List of lord mayors of York

Lord Mayor of York
Coat of arms of the City of York
Incumbent Margaret Wells since 21 May 2026
Style	The Right Honourable ex officio
Residence	Mansion House
Appointer	City of York Council
Term length	One year
Inaugural holder	Hugh de Selby (as Mayor) William de Selby (as Lord Mayor)
Formation	1217 (as Mayor) 1389 (as Lord Mayor)
Website	City of York Council

The Lord Mayor of York is the chairman of City of York Council, first citizen and civic head of York. The appointment is made by the council each year in May, at the same time appointing a sheriff, the city's other civic head. York's lord mayor is second only to the Lord Mayor of London in precedence. The office of mayor dates back to at least 1217 and was upgraded by Richard II to that of Lord Mayor in 1389.

The Mansion House, York, is the Lord Mayor's working residence during the mayor's term of office.

The use of the prefix "right honourable" appears to have been used since the creation of the lord mayoralty. It was confirmed by letters patent dated 1 April 1974, when York became a non-metropolitan district and reconfirmed by letters patent dated 1 April 1996, when it became a unitary authority.

In 1212, King John granted York the right to collect its own taxes, hold courts and conduct its own affairs and thereby the right to elect a mayor. These rights were temporarily forfeited in 1280–1282 for altering a royal charter, in 1292–1297 for failing to pay taxes and in 1405–1406 for supporting Archbishop Richard Scrope in the 1405 Northern Rising. In 1389, King Richard II elevated the mayor to the status of lord mayor and supposedly gave his sword to be carried point upwards before him.

List of Mayors of York

Source: "Eboracum"

