MAYORS OF OXFORD

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Mayors of Oxford: Statistics

Between 1122 and 2011, 413 Mayors/Lord Mayors bare known by name. Here are some infrequently asked questions about them.

Women

How many women have held office as Mayor or Lord Mayor?

  • Twenty-two women have held the office

Who was the first woman Mayor?

Which other women have held office as Mayor/Lord Mayor?

  • Mary Georgiana Townsend (Mayor in 1935/6, 1936, and 1958/9)
  • Maud Amy Margaret White (Mayor in 1942/3)
  • Florence Mary Andrews (Mayor in 1950/1)
  • Mrs Florence Kathleen Lower (1965/6)
  • Mrs Olive Frances Gibbs (1974/5, 1981/2)
  • Miss Ann Hazel Spokes (1976/7)
  • Mrs Dora Minnie Carr (1977/8)
  • Mrs Janet Gillespie Todd (1983/4)
  • Mrs Elizabeth Florence Mary Standingford (1987/8)
  • Nellie Dorothy (“Queenie”) Whorley (later Mrs Comfort) (1988/9)
  • Patricia Anne Tempest Yardley (1989/90)
  • Mrs Queenie Lewingdon Hamilton (1990/1)
  • Mrs Barbara May Gatehouse (1992/3)
  • Beryl Ivy Keen (1996/7)
  • Carol Roberts (1998/9)
  • Mrs Valerie Smith (1999/2000)
  • Mrs Maureen Christian (2000/1)
  • Mrs Gill Sanders (2002/3)
  • Susanna Pressel (2008/9)
  • Mary Clarkson (2009/10)
Multiple terms as Mayor

How many Mayors have served as Mayor more than once?

  • 171 Mayors have served more than one term as Mayor of Oxford

Who has been Mayor the most times since 1554?

(Mayors before 1554 have been omitted because until that date they had to be selected from among the Aldermen, so each held office many times)

Who was the last Mayor/Lord Mayor to hold office more than once?

  • Mrs Olive Frances Gibbs (Lord Mayor in 1974 and 1981)
Which Oxford Mayor hailed from Canada?
Which Mayors/Lord Mayors died while in office?
Who was Oxford’s first Labour councillor and also first Labour Mayor?
Family groups

Which father/son/grandson groups have held office as Mayor?

Which fathers and sons have held office as Mayor?

Dagville and Smith as above, plus:

Which pairs of brothers have held office as Mayor?

Which father and daughter have each held office as Lord Mayor?

  • Peter Spencer Spokes (Lord Mayor in 1968) and
    Miss Ann Hazel Spokes (Lord Mayor in 1976)

Which husbands and wives have held office as Mayor/Lord Mayor?

  • Marcus Lower (Mayor in 1955) and
    Kathleen Lower (Lord Mayor in 1965)
  • John Arundell Hamilton (1979) and
    Queenie Lewington Hamilton (Lord Mayor in 1990)
  • Beryl Keen (1996) and
    Bryan Keen     (Lord Mayor in 2004)
Which Mayors were also Knights?
Religion

Who was the first Nonconformist Mayor of Oxford?

Who was the first Roman Catholic Mayor of Oxford?

Which Mayor served the longest term on the Council?
  • William Fletcher (on the council for over 60 years from 1766 to his death in 1826)
Which Mayor died from being trampled by his horse at a hunt?
  • Nathaniel Castle (Mayor in 1858/9) was trampled to death by his horse a year after leaving office
Youngest and oldest

Who were the youngest Mayors to hold office?

Who were the oldest Mayors to hold office?

Which Oxford Mayor lived to be a hundred?

Which Mayors are known to have had more than ten children?

11 children:

12 children:

13 children:

14 children:

20 children:

University Mayors

From 1889 to 1974 the University of Oxford formed a separate ward, with three aldermen and nine councillors of no political affiliation forming a fifth of the council.

Who was the first graduate of the University of Oxford to be elected Mayor?

Which University of Oxford city councillors became Mayor or Lord Mayor?

Which Mayors were awarded honorary degrees by the University?

Which Mayors and Lord Mayors appear in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography?
  • George Claridge Druce (Mayor in 1900)
  • John Baker (Lord Mayor in 1964)
  • Olive Gibbs (Lord Mayor in 1974 and 1981)

Which Oxford streets are named after Mayors?

© Stephanie Jenkins

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Last updated: 6 January, 2012