The Office of Ale-Conner
An Ancient Office, Under Renewal
One of the City’s oldest civic roles, the Ale-Conner traces back to the Assize of Bread and Ale. Four are still elected each year at Common Hall. This site is its home: reviving the role, championing the drinks industry, and sharing seven centuries of heritage with the curious.
A personal project by Liam Randall, Cooper and Citizen of London, to give the office fresh purpose for the 21st century.
Service, Renewal, Purpose
I’m Liam Randall, and I began my civic journey as an Apprentice in the Worshipful Company of Coopers in 2011. I went on to serve as the Livery’s representative on the Court as Under Warden in 2024 and Upper Warden in 2025 (the youngest in the Company’s history) before returning to the Livery. I’m a strong believer in making our traditions and heritage vibrant and visible, co-founding the Coopers’ Cask Race, an annual event in Guildhall Yard celebrating the coopering craft and the modern City. I intend to apply that same energy to this ancient Office.
Returned as one of four Ale-Conners at Common Hall on Midsummer Day 2026.
Find out more at randall.londonExplore the Square Mile
The Square Mile is home to over 180 pubs and bars, each with its own story. Browse the interactive map, filter by type, and follow one of three guided walking trails past some of the oldest and most historic pubs in the City of London.
Explore the Pub MapThe Family Tree of Beer
Every beer in the world traces its descent to three great fermentation families: Ale, Lager, and the wild ferments. Some seventy styles are laid out as a living tree, each one lit in the beer’s own colour.
Wander the branches
A Badge, and an Invitation
For most of its history the Ale-Conner had no mark anyone would know it by — the office did its work, then slipped from view. The badge changes that. It gives the role a clear, recognisable face, and doubles as an invitation: spot it about the Square Mile and you’re welcome to stop me, ask what an Ale-Conner is, or simply talk beer and the City’s pubs.
At the centre is Themis, the classical goddess of justice, law and custom. She raises a tankard in her right hand and holds the scales of justice in her left: weighing the ale, judging whether it is good and honest. She sits on a cask, ringed by hop vines. Above her are the arms of the City of London; below, the office named on a banner — Ale Conner.
Curious to know more, or have a question for the Ale-Conner? Get in touch — the office is here to be used.
What is an Ale-Conner?
Seven centuries of quality, fairness, and good ale
The office of Ale-Conner emerged under the thirteenth-century Assize of Bread and Ale, which required every borough to appoint sworn officers to safeguard the quality of brewing. Ale-Conners tasted ale, checked measures, and hauled offending brewers before the court-leet. It was not a popular appointment: ale spoiled quickly before the introduction of hops, and the officer who dispensed fines was rarely thanked for it.
In London, four Ale-Conners have been elected at Common Hall since at least the fourteenth century. The medieval officer had real teeth: he could seize deficient measures, fine short-pouring landlords, and certify a brew as fit to sell. His leather breeches, worn to test the stickiness of ale, became one of the most enduring images associated with the office.
As brewing industrialised and central regulation took hold, the practical function of the office fell away. By the Victorian era it was a sinecure, one Dickens was happy to lampoon, though the election continued each Midsummer Day without interruption. The City of London, uniquely among English municipalities, preserved its ancient Common Hall elections long after the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835 swept them away elsewhere.
The office survives today as a ceremonial appointment, elected by the Liverymen of the City at Common Hall on Midsummer Day. The Lord Mayor presides, attended by the Sheriffs and Aldermen, and the ancient cry still rings out: “All those who are not Liverymen to depart the Hall on pain of imprisonment.” Four Ale-Conners are returned for the year.
Survival alone is not the end of the story. The office is a platform for the City’s drinks industry, its pubs and heritage trades, and the seven centuries of civic life that made London what it is.
Read the full history“All those who are not Liverymen to depart the Hall, on pain of imprisonment.”
Common Hall 2026
Common Hall is one of the City of London’s oldest democratic assemblies. Twice a year the Liverymen gather in the Great Hall at Guildhall: at Midsummer to elect the Sheriffs and other ancient officers, and in the autumn to choose the Lord Mayor. The custom reaches back to the Middle Ages and has continued, largely unbroken, ever since.
The Liverymen are the members of the City’s livery companies, the historic guilds of trade and craft, from the Mercers and Goldsmiths to the Coopers. Admitted to the livery of their company and made free of the City, they hold the right to vote in Common Hall: a civic franchise rooted in the Middle Ages, and one of the oldest still exercised in the country.
On Midsummer Day, Wednesday 24 June 2026, the Livery assembled to return two Sheriffs, two Bridge Masters, an Auditor, and four Ale-Conners. With as many candidates in nomination as there were places, the election was uncontested: rather than hold a ballot, the Livery agreed the Livery Committee’s report and the new officers were declared duly elected. Liam Randall, Citizen and Cooper, was among the four Ale-Conners returned.
Thank You
Standing for Ale-Conner was only possible thanks to the friends, colleagues and fellow Liverymen who offered their support and encouragement along the way. Now that the election is won, I am grateful to everyone who backed the campaign, and proud to share some of the kind words they sent.
Which Beer Are You?
Eight questions. One honest answer. The Ale-Conner has standards. Find out whether your pint matches your personality.