Sir Gilbert Inglefield
(Lord Mayor 1967 - 1968)
Sir Gilbert Samuel Inglefield (1909 - 1991) was an architect and music lover. In 1957 he was made Chairman of the Barbican Committee, responsible for building the City's new housing estate.
By 1959 he was Alderman for the Ward of Aldersgate (which contained the area that would become the western half of the Barbican Estate). Elected Sheriff in 1963 he became Lord Mayor in 1967.
Inglefield's Mother Livery was the Haberdashers' Company, but he joined the Musicians’ Company in 1966. He was elected Master in 1974.
Inglefield held a firm belief that British contemporary artists, writers and musicians were the best in the world. The theme for his Lord Mayor’s Show was to make the City of London a centre and patron of the arts. At his election as Lord Mayor, The Times reported that he planned to install a stereophonic tape recorder in his official car so he could have music – preferably Beethoven – wherever he went. “A whole symphony without any interruptions. Think how marvellous that will be!” he enthused.
In his year as Lord Mayor, Inglefield also sat on an appeal committee for the National Portrait Gallery to raise sufficient funds to acquire a portrait of Handel by Thomas Hudson, the first national appeal that the Gallery ever launched. The portrait, housed in a carved frame with trophies of musical instruments, depicts Handel in old age seated with Messiah open before him. The Gallery described the painting as “the supreme visual statement of the achievement of our greatest national composer”.
Shown right is the 4 page pull-out supplement about the Lord Mayor's Show of 1967. It appeared in the November 7th edition of the City Press newspaper.
The City Press in the following week, presented a transcription of the Lord Mayor's speech at the traditional Guildhall Banquet on the Monday after the installation. The Prime Minister, Harold Wilson was in attendance.
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