When the call of Oyez, or Hear Ye, rang out throughout the town everyone knew to stop what they were doing and to fall silent, to gather round and to listen to what the town crier, or bellman, had to say.
It was, after all, the only way one had of hearing the latest news.
So it was in medieval England. The man (it was nearly always a man) in the tricorne hat, red and gold robe, black boots and white breeches, clanging a bell, broadcasted his information to all the good folk of the town. And the people had an interest in hearing what he had to say. If we were going to war with France again and the man of the house was likely to be spirited off by a press gang it was always useful to know in advance.
For those whose thing is advertising, it is interesting that news brought to the towns and villages by the criers was not always of a simply informative kind. He was also a useful conveyor of news that some hooky gear was going cheap. For instance during the Christmas shopping period of 1798 the Chester Canal Company sold some sugar that had been damaged in their packet boat and this was advertised by the local bellman.
The tidings brought by the town crier werent always well received either. It is recorded that in 1620, once again in Chester, a fight broke out between some local butchers and bakers, the cause of which is not apparently known, following an announcement by the bellman. When it was the unwelcome duty of the town crier to announce a tax increase he was often the subject of discontent for the angry townspeople, and it was deemed necessary to remind them that the crier carried news as a representative of the monarch and that to harm him was considered an act of treason. This is thought to have been the origin of the well-known saying Dont shoot the messenger.
Bellmen still exist in some parts of the country today. They are formally represented through an association called the Loyal Company of Town Criers. Any official town crier is able to join the company, and take part in competitions that are held around the country at different times of the year.
Today of course we have a range of alternative means of imparting information and advertising
items for sale, from the web to
cards in the window of the local shop. One company in
SW London has uniquely attempted to combine the two, with some degree of success.
