Newark Town Council Civic Events 2022-2023

Mayor Making: Sunday 8th May 2022

This is the Annual Meeting of the Town Council and usually takes place on the second Sunday in May. There is a full Newark Town Council meeting held in the Ballroom. The purpose of the meeting is to elect the Town Mayor, and Deputy, and to agree the membership of each of the Council’s Committees for the next Civic Year. Invited guests are made up from the Civic list together with the prospective Mayor’s family and friends plus representatives of Newark townsfolk. The event is that of a formal Town Council meeting and is very ceremonial and traditional. Although attendees have usually been invited it is a public meeting and as such, members of the public can simply turn up on the day.

Mayor’s Sunday: Sunday 26th June 2022

This normally takes place a couple a weeks after the Annual Town Council Meeting or Mayor Making.

A service takes place at St Mary Magdalene Parish Church. Before the service, guests gather in the Ballroom and are welcomed by the Civic Party. The Civic Party normally consists of the Town Mayor/Mayoress and Mayoress/Consort, the Chairman of N&SDC and Lady / Consort, the Deputy Town Mayor and the Honorary Recorder.

A procession will be formed, which will then make its way to the Parish Church. After the service a reception is held where the new Mayor will be formally introduced to the Town. The Mayor will give a speech and announce his/her hopes and plans for the year, including the charity to be supported.

Battle of Britain: Sunday 11th September 2022

The Town Council holds a commemorative service, in St Mary Magdalene Parish Church, in conjunction with the Royal Air Force Association (RAFA). This event usually takes place on the Sunday prior to the national event. Before the service, guests will gather in the Ballroom and be welcomed by the Civic Party at 10.15am. A procession will be formed, which will then make its way to the Parish Church. Wreaths will be laid at the War Memorial, with a fly past by a Spitfire, if it has been possible for the RAFA to arrange. After the service, the guests will return to the Town Hall for Champagne Cup.

Speeches will be made by the Town Mayor and a representative from the Royal Air Force Association.

Air Bridge: Sunday 25th September 2022

This is an event held at Newark Cemetery – at a special memorial near to the Polish War Graves – usually around the third Sunday of September.

Newark Town Council has taken over the whole organisation of the event, (it was previously organised by the Airbridge Association). The service remembers the 250 airmen who lost their lives during the Air Bridge operations, which helped the Warsaw uprising in 1944. People from all over the country and Poland attend, and wreaths are laid. Refreshments are then served at the Town Hall.

All Souls: Sunday 30th October 2022

The event is held on the last Sunday in October and is organised

by th

e Polish Air Force Association. It takes place in the Commonwealth War Graves Section of Newark Cemetery. It normally begins at 3pm when wreaths are laid, and tea lights are lit on each of the graves. A small reception is held at theTown Hall afterwards. This is attended by Polish people from all over the country.

Remenbrance Sunday: Sunday 13th November 2022

We organise this in conjunction with The Royal British Legion and it is extremely well attended. Before the service, guests will gather in the Ballroom and are welcomed by the Civic Party at 10.15am. A procession will be formed, which will then make its way to the Parish Church. At this point, the Mayor’s Officer will accompany the Deputy Town Mayor to the cemetery where he/she will lay a wreath on the War Memorial. There is a parade of standards through the town, starting at the London Road Car Park. All guests will gather for a small service by the War Memorial at St Mary Magdalene Parish Church where wreaths will be laid. The congregation then moves into the Church for the formal service. During the service the Town Mayor lays a poppy on the Book of Remembrance. After the service the guests will return to the Town Hall.

Plough Sunday: Sunday 8th January 2023

This usually takes place on the second Sunday in January. This event is to wish all those in the farming industry good fortune for the forthcoming year. It is well attended by the farming community and those involved with the industry. A church service is held at St Mary Magdalene Parish Church where traditionally the young farmers will carry a milk churn and old plough to be blessed at the altar. Before the service, guests will gather in the Ballroom and be welcomed by the Civic Party at 10.15am. A procession will be formed, which will then make its way to the Parish Church. After the service a reception is held in the Ballroom, where the President of the NFU and the Mayor each give a speech.

Hercules Clay: Sunday 12th March 2023

There will be an annual service at Newark Parish Church, on the Sunday

nearest to 11th March, to commemorate the life of Hercules Clay a former Newark businessman and Mayor during the English Civil War. Before the service, guests will gather in the Ballroom and be welcomed by the Civic Party at 10.15am. A procession will be formed, which will then make its way to the Parish Church. The service of commemoration at St Mary Magdalene Parish Church will be followed by a reception in the Town Hall. The service is traditionally attended by the Town Mayor, Councillors, and Members of the Newark area Chamber of Commerce. The Mayor will lay a single rose on the Hercules Clay plaque in the church. A Bible representing that of Hercules Clay is brought to the altar by a surviving relative of Hercules Clay, currently Mrs Marjorie Clay-Dove. The original bible forms part of a display in the Town’s Museum in the Town Hall. At the end of the church service, representing Hercules Clay’s bequest of £100 to the poor of Newark, the Mayor will give out small loaves of bread to the Church Choir.

For any further information please contact the Town Hall on 01636 680333 or post@newark.gov.uk