Ripon, North Yorkshire

The role of Ripon City Hornblower is to support the Mayor of the day in all his/her civic duties and above all else to safeguard the continuity of the ancient ceremony of 'Setting the Watch' which has been carried out every evening on the market square without a miss, not for one single day, for 1127 years. It is the longest ongoing unbroken daily ceremony in the world :

'Setting the Watch' dates back to the year 886 when Alfred the Great visited the City in those unsettled and troubled Viking times, and was so impressed by the place itself and the support he was given by the people against the intruders that he decided to grant the community a Royal Charter. As it was a spontaneous decision he did not have a parchment scroll or anything of that prepared. All he had to offer them as a symbol of the Charter was a horn. He told them that they should treasure the horn and look after it for ever, and the people did. It is still in safe keeping in the City Town Hall today.

It was at that time he told the people of Ripon that they should be vigilant as the Vikings were still a threat and other unruly elements in the land could descend upon them and they risked losing all they held dear. He suggested that they appoint a 'Wakeman'. The 'Wakeman' would be a man who stayed awake and patrolled the area all through the hours of darkness keeping a watchful eye while others sleep safely in their beds. So they appointed a 'Wakeman', and they further decided the he could put the Horn to good use. He would sound the Horn at the four corners of the market cross at 9pm each evening to let the people know that the 'Watch' was 'Set' and they could retreat to their homes knowing full well that it was safe for sleeping, and that he was out there keping a watchful eye all night. It has not been missed, not even for one single night since then.

The first Mayor of Ripon was a man called Hugh Ripley and the house he lived in still stands at the South West corner of the square and is known as 'The Wakeman House'.. Mr. Riply did not trust his Hornblower and put a rule in place so that he could keep his eye on him and to make sure he has done his duty each evening. That rule requires that, when the Hornblower has 'Set the Watch' at the market cross at 9pm, he must find the Mayor of the day, wherever he is in the City and report to him that he has done his duty by standing in front of him and after sounding the Horn three times, he must bow his head, raise his hat and shout the words "Mr. Mayor, the Watch is Set". That is still done today, and must be done wherever the Mayor is, whether it be at home, at a function, or in the Town Hall. If the Mayor is outside the City or away on holiday it had to be done on the Town Hall steps as if he was in

And to think they woke me up from a warm bed, to stand in the cold, to watch this old bloke blow a horn. And to rub salt into the wound dad ran out of space on the memory chip in the video camera so we only got a few seconds of the man in action. Seriously how hard can it be?