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.
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.
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.
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.
The following is a list of every person to have held the office of Mayor of Winchester since 1900:
1900–1901: Alfred Bowker1901–1902: Bertram D Cancellor 1902–1903: James Fort1903–1904: George Ward1904–1905: Frederick Seymour Morgan1905–1906: Chaloner Shenton1906–1907: Reginald Harris1907–1908: William Forder1908–1909: Frederick King1909–1910: Harold Stratton1910–1911: John Furley1911–1912: Frederick Holdaway1912–1913: Howard Elkington1913–1914: Harry Sealey1914–1919: Alfred Edmeades1919–1921: Arthur Dyer1921–1922: Stanley Clifton1922–1924: Herbert Vacher1924–1925: Henry Johnson1925–1926: William Hayward1926–1928: Frederick Manley1928–1929: William Symes1929–1930: Harry Collis1930–1931: Walter Hamblin1931–1932: William Lansdell1932–1933: Hew Ross1933–1934: Frank Newton1934–1935: John Hodder1935–1936: Arthur Edmonds1936–1937: John Pinsent1937–1938: William Richardson1938–1945: Francis Griffiths1945–1946: Charles Sankey1946–1947: Cyril Bones1947–1949: Doris Crompton1949–1950: Cyril Taylor1950–1951: Reginald Evans1951–1952: Arthur Edmonds1952–1953: Doris Edmeades1953–1954: Reginald Dutton1954–1955: Adelaide Charles (died in office then Doris Edmeades)1955–1956: Barbara Gertrude Thackeray1956–1957: Major Paul Henry Benson Woodhouse1957–1958: Evelyn Mary Barnes1958–1959: Fendall W Harvey Pratt1959–1960: Margaret E L Lowden1960–1961: Lt Colonel Donald Charles Spelman1961–1962: Vera Neate1962–1963: John Hutchins1963–1964: Dorothy Richards1964–1965: Stanley Steel1965–1966: Cyril Bones1966–1967: Barbara Carpenter Turner1967–1968: D Jeffrey Smith1968–1969: Stewart Green1969–1970: S E Spicer1970–1971: Stanley Steel1971–1972: Alice Cleary1972–1973: T David Sermon1973–1974: Cyril Taylor1974–1975: Barbara Carpenter Turner1975–1976: Alan Cotterill1976–1977: Gwendoline Shave1977–1978: David Ball1978–1979: John Flook1979–1980: John Green1980–1981: M Pamela Pitt1981–1982: Ian Bidgood1982–1983: Albert Austen1983–1984: Frederick Peachey1984–1985: John Broadway1985–1986: Jean Freeman1986–1987: Sue Gentry1987–1988: Major D Covill MBE DCM1988–1989: Commander B Hall MBE1989–1990: Frederick Allgood JP1990–1991: Pamela Peskett1991–1992: Capt Richard Bates1992–1993: Wing Cdr John Nunn1993–1994: Susan Glasspool1994–1995: Raymond Pearce1995–1996: Patricia Norris1996–1997: Brian Blunt1997–1998: Norman Hibdige1998–1999: George Fothergill1999–2000: Allan Mitchell2000–2001: Georgina Busher2001–2002: Therese Evans2002–2003: John Steel2003–2004: Jean Hammerton2004–2005: Cecily Sutton2005–2006: Neil Baxter2006–2007: Sue Nelmes2007–2008: Chris Pines2008–2009: Michael Read2009–2010: Dominic Hiscock2010–2011: Richard Izard2011–2012: Barry Lipscomb2012–2013: Frank Pearson2013–2014: Ernest Jeffs2014–2015: Eileen Berry2015–2016: Angela Clear2016–2017: Jane Rutter 