The Medieval Town Crier: How News Travelled Before Newspapers and Phones

The Medieval Town Crier: How News Travelled Before Newspapers and Phones

We have been finding out about medieval jobs and today I want to learn more about the medieval town crier. They were one of the most recognisable figures in a medieval town. Medieval streets were often crowded and noisy. But there was one voice that people could hear above the din, that was the town crier.

Town criers played an important role in medieval society, especially at a time when most people could not read or write. In medieval England, literacy wasn’t widespread, it was only really available to the clergy, nobles, merchants, and maybe some officials. Ordinary people had to rely on other forms of communication to find out news. Because of this, the town crier was hugely important.

A town crier was usually appointed by the local authorities, it could be the mayor, the lord, or maybe the town council. Their job was to publicly announce important information. This could be anything from royal proclamations, new laws, tax announcements, market regulations, punishments, to public warnings.

Town criers needed to be very confident. They needed to speak in busy public places. It was not enough to just read the words from a scroll. They had to command the attention of the crowd. They often rang a hand bell before they spoke, The familiar phrase “Hear ye! Hear ye!” later became associated with them. Those words were used to call people to listen.

A town crier’s day would often vary depending on what was happening in the town. On some days, they might need to walk through the streets, market squares, and near churches to announce something. On other days, they might have to deliver an urgent warning about a fire, or a crime or maybe even a disease outbreak. At a time when they didn’t have newspapers, radio, television, or phones, the town crier was hugely important

The job wasn’t always easy. Town criers were sometimes responsible for announcing punishments or executions. Imagine having to publicly declare that a local had broken the law and would face punishment. Not a job that I would envy.

Town criers were often quite well known in their communities. They became familiar faces, people recognised them by their voices and clothing. They often wore bright clothes often red, blue, green, or yellow, so that people could spot them easily.

Some people may have respected them as trusted messengers, but others may have seen them as the bearers of bad news. But they were a necessary part of life.

In some towns, town criers also announced exciting news. Victories in battle, royal weddings, royal births and major celebrations could all be announced by their ringing bell and booming voice.

Although we no longer rely on town criers in the way medieval people did, they have not disappeared entirely. Town criers still exist today, though their role is mostly ceremonial, promotional, or simply just a connection to the past. In places like as Chester, York, and other historic towns, modern town criers appear at festivals, civic events, parades, and historical reenactments. I think that it is brilliant that they are keeping old customs alive.

Do you think that communities felt more connected when news was shared face to face?

WW2 Home Guard Part 8: The Secret Weapons Hidden Behind Britain’s Defences

WW2 Home Guard Part 8: The Secret Weapons Hidden Behind Britain’s Defences

 

Today I want to continue my series on the Home Guard. I want to look at something many people do not realise even existed, the secret weapons that had been prepared in case Germany invaded Britain. When we think of the Home Guard we think of the lack of weapons and equipment. We think of men with rifles, shotguns, or even broom handles during the early days. But behind the scenes, Britain was developing hidden weapons and secret defensive plans that many volunteers knew very little about.

 

By the summer of 1940, Britain was as we know in a dangerous position. For some time they had been living under the fear of invasion. France had fallen, and invasion felt like a very real possibility. Many people were worried that German troops could land in Britain at any moment. The Home Guard had already been formed to help defend the country, but there was a major problem. There simply were not enough modern weapons to go around. After the evacuation of Dunkirk, huge amounts of military equipment had been left behind in France.

 

Because of this, Britain had to be creative and quick. Strange and secret weapons had begun to appear. Some were designed for direct combat, but others were hidden in the countryside, waiting for the worst-case scenario.

 

One of the most unusual weapons was the Blacker Bombard. This was an anti-tank weapon designed by Stewart Blacker. It looked rather odd and was not especially easy to use, but it could fire powerful bombs that would have been capable of damaging enemy vehicles. Many Home Guard units trained with these weapons, even though some volunteers joked that they looked more frightening to the user than to the enemy.

