1

Number 61 November 2012

Reconstruction of the Freeman’s Arms in theFishing Heritage Centre in Grimsby

2

All ages enjoy reading the Gildhall News, Freya Branson,daughter of Nicola caught looking at the last issue

Leicester Freemen Christmas Cards available in packs of 6

3

Patron: Colonel Robert Martin OBEPresident: The Lord Mayor of Leicester

OFFICERS 2012 - 2013Master: J.E.Tolton

Deputy Master: A. ChettleClerk: L. Roffee

Chamberlain: M.B. Hill

WARDENSM.E. Ayres, E.L. Critchlow, J.D. Lewitt,

A. Marriott , B.W. Mudford, L. Kirk (co-opted)

Number 61 November 2012

4

GILDHALL NEWSNovember 2012

ContentsEditor’s comments 5

Report by John Tolton, Master of the Gild 5

New Hereditary Freemen 7

Report by Bill Hargrave, Chairman of the Board of Deputies 8

Report on the F.E.W. by your representitive Michael Ayres 9

Report on the Gild’s financial position 20

Income & Expenditure account for year ending 31st March 2012 21

Future programme - dates for your diarySaturday 10th November, Fish & Chip evening with a talk on Family History 12

Friday 14th December, visit to Pantomime at the Little Theatre 12

Friday 1st March 2013, Long Alley Skittles at the Coach & Horses 12

Saturday 13th April 2013, Wine & Cheese evening talk on Mediaeval Leicester 13

Contributions to the Gildhall NewsThe History of the Freemen of Leicester - part 4 by John Tolton 13

Pratt family traced back to 1560 with Freemen connections by Norman Pratt 15

Invitation dated 1905 inside back cover

Subscriptions 20

Gild products 20

For Amusement Only

I have a little SatNav 17

Have a good day 18

Kids in Church 18

Have you changed your address? 22

Forms included with the NewsletterForm to donated to St. Mary de Castro “Save our Spire” fund

Booking form for Long Alley Skittle night on 1st March 2013

Booking form for Cheese & Wine evening on 13th April 2013

Application for Membership & Associate Membership of the Gild

Standing Order form for Annual Subscriptions

Gild products order form

5

Editor’s CommentsI have included in this issue another one of the olddocuments that Eileen Greenwood found in her father’spaperwork after his death. They continue to give us anidea into the Leicester Freemen in days gone by. If youcome across any old documents that you think may be ofinterest to other Freemen please don’t hesitate to sendme copies.

If you have a story that would be of interest to other members, please putpen to paper, or finger to e-mail. We don’t need a book, only a short article,possibly one or two pages long. It could be longer if it’s enthralling!!Preferably I would like to receive them as an attachment to an e-mail ifpossible, but pen and ink is acceptable.

Brian MudfordReport by John Tolton, Master of the Gild

I would like to open my report by welcoming the sevennew freemen who were installed in a ceremony onThursday the 27th of September at the Town Hall.Congratulations to you all and I wish you a long andhappy association with the Freemen of Leicester.Further details of the ceremony are included in thenewsletter elsewhere.

This summer (perhaps you noticed it) the weather hasbeen appalling and we all feel cheated out of our annual dose of sunshine. Ithasn’t all been bad news though, our success in the Olympic Games has liftedus all and everyone involved in the event, both competitors and theorganizers, deserve the admiration of everyone. The whole games along withthe Paralympics Games made me feel proud of our country and the feel goodfactor carried us through such a dismal summer.

Shortly after the last newsletter there was a Gild outing to Grimsby to visitthe ‘Fishing Heritage Centre’ a multi award winning museum situated in thedocks at Grimsby, followed by a tour of the trawler Ross Tiger. Having touredthe museum I can see why it has won a number of awards. Many thanks toMaurice Hill for organizing the trip and more can be read about our day outelsewhere in the Gildhall News.

Each year the Coventry Guild of Freemen organize a games evening withskittles, table skittles, devil amongst the table, and other indoor games and

6

the Leicester Gild are invited to take part. Thirteen of us made our way overto the village of Barnacle on September 7th where the event is held and pittedour skills against those of the Coventry Freemen. Sadly as a team we did notfare to well but we did manage to boast the highest individual score by a lady.Ray Daniell’s guest, Daisy, won the Coventry & Leicester Guilds ChallengeTrophy for being the most successful lady of the evening by putting the rest ofour team to shame. The evening event is not advertised in the Gildhall newsbecause of the short notice we receive but interested Gild members shouldexpress their interest and they will be notified about next year’s event.Invitations are restricted to Gild members and their guests only.

