TRANSCRIPT
In 12th century London, the Worshipful Guild of Woolmen, an organised group of medieval merchants and traders known as a guild, was very powerful.
So important was the health of the wool industry that royal decrees were signed, stating people attending church on Sundays must wear woollen caps or that coffins must be laid with a wool shroud.
And anyone who was a Freeman of the City of London, and a member of the Guild, had the right to drive their sheep into the city of London across the old London Bridge without paying a toll.
And for the last decade, that tradition has been renewed by the same guild.
Damian Lewis, the actor famous for his roles in 'Homeland' and 'Band of Brothers', has been made a Freeman of the City of London, and so he was allowed this year to drive sheep across Southwark Bridge without paying a toll.
Wearing his grandfather's woollen trench coat from World War I and sporting a crook and with the help of a sheep dog - he leads a group of ewes over Southwark Bridge.
“I'm down here on this eccentric, very British honouring an old tradition where freemen of the city of London are able to drive their sheep toll-free, free of charge, across the bridge - London Bridge as it was in the day into the city of London in order to sell their produce. And I was asked to do it today, representing the Woolman Company, or the Worshipful Company of Woolman I believe to give it its full title. And I've just played shepherd, shepherd Lewis and it was very fun.”
Each year a master woolman is selected and dresses in all the pomp and pageantry of the post.
This year it's Manny Cohen's turn to wield the ceremonial sheep mace - his duties on the day include enjoying the company of the chosen celebrity and inspecting the sheep.
“Right, the reason we actually have the sheep drive here and basically we take sheep over the bridge because I am a freeman of the city of London. And being a freeman was the equivalent of the very first passport and you could go in and out of the walls of the city, you could travel all around England and you wouldn't be captured and become a serf, almost an indentured slave. So what we have is one of the rights is to take your sheep over the river free of toll to market. So we celebrate that today.”
The sheep for the event have come from Bedfordshire, north of London, from the family-run Manor Farm.
Sheep farmer Charles Seamark is managing his flock on the day - making sure no sheep escape into the heart of one of Europe's largest cities and caring for the welfare of the animals taking part.
“Well we have to bring the prettiest ones. So any that look good, they're the ones that come for today, because they've got to look good on the day for the celebrity, but also they've got to be well-behaved as well, so Dad goes away and he does other displays and shows with these sheep and they come here then if they're well-behaved and look good.”
While the wool industry was responsible for much of the country's wealth in medieval times, today the UK accounts for just three per cent of the world's total wool production.
And it's an industry that needs support; in 1995 wool prices were over 25 dollars a kilo... today, prices have fallen as lower as $1.50.
Charles Seamark again:
“As a wool producer fairly dire in some ways. It's hardly actually worth us shearing them for the wool that's produced. But we need to keep the cruise ships going, because they take a lot for carpets. And if we can get it in for insulation for houses, there's a big push for that, it's a great insulator so hopefully we can keep pushing that and that would be great for the wool industry.”
The Sheep drive event showcases British wool, demonstrating everying from traditional methods of spinning wool to innovative wool products such as biodegradeable plant pots made of low-grade wool.
Sheep, of course, are skittish and unpredictable and crossing a major thoroughfare in London is not without its mishaps.
Luckily there's a sheep dog waiting in the wings to step in if any errant sheep stray too far from the flock.
And that, too, is a tradition stretching back decades.
