Honorary freemen, aldermen and officers

As a council, we can give honorary titles to individuals who have made a contribution to the borough. In the past, these titles came with special rights or privileges. This is not the case today. The following sections outline the history of honorary titles and why we give them.

History of Freedom of the Borough

In the past, the Freedom of the Borough of Guildford gave important privileges. For example, only freemen had a parliamentary vote and a tradesman had to be a freeman to set up a business in the town.

To become a freeman, a person had to be either:

• apprenticed to an existing freeman of the borough for at least seven years
• the eldest son of a freeman

Another way was by entry into the Corporation. This involved several years' unpaid service as a borough official or the payment of a fee.

John Aylward, a London clockmaker, received freedom to trade in Guildford in 1683 by donating the Guildhall clock.

The Reform Act of 1832 and the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835 removed the benefits enjoyed by freemen.

Honorary Freemen

The Honorary Freedom of Boroughs Act 1885 introduced awarding the Freedom of a Borough as an honour.

In 1972, the Local Government Act gave councils power to make 'persons of distinction and persons who have rendered eminent services' Honorary Freemen. The decision had to be made by two-thirds of councillors passing a resolution at a specially convened meeting.

In recent years, the council has awarded the Freedom of the Borough to:

• Bill Bellerby MBE - past Mayor (twice), and councillor from 1953 to 1995
• Doreen Bellerby MBE - past Mayor, and councillor from 1954 to 1995
• David Watts - former Chief Executive of the council from 1984 to 2002
• Andrew Hodges - past Mayor, former leader of the council, and councillor from 1976 to 2011
• Jen Powell - past Mayor, and councillor from 1987 to 2015
• Keith Churchouse - in recognition of his eminent and distinguished service to the Borough of Guildford in the fields of business, economic growth and prosperity, cultural endeavour, and charitable work
• David Goodwin - in recognition of the distinguished and eminent service to the Borough of Guildford as a councillor from 1999 to 2023

Despite it being the highest honour Guildford can award, the Freedom had no insignia associated with it until the introduction of blue-trimmed gowns in 1995.