Again in September a few of us went to York to attend the Freemen ofEngland and Wales Annual General Meeting and more of the weekend will bereported elsewhere in the newsletter.

Mick Ayres and I with our respective wives attended a cheese and wineevening early in September at the Church of St. Mary de Castro, an event heldto launch the ‘Save Our Spire’ appeal. The spire of St Mary de Castro is in areally poor condition with a crack in the fabric of the spire wide enough for aman’s arm to enter. There is a particular connection with the Gild of Freemenin that the church was founded in the year 1107 by Robert of Meulan, whoalso granted a charter in the same year to the Merchants of Leicester allowingfor the formation of a Gild of Merchants; the predecessors of the Freemen ofLeicester. Apart from a number of fund raising events to be organized by thechurch there is a ‘Sponsor our Stones’ initiative whereby sponsors donate asum of money for a stone which is dedicated to that sponsor. The nature ofthe stone depends on the sum of money donated. A sum of £250, or more,would pay for a decorated stone sponsored by and dedicated to the Freemenof Leicester. As Master of the Gild I would like to set up a fund with theobject of raising sufficient to sponsor a decorated stone, the money to beraised at functions and through donations, and I will start the ball rolling bydonating £10. Virginia Wright, a Leicester Blue Badge Guide, has agreed togive a talk at a cheese and wine evening at the Holt next March and agreedthat her fee will be donated to the fund.

On the last Saturday in September the Family History Society held a FamilyHistory Fair at Parklands in Oadby and the Gild were asked if they would liketo have a stand at the Fair; an offer that we took advantage of. Two of us,Lynn Roffee and I attended and our display showed something of the historyof the freemen and we also took along some registers of the freemen datingback to 1770. I was surprised at how busy we were dealing with inquiries and

7

general chit-chat about the freemen and pleased with the interest shown byvisitors generally. One particular visitor was of personal interest to me. Hetold me that he had met Roger Allen and that he knew Roger’s sister Janetand that his surname was Snow. So I told him that at junior school there wasa Diane Snow in our class to which he responded that Diane was his sister.The coincidence was further compounded when it transpired that he was inthe same class as my brother at junior school. We both enjoyed the day verymuch and it was a pleasure to tell people a little about the freemen and theirhistory.

This last year the number of articles from different Gild Members hasincreased adding a more varied content to the newsletters. The Gildhall Newsis yours and it is an excellent medium for us to keep in touch with each other.Many members cannot attend our functions for various reasons;geographical, age or whatever; but it is always a pleasure to hear from you, soplease continue sending in your articles and items of interest.

Congratulations to Brian Mudford for producing such an excellent journal andfor performing the task of chasing up contributors with a degree of diplomacyand tact.

John ToltonNew Hereditary Freemen

A Freemen’s Court was held on Thursday 27th September in the presence of theRight Worshipful the Lord Mayor of Leicester Councillor Abdul Osman alongwith Bill Hargrave, Chairman of the Board, Brian Mudford, Vice Chairman of theBoard, John Tolton, Master of the Gild of Freemen and Keith Harding, memberof the Gild of Freemen. The Lord Mayor welcomed everyone to the Court andgave a brief speech about the history of the relationship between the Freemenand the Government of Leicester.

After the opening speech the formal proceedings took place. The City Solicitor,Kamal Adatia, asked each applicant in turn to identify themselves and to confirmthat they had a witness present and the applicants were then asked to recitethe Oath of Freedom. On completion of reciting the Oath each new freemanwas asked to approach the bench in turn to sign the Oath.

The new freemen sworn in at the Freemen’s Court were:

Marjorie Bailey

Daniel Findley

Amanda O’Donnell

8

Kane O’Donnell

Sebastian O’Donnell

Theresa Smith

Gerald Whatley

Congratulations to all the new freemen and may their association with thefreemen be long and fruitful. See the back cover for a group photograph of thenew Freemen.

