The first known reference to a

Mayor of Bedford The Mayor of Bedford is a directly elected mayor responsible for the executive function, and ceremonial duty of Bedford Borough Council in Bedfordshire. The incumbent is Dave Hodgson of the Liberal Democrats who succeeded Frank Branston in 200 ...

in England was in 1264. Prior to the Municipal Corporations Act, 1835, the mayor of Bedford came into office on 29 September. The first mayor of the reformed corporation came into office on 1 January 1836, and subsequent mayors on 9 November. After the Local Government Act, 1948, and the Local Government Act, 1972, the mayors from 1949 onwards came into office in May. The civic mayor was replaced by a directly elected mayor in 2002. Since April 2009 the Borough of Bedford is a unitary authority, with the executive having the powers and functions of both a non-metropolitan district and a non-metropolitan county.

List of Mayors of Bedford

Civic mayors

Source
"Past Mayors"

Bedford Borough Council Bedford Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. The executive of the council is the direct ...

*1393: William Brown, MP for Bedford, 1397 *1414–15: John Kent, MP for Bedford, 1406 *1416–17: John Kent *1429–30: John Frepurs, MP for Bedford, 1417 and 1427 *1432–34: Thomas Hunt, MP for Bedford, 1420 *1437–38: John Frepurs *1444–46: John Frepurs *1528–29:

John Baker John Baker or Jon Baker may refer to: Military figures *John Baker (American Revolutionary War) (1731–1787), American Revolutionary War hero, for whom Baker County, Georgia was named *John Baker (RAF officer) (1897–1978), British air marshal ...

, MP for Bedford, 1529 *1547–48: William Hall, MP for Bedford, 1554 *1554–55: William Hall *1829–30: Sir William Long *1834–35: Dr. George Witt: head of Bedford Infirmary and a Fellow of the Royal Society. *1855–56:

George Hurst George Hurst may refer to: * George Hurst (conductor) (1926–2012), British conductor * George Hurst (artist) (born 1933), American leather artist * George Samuel Hurst (1927–2010), health physicist, scientist, inventor, educator and innovator * ...

painting
BBC, retrieved July 2014 *1856–57: William Wells Kilpin *1857–58: George Handscomb Miller *1858–62: John HowardJohn Howard painting
by unknown, retrieved 26 July 2014 *1862–63: Robert Couchman *1863–65: John Howard *1865–67: William Joseph Nash *1867–69: Thomas Tokelove Gray *1869–70: Augustus Edgar Burch *1870–71: John Richard Bull *1871–72: James Coombs *1872–73: Frederick Thomas Young *1873–75:

*1875–77: James Thomas Hobsonpainting of James Thomas Hobson
unknown artist, retrieved July 2014 *1877–78: John Usher Taylor *1878:

*1878–79: Thomas Gwyn Empy Elger *1879–80: John Elworthy Cutcliffe *1880–81: James Thomas Hobson *1881–82: James Woodward Hill *1882–83: Luke Cherry *1883–85:

Joshua Hawkins Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...

Painting of Joshua Hawkins
Joseph Carrier, BBC, retrieved 26 July 2014 *1885–86: Edwin Ransom *1886–87: George Hurst *1887–90:

*1891–92: James Coombs *1892–93: Frederick Augustus Blaydes *1893–95: George WellsGeorge Wells - Mayor
Joseph Carrier, BBC, retrieved 26 July 2014 *1895–96: Frederick Augustus Blaydes *1896–99: George Wells *1901-02: Geoffrey Howard *1902-03: Hedley Baxter, Conservative *2000–01: Hazel Mary Mitchell *2001–02: Pat Olney *2002: Judith Cunningham

Directly elected mayors

* 2002–09: Frank Branston (died in office) * 2009–23:

Dave Hodgson David Stuart Hodgson MBE (born 21 October 1959) is the directly elected mayor of the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. Hodgson is the second elected mayor to represent the Liberal Democrats in the United Kingdom. Hodgson was electe ...

* 2023–:

Tom Wootton Tom Wootton is a British Conservative Party local politician. He became the directly elected Mayor of Bedford in May 2023 local elections and was previously the Bedford Borough Councillor for Wyboston Ward. Wootton defeated incumbent Dave Hodgs ...

References

{{Lists of Mayors in the United Kingdom *

Mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities ...

Bedford