Mayoral and Civic

The Mayor of Darlington - Councillor Jan Cossins

I was appointed Mayor of the Borough of Darlington for the 2023/24 Municipal Year at the Annual Council meeting held on 25 May 2023.

Functions and events

The Mayor is available on request to attend many different functions or events.

If you wish to invite the Mayor to your function or event, or wish to contact the Mayor, you can do so by:

• e-mailing [email protected],
• calling 01325 406309 

or by writing to:

The Mayor's Office
Town Hall
Feethams
Darlington
DL1 5QT

If the Mayor is available on the date you require, you will then need to send in your request in writing (either by email or letter).

Protocol

Protocol requires that The Worshipful The Mayor, as the first Citizen of the Borough, takes precedence over the other guests (except Royal visitors) and your arrangements should have regard to this.

The Mayor should be accompanied by a member of the organisation at all times and 'looked after' throughout the event.

Reception

The Mayor should be met immediately upon arrival by a responsible representative of your organisation and escorted to the correct position.

Arrival time given should normally not be earlier than about five minutes before the commencement of the function to avoid unnecessary waiting time.

Addressing the Mayor

The Mayor should be addressed as 'Mayor'.

Speeches

If the Mayor has accepted an invitation to speak, or give a response at an event, the relevant information from the organisation must forwarded in advance of the event.

The above information is purely a guide, and further detailed information or advice is available on request.

The Mayor is appointed at the 'Mayor Making' Ceremony on an annual basis. The Council’s 'Order of Seniority' determines who will be Mayor. The first Mayor of Darlington was Henry Pease [external Link] who was appointed in 1867.

Mayoral Insignia

The Mayoral Insignia consists of The Mayoral Chains, The Mace and Coat-of-Arms. View them and more on Flickr [external link].

The Mayor’s Parlour

The Mayor’s Parlour, located in the Council Suite area of the Town Hall, is the room where the Mayor of Darlington receives guests.

Originally, the Mayor’s of the Town were rich industrialists who lived in large mansions and a room was set aside in their homes to receive the townsfolk. This room was known as the ‘Parlour’.

When Town Halls became fashionable, the room set aside for the Mayor retained the name ‘Parlour’.