Report by Chairman of the Board - Bill HargraveIn August, our Freemen’s visitor, Eileen Carr retiredafter 13 years working for the Freemen of Leicester.Eileen has been a loyal and dedicated member of theteam. More than just the “freemen’s visitor” she hasbeen a true friend to the residents of the Holt.

A lunch held to mark her retirement was attended by50 residents and deputies. The residents presentedher with a gold necklace. The board added to the

residents’ farewell gift some matching earrings and a voucher for a weekendbreak for Eileen and the husband Howard.

Finding a replacement forEileen has been very difficult.Over 85 applications werereceived. Preliminaryinterviews and practicalitytesting of all the seriouscontenders reduced thenumbers to 11. These faced apanel of residents in “speeddating” type interviews toestablish those applicantswho were most compatiblewith the Holt environment.After final selectioninterviews and one false startMrs Sandra Stocks has beenappointed. Eileen receives her Weekend Break voucher

supported by Maurice Hill & Sandra Stocks

9

Following her initial training and an handover period with Eileen, Sandra hastaken to the post enthusiastically and is settling in well. Feedback fromresidents has been very positive.

September also saw “Freemen’s fun time” resume after the summer breakand the welcome return of Freemen’s Flicks. These activities are primarilyattended by residents of the Holt. However I would remind you that allfreemen are welcome to attend and participate in any of our events.

The new Lord Mayor, Cllr Abdul Osman conferred the Hereditary Freedom ofthe City on seven people in September. The next major ceremony isscheduled to be held on Saturday 19th of January 2013.

I have been informed by the Lord Mayor’s office that although they have anumber of initial applications very few of them have provided the necessarydocumentation to support their application. If you are aware of anyone whohave applied but have not been given a date for the ceremony, please askthem to contact the Lord Mayor’s office. Also if there are any otherprospective freemen who have not yet applied please encourage them toapply as soon as possible.

We are currently redesigning the Leicester freemen’s website. It is hoped thatit will not just sit in cyberspace but become a vehicle for improvedcommunication amongst the Freemen of the City of Leicester

The new website will be easier to maintain and keep fresh. In addition to thepublic information sections and current contact details there will be pages forboth historical articles and notices of future activities. it is hoped to includepassword protected “members areas” to allow registered freemen to accessboard minutes and other documents of interest.

Bill Hargrave

Report on the FEW (Freemen of England and Wales) byMichael Ayres

This year the AGM of the Freemen of England and Wales was hosted by theGild of Freemen of the City of York, which coincided with the 800th

anniversary of the granting of the first Charter to the City of York.

The weekend commenced on Friday 14th September with the registration ofthe delegates at 5 00 pm. This year the Leicester Gild was represented by sixmembers that included The Master, John Tolton, with his wife Josie, theDeputy Master ,Tony Chettle, Eric Critchlow and Michael and Jean Ayres.

10

With registration completed, we were able to sit down with a drink and chatwith freemen from other guilds and their wives before the welcome supperat 7 30 pm. After the supper we were entertained at 9 00 pm with apresentation by the Yorkshire Film Archives, this was a very interesting filmshowing life in York and the factories in olden times.

Saturday 15th September began with a Special Court Meeting to approve theamendment to Item 10b of the FEW Constitution, this was followed by theOpen Forum at 10 00am.

The AGM commenced at 11 00am. The full report of the meeting and theweekend events will be published in the Freemen of England and WalesOctober Journal no 172. (For the guests of delegates not attending the AGMthere was a walking tour of York with a Blue Badge Guide.)

The morning concluded with a buffet lunch at 12 30pm. In the afternoonmembers of the York Gild were available to guide guests to their own chosenattraction in York.

The evening began with Pre-Banquet entertainment of a Fanfare of YorkshireBrass at 6 30pm, preceding the Grand Yorkshire Banquet at 7 45pm held inthe magnificent 16th century Merchant Adventures Hall. The menu beganwith a starter of Smokehouse Fish Platter followed by the main course ofSirloin of Beef with Yorkshire pudding and local seasonal vegetables. ForDessert we had Trio of Yorkshire Desserts, followed with Yorkshire CheeseBoard. After which we had Tea, Coffee and Handmade Chocolates.

The Loyal Toast was proposed by the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor ofYork. Councillor Keith Hyman.

