A CITY'S mayoral lamp, which is more than a century old, is to take pride of place outside an imposing civic headquarters.

Ripon's ceremonial lamp has been in continuous use since the early 1890s, but community leaders feel the time is right to give it a permanent home.

Engineers at Harrogate Borough Council have had the ornate lamp fully restored and it has been sited outside the town hall.

In the past, the lamp has traditionally been positioned outside the mayor's home, but with modern civic leaders only taking office for a year at a time, it has seen too much travel.

Present-day mayor Councillor David Harrison said: "The original lamp was badly in need of repair and, with all the work which has been going on to enhance the market place, the city council felt that the time was right to make the lamp a permanent feature of the town hall."