Daughters of Grimsby follow in their fathers' footsteps to become Freemen
THE daughters of former Grimsby Freemen will soon be able to claim cash from land left to their forefathers after being welcomed into the ancient fraternity.
Hundreds of women from the town are expected to take advantage of the financial benefits of becoming a fully-fledged member of the Enrolled Freemen Of Grimsby after a change in government legislation scrapped the 800-year-old male-only rule.
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Stephen White, chairman of the Freemen Of Grimsby, with Councillor Norma Lincoln.
Other changes to the Freemen entry criteria mean new applicants no longer have to be born in the town, leading to fears the historic movement is being stripped of its tradition.
Read more about the changes, and reaction, in today's Grimsby Telegraph.
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by Observer, Town Hall Square
Wednesday, September 01 2010, 3:23PM
“realist:grim
Nice sentiment Bro! but to invest you need money - lots of it.
I understand that the present number of Freemen are 1300. I also understand that they each receive about £180 per YEAR after taxes and the Council's bit have been taken out. Roughly speaking this totals just over £250000.
Now, looking at Freemo and what needs to be done, what yo gonna get for 250 grand Bro? Not a lot, it needs MILLIONS and I dont fancy my council tax being doubled (or more) just to tart up a few derelict shops down Freemo.
What the Freemen should do (IMHO) is to sell off all the land to the big developers and let them build whatever they want. They do say that one of the most profitable shops in Freemo is Little Amserdam”
by realist, grim
Wednesday, September 01 2010, 1:23PM
“so if these present freeman landlords own most of the land on the east marsh why arnt they investing the money in to the main shopping street ( thus title freeman st ) i have never seen so much run down derlict properties , surly a tin of paint and a few boardings to make this more a apleasing to investers , or even knock the freeman way down that isnt being used make it a green space , make some parking spaces on the street !!”
by josephine white, Grimsby
Tuesday, August 31 2010, 9:08PM
“Fascinating,
Sincere thanks, Observer, for taking the time to answer so clearly .. (and so knowledgeably too).”
by Observer, Town Hall Square
Tuesday, August 31 2010, 7:39PM
“Josephine White:
Where does the money come from?
It is rent from the land owned by the Freemen.
Going back a few years, to 1341, there was a lot of waste marsh land, at that time outside of the Borough boundary.
The King of the day, Edward III gave this land to the Mayor and Burgesses, thus giving them sole rights to the land so they could pasture their sheep, cattle etc which had the effect of bringing it within the boundary..
Originally it was East Marsh but some land in Haycroft and Littlefield was later added by the Enclosure Acts.
What took its value from virtually nothing to its present day value was the building of a new dock (around 1796) and the coming of the Manchester, to Grimsby railway (1848).
Further development took place from the 1850¿s when the Freemen realised that, as a result of the new docks development and the railway, the town now needed building plots for workers houses. Land which had been salt marsh was now valuable building land. (No Greenfield sites then).
They decided that the best way to deal with this was to turn the land into plots and lease them on 99 year leases, rather than sell it to developers.
Ergo, they had a lucrative annual income from the land without losing it.
In a way, today¿s Freemen are really landlords but in a much lesser way than their forefathers.”
by josephine white, Grimsby
Tuesday, August 31 2010, 4:35PM
“So where does the money come from?
(Apologies if I appear thick .. but I don't get this at all)”