East Riding of Yorkshire Council worked closely with Beverley Pasture Masters to update the rules relating to the admission of Freemen and Pasture Freemen in Beverley. Prior to 2010, only sons of Freemen could be admitted a Freeman of Beverley. They must have been born in Beverley and must have been at least 21. In addition, their father had to have been a Freeman when the son was born.
There was also the possibility for admission as a Freeman by servitude (apprenticeship) although this had not been used for many years. The rules around servitude have remained unchanged. The original proposal was that the rules for admission as a Freeman would be restated and extended to allow daughters of Freeman to be admitted. The requirement to be born in Beverley would be removed because of the closure of Beverley Westwood maternity hospital and, it would no longer be a requirement for a Freeman parent to have been admitted as a Freeman before a child was born.
If a person is a Freeman of Beverley, they can also be admitted as a Pasture Freeman if they live in Beverley as it existed in 1835. This does not include Molescroft and some relatively recent residential areas of Beverley which are actually in Woodmansey parish. Pasture Masters are elected from the Pasture Freemen and are responsible for managing the three common pastures surrounding Beverley – Figham, Swinemoor and Westwood and Hurn. It was therefore proposed to extend the area comprised as Beverley for the purposes of the Pasture Freemen so that to be eligible a Freeman may live in the parishes of Beverley, Molescroft or Woodmansey.
The aspiration was to significantly increase the number of people entitled to become a freeman and pasture freeman to enable the ancient and important tradition of managing Beverley’s common land to continue. This could only be achieved by changing the law by enacting a local Act of Parliament.
Whilst the Beverley Freemen Bill was being progressed through the Houses of Lords and Commons, the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill was also being progressed as a public Act. As part of that Bill’s progression, amendments were made to give daughters the same rights as sons. The wording proposed was the same as that used in the Beverley Freemen Bill and therefore not only extended rights to daughters but also removed the birth restriction and the requirement for the parent to have been a freeman when the child was born.
The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill received Royal Assent on 12th November 2009 and the Council and the Pasture Masters were therefore able to remove the clause of their Bill that extended rights to daughters as this was no longer necessary. The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 came into force on 12th January 2010 which means that daughters of freemen may now be admitted as freemen even if they were not born in Beverley.
However, the Council and the Pasture Masters decided to continue with the Beverley Freemen Bill because it was still necessary to extend the area within which a freeman lives to enable them to be admitted as a Pasture Freeman and if they wish, stand for election as a Pasture Master. This would not have been possible under the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009.
The Beverley Freeman Bill passed through all the stages of the parliamentary process and no objections were received. It received Royal Assent on 21st January 2010 and immediately became law.