A Tribute to Reg

Town Crier pays tribute to wellloved craftsman Reg

Historically, the Town Crier was probably the only person in a community that could read.

Given that he would have always have been asked by people to read adverts and notices, he probably decided that he would read them for everyone in one place – and this is how the job was probably born.

So how could he gain attention and warn everybody that he was about to start? Quite when the English tradition of a Town Crier using a bell started is lost in history.

When I was appointed as Bromsgrove’s Town Crier in 1985, I was lucky enough to inherit a new bell. This was donated to the Court by William “Laddie” Weaver, who was chairman and managing director of the building company Weaver and was Bailiff to the Court in 1946 and Marshall of the Court (effectively the Regimental Sergeant Major) for 20 years.

It is beautiful cast brass with a fine ringing tone, probably when compared to other Town Crier’s bells this is an indication of its cost, youth and provenance. Many historic crier’s bells are small and dingy pieces of tin as this would have been all that a Town Crier could afford.

The bell weighs more than 7lbs and there is a particular technique to ringing it. You can’t just whack it up and down - the first time I tried to ring it at the competition when I was appointed I nearly dislocated my shoulder. I recently asked a bell founder how much a replacement to the same standard would cost and was told that it would be not much short of £1,000.

Originally, the handle was black, until, in 1993, 36 hours before I was due to fly to Canada for the World Town Crier’s Championships, the handle suddenly split and fell off. In desperation, I approached Reg Sherwin, the wood turner at Avoncroft Museum of Buildings, to ask for his help.

Reg said he would see what he could do and first thing next morning, just before I had to leave for the airport, he presented me with a new handle. It is beautifully shaped and very secure in the hand, probably a good thing since occasionally the bell appears to be an unguided missile, so please keep well clear when I’m ringing it!

I am forever grateful for Reg’s skill and helpfulness and his passing is a sad loss. I hope that he has managed to pass on those skills to the next generation and will happily show off Reg’s artistry to anyone who is interested.

by Kevin Ward