HELMSLEY Community Library is to house a slice of local history when an exact replica of the Magna Carta goes on display next week.

The library, which is celebrating two-months of being community-led, will unveil the replica on June 2 at 11.30am.

It will mark Helmsley’s place in history as home to one of the 25 barons who were ‘Sureties’ or guarantors of the Magna Carta.

In 1215 Robert de Ros, Baron of Helmsley, was a witness at Runnymede as the charter was sealed by King John — a pivotal moment in reducing the absolute power the Crown had at the time.

The Magna Carta is the foundation of ‘the rule of law’ throughout the English-speaking world.

The facsimile is being presented by Martin Vander Weyer, who was heavily involved in the Magna Carta celebrations in 2015 which marked the charter’s 800th anniversary.

Next week also marks national Volunteer Week and Jeanne Brown, who chairs the Helmsley Community Library Steering Group, said it was a good time to reflect on the library’s early success as a voluntary venture.

She said: “I can’t quite believe it’s now been two months since we launched as a community managed library, but thankfully it’s all gone well, and we’ve managed to maintain services for local residents.”

Ms Brown added: “We’d also like to say a huge thank-you to Martin Vander Weyer for kindly presenting us with the facsimile of the Magna Carta. It’s great to have such an interesting resource available for locals and visitors to come and see, especially when Helmsley had such an important role in it eight centuries ago.”