More than 100 people joined the Mayor of St Albans City and District to perform the ancient ceremony of beating the bounds.

The event dates back almost 700 years to 1327, when the townspeople rebelled against the authority of the established church.

Townspeople rioted against the Abbot, and following the uprising, 24 citizens walked around the town to lay down its boundaries.

They that declared their rights and freedoms within this area should be respected and their action has been marked ever since with the practice.

The star of the show was Mayor Salih Gaygusuz’s three-week-old grandson Jack Goodlad, who became the youngest citizen of St Albans to be ‘bumped’ – gently raised up in the air in the tradition of the peasantry.

Cllr Gaygusuz said: “I was delighted with the turnout for this historic ceremony – and particularly pleased to see my baby grandson.

“The occasion is a celebration of the heritage of this great city and I am very proud that Jack is now part of that.

“Watching him being given the bumps is one of the highlights of my year as Mayor.”

The Mayor was accompanied at the event on May 1 by Mayoress Maureen Gaygusuz, Deputy Mayor Cllr Gill Clarke, and Mace Bearer John Hills.

Beating the bounds involves a 4.5mile walk along the city’s boundary to assert the historic rights of citizens.

The walk started at the pudding stone in front of Kingsbury Mill in St Michael’s Village and finished two hours later at the Roman Museum with tea and biscuits.