I’ve been asked for an authority to justify the wearing of wigs by Town Clerks. One of my members is a barrister, and had assumed that historically wigs had only been worn by clerks who were legally trained. While I’m confident that the current practice is correct, I’m struggling to prove this. Civic and Ceremonial doesn’t help with the specific query.
Paul
Custom and Practise (I say this as an ex-Town Clerk who wore a wig).
There’s no legislation, to the best of my knowledge, around Top Hats worn by many Macebearers… but they do.
The argument could be made that, even if not formally legally qualified, a Town Clerk should have a level of legal knowledge as they act as the Proper Officer, and in most cases Monitoring Officer, of the Council.
As such the Wig recognises this, and sets them apart both from the Members, and the other Officers.