A CENTURIES-OLD ceremony has taken place to celebrate the official nomination of North Yorkshire's next High Sheriff.

The 1,000-year-old ceremony saw bewigged judges and court officials, clad in official court clothing from bygone days, preside over the nomination of 51 High Sheriffs and their deputies from England and Wales.

Among those present was Catherine Elizabeth Mackinlay, from Skelton, York, who will take up office next March.

Her nomination took place as part of a time-honoured tradition staged in the Lord Chief Justice's court in the London Royal Courts of Justice. But before Ms Mackinlay takes on her new role, the Queen will prick her name on a parchment list using a silver bodkin in a practice dating back to the reign of Queen Victoria.

Updated: 10:20 Monday, November 15, 2004