Anybody who wished to trade freely in medieval Norwich had to become a freeman.

It’s an old tradition that freemen had the right to be hanged with a silk noose!

New freemen have to swear an oath to be ‘buxom’ to the mayor. This is a medieval way of declaring obedience and loyalty to the mayor.

Under the freemen’s governance, Norwich grew to become England’s second city after London for 200 years – 1525 to 1725.