Mayor of Winchester

Mayor of Winchester
Arms of the City of Winchester
Incumbent
Russell Gordon-Smith
since 15th May 2024
Winchester City Council
StyleMr Mayor/Madam Mayor
Member ofWinchester City Council
ResidenceAbbey House
NominatorPolitical parties
AppointerWinchester City Council
Term lengthOne year

The Office of Mayor of Winchester is the second oldest mayoralty in England, dating back to the period when Winchester was the capital of Wessex and England. The Mayor of Winchester thus stands second only to the Lord Mayor of the City of London in the order of precedence of civic heads.[1]

Winchester is one of just five local authorities in England to have an official residence for its Mayor. Abbey House was built in about 1700 and sited in the Abbey Gardens just off The Broadway in Winchester. It was acquired by the City Council in 1889. The house stands on the site of a monastic establishment known as Nunnaminster and later as St Mary's Abbey, which was founded around AD900 by Alfred's Queen Ealhswith. The Abbey survived until the late 1530s when it was formally surrendered to the Crown as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries.[2]

History

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The exact date of the conferment of full mayoral rights is not known, since the original charter cannot be traced. When London petitioned the King for a grant of mayoralty in 1190, Winchester was not cited as precedent (as were certain French cities), but by 1200 there was reference to the mayoralty as an existing office. It is, therefore, safe to say that the office dates back to the 1190s.[1] The incumbent for 2020-21 is described as the town's 821st mayor.[3]

The earliest Mayors sometimes held the office for several years in succession, but from the 13th century to the present day, the Mayor has been chosen annually. Until the 16th century, the Mayor-elect was required to travel to Westminster to receive the royal assent.[1]

Mayors of Winchester

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There is a list of all Winchester's Mayors from 1587 to 1912 in the last few pages of Warren's 1913 Winchester directory.[11]

There is also a list of all Winchester's Mayors from 1184 to 1799 in pages 266 to 270 of volume 2 of the 1798 first edition of Rev John Milner's history of Winchester.[12] That list is not considered to be reliable for the period pre 1200.[citation needed]

The following is a list of every person to have held the office of Mayor of Winchester since 1900:[13]

