Mayors to 1958 - Bridgwater Heritage Group

Page on the Mayors of Bridgwater under Construction

John Browne: 1855, 1861, 1862, 1864, 1865

Born c.1791 died 1859. Brick and Tile Manufacturer. Gives his name to Browne’s Pond in Hamp. Buried Wembdon Road Cemetery. A full biography can be found on the website of the Friends of the Wembdon Road Cemetery.

The lost portrait of Mayor John Browne, by W. Baker, seen in a larger photograph of the Town Hall in about 1950. ©Digital image 2019 Blake Museum. Note the Mayoral Chain had not yet been created, although he does stand next to the Borough Maces.

George Bryant Sully: 1869, 1870

Born 1831 died 1907. Coal Merchant and Shipping Magnate. Lived in Crowpill House by the docks. Buried Wembdon Road Cemetery.

G. B. Sully by Frederick Brueton; collection of Bridgwater Town Council. Art UK. Note the chain did not exist in his time in office, so this portrait was made later.

Francis James Thompson: 1884

Born 1813, died 1897. Notable Quaker and Ironmonger. Read more in Sturge’s History. Buried Albert Street burial ground.

Francis James Thompson, by James Ricks;; Bridgwater Town Council; collection of Bridgwater Town Council. Art UK

Alfred Peace: 1885, 1887

Born 1845, died 1912. Coal Merchant and Haulier, with interests in many businesses in the town: prime mover behind bringing the Somerset and Dorset Railway Line to Bridgwater. In his time as mayor the gold chain was commissioned. Buried Wembdon Road Cemetery. His extensive obituary can be found on the website of the Friends of the Wembdon Road Cemetery. Brother in law to Artemis Dowty.

Alfred Peace 1845-1912. Taken from the *Bridgwater Mercury* and Peace’s Obitauary

John Henry Waddon: 1889

Born 1839, died 1915. Rope manufacturer and provisioned of ships. Buried Wembdon Road Cemetery.

F. Charles Foster: 1890, 1897

Born 1850, died 1929. Buried Wembdon Road Cemetery.

Charles Foster, by Frederick Brueton; collection of Bridgwater Town Council. Art UK

1881 Letter from his business as a Corn and Hay Merchant.

Death Notice Western Daily Press
14 October 1929.

Thomas Manchip: 1892

Born 1818, died 1905.

Thomas Manchip, by Frederick Brueton; collection of Bridgwater Town Council. Art UK

Above, West Somerset Free Press 11 February 1905. Right, Clifton Society, 9 February 1905

Henry W. Pollard: 1893, 1894, 1895, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1910, 1911

Born 1848, died 1922. Owner of a building company. Built the George Williams Memorial Hall, Cranleigh Gardens, Lyndale Avenue, Cotford Asylum, Knightstone Pavilion at Weston super Mare, St Michel’s Church Yeovil. Lived in St John’s House, Monmouth Street, and later Oakfield, Wembdon. Opened the Carnegie Library, laid the foundation stone of the court in Northgate.

William Thompson: 1900, 1901

Born 1837, died 1927.

Photograph 1913, taken from *the Morganian*.

Thomas William Manchip: 1902, 1903

Born 1850, died 1933.

Profile of Mayor and Mayoress Manchip published in *The Mayors of England and Wales (with Portraits of Mayors and Mayoresses), 1902, Coronation Year, King Edward VII*, edited by F.A. Barnes, published by W.T. Pike of Brighton in 1902.

W. Manchip, , by Frederick Brueton; collection of Bridgwater Town Council. Art UK

Death notice Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, 22 April 1933.

Richard Own Sully: 1909, 1912

R.O. Sully (in chain) at the Proclamation of George V, 10 May 1910.

Seymore Berry: 1919, 1920, 1921

Born 1865. Elected to the Town Council in 1902. MBE in 1937. Given Freedom of the Borough in 1938. Retired from the council in 1943, at which time he was called ‘Father o’ the Town Council’. During his chairmanship of the Housing Committee they built 1200 homes in the town. Was influential in the building of Westover School and laid the foundation stone.

F.H. Allen: 1922

Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser
15 March 1941

W. H. J. Madding: 1923

At the unveiling of the town’s war memorial in King Square.

Harry Monro Brackenbury Ker: 1924

Born 1868, died 1933, buried in the Wembdon Road Cemetery.

Walter Deacon: 1925, 1926, 1927

Alderman Walter Deacon 1881-1955, JP, President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. Awarded CBE in 1941. Hon MSc of Bristol University in 1942. Deacon was a pharmacist with five shops in the Bridgwater area. He was a member of the Society of Radiographers and the Institute of Radiology. In later years he suffered problems with his fingers due to his work as a radiologist. His wife was Hettie Helena Perrett.

As mayor he masterminded a series of events in the 1920s with the role of increasing the public’s awareness of the town, which became known as ‘Brighter Bridgwater’. At the most basic level, this involved improving houses, shops and streets with more floral displays, as well as more ambitious projects. The floral campaign was a popular project and adopted by the townsfolk and traders. Standout events included ‘Charter Day’ on the Cornhill in 1926, celebrating the granting of John’s charter in 1200, and the devising of the Bridgwater Pageant in 1927. There are Pathe films of both on YouTube. He commissioned the up and coming composer, Percy Whitlock to write songs for the events. One was “Song of the Bridgwater Men”. Other efforts saw the creation of the Blake Museum and Victoria Park, the latter with tennis courts and bowling green. A Cart Horse Parade was held in September 1926. A ‘Brighter Bridgwater’ Lecture Series was also held, with expert speakers arranged to talk on the future of England.

His funeral was conducted by the Methodists. He was cremated at Arnos Vale, Bristol, and his ashes interred at St Mary’s Church, Bridgwater.

Deacon Road in Sydenham was named in his honour. See here for a photograph of him as President of the Pharmaceutical Society. Numerous items of Deacon’s memorabilia and ephemera were sold at auction in 2025. For more on her family, see here. For an account of his earlier career, see here.