Loudest man in Newport to take part in town crier competition
The loudest man in Newport will take part in a national competition for town criers this weekend.
Town criers from across the country will travel to Otley in Yorkshire for the first Otley Open Town Crier competition. Among them will be Newport and Stafford's crier Peter Taunton.
The competition is held on Sunday, September 23, the same weekend as the Otley Folk Festival. It will see Peter and 10 other town criers in their regalia parading through the town before the start of the competition at 11.30am.
Competing under Loyal Company of Town Criers rules, contestants will be required to offer their ‘hometown cry’ extolling the virtues of their hometown in the morning, followed by a ‘subject cry’ on Chippendale in the afternoon.
The subject of Chippendale was inspired by 2018 being the 300th anniversary of the birth of world-renowned cabinet maker Thomas Chippendale, who was born in Otley in the summer of 1718.
Competitors will vie for a series of prizes including Overall Winner, Runners Up, Best Dressed Town Crier, Best Dressed Consort and Best Ambassador. Each crier attending will also be presented with an Otley goody bag filled with the town's souvenirs and memorabilia.
Proceedings will close with an awards presentation and the chance for members of the public to have a go at ‘crying’ themselves.
Chair of Otley Town Council’s trade and tourism committee Councillor Paul Carter said: “Given we have our own multi award-winning town crier, Otley Bellman Terry Ford, we thought it important to help preserve this time-honoured tradition by hosting our own Open Town Crier competition in conjunction with the Loyal Company of Town Criers.
“This year also being the 300th anniversary of the birth of Otley’s most famous son, Thomas Chippendale, made the choice of ‘subject cry’ an easy one.
“We look forward to welcoming the Town Criers from around the country to Otley, and hosting a successful event at which members of the public are welcome to join in.”
Town criers attending the event will come from towns including Skegness, Southport, Bishop's Stortford and more.
