Cart Marking – Worshipful Company of Carmen

Last Updated on 10/05/2026

The regulation of carts dates back over 750 years to the early days of the City, when the ever entrepreneurial Carmen charged cart owners to operate their carts in the City! Having paid for a licence, a mark would be burnt onto your wooden cart to allow that cart to ply for trade ‘for hire or reward’ for the forthcoming year. To enable that cart to continue in use, a new mark would be branded each year on payment of the licence fee.

Every year the Cart Marking Parade re-enacts the branding ceremony, vehicles are no longer limited to wooden carts, of course; the parade now includes horse-drawn carriages, steam engines, fire engines, vans, ambulances, bicycles, removal vans, electric trucks who parade along Gresham Street and through the Guildhall Arch to be branded for the princely sum of five shillings!

Whatever the weather on the day, join us in the Guildhall Courtyard or explore the route parade to see a really eclectic mix of all things wheeled!