 

Another secret weapon was the sticky bomb, officially called the No. 74 grenade. It was exactly what it sounds like, it was an explosive covered in strong adhesive. The idea was that it would stick to enemy tanks before exploding. In theory, it sounded clever. In reality, many of the men disliked it because the sticky surface could cling to clothing or hands if it was handled badly. It may seem quite amusing but for the men this must have been concerning.

 

Britain also prepared hidden explosives across roads, bridges, and key routes. If German forces managed to break through, the Home Guard could trigger  demolitions to slow them down. Bridges could be destroyed, roads could be blocked, and access routes could be cut off. These  ordinary men, who in their regular lives were shopkeepers, clerks, labourers, fathers, and grandfathers, were being trusted with highly dangerous defensive responsibilities.

 

Perhaps the most secret preparations were the hidden guerrilla units known as the Auxiliary Units. These were not part of the Home Guard, but some Auxiliary Unit recruits had previously served with the Home Guard. They were specially trained to operate in secret if an invasion happened. They would effectively have been our own resistance force. Hidden underground bases were built in rural areas, they were stocked with weapons, food, and explosives. Their job would have been incredibly dangerous, they were tasked with sabotage, ambushes, and attacks behind enemy lines. Many understood that if they took part in the unit, it would most likely be fatal.

 

For the Home Guard, these secret weapons brought them both reassurance and anxiety. They showed Britain was preparing for every possibility.  But they were a clear reminder of just how real the invasion threat must have felt in 1940. These men were preparing to fight, and if necessary, fight to the end. They were going to defend Britain against the threat that many feared might soon come.

 

Thankfully, the invasion never happened. Many of these secret weapons were never used in battle. But they tell us something about wartime Britain. It shows us the determination, improvisation, and the refusal to give up, even if the worse case scenario happened.

 

If invasion had happened, do you think these secret weapons would have made a difference?

 

The Victorian Laundry Maid: The Woman Who Had One of the Hardest Jobs Below Stairs

The Victorian Laundry Maid: The Woman Who Had One of the Hardest Jobs Below Stairs

Today I want to continue learning about Victorian servants, and this time I want to look at what life was like for the laundry maid. These were the women hidden away from the main household, usually in hot, damp laundry rooms.

Many laundry maids came from poor or working-class families, much like the other domestic servants. Going into service gave them a wage, meals, and a place to sleep every night, even if the pay was not especially high. For some women, becoming a laundry maid may have seemed like an opportunity, but the reality of it was far from easy. Laundry was one of the hardest and most physically demanding jobs in a large household.

A laundry maid’s day usually started very early, especially on wash day. In many houses, washing was not done every single day in the way we do today. Instead, there were dedicated laundry days. Each wash day involved huge amounts of work. First they had to sort the laundry. Bed sheets, underclothes, towels, table linen, servants’ uniforms, and the family’s clothing all needed to be separated. Delicate fabrics had to be treated very carefully, while heavily soiled items needed extra scrubbing.

Without the modern washing machines or the modern cleaning products that we have today, everything would have been done by hand. Water would have had to have been carried or pumped, then heated up in large copper boilers over fires, that needed to be maintained. Just lifting the buckets of water must have been so exhausting. The laundry room would also have been an unpleasant environment to work in. It quickly became hot, humid, and uncomfortable. Steam would have filled the room, and the smell of soap, wet fabric, and starch would have hung in the air.

Washing clothes involved soaking, scrubbing, rubbing, beating, rinsing, and wringing them out. White linens especially needed to be spotless. Clean pressed linen reflected well on the household. This meant that there was pressure to make sure everything came out perfect.

After the washing came the drying, ironing, and folding. Heavy wet sheets had to be lifted onto lines or drying racks. Ironing must have been another exhausting task. Large metal irons were heated on stoves and had to be changed over regularly because they cooled down. Some items needed to be starched to help them stay crisp, items like collars, cuffs, aprons, and caps.

