The Wakeman

During the reign of King Alfred, in AD 886 Ripon was granted a Charter Horn as a form of legal tenure. The Liberty of Ripon, an area of approximately a ten-mile radius from the Cathedral, was freed from royal taxes and offered sanctuary from all forms of attack. The Wakeman was the head of one of the earliest forms of local government. His role was to keep law and order during the night. At 9 o’clock each evening, the horn was sounded in the Market Square and three further blows were made outside the Wakeman’s house during the night to show that the duty was being performed. Town dwellers paid an early form of insurance to the Wakeman, and if a house was broken into, the Wakeman could be found guilty of negligence and fined. 

This system prevailed until 1604, when a charter was granted to the city by the King James I. The position of Wakeman was abolished and replaced by a mayor, elected by public vote. Hugh Ripley was the last Ripon Wakeman, and then the first Mayor of Ripon. His house still stands on the Market Square. The mayor appointed the Hornblower to continue setting the watch.

Even today, every night at 9 o’clock, all year round, the Ripon Hornblower still ‘sets the night watch’ at the four corners of the obelisk in the Market Square: a proud city tradition.