Obliged To Their Worships, The York Magistracy 1361 to 2011, by Fiona Holland, Gillian Sanderson and Sue Grace, £7.99 (From York Press)

Obliged To Their Worships, The York Magistracy 1361 to 2011, by Fiona Holland, Gillian Sanderson and Sue Grace, £7.99

11:59am Saturday 3rd December 2011 in Books By Megi Rychlikova, megi.rychlikova@thepress.co.uk

MANY times, as I’ve sat though tedious cases in the Victorian court rooms in York Magistrates Court in Clifford Street, I have wondered about the history of the Grade II listed building.

Now I know – because I’ve read Obliged To Their Worships.

Its authors, all lady magistrates, give the insiders’ view of the 650 years of the York magistracy, and though defendants will deny it, they do have a lively sense of humour.

They also cast a wry eye over the foibles of society that have kept them and their predecessors busy for many a century, from the original justices of the peace created by Edward III to the royal officials in Tudor days, who had to shoulder as many duties as the monarch could load on to their shoulders, to today’s more specialised magistrates.

The books also reveals some of the Clifford Street courthouse’s secrets, though I doubt if they reveal everything. Some of the secrets of the retiring room must remain untold.

If you are interested in the law, but find law books rather dry, this is the Christmas present for you.

Obliged To Their Worships, The York Magistracy 1361 to 2011, by Fiona Holland, Gillian Sanderson and Sue Grace, £7.99, available from Kate Wilson at York Magistrates Court on 01904 818334