The history of the traditional
Old Woodstock Mock-Mayor Making Election

The first recorded date of the Ceremony was 1786 continuing uninterrupted then until 1928. A revival occurred between 1954 and 1959 after which Mr Frederick (Charlie) Warmington held the Mayoralty until 1984 from when the current form of the event has continued with increasing enthusiasm.

The Mock-Mayor of Old Woodstock has elegant garments and accoutrements which will be of interest to both historians and fashion enthusiasts!  An old 19th Century blanket doubles as the Mayor’s Robe of Office whilst the Mayoral Chain is made up of curtain rings and assorted metal fragments.  The whole ensemble is set off with a fine black felt Top Hat.  There are three Maces dating respectively from 1786, the late 19th Century and 1997, all of exceptional beauty and a fine banner made by Rachel Canterbury when the ceremony was re-established in 1984.

The Mock Mayor Corporation is steadily replacing some of the more ancient items of regalia which are now too fragile to use. To ensure that these remain safe for the future generations they are in the continuing care of the County Museum.  We hope you will admire our third Mace today, made in 1997 by Ian Austin of Bladon as part of his A Level Design and Technology course at the Marlborough School, Woodstock.  It is good to think that Corporation has benefitted from a new Mace at the end of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries!

Corporation members do not like to be outdone by their Mayor and so wear competing outfits of Oxford University academic gowns with mortar boards in the case of the ladies and bowler hats for the gentlemen.  All the regalia is carefully kept by the County Museum, Woodstock and it is hoped that there will soon be a permanent exhibition of the regalia in the museum.

Old Woodstock was in the parish of Wooton until 1886 and an independent of the borough of “new” Woodstock.  The original purpose of the ceremony was a light hearted mockery of the Borough Authority whose beautiful Town Hall had been completed in 1776.  Perhaps the Borough, with its new home, developed a degree of importance unacceptable to its older neighbour who responded with the Mock-Mayor and Corporation ten years later.

The climax of the ceremony is the ducking of the Mock-Mayor and the procession of the whole Corporation through the River Glyme to the bar of the Black Prince.  The ducking signifies the Mayor and the Corporation turning their backs on and declaring their independence from the “other” Woodstock by crossing the boundary line.

The pages below are from a publication created
 by Ian Lenagan and Ian Baxter in 1991

They have kindly agreed for us to publish it on our website to give you a more expanded history of this event.