After a short break the toast to the Freemen of England and Wales wasproposed by the Master of the Gild of the Freemen of York, Mrs. Hazel Hague.The President to the England and Wales, Mr Alan Fallows, then responded tothe toast. The evening concluded at 11 00pm.

Sunday 16th September, we returned to the Merchant Adventurers Hall at 930am to robe ready for the procession to the Gild Church of All SaintsPavement at 10 00am. After the service at 11 30am we processed from theChurch back to the Merchants Adventures Hall for the Buffet Lunch at 12noon. At 1 00pm there was the normal farewell speeches before the Masterof the York Gild Hazel Hague handed the FEW Baton to the Master of theOxford Guild Howard Crapper in preparation for next year’s AGM in Oxford.

Michael Ayres

11

Trip to the Fishing Heritage Centre, Grimsby

19th August 2012Sunday 19th August dawned bright and sunny. At 9.30 prompt we set sail fromthe Holt and headed to Grimsby stopping on route for coffee arriving at theHeritage Centre at midday. The Centre is well laid out and the tour starts at thetop of the building and works down.

Room by room and level by level one gets a very in depth appreciation of thelife led by the trawler men from the heat of the boiler room, the cold of the icyconditions on the deck and where the catch was packed to keep it fresh. Thereare many very realistic tableaus showing where the crew worked and slept duringup to two weeks at sea.

After our time in the Centre we went on board the Ross Tiger trawler which ismoored in the river next to the Centre. Our guide, an ex trawler man, delightedin showing us around the vessel and its workings. In the engine room hedemonstrated the noise of the engines by playing a recording of the actual enginerunning albeit at only half the noise level and that was deafening. We saw themanual that the captain would have had to use for reference if he had beenforced to remove say an appendix when at sea, the mind boggles. The trawlermen earned every penny of their money living and working in an environmentlike they did.

We left the trawler and travelled down the road to the seafront in Cleethorpesand in the bright warm sunshine strolled along the front before visiting SteelsCorner house restaurant for dinner. Steel’s reputation is evidenced by the queuealong the pavement outside waiting to be admitted. However, our tables hadbeen reserved and we went straight in. The service and food was excellent andwhen I saw the superb piece of fish on my plate I thought of the trawler menbringing the catch on board whilst standing in icy conditions on the heavingdeck. The fish was cheap at half the price. We travelled back to the Holt andfinally anchored at 8.30 at the end of a most enjoyable day out.

Maurice Hill

2012 Garden PartyWell the party’s over and packed away for another year and I’m sure thateveryone will agree that it was a success and blessed with superb weather onthe day. As Chairman of the organising committee may I take this opportunity

12

to thank all those who worked tirelessly both at front of house and behindthe scenes to create such an enjoyable event. Thank you all.

On the day we raised £2100 for leukaemia and Lymphoma Research. There isonly one thing remaining to be done and that is to reveal the winner of theword search competition. Remember the competition was to find as manywords of 4 letters or more that can be found from the letters in “FREEMEN’SGARDEN PARTY”. Having carefully checked the entries the eventual winner,with an incredible 441 words, was, Lynda Bramley’s mother EileenStroczkowski, of Ashlyns Rise, Western Park, Leicester and so Eileen wins the£10 prize. See you all in 2014.

Maurice HillProgramme of Future Events

Fish and Chip Evening - Family History talkSaturday 10th November 2012 – 7.30pm

Freemen’s Holt, Old Church Street, AylestoneA few seats are still available. If you wish to attend please contact Maurice Hillwithout delay on 0116 289 5394

Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood pantomime14th December at the Little Theatre, Dover Street, Leicester.

Unfortunately we have no tickets available, as any spare tickets had to bereturned to the theatre by 1st November. If any more tickets are required,then interested parties should contact the Little Theatre directly.

Long Alley Skittles NightFriday 1st March 2013, arriving at 7.00pm

Coach & Horses, Field Head, Markfield LE67 9RF

Our Long-alley Skittles Night this year is again being held at The Coach andHorses, an Everards pub on the A50. Traditional skittles food will be served,there is a selection: Faggots, chips and peas, Steak & Ale Pie, chips and peas,and a Vegetable Lasagne, mixed salad and chips. Please indicate yourselection on the booking form. The evening will be very relaxed, as usual,there is a maximum capacity of 45, so don’t miss out and book without delay.The cost is only £8.00 each.

