The historic office of honorary recorder of the City of York will be formally restored tomorrow (Wednesday, February 13) with a civic ceremony at the Mansion House.

City of York Council will mark the appointment of His Honour Judge Paul Hoffman as Honorary Recorder of the City of York. The position of Honorary Recorder is one last conferred in 1971 on Judge Harry Bennett QC.

The appointment was made by a special resolution of the council on January 8 and was conferred on Judge Hoffman as the resident judge at York Crown Court.

Tomorrow evening, to mark his appointment as Honorary Recorder of the City of York, Judge Hoffman will be presented with a specially designed parchment scroll by the Lord Mayor of York, Councillor Irene Waudby.

The ceremony will take place at the Mansion House in the presence of prominent members of the judiciary and leading barristers from the Yorkshire region. Among the invited guests will be the last Honorary Recorder of the City of York, Judge Harry Bennett QC who held the position from 1971 to 1993.

Richard Clark, the council's head of legal services and acting assistant chief executive, said, "The council is delighted to restore the link between the city and the judiciary which goes back to at least 1388. We are looking forward to working with Judge Hoffman at a number of events throughout the civic year. We are very pleased that he has agreed to accept the position."

Lord Mayor Councillor Irene Waudby said, "I am delighted to be taking part in the ceremony tomorrow which will be reviving a lost tradition. I think it is important to keep these things going - it is the kind of thing which helps to make York so special."

Now aged 59, Judge Hoffman was first called to the Bar in 1964 after studying at Sheffield University. In 1984 he was part of the standing counsel for the Inland Revenue on the North Eastern Circuit and a year later he became judge on the same circuit.

In 1991 Judge Hoffman was appointed as a circuit judge sitting mainly in Leeds and York. Whilst sitting in Leeds, Judge Hoffman became well-known for trying some long and weighty cases before moving on to become resident judge at York Crown Court in 1999.

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