A question was raised at the Open Forum at the 2012 AGM as to what was the difference between a Freeman and a Burgess. A discussion followed, and various opinions put forward - all perfectly legitimate, but for posterity Alan Shelley, Officer without Portfolio, has offered us this paper.
Thereafter follows a Glossary of Terms used in connection with the freedom for easy reference. This will be added to from time to time as found to be necessary.
We are, once again, indebted to Alan for his contribution.
Burgess or Freeman
Is there a difference?
Some confusion arises out of the use of these two expressions. The terms can be considered as synonymous. Historically a burgess dates back from Saxon times when its meaning referred to a citizen (burgher) free of the borough. In later years he/she may be simply referred to as a freeman.
A burgess was the term given to a recognised citizen usually living in a burgage (tenements normally each of a similar size and facing onto a street). The properties were copyhold and for which the burgess paid his dues and did certain duties. As a citizen he would have given his oath to support the borough and its officers and in return he was a privileged member of the community, enjoying the protection and freedom to work and trade within the town. Hence we will often see the term ‘free-burgess’.
As the years have gone by and populations have increased the tight-knit burgage system has given way to freemen becoming property holders or as tenants outside of the burgages but remaining within the overall town boundaries. Hence, the broader term of ‘freeman’ has become more applicable.
Of course, ‘freeman’ has a wider application, in as much that it may also refer to members made ‘free’ of independent gilds formed within the borough. Such membership is of little value without the freedom of the borough. This is the principal feature. A borough freeman would normally be required to gain membership (freedom) of a trade or craft gild and to whose company an additional oath would have been given. Normally in the past, an apprentice would be entered into a gild register, and on completion (and maturity) the individual would be eligible from the gild to be admitted (after taking the oath) to borough freedom.*
Freedom of London is now, following the amendments resulting from the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act, the only place where it is possible to purchase borough freedom. Freemen take an oath to support the officers of the City and for which they are recognised as citizens.
Liverymen, as citizens, take an oath to support their worshipful company and thereby are privileged with the powers to vote for the Lord Mayor and the Sheriffs.
Other than the freedom of the boroughs and the trade and craft companies there are associations such as the ‘free-miners’, freemasons etc. These emanate from fraternal and local customs with social and religious origins.
In Conclusion: if an admission to freedom has been conducted under oath and by a proper borough authority, an individual entitled a freeman or a free burgess should be considered technically in terms as being one and the same. It may be necessary to say that any other term, such as ‘associate freeman’ is irrelevant and has no recognition.
Alan Shelley, Officer Without Portfolio, 4th October 2012
For a complete explanation and history of Freedom, please refer to my papers on the FEW Website –
No. 17) ‘Freedom and Privilege’ and No. 18) ‘The Gilds and the Craft Companies’ at www.freemen-few.org.uk
* Procedures between gilds and towns may vary, but the principal subject is that of Borough Freedom.
Freeman by Any Other Name (Liberi homines)
GLOSSARY of terms associated with Freemen
Freedom (or privilege) is the subject of rights enjoyed by entitlement based upon old precedents, liberties and customs. The word ‘freeman’ was not used before the fourteenth century.
Alderman Senior freeman, town magistrate, warden of a gild
Bailiff In late Middle Ages sometimes chief officer of a town (junior officer of Sheriff)
Burgess Free citizen of the borough/ burgher or MP in Parliament
Burghmote Synonymous with common council
Chamberlain Principal financial officer of town; alternatively called steward
Chapman Trader or dealer in various commodities
Common Council The main consultative and legislation body of a town, elected by the freemen
Commoning Freedom over land with common rights
Cordwainer Master craftsman dressing leather after it has been tanned
Corviser Master Shoemaker
Court Baron Manorial court attended by tenants of a manor with jurisdiction in civil actions
Court Leet Manorial court with some criminal jurisdiction. Most importance in towns without charters of incorporation
Engrosser Someone who buys up a commodity before it is brought to market – a Forestaller or Regrator
Fee farm Perpetual rent to the Crown or its assigns, usually associated with royal grant of borough status
Freeman Admitted to freedom of a town and able to exercise political and trading rights
Gildsman Master of craft and trade – derived from the 12th century origins from religious fraternities
Gild Merchant Nominally a company of merchants; but in towns before corporation it functioned as a quasi-corporation in control of the town
Incorporation A royal grant to a borough granting it continuous corporate existence in law
Jurat A sworn in jury member/officer of a Court Leet.
