Records of Bath City Freemen

The freemen or 'free citizens' of Bath were originally merchants who had the freedom to trade from shops and stalls within the city, to the exclusion of outsiders. It was possible to become a freeman by serving an apprenticeship of seven years to a freeman, or by purchase; local dignitaries and national figures were also elected as honorary freemen from time to time. In addition, until 1714 the mayor was also able to nominate freemen.

The number of freemen was not large - probably about a hundred in the sixteenth century, out of a total population of just over a thousand. From this small group, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries a smaller nucleus of active members developed, and this small group gradually - and partly by default - gained control of the government of the city. In the charter given to the city in 1590, the group was officially styled the 'Bath Corporation', consisting of a mayor, aldermen and about 30 common councillors.

The freemen who were not members of the Corporation retained their privileges for the next century, but by the eighteenth century they no longer had a monopoly on trade. Their only asset was ownership of the Town Common, which was let out and produced a small income, shared between the freemen; it was managed by the Corporation on their behalf.

The 1835 Municipal Corporations Act abolished the right to be elected as a freeman, or to become a freeman by purchase, leaving the serving of an apprenticeship as the only route.

In 1879, the Bath Act brought to an end to what had by then become an anomalous situation. The Council in effect bought out the freemen: ownership of the Town Common passed to the Council, and in return the freemen living within the borough received £25 per year for the rest of their lives, as long as they continued to live within the borough. Those enrolled as apprentices before 31 July 1878 and who subsequently became freemen, would also receive the £25 annuity, again as long as they were resident. At the time the Act was passed, there were about 35 freemen resident in the City.

In 1885, The 'Honorary Freedom of Boroughs Act' re-instated the right of boroughs to admit as honorary freemen individuals of distinction or those who had rendered services to the borough. The award of this freedom conferred no tangible rights, and was purely a mark of appreciation.

In 1888, the final enrolment as a freeman through the route of apprenticeship took place. From this date, only Honorary Freemen have been created.

This description has been complied with reference to:
William E Eyles, 'The Freemen of Bath and the Freemen's Estate', unpublished typescript essay, 1970
Trevor Fawcett, 'Bath Administer'd', Bath, 2001
John Wroughton, 'Tudor Bath', Bath, 2006
John Wroughton, Stuart Bath', Bath 2004

The records include:
Committee Minutes, 1829-1879
Registers of admission as freemen, 1712-1775
Registers of enrolment of freemen's apprentices, 1697-1776 (the volume covering 1706-1776 was formerly catalogued as BC/15/3, and appears with this reference on the Bath Ancestors database)
Apprenticeship indentures, 1735-1885
Papers relating to legal disputes and agreements with the Corporation, 1590-1879

The records have not yet been catalogued in detail. Please contact the Record Office for more information.