The laundry maid usually worked under the laundry mistress or the housekeeper in larger homes. In smaller households, she might have had to manage most of the work herself or even help with other duties. Like many servants, laundry maids often made friends with the people she worked with. They spent most of their waking hours together which could make them very close. This may have helped them through the long days. But if they didn’t get on, I imagine it made life even more awful.

The work did come at a cost. The constant standing, heavy lifting, hot steam, and the harsh soaps often left their hands red, cracked, and sore. The heat could be overwhelming in the summer, and in the winter the freezing trips outside to hang out washing would have been horrible.

The laundry maid worked mainly out of sight but they were an essential part of keeping a Victorian household running smoothly. But their hard work often went unnoticed by those upstairs.

This shows me just how much invisible labour existed in Victorian England. Could you imagine doing an entire household’s washing without electricity or running water?

WW2 Home Guard Part 7: Women and the Home Guard

WW2 Home Guard Part 7: Women and the Home Guard

Today I want to continue my series on the Home Guard. I want to look at the role of women. When we imagine the Home Guard, we usually think of middle-aged or older men. But women also played an important part in Britain’s defence, even though they were not officially allowed to join the Home Guard itself in the early years.

When the Local Defence Volunteers (LDV) were created in May 1940, Britain was facing the possibility of an invasion. Thousands of men rushed to volunteer. They were determined to defend their country and their families. Obviously, many women also wanted to help. They did not want to stand back and just watch and hope. Just like the men, they were worried and afraid of what might come. When France fell on the 22nd of June 1940, many feared that a German invasion could happen at any time.

Women were not officially accepted as members of the LDV, which went on to be called the Home Guard. The government saw the force as a male defensive unit, largely made up of men who were too old or unable to serve in the regular armed forces. Men and women’s roles were much more defined during this time. But that did not stop women from getting involved wherever they could.

Across Britain, wives, daughters, sisters, and neighbours began to support the local Home Guard units. Some helped them by preparing food and hot drinks for the volunteers when they returned from the long training sessions or cold night patrols. After hours of guard duty, a cup of tea and a warm meal could mean far more than people might realise. These things may seem insignificant but they brought comfort and helped the men to do what they needed to do.

Many women also helped with the administration. They typed reports, organised paperwork, answered telephones, passed on messages, and helped to keep communications running smoothly. In wartime, organisation mattered enormously. A delayed message or missed instruction could cause serious problems, so the work these women did behind-the-scenes was important.

As the war went on, some women wanted a more active role. In some areas, they began to help with drills, first aid, signalling, map reading, and even weapons training, though this varied widely depending on local commanders. Some women formed unofficial support groups connected to Home Guard units. They learned skills that would be useful if an invasion were ever to come. Many were determined to prove they could do more than just make tea or do the paperwork.

By 1941 and 1942, as the fear of invasion began to ease, the bombing and defence work was still needed. The women’s contributions became even harder to ignore. Some women worked with other organisations like the Women’s Voluntary Service, Air Raid Precautions, and the Auxiliary Territorial Service. This created a wide network of support around local defence.

Some of the women may well have felt overlooked because their contribution was not always formally recognised. They were capable, committed, and usually just as determined as the men they supported. But official rules limited what they were allowed to do.

Still, their efforts mattered. The Home Guard was never only about the men on patrol. It relied on the people supporting them in the background, and women were a huge part of that.

Women and the Home Guard remind us that service came in many forms and not all of them were visible. Some defended Britain with rifles, while others defended it with organisation, resilience, care, and determination. Both mattered.

Do you think women should have been officially allowed to join the Home Guard from the very beginning?

The Medieval Travelling Merchants: The People Who Moved Goods Across the Country.

The Medieval Travelling Merchants: The People Who Moved Goods Across the Country.

Today I want to find out more about the lives of the medieval travelling merchants. They may seem insignificant but they had an important role in medieval society. They carried goods from one town to the next.