Liveryman Gildsman linked to crafts and trades and includes Gild of Watermen and Lightermen and a Fraternity of Parish Clerks
Mayor Principal of a town; sometimes head of a craft company
Mystery A craft company
Pasture master Freeman appointed to manage common pasture
Pentice court Held for the admittance of new freemen. May also deal with matters concerning debt or trespass and if not resolved such cases were dealt with by a Passage court
Piepowder Court Town court with summary jurisdiction over market and trading cases
Port Old English term for a town or harbour (Portman = townsman)
Portmote In some towns synonymous with common council; elsewhere the local court of civil actions
Portreeve Mayor
Raffman Dealer in foreign timber
Recorder Principal legal officer in a town, often a barrister
Reeve A foreman and a minor legal officer
Scot and lot Local town taxes
Sheriff Originally the king’s principal agent in a shire; also an officer of a borough with county status; by the 16th century mainly exercising routine legal or judicious duties. Presiding officer at elections to Parliament
Steward Judicial, or more often financial officer of a town, generally a senior magistrate
Wardmote A meeting or court of a city ward usually held by an alderman
Wool chapman Dealer in wool
NOTES:
Free Miner Born in the hundred of St Briavels in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, with rights secured under the Dean Forest Mines Act of 1838.
Free Warrener Holding a franchise from the Crown, with rights under Forest Law.
At Haverfordwest – Freemen’s rights are secured by the Portfield Enclosure and Allotment Act of 1838.
At Godmanchester/Huntingdon there are Grasshirers, a Pinder concerned with stray animals, and a
Hayward in charge of fences and enclosures.
At Newcastle upon Tyne there are Hostmen who acted as middlemen with the supplies of coal. It is a group within the Company of Merchant Adventurers of Newcastle. The Hostmen controlled the ‘keels’ (keelmen) the large boats transporting the coal.
A Franklin Reference has been made to a social class of ‘freeholder’ in the Middle Ages who was free of duties to any lord or master – possibly ‘freeborn’ (francus or Frank being a reference to a freeman. NB This term is unlikely to be applied to a borough freeman or to a free burgess.
Alan Shelley, Officer Without Portfolio, 8th October 2012
The Ancient Trades and Mysteries
A List of Historical Occupations and Associate Terms
This is a very brief and simple description of the early ‘free’ activities and their applications. It comprehensively covers most occupations but will inevitably have limitations and some activities may be described differently by changes in dialect. Many additional occupational terms (not included) have arisen following the mechanised practices of the Industrial Revolution.
