150 years: Past Mayors of Cheltenham – Councillor Martin Horwood

2026 is the 150th anniversary of the Cheltenham Mayoralty. This page is a work in progress inspired by my conversation with the Cheltenham Local History Society , of which the Mayor is President for the year, shortly after I took up both offices in May 2026. I am indebted to former mayor Alderman Brian Cassin and his Trase Cheltenham History site, the late Peter Smith of CLHS and Cheltenham Borough Council for their records and research. The mistakes are all mine and I would very much welcome any notes, links, portraits or biographical information on any of the office-holders listed (for instance why the bust of Sir Charles Irving in the Town Hall says that he was three times Mayor of Cheltenham when I can only see two terms of office). Corrections of factual errors, misspellings or any other mistakes would be particularly appreciated – email mayor@cheltenham.gov.uk.

Number (term of office)	Dates (start)	Dates (end)	Number (person in office)	Name	Alderman or councillor	Party	Portrait	Notes or links
1	1876	1877	1	William Nash Skillicorne	Alderman	L
2	1877	1878	2	Baron de Ferrieres	Alderman	L
3	1878	1879	3	Henry Willmott	Alderman
4	1879	1882	1	Willam Nash Skillicorne	Alderman	L
5	1882	1887	4	George Parsonage	Councillor
6	1887	1888	5	John Haddon	Alderman
7	1888	1891	6	Newman Burfoot Thoyts	Alderman
8	1891	1893	7	John Charles Griffith [sic?]	Alderman
9	1893	1895	8	Edward Bestbridge Wethered	Alderman
10	1895	1898	9	Richard Rogers	Alderman
11	1898	1901	10	George Norman	Alderman
12	1901	1903	9	Richard Rogers	Alderman
13	1903	1904	7	John Charles Griffiths [sic?]	Alderman
14	1904	1905	11	George Dimmer	Councillor
15	1905	1907	1	William Nash Skillicorne	Alderman	L
16	1907	1908	11	George Dimmer
17	1908	1910	12	James Tynte Agg-Gardner		C
18	1910	1912	13	Charles Henry Margrett	Alderman
19	1912	1913	12	James Tynte Agg-Gardner		C
20	1913	1915	1	William Nash Skillicorne	Alderman	L
21	1915	1918	14	Thomas Rees Jones	Councillor
22	1918	1921	15	John David Bendall	Alderman
23	1921	1923	16	Clara Frances Winterbotham	Councillor
24	1923	1926	17	Walter James Manser Dicks	Councillor
25	1926	1930	13	Charles Henry Margrett	Alderman
26	1930	1932	18	Peter Philip Taylor	Alderman
27	1932	1933	19	Capt John Henry Trye, C.B.E., R.N.(Retired)	Councillor
28	1933	1935	20	Edward Lawrence Ward	Councillor
29	1935	1937	21	Daniel Leopold Lipson	Councillor	L?
30	1937	1938	19	Capt John Henry Trye, C.B.E., R.N.(Retired)	Councillor
31	1938	1941	22	John Howell, C.B.E., F.R.C.S	Councillor
32	1941	1943	23	T. Wilfred Waite	Councillor
33	1943	1944	24	A.S.F. Pruen	Alderman
34	1944	1946	16	Clara Frances Winterbotham, M.B.E., J.P.	Alderman
35	1946	1949	25	Horace Trinley Bush, J.P.	Councillor
36	1949	1951	26	Percy Tyler Smith	Alderman
37	1951	1952	27	Arthur James Bettridge, O.B.E.	Alderman
38	1952	1954	28	Theodore Leslie Thompson	Councillor
39	1954	1955	29	Alfred William Mann	Councillor
40	1955	1956	30	Lt. Col. C.W. Biggs, O.B.E.	Alderman
41	1956	1957	31	George Readings	Alderman
42	1957	1959	32	Charles Graham Irving	Councillor	C
43	1959	1961	33	Arthur George Dye, O.B.E.	Councillor
