Family honoured for town link
A group of Shropshire men are continuing a 340-year-long tradition by becoming freemen of their town - following dozens of other family members on whom the honour has already been bestowed.
Roy Foxall, 76, and his three sons Robert, Richard and Jonathan, will be made hereditary freemen of Bridgnorth by the town council - along with family members Dennis, Jonathan Thomas, David, Robin and Michael Foxall.
Roy Foxall, of Conduit Lane, Bridgnorth, today said it was a great honour for the family.
He said: "I have been asked several times to be a freeman and I said no, but as my sons have grown up and I now have grandchildren it is nice to keep the tradition going."
The early Foxalls were made freemen as part of the 17th century practice of all businessmen in the town becoming freemen.
Freemen of the town used to have responsibilities for the poor and helped make decisions in the town, much like councils do nowadays.
Mr Foxall and his wife Alison have been researching their family tree and found the oldest recorded Foxall was Richard, who was made a freeman of Bridgnorth in 1666.
Roy's great grandfather, Robert, was mayor of Bridgnorth in the 1920s, and the Foxalls have owned an array of businesses in the town over the years.
There were Foxall Coal Merchants in the 1920s, Foxall Coaches from the 1920s to the 1980s, and Foxall electrics - started by Roy's second cousin Len - is a prominent High Street business today.
The 1950s saw John Foxall's garage in Low Town by the bridge over the River Severn, and various family members have run pubs, including The Shakespeare.
Roy Foxall was a postman in Bridgnorth for 43 years and his sons have taken up varied careers.
Robert, 36, is a performer in a travelling circus, 34-year-old Richard is a manager at Bridgnorth-based David Dextor Motor Vehicles Repairs, while Jonathan, 29, is a residential care worker at a Cornwall children's home.
A ceremony for the new freemen will be held on a date to be fixed by the town council.
Along with the Foxalls, Robert, Michael, Andrew, Simon and Daniel Head will also be made freemen at the ceremony.
Family member Tony Head, the master of the Gild of Bridgnorth Freemen, said the tradition was important.
Mr Head added that he was pleased to see it being continued in Bridgnorth families such as the Foxalls.
By Simon Alton
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