THE Lord Mayor of York has thrown open the doors of the Mansion House to the public.
Residents and visitors were invited to a special open day at the Mansion House to meet him and the civic party in the historic Georgian home.
It was also a rare opportunity to see the handing over of the ‘Staff of office’, a ceremony dating back hundreds of years, in which a staff is handed to the Sheriff’s Lady on the first day of the civic year, to use to keep the Sheriff in order, and is handed over to the Lady Mayoress on the first ‘At Home’ of the year for her to keep the Lord Mayor in order.
Visitors were also able to tour the historic house.
The Mansion House, which was built in 1732, is a focal point for the local community and hosts numerous civic and other events and was the first purpose-built house for a Lord Mayor in the country.
Since then it has been used for celebrations, business, civic events and announcements, including welcoming Her Majesty the Queen in April 2012 as part of the York 800 celebrations.
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