Later Charters

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Later Charters

Reading’s Charter from Henry VII

Reading’s Charter from Henry VII

Date: 0000-00-00 | Reference: R/IC1/5

This is the first charter to refer to the Mayor of Reading. As well as reciting earlier charters it grants specific powers to the Mayor to supervise cloth making in the town. Although this is the first charter to mention the office of Mayor, the title had been in use since at least the early 14th century. The first Mayor recorded in the Borough archive was John Le Goldsmyth, who is mentioned in a lease of 1324, though we know from other sources the names of at least four earlier Mayors. The 1254 agreement between the Gild and the Abbey made reference to the Warden of the Gild and this title and that of Mayor were interchangeable from the late 13th century.

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