Civic Chain of Office
The Chairman (or Chair) and Vice-Chairman (or Vice-Chair) of the Parish Council are elected each May at the Annual Meeting. The Chairman represents Lynemouth within the parish and occasionally outside it. If the Chairman is unavailable, the Vice-Chairman or another councillor may represent them.
The chain of office is a ‘Filigree’ style chain collar with a large central base plate engraved with LYNEMOUTH PARISH COUNCIL and enamelled, a 1” diameter pendant engraved with CHAIRMAN, presented by the Parish Clerk in 2016, and six small chain plates.
The Chairman's chain of office was purchased by the Clerk and presented as a private donation on 7th December 2016. It will be passed on to future chairpersons.
Occasions when the chain is worn:
- All meetings of the Parish Council and the Annual Parish Meeting
- Chairman’s inauguration ceremony
- Civic Church services
- Remembrance Day Service and parade
- Hosting social occasions or formal functions within the parish
- Representing Lynemouth at formal functions outside the parish
- Other meetings or occasions deemed appropriate by the Chairman
List of Chairmen:
- Mr W.S. Hunter (appointed 8th March 1919)
- Mr A.E. Holliday (1922–1925)
- W. John McGuire (1925–1928)
- Robert W. Hall (1929–1930)
- J.H. Kelly (1931–1933)
- Mr A.E. Holliday (1934–1936)
- Arthur Rutherford (1937–1949)
- Wm J. Sweet (1950–1967)
- Mrs Sarah Cowey (1968–1973)
- Mrs F.M. Dixon (1974)
- George Bell (1975–1987)
- Matt Brough (1987–1997)
- Cath Davidson (1998–2002)
- Gillian Thompson, MBE (2003–2016)
- Elizabeth (Liz) Dunn (2016–Present)
List of Parish Clerks:
- Mr Joseph Chester (1925)
- Mr J. Ledgerwood (1926)
- Mr Ralph Hetherington (1927–1928)
- Mr Edwin Harrison (1929–1945)
- Mr Arthur Fletcher Whinnom (1946–1958)
- Mr A.R. Gibson-Leitch (1959–1971)
- Mr R. Wilson (1977–1978)
- Mr William Sidney Barron (1980–1996)
- Mr A. R. Maddison (1996–1999)
- Mr Brian Springthorpe (1999–2013)
- Mr Keith Murray-Hetherington (2013–2022)
- Mr Graeme Popay (2022–present)