Markets

WPP's Sorrell Given Right to Herd Sheep Over London Bridge

By Jim Edwards

Updated on: November 25, 2008 / 11:36 AM EST / MoneyWatch

WPP chief Martin Sorrell has been given the freedom of the City of London by the lord mayor and other bigwigs. The purely ceremonial honor comes with a number of bizarre privileges dating back to medieval times. Among them is the right to herd sheep over London Bridge. Other rights Sorrell now has include:

To go about the City with a drawn sword.
To be married in St. Paul's Cathedral.
To be buried in the City.
If convicted of a capital offense, to be hanged with a silken rope.
To avoid being press-ganged (i.e. forced to work on a ship).
To be drunk and disorderly without fear of arrest.

Past "freemen" include The Queen, Florence Nightingale, Dwight Eisenhower and Theodore Roosevelt.