From: 154 Autumn 2021
Author: Chris Butterfield
In centuries past it would be a regular event for the Lord Mayor to lead a ceremonial ‘ride’ of the franchises of the City. There was no actual riding: the progress would be on foot or in a punt around the boundary of the city. (Punts were needed as so much of the boundary was delineated by watercourses.) The extent of the franchise defined the area within which the Freemen had a monopoly of trade.
As time passed, the boundary was marked by occasional stones and they, together with the development of reliable maps, meant there was no need to ride the franchise – at any rate to determine the city’s limits. But it was seen as a great social occasion, with music, merriment and large amounts of ale. As the city grew, so did the length of the journey, and it became less frequent. The last one was in 1984, led by Lord Mayor Frank Garside, although only a token walk taking in a short stretch of the boundary, and this has just been repeated on 4 October 2021. The occasion for this was the launch of a booklet entitled What a Liberty! Memorable Moments along Oxford’s Ancient Ridden Boundaries by Mark Davies, to mark the re-opening of the Museum of Oxford on 11 October.
As ever in the past the Freemen were represented. Music on this occasion was supplied by the Oxford Waits, one of whose traditional duties it was to accompany the Mayor on his progress. In period costume they played period music on some remarkable period instruments. The party boarded a boat at Folly Bridge to progress downstream in the direction of Iffley to the Free Water Stone, which marked the limit of waters that could freely be fished by Freemen. Here it was time for some of the merriment that characterised previous rides. The tradition developed for the Mayor to be greeted at the Free Water Stone by the King of the Sklavonians. But time has passed on, women are now admitted to the Freedom, and Susanna Pressel, who as Lord Mayor presided in 2008 over the first mass admission of women, seized on the opportunity to play the part. Her report reads:
It was a great honour to represent the Freemen of Oxford in the role of the Queen of Sklavonia. The name apparently comes from the medieval term “King of Slovens Hall”.
I had to wear a scarlet cloak and a golden crown and I had trouble finding them, until I asked the Oxford Playhouse, who kindly provided these essential props.
I waited for some time beside the Free Water Stone on the Thames towpath, getting strange looks from passers-by. When the Lord Mayor and his entourage finally arrived in their boat, I did my best to behave in a suitably raucous and disorderly manner, as befits the Mock Mayor or Lord of Misrule. Unfortunately the Lord Mayor had failed to bring the traditional bottle of brandy. It wasn’t until later that I was able to propose a toast (with a cup of tea) “to the Lord Mayor and Prosperity to the City”.
The renowned Oxford photographer Henry Taunt accompanied the 1892 ride, and left us many photographs, including one of the Mayor’s punt capsizing! He also left a song he composed, to be sung by the King of the Sklavonians. Susanna was reticent about singing this, so Caroline Butler of the Oxford Waits obliged, treating passers-by on the towpath to an entertaining few moments of song.
The party then returned upstream to Folly Bridge, and after coffee and some delicious pastries embarked on the walking of the Franchises. Only a relatively short distance was covered, finishing at The Fishes in North Hinksey. But this did include a section of the boundary alongside Hogacre Ditch which has remained unaltered since the first known records.
Many a Lord Mayor, to immortalise his name, would commission the erection of a boundary stone at some point along his walk. And this was done after the last franchise ride in 1984, leaving a stone in the garden of The Fishes, bearing the names of Frank Garside as Lord Mayor and Betty Standingford as Sheriff. It is now difficult to find in the vegetation, but Mark had succeeded in locating it, so it was nice to gather round it as a formal end to the occasion.