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Noteworthy Mayors |
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Insignia] [Noteworthy Mayors]
Ralph Allen, Mayor 1742.
Ralph Allen came to Bath in 1710 and became a postmaster. He owned the Bath quarries,
which provided much of the stone from which the City was constructed in the late 18th Century. The stone was also used to build
the Mineral Water Hospital, which is now the Royal National Hospital for
Rheumatic Diseases. His palatial mansion, Prior Park, is now a private school
and the National Trust operates the gardens.
The Guildhall contains two portraits and a bust of Ralph Allen. A
philanthropist, he donated £500 in 1763 towards the rebuilding of the
Guildhall. He is reputedly the model for Henry Fielding’s Squire Allworthy in Tom
Jones.
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Eleazer Pickwick, Mayor 1826. Charles Dickens adopted the name “Pickwick” for
his character in Pickwick Papers after a visit to Bath. Dickens
stayed at the White Hart Inn and modelled his character on
the rotund and jovial landlord |
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George Woodiwiss, Mayor 1897.
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Woodiwiss became known
as the “Model Mayor”, as his year in office coincided with the Diamond
Jubilee of Queen Victoria. He was the power behind many of Bath’s
Jubilee celebrations, creating his own Jubilee Mayor’s Medal. This was
prized as an artistic and permanent souvenir of the occasion. On
one side appeared the head of Queen Victoria and, on the other, the City
Arms and Maces. It was surmounted by the inscription “Woodiwiss, Mayor,
1897. |
Seven thousand medals were struck for the benefit of children, who wore them on the day of the Jubilee. Others were distributed among the Mayor’s friends.
Woodiwiss pioneered the scheme to build the Victoria Art Gallery and Reference Library as a memorial to Queen Victoria.
Aubrey Bateman, 1928/29/34/40/41/42
Bateman was born in 1875 and came to Bath in 1923, having previously been a member of Devon County Council. He was elected to Bath City Council in 1925. In 1930, he launched an appeal to provide the City of Bath and the surrounding area with a new hospital. Unremitting effort and personal example secured the widest possible cooperation and the appeal was a complete success. The Bath Royal United Hospital, standing in large open grounds on the outskirts of Bath and providing pristine medical and surgical facilities, was erected at a cost of £155,000.
