Yeovil's Virtual Museum

The municipal borough of yeovil 

The end of medieval administration

 

"The Special Commissioners for improving the town of Yeovil became fidgetty; the Town Commissioners of Yeovil were either careless or not perfectly satisfied with their position, and, as their clerk stated, did not many of them attend to their duties, so that the ancient corporation of Portreeve and Burgesses became almost a myth, and its various bodies of Town Commissioners and Special Commissioners a confusion. Our friends the lawyers began to say something ought to be done, and that was enough forsooth to get rid, once and for ever, of all these separate and sometimes conflicting bodies." (Vickery, 1856)

In truth, while progress in the town seemed steady, if somewhat slow, the powers of the Town Commissioners were still not adequate for a modern, growing town. Consequently they sought to present a Bill to Parliament in order to create a municipal borough. The Act was passed on 3 July 1854 and as a result a burgess roll was drawn up by John Ryall Mayo of householders rated for three years for the relief of the poor. There were only 261 people eligible to vote in this first municipal election in Yeovil, of whom 178 voted for the 88 standing candidates and elected the following Councillors -

Name	Occupation	Votes
W Bide	Glove Manufacturer	168
JR Mayo	Gentleman	155
HB Phelps	Glove Manufacturer	136
E Whitby Jr.	Glove Manufacturer	125
F Greenham	Gentleman	107
J Hannam	Ironmonger	103
T Dampier	Gentleman	72
G Wadman	Draper	68
J Glyde Jr.	Gentleman	67
G Edwards	Draper	58
T Fooks	Glove Manufacturer	54
E Raymond	Glove Manufacturer	54

Of these new Councillors, seven had been Improvement Commissioners and one was a former member of the old Corporation. John Ryall Mayo was elected as the town's first Mayor and John Batten was appointed Town Clerk. The town's last Portreeve, draper Benjamin Ryall, handed over the Corporation seal and mace thereby ending over eight hundred years of medieval government.

 

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