ABSTRACT
With hindsight, it is clear that Sherewood’s election as mayor in 1641 was just the rst in a series of disputed elections. e decision to abandon succession by strict seniority proved to be a fertile basis for factional intrigue. None of the mayoral elections over the next ve years went entirely smoothly and, in some cases, even the corporation minutes struggled to disguise the extent of the disagreements. But none of these disputed elections was ever quite the same. All sides were to be skilled at nding permutations on that initial argument. ere were to be several devious twists and turns along the way.
