The Mayors and Sheriffs of London (MASL) is a searchable, open-access
database (https://masl.library.utoronto.ca) of information on London’s
mayors, sheriffs, and wardens from 1190 to the present. It was originally
launched in 2009, covering the years 1190–1558 only, but was subsequently
extended to the present; and it is regularly updated from new research.
The database can be searched by name, office (mayor, sheriff, warden),
year of office, range of years, livery company membership (or, in the
earliest years, occupation or craft/trade guild membership), and by any
combination of these factors. The information for 1190–1558 was first
published as a printed list in Caroline Barron’s 2004 London in the Later
Middle Ages (Appendix 1, compiled by Anne Lancashire), but there have been
additions and updates to the 1190–1558 information since then, besides the
expansion from 1558 to 2021–22.
The database provides sources for all of its information, often from city
and company manuscripts, and also provides exact dates, wherever possible,
for the terms of office of mayors and sheriffs replacing individuals
removed or dying while in office. Any identification problems are
discussed in the footnotes.
MASL is edited by Anne Lancashire (Professor Emerita, University of
Toronto) and hosted by the University of Toronto Library. Any questions or
comments should be directed to the editor (anne@chass.utoronto.ca).