right|thumb|The Queen's swan uppers (right) and the [[Worshipful Company of Vintners|Vintners' swan uppers (left), on the Thames at Abingdon, 2006]]

Swan upping is an annual ceremony in England in which mute swans on the River Thames are rounded up, caught, ringed, and then released.

History

By prerogative right, the British Crown enjoys ownership of all unmarked mute swans in open water. Rights over swans may, however, be granted to a British subject by the Crown (accordingly they may also be claimed by prescription). Until the 16th century, the ownership of swans in a given body of water was commonly granted to landowners. The only bodies who still exercise such rights are two livery companies of the City of London, the Worshipful Company of Vintners and the Worshipful Company of Dyers, who thus share equally with the Crown in the number of swans in the Thames that they own. The tradition of swan upping on the Thames began in the 12th century.

Description

right|thumb|The skiffs surround the swans so that they can be more easily caught.

Swan upping is the traditional means by which the swans on the Thames are apportioned among the three proprietors. Its main practical purposes today are to conduct a census of swans and check their health. It occurs annually in the third week of July. Over five days, the Crown's, the Vintners' and the Dyers' respective 'swan uppers' row up the river in skiffs (in recent centuries from Sunbury to Abingdon).

The Crown's swans are recorded by the Marker of the Swans, who is rowed in a skiff by oarsmen from the Company of Watermen and Lightermen. The Crown's swan uppers, who wear distinctive red uniforms, catch the swans, weigh and measure the cygnets, and check them for injuries.

Based on their parentage, cygnets are determined to belong to the Crown, the Dyers or the Vintners.

The present holder is King Charles III.

Two officers are charged with carrying out this responsibility on behalf of the monarch, the Warden of the Swans and the Marker of the Swans, both offices of the royal household. Before 1993 both positions were one position of the Keeper of the King's/Queen's Swans.

The Marker of the Swans and King’s swan uppers all wear the Royal Cypher of the current monarch on their uniform.

On 20 July 2009, Queen Elizabeth II, as Seigneur of the Swans, attended the Swan Upping ceremony, the first time a reigning monarch personally attended.

<gallery class="center">

File:Life on the upper Thames - swan-upping (1875).jpg|"Swan Upping on the Thames", from Henry Robert Robertson's Life on the Upper Thames, (1875)

File:Swan upping at Henley.jpg|A Queen's swan upper with a mute swan during 2010 swan upping at Henley-on-Thames

File:Vintners' swan marker.jpg|Swan marker of the Worshipful Company of Vintners, in his blue uniform, during 2011 swan upping, Abingdon.

File:Swan Upping at Cookham.jpg|Swan Upping at Cookham, by Stanley Spencer, oil on canvas, 1915–19

</gallery>

See also

  • Royal fish
  • Royal Swans

References

Further reading

  • Norman Frederic Ticehurst, The Mute Swan in England: Its History, and the Ancient Custom of Swan Keeping (1957).
  • The Royal Windsor website
  • Vintners' Company website
  • Swan Upping at Cookham