Civic regalia

The Chair's chains

The Chair of Middlesbrough Council's chains are gold Byzantine style. A pendant hangs from the chains, which contains the town's coat of arms, set out in enamel. You can find out more about the design on the coat of arms page.

The links of the chain bear the names of Middlesbrough's mayors since the town's incorporation in 1853.

The chains were bought by the Middlesbrough Corporation (which came before Middlesbrough Council) in 1868, to commemorate the opening of Albert Park. They were paid for using money which the council had voted to use towards cost of decorations etc. for the event.

The Chair's robes

The Chair's robes are made of scarlet cloth and trimmed with artificial fur. They were presented, together with a silk hat, to the Middlesbrough Corporation by C. Willman Esq., (mayor) to commemorate the Jubilee of Middlesbrough in 1881.

The council has two other mayoral hats, one presented by Alderman Hinton (mayor) in 1887, and the other by Councillor Harkess (mayor) in 1912.

The robes are currently on display in the Civic Suite.

Middlesbrough's mace

The design of the mace is of Renaissance character. The head is mounted by a royal crown and surmounted with an orb and cross. Inside the arches is a representation of the full Royal Arms.

The bowl of the head is divided by arches into four divisions. The central one contains the town's coat of arms in heraldic colours on the obverse (front face). On the reverse (back) is a view in enamels of the municipal buildings, and in each of the other two divisions is the English rose, surmounted by the royal crown in heraldic colours.

Councillor William Harkess presented the mace to the Middlesbrough Corporation during his year of office as mayor of the borough in September 1912. This is actually engraved on the mace.

The mace is over three foot long, made of solid silver, richly gilt, and with it are a pair of rests, also of silver gilt.

Middlesbrough's civic silver

The council has a large collection of civic silver on display in the civic reception area and Erimus Heritage Room. It dates back as far as the late 19th century.

The collection contains many pieces, including salvers, condiment sets, cups, models, bowls, candlesticks etc., given by RAF squadrons, the Green Howards and other military units, businesses, and individuals.