WOMEN will be allowed to join a group for the first time in its 700-year history.

The City of Durham Freemen, which dates from the 14th Century, yesterday made the historic decision to admit women to its ranks.

The organisation overwhelmingly backed proposals to end its menonly rules last year, but the change has been delayed by complex legal hitches.

Although there are other groups of freemen across the country, Durham is one of only two in which membership rules are governed by Acts of Parliament. The other is Northampton.

After months of legal exchanges with the Government, it has been accepted that new legislation, such as the Equality Act 2010, sets aside the obstacles on membership for women.

The decision was formally made at the freemen’s May Guild Day in Durham Town Hall.

The first freemen’s guild, which represented the city’s skinners, is believed to have been established in 1327, but the first surviving written evidence of the formation of freemen dates from 1450, when the weavers’ guild was created.

Today, eight guilds survive, representing 130 freemen, the highest membership levels of modern times.

Members enjoy a number of ancient privileges, including the right to graze livestock on The Sands, near the city centre.

For centuries, membership was limited to men who served a craft apprenticeship in a recognised trade within the city’s boundaries or to the son of a freeman or husband of a freeman’s daughter.

Guilds chairman John Heslop said: “We are delighted the new criteria will give women the same entitlement as men to access the freedom.

We are confident this will be a development of great benefit and look forward to receiving nominations.”

Durham MP Roberta Blackman- Woods, who attended yesterday’s meeting and has been helping in the negotiations with the Government, said she was delighted.

She added: “The tradition behind the Freemen goes back hundreds of years and they represent a really important part of our local heritage and culture.

“Welcoming women into the society will only strengthen the excellent work they are already doing and I look forward to witnessing the first female member being inducted in the near future.”