The Lord Mayor’s Banquet Thomas Farncomb, and Alderman and Lord Mayor of London, entertained the Corporations of Hastings and Rye at a banquet in the Egyptian Hall of the Mansion House on the 24th of January, 1850. A lengthy report of this interesting festival will be found in Chapter XXI of Historico-Biographies; and, as intended, the following is but a summary. The Hastings guests travelled to London in saloon carriages, and were received at the Mansion House by the Lord Mayor, and his sister, the latter as Lady Mayoress, the splendid band of the Coldstream Guards being in attendance. A dinner of the most sumptuous kind was served in the Egyptian Hall at half-past five, grace being sung by the celebrated vocalists before and after the repast. The golden Loving Cup was passed round the company, Mr. Harper, the toast-master, calling out the company by twos, and announcing a hearty greeting of the Mayor and Mayoress. After the usual loyal toasts had been given, the Lord-Mayor gave “The Mayor and Aldermen of Hastings”, to which G. Scrivens, Esq., responded. After that, his lordship gave “The Mayor and Aldermen of Rye”, and this was responded to by J. Smith, Esq. Among other toasts were The Members for the City of London, The Members for Sussex, The Members for Sussex boroughs, The Sussex Magistrates, The Recorder of Hastings and Rye, The Town Clerks of Hastings and Rye, and The Town Councils of Hastings and Rye. These were all suitably responded to, and the company — about 200 — separated at about 11 o’clock, apparently delighted with the splendid entertainment.
The Return Banquet The Wednesday of April 20th was a brilliantly fine day, and on that particular date, as previously arranged, Alderman Farncomb, while still Lord Mayor of London visited Hastings — his native locality — by invitation of the Corporation and other gentlemen to a return-banquet. His Lordship was escorted from the St. Leonards station of the South-coast railway by a grand procession of horsemen and carriages, headed by the Hastings Band. Following the Hastings Mayor, Town Clerk and Mace-bearers, in a carriage with four horses, was the Lord Mayor, with his Chaplain and Sword-bearer, also in his state-carriage, drawn by four richly caparisoned horses, preceded by an outrider, and accompanied by a second band. The grand procession of fully a quarter of a mile in length, passed round the town and alighted, not at the Swan Hotel, where, in the newly decorated assembly-room was to be developed the “feast of fat things and the flow of soul”, but at the Castle Hotel, which, 35 years previously, had been erected by his lordship and others of a company who built Wellington Square, Russel street, etc. At about six o’clock his lordship processed to the Swan Hotel, where, as already intimated, the banquet was arranged, and where he was met by a distinguished company, including Earl Waldegrave, Viscount Chewton, the Mayor of Hastings, the Mayor of Rye, the Mayor of Manchester, the Borough Members, several other M.P.s, etc., all of whose names, together with toasts, speeches and other details are given in the “Lives and Times of the Farncombs”, Historico-Biographies, Chap XXI. Suffice it here to say that, what with the unique procession, the ringing of bells, and the firing of guns, even the outdoor pageant -
