HOLMFIRTH artist Ashley Jackson received the Freedom of the City of London yesterday.
The 65-year-old, who works from his studios in Holmfirth, was given the honour at a ceremony in the Guildhall.
Mr Jackson was nominated as a freeman of the city by Keith Madeley, the president of the Yorkshire Society.
The artist is producing 250 watercolours of the Cow and Calf Rocks on Ilkley Moor to mark the society's silver jubilee.
He was joined at the ceremony in London by wife Anne and daughters Claudia and Heather.
He said: "It's a great surprise and an honour for a lad from Barnsley."
However, it is not known whether the painter of bleak Yorkshire landscapes will exercise his right as a freeman to drive sheep across Tower Bridge.
