Nick Howard bestowed with Freedom

A contact lens optician from Skipton and a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers has been bestowed with Freedom of the City in a ceremony with the Chamberlain of the Court and the Beadle.

Nick Howard, who sometimes works in London and is well known in the contact lens industry, accepted the Freedom which is a tradition thought to date back to 1237.

Howard said: “As a Northern lad who works from time to time in London, I am amazed and a touch overwhelmed that I was invited to apply for the Freedom. As a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers – a highly respected sixteenth century London Guild, I was given the opportunity to become part of the splendid tradition and heritage associated with this walled city.’