Military Governors and Mayors

As Portsmouth was a garrison town it had its own military governor. This officer was first appointed in 1369 and was given power to rule and punish not only soldiers but also the men of the town. As these powers were confirmed to the governors in later charters this caused trouble between the military and civil authorities. The worst trouble arose when Sir Adrian Poynings was governor between 1559 and 1571. By using force he completely ignored any legitimate authority of the mayor, so much so that the mayor went in fear of his life. Eventually the mayor complained to Queen Elizabeth I and judgement was given in the mayor’s favour. More than a hundred years later when Col John Gibson was governor there was trouble again and the mayor found the Landport Gate shut in his face when he wished to leave town. This was in 1694 and the Borough Sessions Papers show what little hope of redress the locals had when assaulted, sometimes in the a most repulsive manner, by military officers. 

Taken from The History Centre Collection, I191.