This article refers to the political appointment portreeve; for the town in Canada see Portreeve, Saskatchewan.

A portreeve, or 'port warden' is a historical British political appointment with a fluctuating role which evolved over time.

The origins of the position are in the reign of Edward the Elder, who, in order to ensure that taxes were correctly exacted forbade the conducting of trades outside of a 'port' or duly appointed place for trading, and without the supervision of a portreeve or other trustworthy person. At this time therefore, they had a role as a fiscal supervisor, much like modern customs and revenue officers. Edward the Elder or Eadweard I (871? – July 17, 924) was King of England (899 – 924). ...

By the late middle ages they acted as a representative of the people to ensure that their duties to the mayor and community were fulfilled; in some cases (and usually more recently) the role was also that of mayor. In some cases the portreeve also acted as a returning officer at elections.

Contemporary British towns which still nominally have or appoint a portreeve include: Ashburton, Beccles, Callington (where the name is given to the council chairman), Cheevel, Yeovil. Ashburton is Ashburton, a town in Canterbury, New Zealand Ashburton, a town in Devon, England Ashburton, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Map sources for Beccles at grid reference TM4290 Beccles is a market town in Suffolk within The Broads National Park. ... Callington, is a town in southeast Cornwall, UK, in the Caradon District. ... Jump to: navigation, search Map sources for Yeovil at grid reference ST5516 Yeovil is a sh!t town in south Somerset, England, on the A30 and A37. ...