The position of Mayor in Monmouth was established in the 13th century by the people who were controlling the town's market.

[1] An elected mayor and bailiffs came to lead this body and by the middle of the 13th century a seal had been acquired from King Henry III with certain privileges.

[1] John Speed mentions the position again in 1611 when he itemises the authorities as a mayor, two bailiffs and fifteen councillors.

The case was won by a team including local historian, Charles Heath but the Duke found other ways of gaming the system.

In 1835 the Municipal Corporations Act adjusted the powers but identified 1666 as the defining date of Monmouth's last charter.