Man About Town – June 2026

By Mark Edwardson

How does a former traffic bobby become Congleton’s number one citizen? That’s the question I asked Councillor Robert Brittain who’s just completed his year as Congleton Town Council’s Mayor. “I’ll be honest, I’ve absolutely no idea,” he chuckled with characteristic modesty. “Someone said ‘would you be interested?’ And it’s one of those where you truly believe you can do something but it quickly becomes apparent you can’t do everything. I’d just settled in to being a councillor and then someone nominated me for Deputy Mayor!” As a mark of his popularity Robert’s appointment was supported unanimously by the Council’s members which isn’t always the case.

A year later, as is the convention, Robert was inaugurated as the Town Mayor. His wife, Sue was even more surprised by his rapid rise to the top. “She didn’t really know what it meant. I told her that we were probably going to be busy. Suddenly we had hundreds of things to do. I had to have different coats, ties and shirts for all the different events. I visited Davenport’s a few times. It’s been hard work but we met super people who were pleased to see us.”

Robert is a natural communicator. During a recent trip to hospital he was recognised in the waiting room. He got chatting to everyone there. By the time he left he’d been on a mission to educate. “There were about a hundred people in there,” he told me. “We chatted about The Council and quite a few said they’d learnt more about the Council than ever before.”

Robert’s zeal extends to Congleton’s youth. As Mayor he’s been guiding young people around our magnificent town hall. It’s a duty he says he’s enjoyed thoroughly. “I showed them the town’s ancient and priceless golden mace. I explained it was once in the hands of one of my predecessors, John Bradshaw. He was the de facto ruler of the country as President of Commonwealth of England after ordering the execution of Charles the First. I can guarantee Oliver Cromwell handled it too. The youngsters were amazed at Congleton’s role in the Civil War.”

The mace lost its royal crown during that period and had to be repaired at a cost of £3. A lot of money in the Seventeenth Century. The Council still retains the receipt.

Talking of repairs, the mayoral chain is in need of attention although it’s not necessarily due to Robert’s clumsiness. He let me into an unofficial secret, “I was running one of the town hall tours and as I walked across the grand hall I heard a clunk. I looked down on the floor and there was just a bit of something lying there. I was curious so I picked it up, turned it over and realised it was part of the chain. It’s solid gold and I nearly lost it. Then I took a look at the rest of the chain and noticed quite a few bits were held on with glue. So somebody else had done this before and got away with it!”

Becoming Mayor was bitter sweet for Robert. His mum and dad passed away before his investiture and so never saw their son become Mayor. “When we did the Tree of Light at Christmas I thought about my mum and dad and I got a bit emotional. Our MP, Sarah Russell put her arm around me to console me. It just got to me a little bit.”

Robert says despite the hard work, the long hours and all that goes with being the Mayor he’d do it again. For now he’s hanging up the robes and the chain to make way for Councillor Suzy Firkin who’s the new incumbent. I know I’m not alone in wishing Suzy a fantastic and enjoyable Mayoral year!