I have been curious about the history of the office of Mayor. Here are some things I have been wondering about:
- How did it develop? Why?
- Why is the Mayor addressed as: "Your Honour" and/or "Your Worship?" (I still don't know why)
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| Lord Kindersley and Queen Elizabeth are directly behind the Mayor's chair. |
The word's
'Mayor' and 'Major' derive from the same Latin word 'Magnus' meaning
great. The office of Mayor, together
with the Domesday Book and the feudal system, were bought to the United Kingdom
by the Normans. The office of Mayor has been in Europe since at least the fifth
century. As Britain expanded their rule in Canada and municipalities grew the
office of Mayor was implemented in Canada.
The title
of Mayor, given to the head of the Corporation (Council), is comparatively
speaking an innovation which was introduced by the Municipal Corporation Act
1835 of the United Kingdom.
The Office
of Mayor has changed dramatically over the Centuries as can be seen below:
Middle Ages
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| The First Seven Mayors of Kindersley |
During this
time, unlike today, the Mayor was always a "he" and under whatever
name he was known in his particular municipality, he seems to have held a
position similar in many ways to his modern successor.
Like today,
the Mayor was acknowledged as the "first citizen" of the town, he had
a Council (under differing names) to assist him, he was a 'Custodian of the
Peace' - the name for early Magistrates, and he would normally preside in the
Borough's civil and criminal courts.
Tudor Times
Historian
William Lamarde's "stack of statutes" greatly increased the powers of
the Mayor as Chief and sometimes Sole Magistrate. This made the Magistrate the Tudor
"maids of all work" resulting in a great increase in their personal
importance as these following examples of mayoral powers show:
·
The
power to arrest those disturbing the peace and persons carrying offensive
weapons in fairs (2Ed.III c. 3);
·
Power
to regulate the size of loaves of bread and to seize bread of unlawful size and
pillory the bakers responsible (5 Henry V c.6);
·
Powers
to search premises suspected of unlawful gaming (33 Henry VIII c. 9);
·
The
power to compel persons to go into service, and to deal with matters relating
to servants and apprentices (5 Eliz. I c.4);
·
The
power to deal with dyers suspected of using logwood in dyeing (23 Eliz. I c. 9)
By the
Seventeenth century, the Mayor had in many Boroughs become all powerful and in
many instances his powers included:
·
Chairman
of the Council or other governing body of the town (e.g. the Alderman, Capital
Burgesses, Masters, Approved Man, Portmen, or Brethren);
·
Chief
Magistrate often presiding at Quarter Sessions as well as Petty Sessions;
·
President
of the Civil and Manorial Courts of the Borough, sometimes sitting with the
Recorder or the Town Clerk, and sometimes alone;
·
Borough
Coroner
·
Clerk
of the Borough Market(s);
·
Keeper
of the Borough Gaol;
·
The
appointment of most Borough Officers, including in some towns the Town Clerk
and Chamberlain;
·
The
creation of Freeman, often for a fee; and
·
Admiral
of the Port - title retained today in several seacoast towns such as
Southampton, Poole and Kingston-upon-Hull in the United Kingdom.
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| The last 9 Mayors of Kindersley |
By the
Eighteenth century, the position of Mayor in this country had become one of
considerable power and the position was, and still is regarded as the pinnacle
of achievement for service to the local community.
In 1835,
the legal position of the Mayor was regulated by Parliament, who laid down a
clear definition of the precise attributes of the modern Mayor thus restricting
and regulating by statute the rights of the precedence of the Mayor.
By the
nineteenth century, a Mayor could be the centre of all political activity with
the terms of office lasting often two to four years. By attending a large number of committees,
the Mayor could hold the whole Council together and co-ordinate and integrate
its activities. The political role of
the Mayor, rather than the social and ceremonial role, was clearly far more
important in this era than it is today.
The
Importance and Role of the Mayor Today
One can
suggest three main important roles for the traditional Mayor in today's local
authorities and society:
(I) As a
symbol of the authority
The
insignia of the mace, robes, chains of office etc is a clear symbol of the
Mayor's Authority in that area. The
Mayor, through the office of Mayor and its trappings, connects the present day
with history and acts as a symbol of continuity.
Until 1974
the use of the term "Corporation" symbolised the fact that the people
were considered part of the Council and this strengthened the symbolism of the
Mayor being the First Citizen who spoke for the whole town or city and gave an
identity.
(ii) As a
symbol of open society
A modern
role for the Mayor is that the office symbolises an open society. The choice of
Mayor is no longer restricted and the First Citizen can (and does) come from
any class gender or ethnic background. The First Citizen no longer is the privilege
of the white middle/upper class male and the new diversity reflects the more
open and democratic society we now live in.
(iii) As an
expression of social cohesion
The Many,
often social, engagements that are undertaken by a mayor are an expression of
giving cohesion to the life of the city or town.
Conclusion
The history
of the Mayoralty is important because it is one well-known and continuous
factor in people's experiences. The
power of the Mayor has undoubtedly reduced throughout the centuries and it is
unlikely that today's Mayor will have the authority of, say, a fifteenth
century Mayor or register some of the landmark achievements of great Victorian
Mayors. The office, however, continues
to have a central part to play in modern Councils and modern society and part
of this role, as we have seen, is a result of the tradition it inherits.
The information is primarily from the United Kingdom. Information on the history of the office of Mayor that I have been able to find has mostly been local. If you know of a good resource that outlines the history of the office of Mayor and the role of Mayor please let me know.
Most of this post came from here.
Most of this post came from here.
Civic Ceremonial; A Handbook, History and Guide for Mayor's, Councillors and Officers; Fourth edition, Paul Milward.
