History of the Mayor and Lord Mayor

The position of First Citizen of Canterbury existed 350 years before the Norman Conquest and pre-dates the Kingship of a united England, the oldest of the Oxford and Cambridge colleges and Parliament itself.

The first chief citizen on record dates from AD 696 and from about 780 until 1100 was known variously as a Portreeve', Prefect' or Provost'. The Portreeves were probably responsible for collecting taxes, acting as judges in legal matters and were Commanders in Chief of the City in times of war.

Canterbury's first Portreeve was called Aldhun' or Ealdhun' while, William Cauvel, a Norman, served as the last Portreeve, around AD 1100. From then until 1100 to 1448, the position was split between two people known as Joint-Provosts', Prepositi' or Bailiffs'.

London established a Mayor in 1193 and leading English Boroughs began to follow suit. Winchester had a Mayor by 1200, Lincoln by 1206, Oxford by 1210 and York by 1213. Canterbury's first Mayor, seems to be John de Porta, who held office from 1215 to 1216 when the Mayoralty was abandoned and the city reverted to its former system of Joint- Provosts or Bailiffs.

Not until 1448 was the office of Mayor finally established - and it took a Royal Charter to accomplish the deed. 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.

Click herefor information on the Mayor

For the Office of the Lord Mayor click here