Mayor of Wakefield

The 2016/17 formal mayor-making ceremony has taken place in Wakefield's County Hall.

Cllr Harry Ellis took up the chains of office as Mayor for the district from Mrs June Cliffe, who has been Mayor for the last year.

Cllr Ellis, has been a ward councillor for Knottingley since 2010, and spent his working life in the power industry. He is being supported by his wife Janet who becomes mayoress. The Mayor has selected the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Star Bereavement Support Services and Dr Jackson Cancer Fund as his chosen charities.

The deputy mayor is Cllr Kevin Barker, who represents Wakefield Rural and worked for 42 years for Leeds City Council's parks department. He is being supported by his daughter-in-law Michelle Barraclough who is the deputy mayoress.

Cllr Peter Box, Leader of Wakefield Council congratulated both Cllr Ellis and Cllr Baker and wished them well for their term of office.

He said: "I hope they will enjoy their year in office and I'm sure they will represent the district with dignity and commitment."




Wakefield

Wakefield is a city in West Yorkshire, England, on the River Calder and the eastern edge of the Pennines, which had a population of 76,886 in 2001, increasing slightly for the five Wakefield wards (East, North, Rural, South and West) to 77,512 at the 2011 Census.

Wakefield was dubbed the "Merrie City" in the Middle Ages and in 1538 John Leland described it as, "a very quick market town and meately large; well served of fish and flesh both from sea and by rivers ... so that all vitaile is very good and chepe there. A right honest man shall fare well for 2d. a meal. ... There be plenti of se coal in the quarters about Wakefield".

The Battle of Wakefield took place in the Wars of the Roses and it was a Royalist stronghold in the Civil War. Wakefield became an important market town and centre for wool, exploiting its position on the navigable River Calder to become an inland port.

In the 18th century, Wakefield traded in corn, coal mining and textiles and in 1888 its parish church acquired cathedral status. It became the county town and seat of the West Riding County Council in 1889 and the West Yorkshire Metropolitan Council from 1974 until it was dissolved in 1986.