Winchelsea is an historic town in
East Sussex,
England. There has been a Mayor of Winchelsea since Edward I granted the town the right to its own Mayor and Corporation around 1292. Records of the Mayors exist since 1295. Since[clarification needed] the Mayor has been elected annually on Easter Monday by the Freemen of the Town at an "Hundred".[1]
The corporation lost its remaining civil and judicial powers in 1886 but was preserved as a charity by an Act of Parliament in order to maintain the membership of the
Cinque Port Confederation. The mayor and corporation in Winchelsea now have a largely ceremonial role, together with responsibility for the ongoing care and maintenance of the main listed ancient monuments in the town and the Winchelsea museum.