The Rights and Duties of a Freeman

Freemen's rights, duties and privileges were once very real and varied and have from time to time included the right to trade retail and wholesale in the borough, freedom from toll in other protected towns, the right to send sons to the Free Grammar School without payment, the obligation to pay local dues, the right to an allotment garden and the right to tenancy of a freemen's bungalow.

The Freemen's Estate originated in an Inclosure Act of 1804 which conferred on resident Freemen of the Borough (and the Widows of such Freemen) a common or pasture over some 490 acres of fields in St Mary's Parish and 116 acres of Burgesses' Meadows.

The Act appointed Commissioners who made an Inclosure Award in 1811 allotting to resident Freemen and Freemen's Widows 36 acres of land between Aylestone Road and the River Soar,two2 acres at Saffron Lane and 85 acres between Welford Road and Aylestone Road. The last mentioned was to become known as Freemen's Common. The allotment replaced the earlier rights of pasture.

Two further Acts in 1845 divided the Freemen's Allotments into plots of no more than 500 square yards. It empowered deputies to manage these and let them to Freemen and Freemen's widows for a small rent. The deputies were also empowered to purchase and sell lands and to build and endow cottages for aged Freemen and Freemen's widows to rent. The Freemen's Common was sold in 1965 and 7 acres of land purhased in Aylestone on which bungalows were built for aged and needy freemen and their widows.

The Leicester Freemen's Act of 1898 constituted 21 elected deputies as a body corporate with power to acquire and hold land for the purposes of their constitution.

In 1920 Leicester Corporation purchased Freemen's Meadows for a generating station.

In 1922-23 the Charity Commissioners made a scheme providing for the upkeep and management of the Freemen's allotment land and cottages. At that time the Leicester Freemen's Deputies held 112 acres of land. By 1926 this had been reduced to 95 acres through sales to Leicester Corporation. There were 24 Freemen's Cottages and 92 Freemen and widow pensioners receiving between three shillings and ten shillings a week from deputies.

Nowadays Freemen and Freemen's widows may still be entitled to reside in bungalows at Aylestone. Charitable payments are given out by the deputies and may vary according to the circumstances of the individual Freeman or Freeman's widow.

The estate is governed by the 21 deputies, all of course being Freemen, a full time clerk and part time welfare visitor.

The Matthew Simon's Charity provides for an annual payment to the eldest freemn or freeman's widow.