Mayors from 1854 until 1899

This painting three-quarter length portrait of Sir John Cordy Burrows in mayoral robes. His right hand rests on a pile of books on a desk.
Reproduced courtesy of Royal Pavilion, Libraries & Museums, Brighton & Hove
Mayor and Mayoress of Brighton, 1895: Alderman J.G. Blaker and his wife when Mayor and Mayoress. Cover page of a supplement to Brighton Gazette 21st December 1895.
Image reproduced with kind permission from Brighton and Hove in Pictures by Brighton and Hove City Council

Please note that this text is an extract from a reference work written in 1990.  As a result, some of the content may not reflect recent research, changes and events.

Since 1854 Brighton has been a chartered borough with a council chaired by a mayor, who, in the absence of royalty or the lord lieutenant, is also the sovreign’s representative in the town. Brighton’s first mayor was Lieutenant-Colonel John Fawcett who was elected at the first council meeting on 7 June 1854. The only person to have been mayor four times was John Brigden, in 1863, 1864, 1873 and 1874, but John Cordy Burrows was the first to be mayor both twice and three times. The first woman to become mayor was Miss Margaret Hardy in 1933.
A complete list of Brighton’s mayors is given below; many names will be familiar with streets, roads, parks and flats named after them. Note that the dates shown refer to the year in which the mayors took office.

1854      John Fawcett
1855      William Hallett
1856      Isaac Bass
1857      Cordy Burrows
1858      ” ” ” “
1859      William Alger
1860      ” ” ” “
1861      Henry Smithers
1862      Richard Wilson
1863      John Brigden
1864      “                 “
1865      Henry Martin
1866      William Henry Hallett
1867      “                 “
1868      Thomas Lester
1869      Arthur Cox
1870      Richard Webb
1871      Cordy Burrows
1872      James Ireland
1873      John Brigden
1874      “                 “
1875      Henry Abbey
1876      Charles Lamb
1877      John Mayall
1878      Henry Davey
1879      “                 “
1880      David Smith
1881      William H.Hallett
1882      Arthur Cox
1883      “                 “
1884      Edward Reeves
1885      “                 “
1886      “                 “
1887      Edward Martin
1888      William Sendall
1889      George Manwaring
1890      Samuel Soper
1891      Sir Joseph Ewar
1892      “                 “
1893      “                 “
1894      William Botting
1895      Sir John Blaker
1896      “                 “
1897      “                 “
1898      Alfred Hawkes
1899      John Stafford

Any numerical cross-references in the text above refer to resources in the Sources and Bibliography section of the Encyclopaedia of Brighton by Tim Carder.

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