. Garrett in May 1989.

The regalia is 18 carat gold and has a variable length collar which displays the initials of Cllr Garrett. The badge is set with fine diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires.

The Maces
The Council possesses two maces. The one which is more widely used is that belonging to the former Borough of Battersea. It is almost a metre in length, and the head is surmounted by the Royal Crown, in typical Elizabethan fashion. Following traditional lines, the mace is made of solid silver and gilt. It is hand wrought and richly ornamented with chased leaf decoration.

Prior to the amalgamation with Wandsworth in 1965, encircling the top portion of the mace, was the legend "Battersea" set in relief. The Battersea Coat of Arms was featured at the front. Following the merger, the raised letters of Battersea were replaced with those of Wandsworth. The old Battersea and Wandsworth Coats of Arms were retained, but the new Coat of Arms took central position.

The Putney mace was that used by the old Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth. The "Putney" tag came from the shaft, which was made from one of the piers of the old Putney bridge after it was demolished.

This mace, too, is decorated in silver and gilt. At its head is the borough's Coat of Arms while, at the opposite end, are those of the donor, Sir William J Lancaster. Two of the four panels on the head of the mace are filled with grotesques, one with a leaf design and one which bears the inscription "Presented to the Corporation of the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth by Councillor William John Lancaster, a representative of Putney Ward, 1901."