Background
Prior to the reform of town and city government by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, the rank of "freeman" existed in all boroughs. Freemen enjoyed exemption from tolls and other special privileges, and in most cases were the only persons eligible to vote at parliamentary elections. Depending on the borough's charter of incorporation, freedom could be inherited by sons, daughters or widows, or by ship to an existing freeman. Corporations also had the right to designate persons otherwise unqualified as freemen, and the purchase of freedom was also widespread.
The Radical authors of the original municipal reform bill had intended to entirely abolish the office of freeman. However, following a bitter parliamentary campaign where opposition came from both Whigs and Tories, those who held the rank of freeman on 5 June 1835, and their heirs and successors, continued to enjoy "the same Share and Benefit of the Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments, and of the Rents and Profits thereof, and of the Common Lands and Public Stock" of the borough. However, the Act expressly forbid the extension of freedom beyond this group of people, providing that "no Person shall be elected, made, or admitted a Burgess or Freeman of any Borough by Gift or Purchase". The Municipal Corporations Act 1882, which replaced the 1835 legislation, continued to reserve the "rights and interests" of existing freemen, and again banned the admission of persons to the freedom of the borough by purchase or gift.
Read more about this topic: Honorary Freedom Of Boroughs Act 1885
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