Winchelsea Corporation

Does your house have loose tiles? Are there windows that need replacing? Worried about the expense? Well, why not hoist the cost onto Rother District Council? That's what an Icklesham parish councillor and former mayor of Winchelsea has managed to do

Everyone in Winchelsea agrees that the Pipewell Gate, which stands at the corner of the town overlooking Ferry Hill, is in urgent need of repair. Winchelsea Corporation, which owns the monument, claims that in order to get grants they must cater for visitors. But there is mounting concern among some residents that the Corporation's plans look a touch too Disney.

Towns and cities in England usually have a civic mayor, as in Rye, or a directly elected mayor, as in London. Winchelsea's mayors are something else - and some in the town resent the manner of their making