[1] In 1554, a charter established the Twelve Capital Burgesses, a petition to Mary Tudor, probably supported by the fifth Earl of Shrewsbury, presented by the inhabitants of Sheffield.
In contrast to the Burgery, which was an elective body, the Burgesses were to fill empty positions by co-option.
However, by the nineteenth century, this proved insufficient for them to undertake the maintenance and improvement work.
[1] Relieved of their obligation to maintenance in the town, the Burgesses refocussed on a range of charitable works.
Today it splits its income between "ecclesiastical purposes in support of the Church of England... education and for the betterment of the needy and deprived and ... the benefit of the community."