44	1961	1962	34	Francis Louisa Carter (sic?)	Alderman
45	1962	1963	35	Alfred Ernest Trigg	Councillor
46	1963	1965	36	David Henry St Lawrence Morris	Councillor
47	1965	1967	37	Bertram Walter Taylor	Councillor
48	1967	1968	38	Hiram Frederick William Bishop	Alderman
49	1968	1969	39	The Rev. Charles Henry Markham, O.B.E.	Councillor
50	1969	1970	40	May Nugent Phyllis Dent	Alderman	C
51	1970	1971	41	Ernest James Morris Eldridge, O.B.E., T.D.	Councillor
52	1971	1972	32	Charles Graham Irving	Alderman	C
53	1972	1973	42	Terence Mostyn Joyner	Alderman
54	1973	1974	43	Aimbury Dodwell	Alderman
55	1974	1975	44	David H. James-Martin Jones, M.B.E.,M.A. [sic]	Councillor
56	1975	1976	45	Leonard Felix Frederick Gaylard	Councillor
57	1976	1978	46	Victor George Stanton	Councillor
58	1978	1979	47	John Anthony Aston	Councillor
59	1979	1980	48	Dudley George Aldridge, C.C.	Councillor
60	1980	1981	49	Ken Hammond	Councillor	L
61	1981 (May)	1981 (July)	50	Miss K.Mary Godwin	Councillor
62	1981	1982	51	Mrs J. Molly Watson	Councillor	L
63	1982	1983	52	F.G. Herbert	Councillor
64	1983	1984	53	R.S. Marchant, C.C.	Councillor
65	1984	1985	54	Gerry Bingham	Councillor	L
66	1985	1986	55	P.G. Pennell J.P.	Councillor
67	1986	1987	56	D.N. Perry, T.D.	Councillor
68	1987	1988	57	Gil J. Wakeley	Councillor	L
69	1988	1989	58	Mrs Maureen A. Stafford	Councillor	C
70	1989	1990	59	Eric J. Phillips	Councillor	L
71	1990	1991	60	William V.P. Bullingham	Councillor	C
72	1991	1992	61	Jim H. Pennington	Councillor
73	1992	1993	62	Brian J. Cassin	Councillor	LD		Trase Cheltenham History website
74	1993	1994	63	R.A. Wilson	Councillor
75	1994	1995	64	Ms D.M.A. Griggs	Councillor
76	1995	1996	65	Les C. Freeman	Councillor
77	1996	1997	66	Mrs Pat M. Thornton	Councillor	LD
78	1997	1998	67	Les G. Godwin	Councillor
79	1998	1999	68	Rev. Jeremy M. Whales, S.Th.,M.A.	Councillor	LD
80	1999	2000	69	David J. Banyard	Councillor
81	2000	2001	70	Mrs Daphne N. Pennell	Councillor
82	2001	2002	71	Clive R. Lloyd	Councillor	LD
83	2002	2003	72	Kenneth Buckland	Councillor	C
84	2003	2004	73	Keith Barnes	Councillor
85	2004	2005	74	Rob Garnham	Councillor	C
86	2005	2006	75	Brian Chaplin	Councillor	C
87	2006	2007	76	Jackie Fletcher	Councillor	C
88	2007	2008	77	John Rawson	Councillor	LD
89	2008	2009	78	Robin Macdonald	Councillor	C
90	2009	2010	79	Lloyd Surgenor	Councillor	LD
91	2010	2011	80	Mrs Anne Regan	Councillor	C (earlier LD)
92	2011	2012	81	Mrs Barbara Driver	Councillor	C
93	2012	2013	82	Colin Hay	Councillor	LD
94	2013	2014	83	Mrs Wendy Flynn	Councillor	LD (later Green)
95	2014	2015	84	Simon Wheeler	Councillor	LD
96	2015	2016	85	Duncan Smith	Councillor	C
97	2016	2017	86	Mrs Chris Ryder	Councillor	C
98	2017	2018	87	Mrs Klara Sudbury	Councillor	LD (earlier C)
99	2018	2019	88	Bernard Fisher	Councillor	LD
100	2019	2021	89	Roger Whyborn	Councillor	LD		Term extended during Covid pandemic
101	2021	2022	90	Sandra Holliday	Councillor	LD
102	2022	2023	91	Steve Harvey	Councillor	LD
103	2023	2024	92	Matt Babbage	Councillor	C
104	2024	2025	93	Paul Baker	Councillor	LD
105	2025	2026	94	Dr David Willingham	Councillor	LD
106	2026		95	Martin Horwood	Councillor	LD