  • 1900–1901: Alfred Bowker
  • 1901–1902: Bertram D Cancellor [14]
  • 1902–1903: James A. Fort (Liberal Unionist)[15]
  • 1903–1904: George Ward
  • 1904–1905: Frederick Seymour Morgan
  • 1905–1906: Chaloner Shenton
  • 1906–1907: Reginald Harris
  • 1907–1908: William Forder
  • 1908–1909: Frederick King
  • 1909–1910: Harold Stratton
  • 1910–1911: John Furley
  • 1911–1912: Frederick Holdaway
  • 1912–1913: Howard Elkington
  • 1913–1914: Harry Sealey
  • 1914–1919: Alfred Edmeades
  • 1919–1921: Arthur Dyer
  • 1921–1922: Stanley Clifton
  • 1922–1924: Herbert Vacher
  • 1924–1925: Henry Johnson
  • 1925–1926: William Hayward
  • 1926–1928: Frederick Manley
  • 1928–1929: William Symes
  • 1929–1930: Harry Collis
  • 1930–1931: Walter Hamblin
  • 1931–1932: William Lansdell
  • 1932–1933: Hew Ross
  • 1933–1934: Frank Newton
  • 1934–1935: John Hodder
  • 1935–1936: Arthur Edmonds
  • 1936–1937: John Pinsent
  • 1937–1938: William Richardson
  • 1938–1945: Francis Griffiths
  • 1945–1946: Charles Sankey
  • 1946–1947: Cyril Bones
  • 1947–1949: Doris Crompton
  • 1949–1950: Cyril Taylor
  • 1950–1951: Reginald Evans
  • 1951–1952: Arthur Edmonds
  • 1952–1953: Doris Edmeades
  • 1953–1954: Reginald Dutton
  • 1954–1955: Adelaide Charles (died in office and replaced by Doris Edmeades)
  • 1955–1956: Barbara Gertrude Thackeray
  • 1956–1957: Major Paul Henry Benson Woodhouse
  • 1957–1958: Evelyn Mary Barnes
  • 1958–1959: Fendall W Harvey Pratt
  • 1959–1960: Margaret E L Lowden
  • 1960–1961: Lt Colonel Donald Charles Spelman
  • 1961–1962: Vera Neate
  • 1962–1963: John Hutchins
  • 1963–1964: Dorothy Richards
  • 1964–1965: Stanley Steel
  • 1965–1966: Cyril Bones
  • 1966–1967: Barbara Carpenter Turner
  • 1967–1968: D Jeffrey Smith
  • 1968–1969: Stewart Green
  • 1969–1970: S E Spicer
  • 1970–1971: Stanley Steel
  • 1971–1972: Alice Cleary
  • 1972–1973: T David Sermon
  • 1973–1974: Cyril Taylor
  • 1974–1975: Barbara Carpenter Turner
  • 1975–1976: Alan Cotterill
  • 1976–1977: Gwendoline Shave
  • 1977–1978: David Ball
  • 1978–1979: John Flook
  • 1979–1980: John Green
  • 1980–1981: M Pamela Pitt
  • 1981–1982: Ian Bidgood
  • 1982–1983: Albert Austen
  • 1983–1984: Frederick Peachey
  • 1984–1985: John Broadway
  • 1985–1986: Jean Freeman
  • 1986–1987: Sue Gentry
  • 1987–1988: Major D Covill
  • 1988–1989: Commander B Hall
  • 1989–1990: Frederick Allgood
  • 1990–1991: Pamela Peskett
  • 1991–1992: Capt Richard Bates
  • 1992–1993: Wing Cdr John Nunn
  • 1993–1994: Susan Glasspool
  • 1994–1995: Raymond Pearce
  • 1995–1996: Patricia Norris
  • 1996–1997: Brian 'Brandy' Blunt
  • 1997–1998: Norman Hibdige
  • 1998–1999: George Fothergill
  • 1999–2000: Allan Mitchell
  • 2000–2001: Georgina Busher
  • 2001–2002: Therese Evans
  • 2002–2003: John Steel
  • 2003–2004: Jean Hammerton
  • 2004–2005: Cecily Sutton
  • 2005–2006: Neil Baxter
  • 2006–2007: Sue Nelmes
  • 2007–2008: Chris Pines
  • 2008–2009: Michael Read
  • 2009–2010: Dominic Hiscock
  • 2010–2011: Richard Izard
  • 2011–2012: Barry Lipscomb
  • 2012–2013: Frank Pearson
  • 2013–2014: Ernest Jeffs
  • 2014–2015: Eileen Berry
  • 2015–2016: Angela Clear
  • 2016–2017: Jane Rutter
  • 2017–2018: David McLean
  • 2018–2019: Frank Pearson
  • 2019–2020: Eleanor Bell
  • 2020–2021: Patrick Cunningham
  • 2021–2022: Vivian Achwal
  • 2022–2023: Derek Green
  • 2023-2024: Angela Clear
  • 2024-2025: Russell Gordon-Smith[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c The History of The Mayor, Winchester City Council, retrieved 30 May 2017
  2. ^ Abbey House, Winchester City Council, retrieved 30 May 2017
  3. ^ "Meet the new Mayor of Winchester (and read how he was elected during lockdown)". Hampshire Chronicle. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  4. ^ Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas: CP 40/570; year: 1403 : http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT2/H4/CP40no570/bCP40no570dorses/IMG_1708.htm
  5. ^ Derek Keene, Survey of medieval Winchester. Oxford University Press, 28 Mar 1985
  6. ^ Calendar of charters and documents relating to Selborne and its priory, preserved in the muniment room of Magdalen college, Oxford (Volume 2): 1483. 20 Aug. 1 Rich. III.
  7. ^ "ST. JOHN, Paulet (1704-80), of Farley Chamberlayne and Dogmersfield Park, Hants". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  8. ^ "Knights of England". Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  9. ^ Wikipedia “List of Musicians at English Cathedrals”
  10. ^ "ST. JOHN MILDMAY, Henry St. John Carew (1787-1848), of Dogmersfield Park, Hants". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  11. ^ "Warren's Winchester Directory, 1913 - Page 561". specialcollections.le.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  12. ^ "The history, civil and ecclesiastical, & survey of the antiquities, of Winchester. By the Rev. John Milner V1-2". HathiTrust. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  13. ^ Past Mayors, Winchester City Council, retrieved 30 May 2017
  14. ^ "Election of Mayors". The Times. No. 36609. London. 11 November 1901. p. 7.
  15. ^ "Election of Mayors". The Times. No. 36922. London. 11 November 1902. p. 12.
  16. ^ Current Mayor, Winchester City Council, 16 May 2024
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