TEACHING ASSISTANT: Joanne Vest, 35, from Bishop Auckland, is installed as a Freewoman of Durham with Mayor of Durham, Councillor Pauline Charlton, left, and deputy chairman Joe McElwee, from the Freeman of Durham, at the event in the town hall
A TEACHING assistant has joined the ranks of a city’s “freewomen”.
Joanne Vest, who works at Evergreen Primary School, in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, was installed as a member of City of Durham Freemen in a ceremony at Durham Town Hall today (Monday, August 12).
The 35-year-old, who celebrated her birthday the day before, was one of several new members joining the Drapers’ guild in a ceremony overseen by Councillor Pauline Charlton, the Mayor of Durham and chairman of Durham County Council.
Following nearly 700 years as an all-male organisation, the Freemen admitted its first women in February last year.
Miss Vest, who lives in Durham City, joins her brother, father and grandfather in the group’s ranks.
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