Alnagar Ulnager an officer who inspected and measured cloth and affixed a seal
Apothecaries Practitioners of medicine
Armourers Makers of armour
Bakers Makers of bread, cakes and confectionery
Barbers Skilled in the uses of a razor, they let blood, practiced surgery and dentistry
Generally known as the Barber-Surgeons from the Middle Ages
Basketmakers Weavers of baskets and chair seats
Beadle Officer of the parish to keep order and the town crier
Beagle Officer of the law (policeman)
Blacksmiths Makers of objects from ferrous metal – tools, agricultural implements, cooking utensils and weapons (they were also tooth-drawers, anchor-makers, spurriers, clockmakers and gunsmiths
Bladesmith Sword and knife/weapon maker
Boothman Corn Merchant
Bowyers Originally the makers of the ‘Longbow’
Brasiers Workers in brass
Brewers Brewers of ale or beer
Broderers Embroiderers of cloth and clothing
Butchers Slaughterers, prepares and sellers of meat
Cappers Capmakers sometimes associated with the Feltmakers
Carmen Originally the carriers of goods. They were historically responsible for traffic
Carpenters Initially responsible for the construction of all buildings
Cartwright Maker of carts and wagons
Catchpole Sheriff’s officer or sergeant/bailiff who makes arrests for debt
Clockmakers Makers of clockworks and watches. Originally a part of the Blacksmiths gild before breaking away into their own trade
Clogger Maker of wooden shoes - clogs
Clothworkers Association of craftworkers engaged in clothworking – finishing and dealing in woollen cloth
Coachmakers and Coach-Harness Makers – makers of coaches and their harnesses
Collier Coal miner and coal merchant
Conner Inspector and tester of standards
Cooks Cooks and caterers
Coopers Makers of casks and wooden containers
Cordwainers Workers in fine leather – particularly in fine footwear (shoemaker)
Costermonger Fruit seller
Curriers Treating and preparing (suede) colouring leather after tanning
Cutlers Makers of artefacts having a sharp edge including swords and surgical instruments
Daubers House painters
Distillers Gild regulating distillers
Drapers Merchants in woollen cloth
Dubbere Cloth dubber who raises the nap of cloth
Dyers Dyers of cloth and leather with expertise in colouring
Faber Name given to skilled experienced craftsmen (carpenter, wheelwright, shipwright working in wood)
Fan Makers Makers of ladies fans
Farriers Shoers of horses and their regulation
Fellmonger Prepares (and deals) skins for the tanner
Feltmakers Makers of hats and headwear
Fishmongers Regulators of the fish trade
Fletchers Makers of arrows with flights for archery
Founders Workers in metals, particularly brass and regulators by stamping of weights
Framework Knitters - Workers I the knitting industry
Fruiterers Regulators of standards within the fruit industry
Fuller Woollen cloth worker who fulls cloth (shrinks, beats and presses the cloth (Walker)
Furrier Worker/seller dealer in furs
Gardeners Gild of garden crafts and horticulture
Girdlers Makers of girdles or belts, especially those associated with metalwork
Glass Sellers Specialising in glass and lead crystal
Glaziers and Painters - Making and colouring glass (stained glass windows)
Glovers Makers of gloves
Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers - Makers of gold and silver braid for uniforms and ceremonial clothes
Goldsmiths The Company that tests and marks gold, silver and platinum wares in the Assay Office. Annual testing of the nations coinage – known as the “Trial of the Pyx”
Grocers Importers of spices – developed into wholesale merchant traders dealing “in Gross” (Grossers)
Gunmakers Makers of guns, testing and awarding proof marks
Haberdashers Makers/suppliers of the clothing worn beneath armour (a name also given to someone dealing in small wares such as pins, needles thread, linen hats)
Hammermen Composite title for blacksmiths and whitesmiths and other forge workers
Horners Workers in horn
Hosier A dealer or maker of knitted goods (stockings, socks, gloves and night caps)
Hostler Or Ostler a stableman, groom originally associated with Inns to stable the travellers horses
Innholders Gild association of owners of inns and hotels
Ironmongers Iron merchants
Joiners and Ceilers – Craftsmen in joinery and wood carving
