Until 1835 the Freedom of the City
- together with membership of one of the ancient guilds which
were the forerunners of today's Livery Companies - was
essential to anyone who wished to exercise a trade in the
City.
A number of ancient privileges are associated with the Freedom -
although they are more a product of collective memory than of
documented evidence. They include the right to herd sheep over
London bridge, to go about the City with a drawn sword, and if
convicted of a capital offence, to be hung with a silken rope.
Other advantages are said to have included the right to avoid being
press-ganged, to be married in St Paul's Cathedral, buried in the
City and to be drunk and disorderly without fear of arrest.
Freemen used to be given a casket in which to keep their Freedom
certificate (right), as it was a document that was carried around
as we would carry a driving licence today.