Former Stroud Mayor, and the UK’s first Green Party Councillor and Mayor, has died at the age of 86. He had been ill for some time and had stepped down from active politics in 2021.
John Marjoram was the first Green Party councillor to be elected in the UK in 1985 and served at town and district levels for 36 years.
During that time he helped found Stroud Town Council in 1990, became the UK’s first Green Party Mayor and served as Mayor for 10 civic years. He served continuously in Trinity Ward until 2021.
Stroud.
Born in 1939, Mr Marjoram moved to Stroud with his young family in 1968. He became a pacifist as a teenager and moved to Stroud because of his affiliation and interest in the work of the Quakers who had a strong presence in the town. Throughout his life his pacifism, and opposition to nuclear arms, had been at the heart of his work.
During the 1970s, Mr Marjoram was a founding member of the successful Stroud Campaign Against the Ringroad (aka SCAR 1974-1978), and as a member of Stroud District Council planning committee prevented many unsightly developments happening in the town and surrounding area. He was pivotal in preventing the Hill Paul building being demolished, saving Uplands Post Office and the Town Council’s purchase of Lansdown Hall.
As a member of Stroud District Council’s planning committee he prevented many unsightly developments from happening locally.
He was pivotal in preventing one of Stroud’s most iconic landmarks, a former cloth factory called Hill Paul, from demolition. The town’s tallest building, it was due to be demolished in 2001. Thanks to John’s intervention with the owner, Hill Paul was eventually saved by members of the public, including some of the protesters, buying shares to fund the building’s conversion to a residential block.
Another iconic building saved from demolition thanks to John was Woodchester Mansion, then an unfinished and crumbling Victorian mansion near Stroud. John won by just two votes a motion calling on the then Tory-run council to purchase the building so that it could be refurbished, transferred to a trust and opened to the public.
He also instigated the unique idea of The Mayor’s Bench, meaning that everyone had easy and informal access to councillors and were able to voice their concerns.
Adrian Oldman, coordinator of Stroud District Green Party, said:“John represented Stroud with integrity, dedication and a genuine desire to promote the well-being of people. He was inspirational; the ultimate community activist, using the local political process to help people and improve our community.
“He was tenacious, passionate, and always supported the underdog. He was a man of principle, always had time for others and a real commitment to help those who were in trouble.
“Our hearts go out to his wife, Laura, and his family.
“We owe him an immense debt of gratitude for his work building the party over the years and making it what it is today. Many existing and previous Green councillors stood for election because of John’s persuasion (myself included). We now have more than 400 paid-up members and run the minority administration on SDC, with 23 councillors. We have also been the majority on Stroud Town Council for many years.”
In 2023 he was made an Honorary Freeman by Stroud Town Council and wrote these words to be read at the presentation: “I feel very moved to have been awarded this honour and want to thank you for the support you have given me over these many long years,” he said.
“Politics have been my life and I am proud of the work I was able to do for the people of Stroud, who are very close to my heart.”
Click link below to view John Marjoram’s picture story by Simon Pizzey