Journeyman Master craftsman (an employee, apprenticeship completed) usually so called before setting up a business on their own
Kedger Term given to some fishermen
Keeler Keelman – a bargeman, see also Lighterman and Waterman
Kember/ Kempster (Comber) - Wool comber
Leathersellers Workers dealing in leather
Loriners Makers of bits, stirrups, spurs and harnesses
Makers of Playing Cards – A London Livery Company continuing today
Mariners Company of Master Mariners
Masons Workers in the craft of stonemasonry
Mercator Merchant
Mercers Merchants exporting wool and woollen cloth and importing luxury fabrics
Merchant Taylors – Gild of craft tailors and linen armourers
Miller Corn miller, cloth miller, saw miller
Milliner Hat maker and seller
Monger Term given to dealers
Musicians Makers and players of musical instruments
Needlemakers Makers of needles, including surgical needles and sutures (also ‘Nedeller’)
Papping The process of soaking cloth before bleaching
Painter-Stainers – Stainers on cloth and painters of wood and other materials
Patternmakers Makers of a style of wooden clog footwear
Paviors Pavers of roads and highway construction
Pewters Control over the pewter trade
Pinder Officer of the parish – impounder of stray beasts
Pinner Maker of pins
Plaisterers Workers in the craft of plastering
Plaiter Plaiter of braid and of straw plaited hats
Plumbers Workers in lead and the regulation of weights and scales of lead
Poulterers Traders in poultry, eggs and game
Quarrel Picker Term sometimes given to a glazier
Quiller One who used a machine to wind yarn onto spools
Quister A person who bleached things
Raffman Dealer in fibre used to make raffia bags etc
Redsmith Copper smith
Ropemakers Workers binding hemp into ropes
Saddlers Makers of saddles, harnesses and bridles
Salters Dealers in salt
Sawyers Wood workers associated with the Carpenters
Scriveners Writers of legal documents
Scutcher Or Swingler – a beater of flax into bundles
Sheermen Clothworker/craftsman who shears superfluous nap from cloth
Sempster Or Sewster – Worker employed sewing cloth or leather
Sexton Officer of the church caring for its upkeep along with the bells and the graves
Shipwrights Designers and builders of ships
Skinners Traders in pelts and treated animal skins for fur dressing
Spinners Spinsters spinning yarn prior to weaving
Stationers Paper makers, printers, bookbinders and booksellers
Staymaker Maker of stays – the reed of a weaver’s loom
Sumpter Term given to the driver of a pack-horse
Swain Broad term given to a herdsman
Tallage A tax levied by the Norman and Angevin kings on their demesne lands and towns, or by a feudal lord on his tenants
Tallow Chandlers – Dealers in tallow (animal fat) candles, sauces, oils and early street lighting
Tanner Or Tanney – preparing leather
Tapiter Or Tapicer – Weaver of worsted cloth
Tin Plate and Wire Workers – Workers in plate and wire
Toll Tax for liberty/access (charges for passage) These include anchorage (and wharfage) for anchoring, Lastage a toll paid by traders at fairs or markets and Pontage a toll for crossing a bridge.
Tawer Or Tawyer – Bleacher of skins and maker of white leather
Tozer Employed to toze or tease cloth
Troner Weighing official at markets or fairs
Tucker Wool worker who draws cloth similar to a Fuller
Turners Makers of bowls, chair-legs and ornaments turned on lathes
Tylers and Bricklayers – Workers with bricks, slates, wall and floor tiles
Upholders Upholsterers, makers and repairers of soft furnishings
Victualler Innkeeper and seller of food and drink
Vintners Importers and regulators of wine and spirits
Wainwright Builder of wagons
Waitman Watchman to guard city gates and marking the hours by ringing a bell
Wax Chandlers Producers of beeswax products, candles and wax for sealing documents.
Weavers Producers of woven fabrics in the textile industry
Webster Name given to a male weaver
Wharfinger Manager/overseer of a wharf
Wheelwright Makers of wheels for all forms of carriage
Whiffler Herald usher – the leader of a ceremonial procession
Woolman General term for people involved in the wool trade from keeping sheep to the finished product.
Alan Shelley, Officer Without Portfolio, 8th November 2012
Postscript: For information about the Gilds and the Craft Companies, please refer to my ‘Viewpoint’ Paper No.18.
