Canterbury was granted a City Charter in 1448 which gave it the right to have a mayor and a high sheriff. The city's web site records that
King Henry VI decreed that the City should be "of one Mayor and one commonalty, wholly corporate for ever". The first Mayor elected under Royal Charter was John Lynde.
The responsibilities of Mayors have diminished over the years. They were once in charge of keeping the peace, serving as Chief Magistrate and presiding over the local lawcourt. This caused problems as the Mayor could be asked to chair sessions without experience or knowledge of law. The Justices of the Peace Act of 1968 decreed that Mayors were no longer entitled to sit as magistrates by virtue of their office alone.[1]
A complete chronological list of Bailiffs (1380-1447) and Mayors (1448-1800) is given in Edward Hasted, The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent, vol. 12 (1801) pp. 603-611, available online from British History Online, page 63714.
Names not otherwise referenced in the listed below are taken from this source.
Chronological list of Mayor of Canterbury
editPlease help to fill gaps in this list.
Fifteenth century
edit
|
|
|
Sixteenth century
edit
|
Seventeenth century
edit- 16?? : Edward Nethersole : married the widow of Richard Hooker (1554-1600).[7]
- 1605 : Sir Peter Manwood, (1571–1625) : judge and antiquary[8]
- 1643 : George Nott : election declared void by the House of Commons.[2]
- 1643 : John Lade : elected in the place of George Nott.[2]
- 1671 : Thomas Fidge : haberdasher, son of Thomas Fidge, mercer; obtained freedom of the City in 1647.[5]
- 1681 : Jacob Wraight : son-in-law of John Durant [or Durance], Independent minister in Canterbury.[9]
- 1687 : Henry Lee : discharged from the office of Mayor by order of King James II.[2] Later, M.P. for Canterbury.
- 1687 : John Kingsford : replaced Henry Lee.[2]
- 1692 : Matthias Gray : grocer and amateur naturalist, brother of Stephen Gray (1666-1736), 'experimental philosopher'.[10]
Eighteenth century
edit- 1727–1728 : Edward Jacob (d. 1756) : surgeon and alderman; father of Edward Jacob (1710?–1788), antiquary and naturalist.[11]
- 1772-1773 : ??? Tadley : died in office.
- 1772-1773 : George Gipps : banker; elected in the place of Mr Tadley (deceased).[12]
- 1776-1777 : James Simmons : newspaper proprietor, banker, businessman and M.P. for Canterbury.[12]
- 1788-1789 : James Simmons : second term.[12]
- 17?? : John Jackson (1710–1795) : three times mayor of Canterbury; a wealthy brewer and farmer.[13]
Nineteenth century
edit- 18?? : William Masters (1796–1874) : nurseryman and hybridizer of plants; founder of the Canterbury Museum in 1823.[14]
Twentieth century
edit- 1938-1940 : Catherine Williamson : the first woman Mayor of Canterbury.[2]
- 1973-1974 : Henrietta Barber : the last Mayor of the old Corporation of Canterbury.[2]
- 1974 : Thomas Castle : the first Mayor of the new enlarged Canterbury City Council.[2]
- 1989 : Thomas Steele : the first Lord Mayor of Canterbury.
References
edit- ^ a b www.canterbury.gov.uk, 'The History of Office of Mayor', consulted 10 January 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l www.canterbury.gov.uk, 'The past Lord Mayors', consulted 10 January 2010.
- ^ ODNB entry for William Boolde, Benedictine Monk.
- ^ ODNB entry for Mowbray, John (VII), fourth duke of Norfolk
- ^ a b J.M. Cowper, The Roll of tbe Freemen of the City of Canterbury, From A.D. 1392 to 1800, Canterbury, 1903.
- ^ ODNB entry for Isaac Colfe.
- ^ ODNB article on Richard Hooker.
- ^ ODNB entry.
- ^ ODNB entry for John Durant.
- ^ ODNB article for Stephen Gray.
- ^ ODNB entry for Edward Jacob (1710?–1788)
- ^ a b c Frank Panton, Canterbury's Tycoon: James Simmons – Reshaper of his city, Canterbury: The Canterbury Society, 1990, 40pp.
- ^ ODNB entry for Sir William Jackson Hooker
- ^ ODNB entry for Maxwell Tylden Masters (1833–1907)