Mayor of Ock Street
Encyclopedia
The Mayor of Ock Street is a Mock Mayor
tradition from Abingdon
in the English
county of Oxfordshire
(formerly Berkshire
).
An ancient tradition, common to many towns in this area of England, involved the election of a “mock mayor”, usually a well known local character, whose job it was to speak up for the local people, causing embarrassment to the properly elected mayor and council when they took unpopular decisions. The “Mayor of Ock Street” is Abingdon’s mock mayor. He is elected annually, on the Saturday nearest midsummer
’s day, by the residents of Ock Street. Candidates are drawn from the membership of the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers, who organise the election and who each year carry the newly elected mayor along Ock Street on their shoulders. The mayor has two symbols of office, the Mace, a turned apple-wood chalice, and a sword, and he is preceded by the Ock Street Horns.
Mock Mayor
The election of a Mock Mayor is British folk tradition found in a number of communities throughout the British Isles. Essentially a Mock Mayor is an individual who is elected by a popular informal assembly of individuals as a parody of the official office of Mayor in any given community...
tradition from Abingdon
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...
in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
(formerly Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
).
An ancient tradition, common to many towns in this area of England, involved the election of a “mock mayor”, usually a well known local character, whose job it was to speak up for the local people, causing embarrassment to the properly elected mayor and council when they took unpopular decisions. The “Mayor of Ock Street” is Abingdon’s mock mayor. He is elected annually, on the Saturday nearest midsummer
Midsummer
Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different...
’s day, by the residents of Ock Street. Candidates are drawn from the membership of the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers, who organise the election and who each year carry the newly elected mayor along Ock Street on their shoulders. The mayor has two symbols of office, the Mace, a turned apple-wood chalice, and a sword, and he is preceded by the Ock Street Horns.