Chester

Chester Midsummer Watch and Giants Parade

June 22nd, 2010

The Chester Midsummer Watch parade dates back to 1498 and took place in the years between performances of the Chester Mystery Plays. The 1564 procesion is said to have included:

4 gyants, 1 unikorne, 1 dromodarye, 1 luce, 1 camell, 1 dragon, 6 hobbyhorses and 16 naked boys

The parades were continued until the late 17th century and revived in 1995 as a major event in the city calendar.

Chester World Town Crier Tournament

June 18th, 2010

Taking place on 4 days between the 15th and the 19th of June. Chester played host to Town Criers from around the world. Competing in the Chester World Town crier Tournament were competitors from Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand, as well as criers from all over the UK.

Performing on the Chestival stage in Town Hall Square, Chester and on Friday at Cheshire Oaks. The criers compete in three preliminary competitions before the top 12 from the week compete for the tournamant title on Saturday morning.

This heart warming competition brought an air of grace and good will to a sunny city centre. An excellent photo opportunity for all who attended. The video shown here was taken on the second day of competition when Criers had to promote their home town. The Photographs of the Chester World Town Crier Tournament were taken over two days.

Chester Town Crier

August 13th, 2009

Here are a few pictures of the Chester Town Crier. The post is currently jointly owned by husband and wife team David and Julie Mitchell. These pictures are of David and his "mini me" town crier son, Spencer. David Mitchell won the 2008 titles of British Champion, Best dressed town crier and Peoples champion.

They proclaim from the Cross in Chester at midday every Tuesday-Saturday from May until the end of August, 10.30am on race days. Proclamations have taken place here since the 15th century. Today they welcome visitors from around the world, tell something of the history and declare any news to shoppers. The stocks, shown in these photographs, are a frequent feature of their routine as is an amount of audience participation.