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Oyez, oyez! Town crier contest returns to Essex

Henry Godfrey-Evansin Little Easton
News imageHenry Godfrey-Evans/BBC A man with a classic town crier's outfit with blue and red colours and a black hat. His white-gloved hands are ringing two bells.Henry Godfrey-Evans/BBC
Mike Wabe arrived from Norfolk to take the crown

Essex has hosted a national town crier competition for the first time in 10 years.

Nine bellowing bellmen competed over two days in the Great Dunmow area over the bank holiday weekend.

Mike Wabe, representing Watton in Norfolk, said it felt "absolutely fantastic" to take the crown in Little Easton village on Monday.

"It's always nice to win, but it's nice to win an inaugural competition [in Dunmow]," he said.

"I quite enjoy writing the cries, but I think the voice has to be powerful and the one thing you mustn't do as a town crier is shout, of course, because otherwise you're using the voice box and you squeak after a couple of sentences.

"So, as [actor] Stephen Fry said to me one day, 'you must project, lovey. Just like an opera singer'."

News imageHenry Godfrey-Evans/BBC A man in a classic red town crier's outfit and a black hat, standing next to a tree trunk with a banner tied around itHenry Godfrey-Evans/BBC
Jody Huizar was responsible for bringing the competition back to Essex

Paul Gough, representing Nuneaton and Bedworth in Warwickshire, has won several national championships.

"It's so much fun. I love it," he said.

"People do say about town crying, 'it is the most fun thing you can do with your clothes on'."

Colchester crier Rennie Chivers, who took on the role two years ago, said he was still getting to grips with the art of not straining his voice.

"Otherwise you can very soon get tired out, and I must admit, as a relative newcomer to town-crying, it's something that occasionally I fall foul of," said Chivers.

News imageHenry Godfrey-Evans/BBC A man in a regal red town crier's outfit with a white plume coming from the neck. He has glasses and he's grinningHenry Godfrey-Evans/BBC
Colchester crier Rennie Chivers took on the role in 2024

Great Dunmow crier Jody Huizar arranged the contest, 10 years after the last Essex competition held in Colchester.

"I've competed against all these guys, so I know how good they are and I'm so pleased that they've been able to come here and the local people here have a chance to see their quality," said Huizar.

One of the judges, Helen Haines, explained that she and colleagues judged the contestants on their "oyez, oyez", their clarity of speech, the accuracy of their speeches and their presentation.

"They all look really colourful and they don't half make a racket when they all ring their bells at the same time," she said.

Town criers were traditionally relied upon to convey messages to crowds. These days, they are generally a novelty act who operate as independent businesses.

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