List of Lord Mayors of York

17th century

Year	Name	Notes
1600–1601	Henry Hall	Merchant, and MP for York, 1601
1601–1602	Robert Peacock
1602–1603	Thomas Mosley	MP for York, 1597.
1603–1604	Sir Robert Walter	Haberdasher. First year of the reign of James I
1604–1605	Thomas Herbert	Merchant.
1605–1606	William Greenbury	Draper.
1606–1607	Robert Askwith	Draper, and MP for York, 1604, 1614, 1621
1607–1608	Robert Harrison	Merchant.
1608–1609	Robert Myers	Mercer.
1609–1610	Christopher Concett	Apothecary.
1610–1611	Henry Hall	Merchant, and MP for York, 1601
1611–1612	William Brearey	Merchant.
1612–1613	John Harrison	Merchant.
1613–1614	Thomas Marshall	Mercer.
1614–1615	Leonard Besson	Saddler.
1615–1616	Elias Micklethwaite	Merchant.
1616–1617	William Greenbury	Draper
1617–1618	Sir Robert Askwith	Draper, and MP for York, 1604, 1614, 1621
1618–1619	Thomas Agar	Tanner.
1619–1620	William Morrison	Merchant.
1620–1621	William Watter	Saddler.
1621–1622	Christopher Dickenson	Merchant.
1622–1623	William Brearey
1623–1624	Robert Myers
1624–1625	Matthew Topham	Merchant
1625–1626	Thomas Lawne	First year of the reign of Charles I
1626–1627	Leonard Besson	Saddler
1627–1628	Elias Micklethwaite
1628–1629	Robert Belt	Merchant.
1629–1630	Christopher Croft	Mercer.
1630–1631	Edmund Cowper	Merchant.
1631–1632	Robert Hemsworth	Draper.
1632–1633	Thomas Hoyle	Merchant. MP for York, 1628–29 and 1640–50. Committed suicide, 1650.
1633–1634	Sir William Allenson	Draper, and MP for York, 1654
1634–1635	James Hutchenson	Merchant.
1635–1636	Thomas Hodgson	Mercer.
1636–1637	Henry Thompson	Merchant.
1637–1638	John Vaux	Prothonotary.
1638–1639	William Scott	Merchant.
1639–1640	Sir Roger Jacques	Merchant, and MP for York, 1640
1640–1641	Sir Robert Belt	Merchant
1641–1642	Sir Christopher Croft	Mercer
1642–1644	Sir Edmund Cooper	Merchant. Start of the English Civil War. York was initially held by the Royalists (Cavaliers).
1644–1645	Sir Edmund Cooper displaced and replaced by Thomas Hoyle	Hoyle was MP for York, 1654. Parliamentarians (Roundheads) take control from now to the restoration under Lord Mayors sympathetic to (or willing to accommodate), the Parliamentary cause.
1645–1646	John Geldart	Merchant, and MP for York, 1656
1646–1647	Stephen Watson	Grocer.
1647–1648	Thomas Dickenson	Merchant, and MP for York, 1654, 1656, 1659
1648–1649	Robert Horner	Merchant
1649–1650	Leonard Thompson	Merchant
1650–1651	William Tayler	Merchant
1651–1652	James Brooke	Merchant
1652–1653	William Metcalfe	Draper
1653–1654	Henry Thompson	Merchant
1654–1655	John Geldart	Merchant, and MP for York, 1656
1655–1656	Sir William Allenson	Draper, and MP for York, 1640
1656–1657	Stephen Watson
1657–1658	Sir Thomas Dickenson	Merchant, and MP for York, 1654, 1656, 1659
1658–1659	Robert Horner	Merchant
1659–1660	Leonard Thompson	Merchant
1660–1661	Christopher Topham	Merchant, and MP for York, 1659
1661–1662	James Brooke	By the Kings mandate.
1662–1663	George Lamplugh	Merchant
1663–1664	Henry Thompson	Merchant
1664–1665	Edward Elwicke	Apothecary
1665–1666	Richard Hewitt	Merchant
1666–1667	George Mancklins	Skinner
1667–1668	Cressye Burnett	Merchant
1668–1669	Henry Tireman	Draper
1669–1670	Christopher Brearey	Merchant
1670–1671	Thomas Bawtry	Merchant
1671–1672	William Richardson	Draper
1672–1673	Sir Henry Thompson	Wine merchant, and MP for York, 1673
1673–1674	Thomas Williamson	Merchant
1674–1675	Richard Metcalfe	Merchant
1675–1676	William Ramsden	Merchant
1676–1677	Yorke Horner	Merchant
1677–1678	Francis Elcock	Grocer
1678–1679	Philip Herbert	Merchant
1679–1680	Richard Shaw	Butcher
1680–1681	John Constable	Grocer
1681–1682	Thomas Carter	Merchant
1682–1683	John Wood
1683–1684	Edward Thompson	MP for York, 1689, 1695, 1701
1684–1685	Robert Waller	Attorney
1685–1686	John Thompson	Goldsmith
1686–1687	Leonard Wilberfoss
1687–1688	Thomas Mosley	Apothecary
1688–1689	Thomas Rayne displaced and replaced by Robert Waller	Both attorneys
1689–1690	John Foster	Haberdasher
1690–1691	Samuel Dawson	Merchant
1691–1692	George Stockton	Silk Weaver
1692–1693	Joshua Earnshaw	Merchant
1693–1994	Andrew Perrott	Merchant
1694–1695	Robert Davy	Hosier
1695–1696	Sir Gilbert Metcalfe	Merchant
1696-1696	John Constable	Grocer
1697–1698	Mark Gill	Goldsmith
1698–1699	Roger Shackleton
1699–1700	Henry Thompson	MP for York, 1690

See also

• List of lord mayoralties and lord provostships in the United Kingdom

References

Bibliography

• Coster, Will (1997). "Communities during war". In Naphy, William G.; Roberts, Penny (eds.). Fear in Early Modern Society (illustrated ed.). Manchester University Press. pp. 106–109. ISBN 9780719052057.
• Drake, Francis (1736). "A Catalogue of the Mayors and Bailiffs, Lord Mayors, and Sheriffs of the city of Your from anno 1273, 1 Edward I, and upwards, to the present year (1735)". Eboracum: or, The history and antiquities of the city of York, from its original to the present times: Together with the history of the cathedral church, and the lives of the archbishops of that see ... Printed by W. Bowyer for the author. p. 359–367.
• York History staff (2013). York in the Civil War. Archived from the original on 10 October 2014. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)

External links

• York Mansion House website, which contains a page on the history and lists past Lord Mayors