View source for Mayor of Winchester

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2017}}

{{Infobox official post
| post = Mayor of Winchester
| insignia = Coats of arms of Winchester.svg
| insigniasize = 
| insigniacaption = Arms of the City of Winchester
| image = Abbey House, Winchester - geograph.org.uk - 1316346.jpg
| incumbent = Russell Gordon-Smith
| incumbentsince = 15th May 2024
| formation = 
| department = [[Winchester City Council]]
| member_of = [[Winchester City Council]]
| nominator = [[List of political parties in the United Kingdom|Political parties]]
| appointer = [[Winchester City Council]]
| termlength = One year
| body = 
| style = Mr Mayor/Madam Mayor
| imagecaption = Abbey House, Winchester- the mayor's official residence
| residence = Abbey House
}}The Office of '''Mayor of [[Winchester]]''' is the second oldest [[Mayors in England|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.<ref name="history">{{Citation
 | title = The History of The Mayor | publisher = Winchester City Council
 | url = http://www.winchester.gov.uk/councillors-committees/mayor-of-winchester/history-mayor/
 | accessdate = 30 May 2017
}}</ref>

[[City of Winchester|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, Winchester|St Mary's Abbey]], which was founded around AD900 by [[Alfred the Great|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]].<ref>{{Citation
 | title = Abbey House | publisher = Winchester City Council
 | url = http://www.winchester.gov.uk/councillors-committees/mayor-of-winchester/abbey-house/
 | accessdate = 30 May 2017
}}</ref>

==History==
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.<ref name="history" /> The incumbent for 2020-21 is described as the town's 821st mayor.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Meet the new Mayor of Winchester (and read how he was elected during lockdown)|url=https://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/18463807.councillor-patrick-cunningham-becomes-821st-mayor-winchester/|access-date=2021-01-11|website=Hampshire Chronicle|date=20 May 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

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.<ref name=history />

==Mayors of Winchester==
*1403: Mark le Fayre <ref>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</ref>
*1482–1483, 1490–1491, 1499–1500: [[John Stratford (mayor)]]<ref>Derek Keene, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Q-CEzid6iNkC&q=stratford&pg=PA686 Survey of medieval Winchester]. Oxford University Press, 28 Mar 1985</ref><ref>Calendar of charters and documents relating to Selborne and its priory, preserved in the muniment room of Magdalen college, Oxford (Volume 2): [http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/selborne-priory/calendar-of-charters-and-documents-relating-to-selborne-and-its-priory-preserve-ala/page-9-calendar-of-charters-and-documents-relating-to-selborne-and-its-priory-preserve-ala.shtml 1483. 20 Aug. 1 Rich. III.]</ref>
*1772–1773: [[Sir Paulet St John, 1st Baronet]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1715-1754/member/st-john-paulet-1704-80|title=ST. JOHN, Paulet (1704-80), of Farley Chamberlayne and Dogmersfield Park, Hants.|publisher=History of Parliament Online|accessdate= 15 November 2017}}</ref>
*1786–: (Sir) William Hillman (Clerk of the Green Cloth)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/knightsofengland02shaw_0/knightsofengland02shaw_0_djvu.txt|title=Knights of England|accessdate=21 August 2019}}</ref>
*1802–1803: George William Chard, Mus Doc (also Organist of [[Winchester Cathedral]])<ref>Wikipedia “List of Musicians at English Cathedrals”</ref>
*1808–1809: [[Sir Henry St John-Mildmay, 4th Baronet]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/member/st-john-mildmay-henry-st-john-carew-1787-1848| title=ST. JOHN MILDMAY, Henry St. John Carew (1787-1848), of Dogmersfield Park, Hants.|publisher= History of Parliament Online|accessdate= 23 March 2018}}</ref>

There is a list of all Winchester's Mayors from 1587 to 1912 in the last few pages of Warren's 1913 Winchester directory.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Warren's Winchester Directory, 1913 - Page 561 |url=https://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p16445coll4/id/173816/rec/12 |access-date=2024-09-06 |website=specialcollections.le.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The history, civil and ecclesiastical, & survey of the antiquities, of Winchester. By the Rev. John Milner V1-2. |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435029997897&view=2up&seq=788&size=125&q1=de%20lunn |access-date=2024-09-06 |website=HathiTrust |language=en}}</ref> That list is not considered to be reliable for the period pre 1200.{{Cn|date=September 2024}} <br>

The following is a list of every person to have held the office of Mayor of Winchester since 1900:<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.winchester.gov.uk/councillors-committees/mayor-of-winchester/past-mayors/ |title=Past Mayors |publisher=Winchester City Council |accessdate=30 May 2017}}</ref>
*1900–1901: Alfred Bowker
*1901–1902: Bertram D Cancellor <ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Election of Mayors |date=11 November 1901 |page=7 |issue=36609 }}</ref>
*1902–1903: James A. Fort (Liberal Unionist)<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Election of Mayors |date=11 November 1902 |page=12 |issue=36922}}</ref>
*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 (RAF officer)|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<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.winchester.gov.uk/councillors-committees/mayor-of-winchester/current-mayor/ |title=Current Mayor |date=16 May 2024 |publisher=Winchester City Council}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Local Government in the United Kingdom]]
*[[City of Winchester]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Lists of Mayors in the United Kingdom}}

[[Category:City of Winchester]]
[[Category:History of Winchester]]
[[Category:Lists of mayors of places in England|Winchester]]
[[Category:Hampshire-related lists|Mayor of Winchester]]
[[Category:Mayors of Winchester| ]]