Mayor honours the role of Rotherham’s magistrates

Rotherham's Mayor is honouring his fellow magistrates this weekend as part of a special event to celebrate the 650th anniversary of the creation of the role of magistrate.

Councillor Shaun Wright JP, The Mayor of Rotherham, is playing host on Sunday(June 26) to the celebration at Rotherham Town Hall. That will include the unveiling of a special heritage plaque to mark the role the building played in the past as the home of the Rotherham Magistracy as well as the town's Mayoralty and Municipal government.

The event will begin with a church service at Rotherham Minster at 3pm before the plaque unveling takes place at 4.15pm.

Councillor Wright, said: "I'm delighted to welcome my fellow magistrates to the Town Hall to help celebrate the 650th anniversary of this important role and to take the opportunity to thank them on behalf of the people of Rotherham for the contributions they make to the life of our borough.

"Volunteers play a large part in helping to make Rotherham the compassionate place it is. However, it is often forgotten that this important group of men and women giving their time voluntarily in the service of their communities includes the role of Magistrate."

The role of Mayor did mean they were once in charge of keeping the peace, serving as Chief Magistrate and presiding over the local law court, although legal changes mean that is no longer the case.