List of lord mayoralties and lord provostships in the United Kingdom

This is a list of lord mayoralties and lord provostships in the United Kingdom. The dignity of having a lord mayor as civic head is granted to certain districts enjoying city status in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. In Scotland the similar office of lord provost is reserved for the convener of the four largest cities.

Contents

List

Lord mayoralty or lord provostship Year dignity granted Notes
England
Birmingham 1896 Letters patent dated 3 June 1896.[1]
Confirmed to metropolitan borough by letters patent dated 25 June 1974.[2]
Bradford 1907 Letters patent dated 16 September 1907.[3] At the time, Bradford was the seventh most populous borough in England and Wales, and the second largest in area, and thus the largest municipality without a lord mayor.[4]

Confirmed to metropolitan borough by letters patent dated 1 April 1974.[5]
Bristol 1899 The Lord Mayoralty of Bristol was granted as part of the Birthday Honours.[6] Confirmed to non-metropolitan district by letters patent dated 1 April 1974.[5]
Canterbury 1988 Letters Patent dated 13 July 1988.[7]
The dignity was granted while the 12th Lambeth Conference of the Anglican Church was being held in the city.[8]
Chester 1992 Letters Patent dated 10 March 1992.[9]
Dignity granted as part of celebrations of 40th anniversary of accession of Elizabeth II.
Coventry 1953 Letters patent dated 3 June 1953.[10] Granted as part of the coronation celebrations of Elizabeth II.
Confirmed to metropolitan borough by letters patent dated 1 April 1974.[5]
Exeter 2002 Letters patent dated 1 May 2002.[11]
Granted as the result of a competition to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II.
Kingston upon Hull 1914 Declaration that the Chief Magistrate and Officer of the City to bear the style and title of Lord Mayor due to "the city's high position in the roll of ports of [the] kingdom" 26 June 1914[12][13] Confirmed to non-metropolitan district by letters patent dated 18 March 1975.[14]
Leeds 1897 Letters patent dated 12 July 1897.[15] Dignity granted as part of celebrations of Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee.
Confirmed to metropolitan borough by letters patent dated 1 April 1974.[5]
Leicester 1928 Letters patent dated 10 July 1928.[16]

Confirmed to non-metropolitan district by letters patent dated 1 April 1974.[5]
Liverpool 1893 Letters patent dated 3 August 1893.[17]

Confirmed to metropolitan borough by letters patent dated 25 June 1974.[2]
City of London
(The Rt Hon.)		 Assumed by 1540 Customary title, never formally granted. Title of Lord Mayor used intermittently from middle of 14th century, consistently from 1540.[18] "Right Honourable" in use since 16th century.[19]
Manchester 1893 Letters patent dated 3 August 1893.[17] Confirmed to metropolitan borough by letters patent dated 1 April 1974.[5]
Newcastle upon Tyne 1906 Letters patent dated 27 July 1906.[20] The grant was announced by Edward VII on a visit to the city on 12 July, having been approved by the Home Office as Newcastle was "the chief town and seaport of the North of England".[21][22]

Confirmed to metropolitan borough by letters patent dated 1 April 1974.[5]
Norwich 1910 The Lord Mayoralty was granted in 1910 "in view of the position occupied by that city as the chief city of East Anglia and of its close association with his Majesty"[23] Confirmed to non-metropolitan district by letters patent dated 1 April 1974.[5]
Nottingham 1928 Letters patent dated 10 July 1928.[16] Confirmed to non-metropolitan district by letters patent dated 1 April 1974.[5]
Oxford 1962 Letters patent dated 23 October 1962.[24]

Confirmed to non-metropolitan district by letters patent dated 1 April 1974.[5]
Plymouth 1935 Letters patent dated 6 May 1935.[25] Dignity granted as part of silver jubilee celebrations of George V.[22]

Confirmed to non-metropolitan district by letters patent dated 1 April 1974.[5]
Portsmouth 1928 Letters patent dated 10 July 1928.[16]

Confirmed to non-metropolitan district by letters patent dated 1 April 1974.[5]
Sheffield 1897 Letters patent dated 12 July 1897.[15] Dignity granted as part of celebrations of Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee.

