Former Kendal mayor Cllr Tom Clare reveals a deadly secret in the history of the town's silver maces.

Kendal’s Silver Maces are a regular feature of civic life. Like the Sovereign’s Sword given by Charles I, they are placed in front of the Mayor at every town council meeting and carried before the Mayor in processions, such as that of Remembrance Sunday.

There has, however, always been a puzzle about the date of the maces used today.

They appear to date to 1646 and, like the Sovereign’s Sword, to the reign of Charles I.

But the charter of Elizabeth I and dated 1575 had specified two maces of either gold or silver were to be carried in front of the Alderman (the equivalent of mayor) - so why were the present ones made some 70 years later?

The obvious explanation is that earlier maces existed and were replaced by the present silver ones - but why?

The traditional explanation has always been that, having saved up to purchase its charter from Queen Elizabeth, the town had to save up again to buy silver maces. That sounds a reasonable explanation, but why did it take so long to collect the money?

The answer, I believe, lies in a document found in the County Record Office some years ago by archivist Richard Hall. Commissioned for the ‘Corporation of Kirkbye Kendall’ from the clerk of the parish church, it gives details of an event previously below the historical radar.

In 1598 plague struck Kendal and, according to the document, more than 1,400 people died in just four months.

Historians estimate that between 40 and 50 per cent of the population died in those four months. Given the numbers that must have required burying an average of eleven people a day - there must be a mass grave or graves (“plague pits”) somewhere in or around Kendal.

And the plague had followed at least one year of famine, when there had already been an increase in mortality.

Historians suggest the Corporation was still trying to collect rent arrears in 1614 and was concerned to play down the effects of the plague. It explains the delay in buying silver maces.

Equally, the purchase of a new Charter from Charles I was part of the process of saying Kendal had recovered and was open for business.

Significantly it begins by stating that Kendal was at that time an ancient “and populous vill’’. The question is: did Charles mean it had once been populous or that it was once more? Are we seeing an early example of political spin and marketing?