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Garratt
(g hard). The Mayor of Garratt. Garratt is
between Wands-worth and Tooting; the first mayor of this village was
elected towards the close of the eighteenth century; and his election
came about thus: Garratt Common had been often encroached on, and in
1780 the inhabitants associated themselves together to defend their
rights. The chairman of this association was entitled Mayor, and
as it happened to be the time of a general election, the society made
it a law that a new “mayor” should be chosen at every general election.
The addresses of these mayors, written by Foote, Garrick, Wilkes, and
others, are satires on the corruption of electors and political squibs.
The first Mayor of Garratt was “Sir” John Harper, a retailer of
brickdust in London; and the last was “Sir” Harry Dimsdale,
muffin-seller, in 1796. Foote has a farce entitled The Mayor of Garratt.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894 More on Garratt from Infoplease:
- Garratt - Garratt (g hard). The Mayor of Garratt. Garratt is between Wands-worth and Tooting; the first mayor ...
- Mayor of Garratt - Mayor of Garratt (See Garratt.) Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894 ...
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- Jerry Sneak - Jerry Sneak A henpecked husband, from a celebrated character in Foote's farce of the Mayor of ...
- King of Dalkey - King of Dalkey A burlesque officer, like the Mayor of Garratt, the Mayor of the Pig Market, and the ...
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