Oxford History: Mayors & Lord Mayors

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Between 1122 and 2015, 417 Mayors/Lord Mayors of Oxford are known by name. Here are some infrequently asked questions about them.

Which Mayors/Lord Mayors have entries in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography?
  • John Norman Leonard Baker (Lord Mayor in 1964/5)
  • Olive Frances Gibbs (Lord Mayor in 1974/5 and 1981/2)
  • John Nixon (Mayor in 1636/7, 1646/7, and 1654/5)
  • George Claridge Druce (Mayor in 1900/1)
Which Mayors/Lord Mayors of Oxford have had blue plaques installed on their former homes?
Which women have held office as Mayor/Lord Mayor of Oxford?

The passing of the Qualification of Women (County and Borough Councils) Act in 1907 allowed certain women ratepayers to stand for the city council for the first time, but it was not until 1933 that Oxford had its first woman Mayor

Four Mayors:

Twenty-two Lord Mayors:

  • Mrs Florence Kathleen Lower (Lord Mayor in 1965/6)
  • Mrs Olive Frances Gibbs (Lord Mayor in 1974/5, 1981/2)
  • Miss Ann Hazel Spokes, later Mrs Ann Spokes Symonds (Lord Mayor in 1976/7)
  • Mrs Dora Minnie Carr (Lord Mayor in 1977/8)
  • Mrs Janet Gillespie Todd (Lord Mayor in 1983/4)
  • Mrs Elizabeth Florence Mary Standingford (Lord Mayor in 1987/8)
  • Nellie Dorothy (“Queenie”) Whorley (later Mrs Comfort) (Lord Mayor in 1988/9)
  • Patricia Anne Tempest Yardley (Lord Mayor in 1989/90)
  • Mrs Queenie Lewingdon Hamilton (Lord Mayor in 1990/1)
  • Mrs Barbara May Gatehouse (Lord Mayor in 1992/3)
  • Beryl Ivy Keen (Lord Mayor in 1996/7)
  • Mrs Carol Roberts (Lord Mayor in 1998/9)
  • Mrs Valerie Smith (Lord Mayor in 1999/2000)
  • Mrs Maureen Christian (Lord Mayor in 2000/1)
  • Mrs Gill Sanders (Lord Mayor in 2002/3)
  • Susanna Pressel (Lord Mayor in 2008/9)
  • Mary Clarkson (Lord Mayor in 2009/10)
  • Elise Benjamin (Lord Mayor in 2011/12)
  • Dee Sinclair (Lord Mayor in 2013/14)
  • Mrs Jean Fooks (Lord Mayor in 2017/18)
  • Lubna Arshad (Lord Mayor in 2023/4)
  • Louise Upton (Lord Mayor in 2025/6)
MULTIPLE TERMS AS MAYOR
How many Mayors of Oxford have served as Mayor more than once?
  • 171 Mayors have served more than one term as Mayor of Oxford
Who has been Mayor of Oxford 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 be elected to office more than once?
  • Mrs Olive Frances Gibbs (Lord Mayor in 1974 and 1981)
Which Mayor of Oxford hailed from Canada?
How many Mayors of Oxford also served as the city's Member of Parliament?
Which Mayors/Lord Mayors of Oxford died while in office?
Which of Oxford's Mayors/Lord Mayors were ordained?
Who was Oxford’s first Labour councillor, and also its first Labour Mayor?
FAMILY GROUPS
Which father/son/grandson groups have each held office as Mayor of Oxford?
Which fathers and sons have each held office as Mayor of Oxford?

Dagville and Smith as above, plus:

Which uncle and nephew have each held office as Mayor of Oxford?
Which pairs of brothers have each held office as Mayor of Oxford?
Which father and daughter have each held office as Lord Mayor of Oxford?
  • Peter Spencer Spokes (Lord Mayor in 1968/9) and
    Miss Ann Hazel Spokes (Lord Mayor in 1976/7)
Which husbands and wives have each held office as Mayor/Lord Mayor of Oxford?
  • Marcus Lower (Mayor 1955/6) and
    Kathleen Lower (Lord Mayor 1965/6)
  • John Arundell Hamilton (Lord Mayor 1979/80) and
    Queenie Lewington Hamilton (Lord Mayor 1990/1)
  • Beryl Keen (Lord Mayor 1996/7) and
    Bryan Keen     (Lord Mayor 2004/5)
  • Elise Benjamin (Lord Mayor 2011/12) and
    Craig Simmons (Lord Mayor 2019/20)
  • Susanna Pressel (Lord Mayor 2009/10) and
    James Fry (Lord Mayor 2022/3)
Which Mayors of Oxford were also Knights?

The number of knights is inflated by the fact that until the twentieth century, Mayors of Oxford were knighted for serving as butler at coronations, or for simply being in office at the time of royal visits

RELIGION
Who was the first Nonconformist Mayor of Oxford?
Who was the first Roman Catholic Mayor of Oxford?
Who was the first Jewish Mayor/Lord Mayor of Oxford?
  • Elise Benjamin (Lord Mayor in 2011/12)
Who was the first Muslim Mayor/Lord Mayor of Oxford?
  • Mohammed Abbasi (Lord Mayor in 2014/15)
Who was the first black Mayor/Lord Mayor of Oxford?
  • Chewe Munkonge (Lord Mayor in 2026/7)
Which Mayor of Oxford served the longest term on the Council?
  • William Fletcher (on the council for over 60 years from 1766 to his death in 1826)
YOUNGEST AND OLDEST
Who were the youngest Mayors of Oxford to hold office?
Who were the oldest Mayors of Oxford to hold office?
Which Mayor of Oxford lived to be a hundred?
Which Mayors of Oxford are known to have had more than ten children?
11 children:
12 children:
13 children:
14 children:
20 children:
Mayors & Lord Mayors of Oxford who were graduates of the University of Oxford

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. Nine of these university councillors became Mayor/Lord Mayor:

Since the abolition of the University of Oxford ward in 1974, there have been at least eleven Lord Mayors chosen by the city who were graduates of the University of Oxford:

  • The Revd Anthony William Williamson, Trinity College (Lord Mayor in 1982/3)
  • Janet Gillespie Todd, Lady Margaret Hall (Lord Mayor in 1983/4)
  • Frank Arnold Garside, Corpus Christi College (Lord Mayor in 1984/5)
  • John Gordon Power, Worcester College (Lord Mayor in 1993/4)
  • Susanna Pressel, Somerville College (Lord Mayor in 2008/9)
  • Mary Clarkson, St John's College (Lord Mayor in 2009/10)
  • Jean Fooks, Somerville College (Lord Mayor in 2017/18)
  • Colin Cook, Hertford and The Queen's Colleges (Lord Mayor in 2018/19)
  • James Fry, New College and Nuffield College (Lord Mayor in 2022/3)
  • Mike Rowley, Wadham College (Lord Mayor in 2024/5)
  • Louise Upton, New College (Lord Mayor in 2025/6)
Which Mayors of Oxford were awarded honorary degrees by the University?

Which Oxford streets are named after Mayors?

©Stephanie Jenkins

Last updated: 21 May, 2026

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