13

Cheese & Wine evening

Saturday 13th April 2013, a talk on Mediaeval Leicester - 7.30pm

Freemen’s Holt, Old Church Street, AylestoneVirginia Wright, one of Leicester’s Blue Badge Guides, will be joining us at ourcheese & wine supper in April to talk about mediaeval Leicester. Be sure tocome along and hear about local legend and myth, along with fascinatinghistorical and architectural facts of our fair city. It promises to be a veryinteresting and entertaining evening.

After the talk, supper will be served, accompanied with plentiful wine, beer orsoft drinks.

Tickets are priced at £8.50 each and you are urged to make your bookingearly.

Contributions to the Gildhall News*****************************

The History of the Freemen of Leicester - Part 4

To be a member of the Gild of Merchants offered many privileges but alsoincluded many responsibilities. In order to carry out any form of trade or businessactivity in Leicester one had to be a member of the Gild, not just the inhabitantsof Leicester, but traders from elsewhere also had to be members. An inspectionof the names of those early Gild members gives an insight into the extent of themembership in the 12th and 13th centuries. Because there were no surnamespeople were known by some identifying feature; their trade, their father’s name,some physical feature, or their home town; and it this latter means ofidentification that gives a clue to the geographical extent of the membership.There are a number of local villages identified in the early lists of admissions;Blaby, Barkby, and Saddington; and further afield such places include Winchester,Litchfield and Anglia. One name that particularly catches the eye is Simonis ofPetra, perhaps a connection with the Holy Wars.

Any person not belonging to the Gild was not permitted to carry out any kind ofbusiness within the borough, except on payment of a prohibitive toll. The Gild,through the authority of the Gild Court, framed the rules of commercialtransactions and punished those traders who offended against those rules. Fineslevied for any transgression of the rules were usually in the form of casks of alelater drunk by the brethren of the Gild.

14

Meetings of the Gild were called ‘Morningspeeches’ where new members wereenrolled and the business of the Gild was transacted. The members of the Gildwere summoned by the ringing of a bell to assemble at the meeting place;originally in the open by St Nicholas’ Church and later in a house specificallyrented then purchased for the Gild. Members of the fraternity were usuallyknown in those early years as ‘Brethren of the Gild’ but in later years wererecorded as ‘Freemen’.

On admission each new member took an oath of fealty to the Gild (as they dotoday), the provided a surety for the fulfillment of their obligations (today all isrequired is a witness with no financial risk), and they also paid an entrance feeunless they were the heir of a gildsman. It is interesting to note that before thetime of Simon de Montfort it was the youngest son who was heir to his father’scommercial rights; Simon in his role as Earl substituted the rights of inheritanceto the oldest son. The entrance fee for those who did not inherit the freedomwas 3 shillings for locals and 20 shillings for ‘strangers’ along with a ‘bull payment’which varied according to the market price of a bull at that time, but usuallybetween 6/8d and 13/4d. Bull baiting was a popular sport in medieval times andthough there is no record confirming that a bull payment was for this purposerecords from other towns would imply that this is the case. Indeed in Leicesterthere was a Gild regulation stating that no butcher should kill a bull unless it hadbeen bated beforehand.

Becoming a member of the Gild involved responsibilities, some of which areidentifiable in the oath taken, such as certain fines levied. The Gild Courtconsisted of 24 jurats and membership of the Court was not optional; if electedone had to accept the responsibility of taking their place on the Court. Thesame applied to the position of Alderman, or later Mayor, if elected it was notpossible to refuse the position. Other specific responsibilities given to individualsincluded that of Clerk, Bellman and Sergeant for the recording of meetings, forsummoning members to meetings and for the provision of law and orderrespectively.

The Court also imposed rules by which the members may carry out their business.Already mentioned was the requirement to bate a bull before slaughtering itbut rules also applied to other trades. Wool brought into town could only bepurchased by a Gildsman and the brethren had official guides to help them buywool in the neighboring country. One gild member was banished for a year anda day for telling a stranger the ways of the country. It was forbidden for Gildsmento sell raw wool to strangers but cloth manufactured from wool could be sold towhom they pleased. There was an expectation that the Gild members should

15

be honest in all their dealings and goods were frequently inspected for defectsin their quality and weight and it was the duty of Gildsmen to report defectivegoods. The fixing of prices without the approval of the Gild was also forbiddenas were the wages of weavers. It was not just the cloth industry that rules wereimposed upon. The wives of butchers were not permitted to purchase meatand then to sell it again unless the meat was cooked. Meat dealers must eitherbe butchers, who kill and dress the joints for sale or be cooks who prepare themeat for immediate sale. Meat for sale could not be exposed for more thanthree days and bakers could not sell bread that had been exposed for more thana week.

