Mock mayor

The election of a mock mayor is British folk tradition found in a number of communities throughout the British Isles. A mock mayor is an individual who is elected by a popular informal assembly of individuals as a parody of the official office of mayor in any given community.

The Mock Mayor by Robert William Buss (1804–1875). Brampton Museum, Newcastle-under-Lyme.[1]

Examples

Examples may be found in:

Cornwall

• Helston (known as the Mayor of St Johns)[2]
• Mylor
• Penzance
• Polperro
• St Germans

Elsewhere

• Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. (Known as the Mayor of Ock Street)[3]
• Barton, Gloucestershire.[4][5]
• Llansteffan, Wales.[6]
• Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire.[7]
• Woodstock, Oxfordshire.[8][9]

See also

• Lord of Misrule

References

1. "The Mock Mayor - Art UK". artuk.org.
2. "Mock Mayor of St John's - HELSTON HISTORY".
3. "Election of the Mayor of Ock Street - Abingdon-on-Thames". www.abingdon.gov.uk.
4. The Mock Mayors of Barton Street. Paul Evans, Barton & Tredworth Community Heritage, 12 October 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
5. Who is the new Mock Mayor of Barton and when is the Gloucester Day parade? All you need to know. Ed Stilliard, Gloucestershire Live, 31 August 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
6. "Mock Mayor's Garden Party!".
7. "Exhibition Details - Staffordshire Past Track". www.search.staffspasttrack.org.uk.
8. Cockin, Tim. "Old Woodstock Mock Mayor".
9. "Town crowns mock mayor as crazy celebration returns". Oxford Mail.

External links

• The Mock Mayor of Mylor
• The Mayor of the Quay Penzance and Golowan Traditions.
• The Mayor of St Germans
• The Mock Mayor of St John's Helston