Many merchants came from merchant families. They carried on the family business. Not all of them did though, some had to start out as an apprentice. They learned about buying, selling, weights, prices, and the art of negotiation. Some had very little to start with, maybe only small bundles of goods, in the hopes of building a better life. Trade did offer them opportunities, but it came with risks and success depended on skill and luck.

A merchant’s life usually began early in the morning. Before they set off, they would have needed to load their carts, pack horses, or secure goods into sacks and barrels. What they carried depended on where they were travelling to. Some of them sold cloth, wool, spices, salt, wine, tools, pottery, or luxury items. Others specialised in local products like cheese, grain, or leather goods. Losing their goods could mean financial disaster for them.

Travel in medieval England was not easy. The roads could be muddy, uneven, and very badly maintained. When heavy rain came it could turn the tracks into thick mud, making it even more difficult for carts to move. Cold weather and flooding could also create serious obstacles. Rivers were also a problem, especially if the bridges were damaged or the tolls were too expensive for the merchant to pay.

Thieves would have been another constant worry, especially on more isolated roads. Bandits and thieves knew that merchants could be carrying valuable goods or even coins. Some merchants decided to travel in groups for protection, others hired guards when or if they could afford it.

The long journeys must have been lonely. Merchants could spend weeks or even months travelling away from home, leaving their families behind. But they were providing food and security.

Markets and fairs were often a highlight for many merchants. They were a place that merchants and suppliers met. It must have been lively and noisy, with plenty of shouting and lots of animals. It was here that merchants often had the chance to make a profit, build new contacts, and to hear news. News travelled with people in Medieval England, and merchants became important for the spread of information as well as the sale of goods.

Some merchants though were faced with poor sales, damaged stock, or dishonest customers. One bad harvest or local unrest could reduce demand for goods. War could also make routes unsafe and trade more unpredictable. One difficult season could undo years of hard work.

Travelling merchants were an integral part of medieval life. They connected villages, towns, and cities that might have otherwise stayed isolated. They introduced new products, new ideas, and sometimes even new fashions.

Do you think that you would have decided to spend months on the dangerous medieval roads to make a living?

Image info:

Workshop of Master of the City of Ladies

Date: 1400-1405

Collection: Bibliothèque nationale de France

WW2 Home Guard Part 6: The Home Guard During the Blitz

WW2 Home Guard Part 6: The Home Guard During the Blitz

Today I want to continue my series on the Home Guard, and this time I want to look at their role during the Blitz. The Home Guard is most well known for standing at roadblocks waiting for a German invasion. But during the Blitz, they became needed for much more. They were no longer just preparing for an invasion that might come. They were helping their communities to survive the nightly bombing raids.

The Blitz started on the 7th of September 1940. German bombers launched large-scale attacks on many British cities. Night after night, families were forced to rush to shelters, basements, and Underground stations, to protect themselves. Fear was now an everyday part of life. People went to work knowing their homes might not still be standing when they returned.

The Home Guard had already spent long hours training after finishing full working days. Now, instead of only preparing for a possible invasion, they had to help during air raids. These men were often shopkeepers, factory workers, clerks, labourers, husbands, fathers, and grandfathers.

During bombing raids, Home Guard units helped with patrols, guarded key sites, and helped to maintain order. They watched over railway lines, bridges, factories, water supplies, and communication points - places that were considered to be vital to Britain’s survival. If the bombs damaged infrastructure, they needed to be among the first on the scene.

Bombing created confusion, especially in the dark, smoke, and dust. Streets could become covered in rubble in minutes. Gas mains could leak, fires spread fast and people became separated from their loved ones. In these unimaginable conditions, a calm voice could make a huge difference.

The Home Guard also helped to enforce the blackout regulations. During the war, homes and businesses had to prevent light from escaping at night so that enemy aircraft could not easily identify targets. Even a small gap in a curtain was believed to have been dangerous. Home Guard patrols often walked the streets at night to check for breaches and to warn residents. This could cause frustration, but most people understood why it mattered.

