One of my ancestors was made a freeman of the borough of Pembroke. I know this because it’s recorded in his parish register.

Now what I know about people being granted the freedom of the borough is that it is a significant honour reserved for those who have done something of great value to the town, like freeing it from a plague of rats, or who had done something immensely noteworthy, like being the first man ever to row backwards round the world in a bathtub, using his wooden leg as a oar. That sort of thing.

So when I discovered that my Anthony Thorne was made Freeman of Pembroke borough in 1714, I was quite excited. What could he have done to earn such a signal honour? It was especially puzzling as he was a farmer in the parish of Nolton, which is fifteen miles from Pembroke for the…