COUPLES now have the chance to say I Do in the historic chamber of Wisbech Town Council. The chamber which is upstairs in the Corn Exchange and the mayor s parlour are licensed for civil marriages and partnerships. The town council also has a premises l

COUPLES now have the chance to say 'I Do' in the historic chamber of Wisbech Town Council.

The chamber which is upstairs in the Corn Exchange and the mayor's parlour are licensed for civil marriages and partnerships. The town council also has a premises licence.

Town council clerk Erbie Murat said: "We want to encourage the people of Wisbech and district to use the council chamber because it is a very beautiful place and it is a heritage site in its own right. At the moment it is under used and this seemed like a sensible plan

"It has a lot of wonderful oak and beautiful artefacts including charters going back to the 1500s and then it is bang up to date with an oak display cabinet for the mace and silver made by a student from the College of West Anglia."

The current Corn Exchange built in 1858 has been used for numerous public events and entertainment and during the Second World War it was the HQ of the Home Guard.

The chamber will seat a maximum of 50 people but that number could increase when further regulations are met. The council's Finance and General Purposes Committee will meet in January to work out a price structure but Mr Murat said if anyone wanted to marry before that then it could be arranged.

Anyone who wishes to marry there should contact the county registrar service in the usual way. Mr Murat said: "We will work with the registrars because they obviously have to deal with the legal part of the ceremony but we want to people to be able to use it when they want within reason.