Mayor of Newport
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The mayor of Newport (full
style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...
The Right Worshipful the Mayor of the City of Newport) is the civic figurehead and first citizen of the city of
Newport, Wales Newport ( cy, Casnewydd; ) is a city and county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2011 census, Newport is the third-largest a ...
.


Background

The first mayor is recorded as Ralph Dery, who took up office in 1314. The role was then left unrecorded until 1401, when Roger Thomas held office. The mayor for municipal year 2012–13, Councillor John Guy, was the 380th recorded Mayor of Newport. One of the most famous mayors of Newport was the Chartist John Frost in 1836, who less than four years later was condemned to death for
treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
for his involvement in the
Newport Rising The Newport Rising was the last large-scale armed rising in Wales, by Chartists whose demands included democracy and the right to vote with a secret ballot. On Monday 4 November 1839, approximately 4,000 Chartism, Chartist sympathisers, under ...
(appointed mayor in 1838,
Thomas Phillips Thomas Phillips Royal Academy, RA (18 October 177020 April 1845) was a leading English Portrait painting, portrait and subject Painting, painter. He painted many of the great men of the day including scientists, artists, writers, poets and explo ...
was knighted for his efforts in quelling the Rising). Frost's sentence was later commuted to
transportation for life Penal transportation or transportation was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies became their d ...
to Australia. In 1856 John Frost was given a full pardon, returned to the UK and lived in
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
. Several mayors have, over the years, held office for more than one term. Henry John Davis was mayor from 1851-1852, 1891-1892 (the first of the new County Borough) and 1901-1902, having served on the Borough Council continuously for 60 years.


Mayoral responsibilities

The position of mayor of Newport is now largely ceremonial, but it still has high-profile rôle in maintaining and promoting the interests of the city and its people. The Local Government Act 1972 states that as chairman of the
City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
, the Mayor shall have precedence in the city over all but members of the Royal Family or the Lord Lieutenant, representing the Royal Family. One of the responsibilities of the current post holders is to choose a selection of charitable organisations they wish to support during their year in office.


The Mayoral Chains of Office

The
Coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
of the City forms an integral part of the Mayoral Chains, of which there are two, one for the Mayor and one for the Mayoress. The Mayor’s chain consists of an original chain and detachable medallion depicting the shield surmounted by the cherub, which was the original Coat of Arms of the County Borough of Newport before the supporters were added. This original chain and medallion were presented to the
Corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...
for the use of Mayors of the Borough on the 9 November 1886 by Edwin James Grice, the then Mayor of Newport. Mounted on either side of the centre medallion are the medallions of the former
Caerleon Caerleon (; cy, Caerllion) is a town and community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman ...
Urban District Council In England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected urban district council (UDC), which shared local gove ...
, and Magor and St Mellons Rural District Council. These two authorities were merged into Newport in 1974.


Mayoral Car

The Mayor and Mayoress have use of the Mayoral Car for all official engagements. The Mayoral Car has changed over the years, but always carries the
number plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate (Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificatio ...
NDW 1, where '"DW" are the original registration letters for Newport Corporation. NDW 1 indicates the first registration in the ''N'' series of registrations; ''N'' in this instance presumably also indicating Newport. As of 2008 the Mayoral car is a 3.2-litre automatic
Jaguar XJ8 The Jaguar XJ (X308) is a full-size luxury saloon manufactured and marketed by Jaguar Cars for years 1997—2003 across two generations and featuring Jaguar's '' AJ-V8'' and Jaguar's independent rear suspension. It was the third and final ev ...
. Previous cars included a stretched Ford Granada.


List of mayors of Newport

The 'Newport Past' website provide a list of past mayors of Newport on their website, with records beginning in 1314.


Sources


External links


Mayor of Newport
{{City of Newport *Newport Politics of Newport, Wales History of Newport, Wales