COLCHESTER residents are being given the chance to have a ceremonial honour bestowed upon them and help keep history alive.

Colchester Council is now taking applications for residents to apply to receive the Freeburgess title.

The prestigious title is a ceremonial honour, dating back to the 1189 Royal Charter of Richard the Lionheart, which can be given to any Colchester resident.

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Successful applicants need to either have been apprenticed for seven years to a member of the Guild of Master Craftsman which also holds the title or have a parent or grandparent with Freeburgess status.

More than 400 Master Craftsman trades and crafts qualify from traditional occupations, such as cabinet makers, tree surgeons and coffin makers, to modern skills including aluminium fabrication and asbestos products and removal.

Colchester mayor Robert Davidson, said: “I encourage any Colchester resident who thinks they meet the criteria to apply for their Freeburgess status, and I look forward to meeting them at the forthcoming ceremony in Colchester Town Hall.

“While it is purely a ceremonial honour, upholding such aspects of our heritage is part of keeping history alive in the town.”

Applications, which are welcomed until 5pm on Friday, March 25, can be made here.