| Mayor of Gillingham of Municipal Borough of Gillingham | |
|---|---|
| Style | The Right Worshipful |
| Status | Abolished |
| Member of | Gillingham Borough Council |
| Residence | Gillingham, Kent |
| Seat | Municipal Buildings |
| Appointer | Gillingham Borough Council |
| Term length | One municipal year |
| Formation | 17 August 1903 |
| First holder | John Robert Featherby |
| Final holder | George Smith |
| Abolished | 1 April 1998 |
| Succession | Mayor of Medway |
The Mayor of Gillingham was the ceremonial head of the Municipal Borough of Gillingham in Kent from 1903, when the town gained borough status, until its abolition in 1998. John Robert Featherby served as the first mayor, and the borough expanded in 1928 to include Rainham. [1] The mayoralty ended when Gillingham merged into Medway Council, with historic civic regalia preserved locally. Notable mayors included George Smith, Paul Harriott, and Harry Blease, and since 1998 the area has been represented by the Mayor of Medway.
The Mayor of Gillingham was the ceremonial head of the Municipal Borough of Gillingham in Kent from its creation in 1903 until the borough’s abolition in 1998. Gillingham had been a rural district and then an urban district council from 1894, growing rapidly around Chatham Dockyard (to over 40,000 people by 1901). A Royal Charter on 17 August 1903 elevated Gillingham to municipal borough status, and John Robert Featherby – a local brick manufacturer and veteran councillor – became the first (Charter) Mayor. [2] The borough council then had full civic powers (including a mayoralty) over Gillingham and surrounding area.
After incorporation, the borough’s boundaries were mostly unchanged, with one major enlargement in 1928. [3] In that year the neighbouring parish of Rainham (then part of Sittingbourne & Milton R.D.) was transferred into Gillingham Borough. [4] This annexation roughly doubled the borough’s area and added several thousand residents. Aside from Rainham, no significant boundary changes occurred before 1974.
Under the 1972 Local Government Act Gillingham retained its borough council (unlike nearby Rochester and Chatham) and remained an independent district within Kent. However, local government reorganisation in the 1990s led to a merger: on 1 April 1998 Gillingham Borough Council merged with Rochester-upon-Medway City Council to form the new unitary Medway Council. [5] At that point the Borough of Gillingham (and thus the office of Mayor of Gillingham) was abolished. [6]
John Robert Featherby (1903) – A longtime Gillingham councillor and chairman of the old Urban District Council, Featherby “played an active part in securing the charter” and was chosen as the first Mayor when Gillingham became a borough in 1903. He was a prominent local brick manufacturer. [7] The final Mayor of Gillingham served in 1998 at the time of the merger into Medway Council. (Notably, the borough was led by George Smith – a Liberal Democrat councillor – during its last years, and he became the town’s final Mayor before abolition.) [8] With the council’s dissolution in 1998, the mayoralty of Gillingham came to an end. [9]
Following the borough’s abolition, much of Gillingham’s civic regalia was preserved within Medway’s ceremonial collection. The mayoral chains, badges of office and other historic items from Gillingham (along with those from the former Rochester and Chatham boroughs) were inherited by Medway Council. [10] These objects are now held locally (for example, at the Royal Engineers Museum in Brompton) so that the historic insignia of Gillingham’s former mayors remain on display in the town. [11]
Since 1998 the ceremonial first-citizen of the area has been the Mayor of Medway, representing the entire Medway unitary authority (which includes the former boroughs of Gillingham, Rochester, Chatham, Strood and Rainham). The Mayor of Medway chairs full council and carries the traditional titles (e.g. Admiral of the River, Constable of the Castle) for the whole of Medway. [20] For the municipal year 2025–26, the Mayor of Medway is Councillor Trevor Clarke. [21]
1903: The Borough of Gillingham is created. Rainham is added on in 1928.
This was granted in 1903 and the Mayor and Corporation were elected; the first Mayor of the borough was Alderman JR Featherby, JP.
1903: The Borough of Gillingham is created. Rainham is added on in 1928.
During the late 1920s Rainham Parish Council began to discuss the possibility of leaving the Borough of Sittingbourne and Milton and amalgamating with Gillingham, the biggest borough in Kent with a population of 57,000 people. The main arguments were that the borders almost touched, urban powers were too expensive for Rainham alone and better public services like main drainage would become available at an affordable cost.
The changes which are proposed by this order—the merging of Gillingham and Rochester and the creation of a new unitary authority to run them—will come into effect on 1st April 1998.
N OTICE is hereby given, that the Partnership between the undersigned, George Featberby, Edward George Featherby, and John Robert Feather by, in the trade or business of Brick Makers and Cement Merchants, at Hope Wharf, Hill-street, Peckham, in the county of Surrey, Court Field Brickworks, Gillingham, in the county of Kent
THE last Mayor of Gillingham, George Smith, has died at the age of 71.
[F2Kent …. Kent and the Medway Towns]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)Taff explains that everything has been inherited from the three former borough councils, Rochester, Chatham, and Gillingham, rather than commissioned.
He has laid out a small selection of the impressive amount of gifts that have been made to the mayor's office over centuries of ceremonial engagements. This selection of historical items gives an insight into the evolution of civic life in Medway and its predecessor boroughs of Rochester, Chatham, and Gillingham.
Cllr Smith was twice Mayor of Gillingham. When he held the position in 1984 he was the first Liberal for 64 years to be the mayor.
He represented the people of Twydall for 52 years, fighting their corner on a range of issues and, in particular, housing needs in what was a deprived area.
As chairman of the housing committee, he oversaw the building of hundreds of homes, the construction of sheltered accommodation and the refurbishment of properties to meet decent standards.
He also served as Mayor of Gillingham for the period 1974-1975 and as Labour Group leader on that council during the 1980s, as vice-chairman of Medway Towns Council between 1997-98 and on a variety of committees.
The Dockyard Defence Committee (DDC) is set up by a group of Kent County Councillors and MPs in an attempt to save the Dockyard from closure. This group includes John Spence; former Mayor of Gillingham mayor Harry Blease
The Mayor is known as the First Citizen of Medway, and has ceremonial titles of Constable of the Castle and Admiral of the River. The Mayor chairs meetings of Full Council. A large part of the Mayor's time is spent promoting the image and importance of Medway in a regional and national context, and promoting Medway Council objectives.
Trevor was elected Mayor of Medway in May 2025, a role that allows him to champion Medway's communities, heritage, and cultural scene. Originally from Bermondsey, London, he moved to Medway in 1967 and attended Lower Halstow and Tunbury Primary Schools, followed by Chatham Grammar School for Boys.