Following the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, successive royal charters granted increasing rights of local governance to Bristol.
Bristol Corporation was established in the nineteenth century and the office of Lord Mayor was created in 1888.
The Domesday survey recorded that Bristol, then known as Brygstowe was part of the royal manor of Barton and was a borough governed by a reeve, and assessed at 110 marks.
[4] A charter granted by Henry III in 1256, extended the town's rights, enabling the burgesses to choose coroners and to farm the fees payable to the king.
[9] The first historically recorded mayor of Bristol was Roger Cordewainer who is referred to in orders issued by King John in 1216.
From the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century Bristol treated Adam le Page (appointed 29 September 1216) as its first mayor, probably because he was the first to be chosen by the town for an annual one-year office.
This was one of many local disturbances throughout England leading to the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 and the installation of a permanent mayoral office.
In December 2021, the majority of opposition councillors backed a legally binding motion to hold a referendum on the future of the role of the Elected Mayor of Bristol.