Women's Fellowship Events at
St Peter's Church Farnborough, Hampshire
Church of England, Diocese of Guildford

Jonathan has been Farnham's Town Crier since winning a competition in 2003 and often represents Farnham in national Town Crier competitions.

He told us about how he became the town crier, the history and about the distinguishing clothes he wears. He explained that he had the shoes made by a specialist and it is a modern idea to have a left and right, his ones are versatile and can be worn either way, as the photographs show.  Apart from a loud voice, the tools of a Town Criers trade are the bell and scroll.

The bell is an obvious means of gaining the attention of a crowd, although occasionally a drum or a horn may have been used. The scroll was a convenient way of ensuring that it was easy to read straight along the lines of a text, by rolling the scroll as it is read. After the proclamation had been read the scroll was often nailed to a post for the more literate members of the populace to read at their leisure - hence the expression 'to post a notice'. The Town Criers trademark call of "Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!" is derived from the old French expression for "Listen!" or  "Hear Ye!". Traditionally, Town Criers finish their proclamations with "God Save The Queen! (or King)".

He finished the talk by giving us a demonstration of a proclamation and then answering questions.

The retiring collection was for the Meningitis Trust as requested by Jonathan.

Photos:

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