Bernard Stephen Townroe (1885-22 July 1962) was a journalist and magistrate who was twice Mayor of Hampstead. Born in Nottingham, he saw active service in the First World War before securing a position in the Ministry of Health working on the financing of state housing. He was to maintain an interest in social housing, and wrote a number of articles and books on the subject and on slum clearance and on the reconstruction of bomb-damaged buildings. He was also active in Conservative Party politics, and stood unsuccessfully for the party in his native Nottinghamshire at the 1945 general election.