This must have been incredibly difficult. Many Home Guard men were protecting streets where their own families lived. Imagine standing guard while bombs were causing explosions all around, wondering whether your wife, children, or parents were safe. Even if their own homes were hit, they continued with their duty. That must have been incredibly challenging and it just shows the amazing courage and tenacity this generation had.

The Home Guard did not work alone. They worked with the Air Raid Precautions (ARP), firefighters, police, ambulance crews, and countless other civilian volunteers. Everybody had their role. The war was not only fought by soldiers abroad, but by ordinary people at home.

The bombings were not every night, but even the uncertainty of not knowing if or when they would come must have been exhausting. The waiting could be just as hard. Volunteers listened for aircraft, watched the skies, and stayed alert through many long, cold hours. The lack of sleep became common. But they kept showing up.

The Blitz proved that the Home Guard was about more than defending Britain from invasion. They became a reassuring presence to communities when they were under attack.

The Home Guard were ordinary men who were placed in extraordinary circumstances, but when the danger came, they stood firm.

Do you think the Home Guard would have made you feel safer?

The Victorian Kitchen Maid: The Young Women Who Worked Behind the Scenes

The Victorian Kitchen Maid: The Young Women Who Worked Behind the Scenes

We recently learned more about the scullery maid, so today I want to explore the life of the Victorian kitchen maid. All of them worked hard to keep large households running and were some of the lowest-ranking servants in many homes.

Many kitchen maids came from poor families and they went into service when they were still only teenagers. Some had grown up in towns while others came from rural villages where work opportunities were limited. Domestic service gave them a chance to earn wages, receive meals, and have a roof over their heads. Although the pay was often low, it could often be an important source of income for both her and her family. 

A kitchen maid`s day usually began before most of the house was awake. She most often rose before dawn to light the kitchen fires, carry coal, fetch water, and help prepare the kitchen for the day's cooking. Victorian kitchens were hot and noisy and could be quite smoky. Large houses needed meals for the family upstairs but also the servants down stairs.

Throughout the day, the kitchen maid would have worked under the direction of the cook. She peeled vegetables, cleaned pots and pans, prepared ingredients, washed dishes, and scrubbed work surfaces. Some tasks were repetitive and physically exhausting. Heavy iron cookware had to be cleaned by hand, while endless piles of plates and utensils seemed to appear after every meal.

Unlike the scullery maid, who usually spent most of her day washing dishes, scrubbing pots and pans, cleaning floors, and carrying out other heavy cleaning duties, the kitchen maid worked more closely with the cook and was more involved in preparing food. Although her work was still very physically demanding, she was still often seen as a slightly higher rank than the scullery maid. Becoming a kitchen maid could give them the chance to learn valuable culinary skills and also improve their chances of a promotion.

The work was very difficult, especially at busy times like holidays, family gatherings, or dinner parties. The guests were able to enjoy the elaborate meals in the elegant dining rooms, but the kitchen staff had to work for long hours to make everything possible. If they made a mistake they were often criticised by senior servants, and there was constant pressure to keep up with the demands of the household.

Despite this, many kitchen maids formed close friendships with other servants. Living and working so closely together could have helped them cope with long hours and strict rules. Obviously, this was not always the case, tensions, tiredness, and differences in personality could sometimes lead to conflict. Could you imagine spending almost every waking hour with someone you may not have liked? Many of the servants, particularly the lower ranking ones, shared meals and sometimes even bedrooms that could be cold and cramped. So privacy was not something that many could enjoy.

Although we don’t know many of their names, the Victorian kitchen maid played a huge role in keeping Britain's households running. They worked behind the scenes to support households, which depended on them, even if it was not seen that way. They were often overlooked and under valued, but deserve to be remembered.

Do you think you would have chosen life as a kitchen maid, and if you had could you have coped with the conditions?