Confirmed to metropolitan borough by letters patent dated 28 May 1974.[26]
Stoke-on-Trent 1928 Letters patent dated 10 July 1928.[16]

Confirmed to non-metropolitan district by letters patent dated 28 May 1974.[26]
Westminster 1966 Letters patent dated 11 March 1966.[27]
York
(The Rt Hon.)		 c. 1389 Charter of Richard II. It is often claimed that the king wished to make York capital of England, but this is largely discounted by modern historians.[28][29] The use of the prefix "right honourable" appears to have been used since the creation of the lord mayoralty. Confirmed to non-metropolitan district by letters patent dated 1 April 1974.[5]

Reconfirmed by letters patent to unitary authority dated 1 April 1996.[30]
Northern Ireland
Belfast
(The Rt Hon.)		 1892 Letters patent under the Great Seal of Ireland, 1892.[31] Prefix "right honourable" granted 1923 in recognition of the city's status as capital of Northern Ireland.[32]
Scotland†
Aberdeen 1863 Dignity granted 13 October 1863 on occasion of conferring of knighthood on provost of the city.[33][34]
Dundee 1892 Royal warrant dated 12 February 1892. The title was used from 1887 in anticipation of the grant.[35]
Edinburgh
(The Rt Hon.)		 1667 Letter of writ from Charles II to the chief magistrate of Edinburgh, reserving the title "lord provost" to the burgh and giving the same precedence as the Lord Mayors of London and Dublin. The prefix "right honourable" was used from this date.[36]
Glasgow
(The Rt Hon.)		 1688 Courtesy title of "lord" and prefix of "honourable" in use from 1688.[37] The prefix "right honourable" was allowed in 1912.[22]
Wales
Cardiff
(The Rt. Hon.)		 1956 Style of "right honourable" conferred on Lord Mayor by letters patent dated 26 October 1956. The city was designated the capital of Wales at that date.[38] Confirmed to district by letters patent dated 1 April 1974, and to unitary authority by letters patent dated 29 March 1996.[5][30]
Swansea 1982 Letters patent dated 22 March 1982.[39] The dignity was announced by Charles, Prince of Wales at a gala to celebrate his wedding in October 1981.[22]

† The Lord Provostships of the cities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow were confirmed to the new local authorities formed by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.

Use of prefix "right honourable"

The most ancient lord mayors and lord provosts (London, York and Edinburgh) had established the right to the use of the honorific prefix "the right honourable" (The Rt. Hon) by the seventeenth century. When new lord mayoralties were created in the 1890s it was not clear if they also enjoyed this privilege. When the grant of a lord mayor was made to Liverpool and Manchester in 1893, Sir Albert William Woods, Garter Principal King of Arms, was of the opinion that

...the chief magistrates of those cities on which the dignity was conferred should be able to use the prefix of "right honourable" in the same way as London had done from time immemorial.[40]

Ten years later his successor as Garter, Sir Alfred Scott-Gatty, decided that this was in error. However, the Lord Mayors of Liverpool, Manchester and Bristol continued to use the prefix. The matter came to a head in 1921, when King George V visited Liverpool, and the Home Office was forced to write to the council to inform that it could not be used without the express permission of the monarch.[40] In the meantime, the prefix had been formally granted to the Lord Provost of Glasgow in 1912. In 1923 the Lord Mayor of Belfast was granted the honour in recognition of the city's new status as capital of Northern Ireland.[22]

The controversy continued however. Professor John J Clarke of the University of Liverpool (author of Outlines of Local Government), the Corporation of Manchester and Herbert Woodcock, MP for Liverpool Everton all pressed for the dignity to be applied to all lord mayors. The official position was set out in a parliamentary statement by the Home Secretary, William Joynson-Hicks in July 1927, and repeated in a Home Office document issued in July 1932:

The only Lord Mayors and Provosts in the United Kingdom who are entitled to be styled "Right Honourable" are the Lord Mayors of London and York and the Lord Provost of Edinburgh who have had the privilege from time immemorial, and the Lord Provost of Glasgow and the Lord Mayor of Belfast on whom it has been conferred by grant in modern times. If it has been used in other cases, this has been done through a misunderstanding and without authority; and whenever the attention of myself or of my predecessors has been called to such unauthorised use, or inquiries on the subject have been made, it has always been pointed out that the style could not be used without His Majesty's permission.[40][41]

The number of lord mayors or provosts in the United Kingdom entitled to the prefix now stands at six: in 1956 the dignity was allowed to the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, when the city was declared capital of Wales.[22] The Lord Mayor of Bristol continues to use the prefix without official sanction.[42]

