The Lord Mayor of Sheffield is a ceremonial post held by a member of

Sheffield City Council Sheffield City Council is the city council for the metropolitan borough of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It consists of 84 councillors, elected to represent 28 wards, each with three councillors. It is currently under No Overall Contr ...

. They are elected annually by the council. The post originated in 1843, with the appointment of

William Jeffcock William Jeffcock, JP (1800 – 1871) a coal-master of Jeffcock, Dunn & Co., later known as the Sheffield Coal Company, Ltd.Family Recollections, by William Philip Jeffcock, published 1941 became the first Mayor of Sheffield in 1843. Biograp ...

as the first Mayor of Sheffield. Early mayors had significant powers and chaired both council meetings and the bench of magistrates. In 1855, the then-

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a 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 of a mayor as well a ...

was refused a good seat at the opening of the

Paris Exhibition Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, as he did not have a

chain of office A livery collar or chain of office is a collar or heavy chain, usually of gold, worn as insignia of office or a mark of fealty or other association in Europe from the Middle Ages onwards. One of the oldest and best-known livery collars is the C ...

. As a result, one was purchased the following year, and this has remained in use. In 1897, in the same year as the opening of

Sheffield Town Hall Sheffield Town Hall is a municipal building on Pinstone Street in the City of Sheffield, England. The building is used by Sheffield City Council, and also contains a publicly displayed collection of silverware. It is a Grade I listed building. ...

, the mayor was given the right to style himself the " Lord Mayor". To mark this, the first Lord Mayor,

Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk, (27 December 184711 February 1917), styled Lord Maltravers until 1856 and Earl of Arundel and Surrey between 1856 and 1860, was a British Unionist politician and philanthropist. He served as Postmas ...

, gave the Sheffield Mace to the city to mark the royal authority invested in the post. The Lord Mayor has the use of the Lord Mayor's Parlour in Sheffield Town Hall, an official

badge A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and ...

and the honorary presidency of several organisations. The Lord Mayor's Awards and the Lord Mayor's Charity Fund are local institutions organised in the name of the Lord Mayor. Ann Eliza Longden was the first female Lord Mayor (1936–7).www.picturesheffield.com
Mrs. Ann Eliza Longden, First woman Lord Mayor 1936 (picture) Notable former mayors include

George Bassett George Bassett (1818–1886) was the founder in 1842 of Bassett's, a confectionery firm in Sheffield.steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

maker

Mark Firth Mark Firth (25 April 1819 – 28 November 1880) was an English industrialist and philanthropist. Biography Firth was born in Sheffield, the son of Thomas Firth (1789–1850), of Pontefract, York, and Mary Loxley. He joined the crucible steel wo ...

List of mayors of Sheffield

List of lord mayors of Sheffield

Notes

References

{{Lists of mayors in the United Kingdom

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...