The rules of the Gild of Merchants were wide and varied but were there to bothprotect the members of the Gild and to protect the customers from unscrupulousdealings.

In the early part of the 12th century the main industry in Leicester was in themanufacturing of cloth, although this appears to have diminished in the latterpart of the 13th century because the industry moved out to the countryside.Primarily Leicester became a centre of trade after the decline of the cloth industrywhich led to the colonization of the area between the present Silver Street,Grey Friars and the present market place by stalls, shops and houses. The siteof the Grey Friars has reached international fame recently with the finding ofthe bones of possibly King Richard III. It is not only the industry that changed inLeicester, the meeting place of the Merchant Gild moved on from the openmeeting place by the Church of St. Nicholas, but more of that in the next GildhallNews.

John ToltonPratt family traced back to 1560 with Freeman connectionsTracing ones ancesters back into the depths of time can be an intriguing andtime consuming business but it also has great rewards. Since returning to myhome county of Leicestershire some seven years ago after 18 years away andbeing in posession of certain documents relating to my ancestry I decide todelve further.

In a previous article to the Guildhall News I related my great grandfathersexperience as Bank Manager of the Pares Bank in Loughborough, when hewas shot at by a footpad and the pistol ball passed through his hat. That isrecorded in a 1840 Police Poster offering a £100 reward for information given.I also indicated that his father was a Hosier, renting out knitting machines to

16

cottage industrial workers, supplying them with yarn, and then taking theirproduct to market. Both were Freemen of the then Borough of Leicester.However, at the time I was having difficulty taking the line back further.

I put my family tree on the web and withing a few weeks got replies fromother Pratt associated families across the country. One of these was able tosupply a further seven generations back until we were in the 1560’s. It tookme some time to confirm the individuals but now I am satisfied that they dorepresent my ancestrial lineage.

So! For your interest, I would like to extract a few items which relate to myLeicester City Freedom as indicated from the records, Each name mentionedwas the son of the preceeding name. -

William Pratt, born 1606 was a Taylor from Long Watton.Gorge Pratt, born around 1636 was a Yeoman and married a Birkhead(Brewer).John Pratt, born 1649, was a Freeman and an alderman of the Borough ofLeicester and in 1705 became Chamberlain of the Borough.. He wasapprenticed to a Thomas Birkhead .He married twice and had 11 children by his second wife Dorothy Rayson,daughter of George Rayson, gentleman.

George Rayson Pratt, born 1699, was made free in 1721, followed by JohnPratt his son born in 1742 and made free in either 1758 or 1762 (Someconfusion). It was this gentleman who produced a son, John Pratt, bornaround 1780, who became the Hosier and was also made free, followed by hisbank manager son. Both were also Freemasons of St Johns.

For some reason my grandfather and father did not take up their freedombut, as I have already related, when I returned to Leicester seven years ago Imade contact and shortly afterwards was made free. Since then my eldestdaughter, Prof. Karen Pratt, my second daughter, Dr Julie Pratt, and my sonSteven Pratt have all received the Freedom of the City and I have twograndsons who I sincerely hope will follow on with the long Pratt tradition.

With the arrival on the Freeman scene of all of the new Freemen, both maleand female I sincerely hope the tradition of apprenticeships, skills transfer,and association with Leicestershire trade and Commerce can continue andthat we, the current generations, can leave a legacy of entrepaneurship thatour forefathers generated and nurtured in the past.“Long live Freedom” .

