The election of a Mock Mayor is British folk tradition found in a number of communities throughout the British Isles. Essentially 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

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 in any given community. Examples of this practice can be found in Penzance

Penzance

Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...

, Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

; Polperro

Polperro

Polperro is a village and fishing harbour on the south-east Cornwall coast in South West England, UK, within the civil parish of Lansallos. Situated on the River Pol, 4 miles west of the neighbouring town of Looe and west of the major city and naval port of Plymouth, it is well-known for...

, Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

; Mylor, Cornwall; St Germans, Cornwall; Woodstock, Oxfordshire

Woodstock, Oxfordshire

Woodstock is a small town northwest of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. It is the location of Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Winston Churchill was born in Blenheim Palace in 1874 and is buried in the nearby village of Bladon....

; Barton

Barton and Tredworth

Barton and Tredworth is an area of Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England that lies just outside the Eastgate of the city and has a population of over 3,000...

, Gloucester; Polperro

Polperro

Polperro is a village and fishing harbour on the south-east Cornwall coast in South West England, UK, within the civil parish of Lansallos. Situated on the River Pol, 4 miles west of the neighbouring town of Looe and west of the major city and naval port of Plymouth, it is well-known for...

, Cornwall and Helston

Helston

Helston is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately 12 miles east of Penzance and nine miles southwest of Falmouth. Helston is the most southerly town in the UK and is around further south than...

, Cornwall (where the Mock or Sham Mayor was known as the Mayor of St Johns).

The most famous of all was The Mayor of Garratt, in Wandsworth, south-west London. See the historical novel entitled 'The Mayor of Garratt' by William Irving at http://www.mayorofgarratt.com

External links

The Mock Mayor of Mylor

http://www.golowan.org/Traditions.htmlThe Mayor of the Quay Penzance

Penzance

Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...

 and Golowan Traditions.]

The Mayor of St Germans

The Mock Mayor of St John's Helston