The first time we come across the title Mayor of Hereford was in 1382. The title was granted by King Richard II. Although Richard was not seen as a good King he did come up with the title ‘Mayor’.
However the City of Hereford goes way back before this date. Before the title of ‘Mayor’ he was known as the Chief Bailiff and as such they had a lot of power. They could fine you, tax you, take your property and in some cases take your head. Surprisingly they were not too popular amongst the citizens of Hereford. This is the reason he needed a bodyguard comprising of 2 Stave Bearers, 4 Mace Bearers and a Sword Bearer.
The first indication of the Senior Bailiff appeared in 1262 and they were normally in position for 1 year. During the Reign of King Henry II in 1268 The Chief Bailiff was Richard Bisse, soon after that we see names we may recognise. 1277 John de Pyon. Richard de Moniword held the office from 1307 ~ 1310 then again from 1318 & 1320. In 1321 Phillip de Werrour was known as ‘The King of Hereford’ but only for 1 year. It would appear that the idea of only holding office for one year took a while to catch on.
Over the centuries we have had many Royal visitors including our new King Charles III. One of the regular visitors to the City was Queen Isabella of France who was the Consort to King Edward II who reigned from 1307 ~ 1327. from 1328 ~ 1333 and 1341 ~ 1342 the Chief Bailiff was Robert de Hampton. 1346 ~ 1348 was Nicolas de Bromyard, we assume that this only indicated where they were from and its good to know they were from all parts of the County of Herefordshire.
City of Hereford 