Norman Pratt

17

I have a little SatnavI have a little SatnavIt sits there in my carA Satnav is a driver’s friendIt tells you where you areI have a little SatnavI’ve had it all my lifeIt’s better than the normal onesMy Satnav is my wifeIt gives me full instructionsEspecially how to drive”It’s thirty miles an hour”, it says”You’re doing thirty five”It tells me when to stop and startAnd when to use the brakeAnd tells me that it’s never everSafe to overtakeIt tells me when a light is redAnd when it goes to greenIt seems to know instinctivelyJust when to interveneIt lists the vehicles just in frontAnd all those to the rearAnd taking this into accountIt specifies my gear.I’m sure no other driverHas so helpful a deviceFor when we leave and lock the carIt still gives its adviceIt fills me up with counsellingEach journey’s pretty fraughtSo why don’t I exchange itAnd get a quieter sort?Ah well, you see, it cleans the house,Makes sure I’m properly fed,It washes all my shirts and thingsAnd - keeps me warm in bed!Despite all these advantagesAnd my tendency to scoff,I do wish that once in a whileI could turn the damned thing off!

18

Have a good day

An OAP drove his brand new BMW Z4 convertible out of the carsalesroom. Taking off down the motorway, He floored it to 100

mph, enjoying the wind blowing through what little hair he had left.

”Amazing!” he thought as he flew down the M1, enjoying pushing the pedalto the metal even more. Looking in his rear view mirror, he saw a police carbehind him, blue lights flashing and siren blaring.

”I can get away from him - no problem!” thought the elderly nutcase as hefloored it to 110mph, then 130 then 150mph.

Suddenly, he thought, “What on earth am I doing?

I’m too old for this nonsense!” So he pulled over to the side of the road andwaited for the police car to catch up with him.

Pulling in behind him, the police officer walked up the driver’s side of theBMW, looked at his watch and said, “Sir, my shift ends in 10 minutes. Today isFriday and I’m taking off for the weekend. If you can give me a reason whyyou were speeding that I’ve never heard before, I’ll let you go..”

The old man looked very seriously at the policeman and replied, “Years agomy wife ran off with a policeman. I thought you were bringing her back.”

”Have a good day, Sir”, said the policeman.

Kids in church3-year-old Reese :’Our Father, Who does art in heaven, Harold is His name. Amen.’~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A little boy was overheard praying:’Lord, if you can’t make me a better boy, don’t worry about it. I’m having areal good time like I am.’~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~After the christening of his baby brother in church, Jason sobbed all the wayhome in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what waswrong. Finally, the boy replied, ‘The vicar said he wanted us brought up in aChristian home, and I wanted to stay with you ’~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they were on the way tochurch service, ‘And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?’ One brightlittle girl replied, ‘Because people are sleeping.’

19

Gild Products

Gild products make very useful birthday gifts and attractive Christmaspresents, particularly the cuff links, ties, lapel badges, pens and key-rings.

The Christmas card showing a delightful photograph of a frosty morning atthe Holt, taken by Lynda Bramley are still available in packs of 6 for £4.00. Seephotograph inside front cover.

The order form which is included should be completed and sent to MauriceHill, 3 Mossdale Road, Kingsway, Leicester LE3 2UT, and products will be sentby return mail.

If you have any queries about the products please contact Maurice Hill on0116 2895 394

Subscriptions

Subscription rates for members and associate members increased from April2012 to £9.00 and £6.00, respectively.

This means that those members who kindly pay by standing order, if youhaven’t amended your standing order, as requested in the Gildhall News, yourbank will have paid the incorrect amount on 1st April 2012.

Would you please check your bank statement. If you have under-paid wouldyou please send a cheque for the amount owing to Maurice Hill, 3 MossdaleRoad, Kingsway, Leicester LE3 2UT.

For those of your who are amending your Standing order, or are newmembers who wish to start a Standing order, then this is the procedure touse. Using the form with this issue of Gildhall News, complete the informationon the two pages. The first page should be sent to Maurice Hill at his addressabove, the second page of the Standing order should be posted to your bankmanager. If you have any queries on completing the Standing order pleasecontact Maurice Hill on 01162895394.

The Gild Court much prefers payment by Standing Order, as it makes foreasier administration. However, if you prefer, you may pay by cheque in thetraditional manner, sending in the enclosed form with your payment.

20

REPORT ON THE GILD’S FINANCIAL POSITION

Maurice Hill - Chamberlain

Roger Allen has proven to be a difficult act to follow because he was alwaysmeticulous in his work but unfortunately in the last few months before his mostuntimely death he did not have the strength to complete some of his work asChamberlain of the Gild.