See also

References

  1. ^ London Gazette: no. 26746. p. 3314. 4 June 1896. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  2. ^ a b London Gazette: no. 46303. pp. 6485–6486. 28 June 1974. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
  3. ^ London Gazette: no. 28065. pp. 6575–6575. 1 October 1907. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
  4. ^ "A New Lord Mayor", The Times, 7 September 1907, pg. 7
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n London Gazette: no. 46255. p. 4400. 4 April 1974. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
  6. ^ "Birthday Honours", The Times, 3 June 1899, pg. 11
  7. ^ London Gazette: no. 51416. p. 8235. 20 July 1988. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
  8. ^ "The Office of Lord Mayor". Canterbury City Council. 2008. http://www.canterbury.gov.uk/buildpage.php?id=478. Retrieved 16 June 2008. 
  9. ^ London Gazette: no. 52861. p. 4553. 13 March 1992. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
  10. ^ London Gazette: no. 39883. p. 3215. 9 June 1953. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
  11. ^ London Gazette: no. 56556. p. 5325. 1 May 2002. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
  12. ^ London Gazette: no. 28845. p. 5067. 30 June 1914. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
  13. ^ The King's Honour to Hull, The Times, 27 June 1914
  14. ^ London Gazette: no. 46522. p. 3729. 20 March 1975. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
  15. ^ a b London Gazette: no. 26872. p. 3895. 13 July 1897. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
  16. ^ a b c d London Gazette: no. 33405. p. 4898. 20 June 1928. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  17. ^ a b London Gazette: no. 26432. pp. 4641–4642. 15 August 1893. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
  18. ^ "Lord Mayor's Show". Time Magazine. 24 November 1924. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,719473-2,00.html. Retrieved 17 June 2008. 
  19. ^ "The office of Lord Mayor". City of London. Archived from the original on 22 December 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071222091228/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/leisure_heritage/corp_history/lm_history_office.htm. Retrieved 17 June 2008. 
  20. ^ London Gazette: no. 27936. p. 5232. 31 July 1906. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  21. ^ "The King and Queen at Newcastle-on-Tyne", The Times, 12 July 1906, pg. 8
  22. ^ a b c d e f J V Beckett, City Status in the British Isles, 1830-2002, Aldershot, 2005
  23. ^ The King and Norwich, The Times, 7 February 1910
  24. ^ London Gazette: no. 42815. p. 8278. 23 October 1962. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
  25. ^ London Gazette: no. 34160. p. 3139. 14 May 1935. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
  26. ^ a b London Gazette: no. 46334. p. 7419. 31 May 1974. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
  27. ^ London Gazette: no. 43921. p. 2704. 11 March 1966. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
  28. ^ "Timeline". VisitYork.org. 25 October 2007. http://www.visityork.org/information/timeline.asp. 
  29. ^ FRH Du Boulay and CM Barron (eds.), The Reign of Richard II, London 1971
  30. ^ a b London Gazette: no. 54363. p. 4925. 4 April 1996. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
  31. ^ "The Lord Mayor of Belfast", The Irish Times, 11 June 1892, pg. 5
  32. ^ Irish Times, 28 February 1923, pg. 3
  33. ^ Edinburgh Gazette, Issue No. 7384, page 1521, 1 December 1863
  34. ^ Press and Journal, 11 November 1926
  35. ^ "City of Dundee, Scotland: A Chronicle of The City's Office Bearers, Chambers, Regalia, Castles & Twin Cities" (PDF). Dundee City Council. 1999. http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/dundeecity/uploaded_publications/publication_69.pdf. Retrieved 17 June 2008. 
  36. ^ John Anderson, A History of Edinburgh from the Earliest Period, Edinburgh, 1856
  37. ^ Francis H Groome (1882-1885). "Glasgow". Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland. University of Edinburgh School of GeoSciences. http://www.scottish-places.info/towns/townhistory338.html. Retrieved 17 June 2008. 
  38. ^ London Gazette: no. 40911. p. 6041. 26 October 1956. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
  39. ^ London Gazette: no. 48932. p. 4121. 25 March 1982. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  40. ^ a b c "Lord mayors (Titular Distinctions)". Hansard 1803–2005. Parliament of the United Kingdom. http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1927/jul/25/lord-mayors-titular-distinction. Retrieved 26 December 2008. 
  41. ^ "The Title of Lord Mayor - Use of the Prefix 'Right Honourable'", The Times, 7 July 1932, pg. 16
  42. ^ "Lord Mayor of Bristol". Bristol City Council. http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Council-Democracy/Elected-Representatives/lord-mayor-of-bristol.en. Retrieved 26 December 2008. 

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