Addendum to Terms Associated with Freemen
The following definitions are taken from a list at Berwick kindly supplied by Jim Evans
Achate & Reechate Liberty to buy and sell merchandise
Ae One
Akhis Turkish Guilds of artisans and merchants
Amerce To fine
Anker Dutch liquid measure of ten gallons
Bawbee Scottish coin originally worth six Scots pennies
Baxtar (Baxter) Baker
Bekenage Contribution towards upkeep of beacon/lighthouse
Bodle Scottish coin originally valued at one sixth of an English penny
Brieve Writ
Canagium Liberty to lay or alter conduit pipe through any man’s ground
Cannage Custom duty
Cartilage Structure
Certiorari Appeal to the King’s Bench from a lower Court
Coroner Originally a person who brought an accused before the magistrate. Has evolved into an officer conducting a court enquiry of a death
Court of Oyer &Terminer Court of Common Law
Court of Goal Delivery Court which could try capital offences
Court of Pie Poudre Literally dusty feet. Special courts to deal with fairs and markets
Court of Pleas Court covering civil cases
Crocket Seal required to mark goods before export
Cranage Toll for loading and unloading
Croft Enclosure of pasture or tillable land
Cruives Whicker baskets used to catch fish
Customar Persons responsible for marking goods for export (normally two, each carrying half the seal). Responsible for collecting export taxes
Dempster Court official who pronounced a judge’s sentence. Later Clerk to the Court
Distraint Right to seize goods or chattels for rent or service arrears
Escheat Forfeited property - for a minor or for lack of ownership or felony
Escheator Officer confiscating property on behalf of the Crown
Eyre From the Roman iter meaning journey - An itinerant court of justice, replaced by assize in the 13 century
Fang Stolen goods found in a thief’s possession
Fealty Obligation of fidelity to the monarch or lord
Ferme Fee Fixed sum paid annually to the Crown in place of the taxes normally collected by the King’s officers
Ferynemen In 12 &13th centuries, the inner council of the Freemen’s Guild, elected annually usually 12, but at Berwick there were 24
Feu Tenure of property in perpetuity or annual rent of same
Flesher Butcher
Forreyns Non resident
Forestalling Buying goods before the market sale to avoid toll
Frankpledge Surety of behaviour
Gate Old term for street
Groundage Fee for berthing
Hanaper Office in the royal chancery where fees were paid for enrolling charters and letters patent
Infangthef Right to try and hang a thief caught on the land
Ius Commune Common Law
Kain Duty paid to landlord in produce, eggs, fowl etc
Kieage Toll for unloading goods on a quay
Kieagium Discharge from kieage
Lastage Payment for carriage of goods
Lastagium Discharge from lastage
Leal True
Leipers Basket makers
Leistering Catch of fish with pronged spear
Lese-majesty Treason
Liner (Lyner) An inspector of demarcations between properties
Lock Handful, small quantity, sometimes due as a toll
Lot Burgesses requirement to undertake administrative duties of the Guild and Town
Martinmas Feast of St Martin, 11th November
Marches Boundaries
Merket Market
Mercat Cross Symbolising centre of the town where a market was held, can be a cross, a stone or a pole
Merk (Mark) Money value or weight of silver of 8oz
Michaelmas Feast of St Michael, 29th September
Murage Tax paid for erection/repair of Town Walls
Muragium Discharge from murage
Oyer and Terminer To hear and determine
Passagium Discharge for passage over a causeway or other highway
Pavage Toll or tax for paving streets
Pavagium Discharge from pavage
Petty Court Private court
Picage Payment for setting up booths or setting of stakes
Picagium Discharge from picage
Plack Scottish copper coin, four penny Scots or one third English penny
Plura Curia Plackitorum Common or local court
Pounders Keepers of the town fields
Pressage Right to import wine
Quarter Sessions of the Peace Court to try felonies or other demeanours
Regrate Buying to hold and sell at a higher price when supply was short
Render of Coin Paid in kind or later money
Sac and soc Right to the fines from local or private courts of law
Sacca To hold plea and correction in the Court
Sack of Wool Measure of forty stones troy
Scot Local tax
Seisin Feudal fealty to a lord for lands
Soc (Scot) Tax for administration and upkeep of the Town
Socca Surety of men for the Court according to custom
Soutar Shoemaker or maker of horse leather brogues
Stallanger Right of a non-freeman to a market stall
Staple Goods Goods upon which an export tax has been levied
Staple Port Designated port for staple goods
Stents Local taxes
Toft An area of land
Tollbooth Town House /Town Hall
Town Ferme Town lands providing income for the town
Tron Weighing beam for the sale of wholesale goods
Vinage Tax or Custom duties on wines
Vinagium Discharge from vinage
Warde Watch
Ward Penny Discharge from any payment for watching the walls
Watch and Ward To protect the town from attack
Woolfells Skins of sheep with the wool still attached
Yard Vegetable garden
Alan Shelley, Officer Without Portfolio, 18th February 2013