Six men have been made Freeman of the City of Oxford in an ancient ceremony at the Town Hall.

The exclusive title, held by about 300 people, allows the owner to graze animals on Port Meadow and fish from the banks of the River Thames.

In a ceremony presided over by Lord Mayor of Oxford Carole Roberts, the six new freemen - all sons or sons-in-law of former Freemen - swore allegiance to the Crown and vowed not to possess "foreign goods".

Surveyor Mark Shirley, 30, of King's Head Lane, Islip, and his brother, Julian, 29, followed in the footsteps of their father, Gerald, by becoming freemen.

Mark Shirley said: "My family has been in Oxfordshire for hundreds of years and I am Oxford born and bred. This continues the family tradition and makes me feel proud."Freemen date back to the middle ages, when, as predecessors of local councils, they ran towns' civic affairs. Freemen lost their powers following the Reform Act in 1834, but continued to exist where they owned property, such as Port Meadow in Oxford.

Other new freemen are Michael Smedley, of Parker's Hill, Kettsworth, Nigel Gatehouse, of Heathcote Place, Abingdon, James Stileman, of New Malden, Surrey, and Rodney Bruce, of Epsom, Surrey. Solicitor Tessa Street, from Northampton, became the first female freeman in 500 years in September when she was nominated as an apprentice of Oxford solicitor Chris Butterfield.

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