When I took over in April 2012 my first task was to gather together all therequired information in order to get the accounts audited. This proved to be amost challenging task. First the bank took almost two months to hand over theresponsibility for the accounts to me because they lost all the paper work wehad submitted to them, a lot of information was scattered at various addresses,some information was incomplete and other information was, frankly, lost.Finally I had enough information in order to meet with our Honorary AuditorRussell Mason.

After a fairly lengthy session with him it was agreed that in the circumstanceswe could prepare a reasonable picture of the Gild’s financial position albeit not100% correct but certainly the best possible given the circumstances .

The audited accounts entitled “Income and Expenditure Account for the yearended 31March 2012” are printed on the opposite page and show figures forthe current year compared with the previous year.

The most significant feature of the accounts is the worth of the Gild is shownas £999 increase on the previous year. The stock of Gild insignia would appearto have been over valued for some time. Stock we have held for quite a whileshould have possibly been written off or at least written down. Actualprovenance of some items is not available making it impossible to determinethe original cost and just as important, from where to buy replacement stocks?The exact number of members was not possible to determine exactly becausebank statements from April to December 2011 were missing and these wouldhave contained listing of all who have paid their subscription by standing orders.

I do apologise for my little whinge but I am enjoying the challenge of the joband hope that I will be in a much better position to present the accounts nextyear. In closing can I remind you all that the annual subscriptions were increasedthis year to £9 for members and £6 for associate members. Quite a number ofyou have paid at the old rate. If this applies to you please submit the differenceASAP in order that I am in a better position to balance the books next year.

Any queries should be addressed to the Gild’s Chamberlain, Maurice Hill, on0116 2895394

21

The Gild of Freemen of the City of Leicester

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2012

2012 2011INCOME £ £Entrance fees 22 24Annual subscription: Gildsmen : 813 1,342 Associate members : 245 1,058 428 1,770Donations 18 54Sales of Gild insignia: Gowns, ties, badges, etc. 947 914 Less cos (1,445) (498) (983) (69)Bank interest 2 2

602 1,781EXPENDITURE

Functions and events: Expenses 6,823 7,571 Income (8,313) (1,490) (6,806) 765Printing, postage and stationery 722 1,293Freemen of England and Wales: Membership subscription - 2011 60 30Donation to Lord Mayor’s Appeal 200 200Insignia presented to: Civic authorities 28 28 Other Guilds 0 0Miscellaneous expenses 83 241

(397) 2,557

Excess (deficit) of Income over Expenditure 999 (776)

Add Balance from previous year 6,046 6,822 7,045 6,046

REPRESENTED BY:

Cash at Bank 5,448 5,444Stock of Gild insignia 1,844 1,865Prepayments 0 157

7,292 7,466

Less Cash received in advance and creditors (247) (1,420) 7,045 6,046

I have examined the books and vouchers of the Gild and certify that the

Income and Expenditure Account is in accordance therewith.

Russell D Mason, Honorary Auditor 21 September 2012

22

Have you changed your address ?In the event that is necessary to inform the Gild or the Board of any changein circumstances then the information should be sent to:

Lynda BramleyClerk to the BoardLeicester Freemen’s Estate32 Freemen’s HoltOld Church StreetAylestoneLeicester LE2 8NH

Telephone: 0116 – 283 4017E-mail: leicester.freemen@talktalkbusiness.net

Leicester Freemen web site: www.leicester-freemen.com

Copy for the next issue should reach the Editorby

Friday 18th January 2013

For your News and Views write to :

Brian Mudford11 Huntsman CloseMarkfieldLeicestershireLE67 9XE

Telephone 01530 245414e-mail: brianmudford@tiscali.co.uk

23

Invitation dated 1905 to the Celebration of Centenary of the acquisition by the Freemenof their Lands as Freehold Lands found by Eileen Greenwood in her father’s papers.

Seated from left to right either side of the Lord M

ayor, Cllr Abdul O

sman, are Brian M

udford, Vice Chairm

an of the Board of Deputies,

Bill Hargrave, C

hairman of the Board of D

eputies, John Tolton, Master of the G

ild of Freemen and K

eith Harding a m

ember of the G

ild ofFreem

en.The three ladies and four gentlemen standing are the new

Freemen after their sw

earing in ceremony on 27th Septem

ber 2012