GREAT HARWOOD

Charter Fair / Revival / Millennium Fair / Jubilee Fair / Crying the Fair / Town Criers / Market

Joe "bellman" Hindle
Joe Hindle

Bob Rayton

Town Criers

At the baptism of his daughter, Ann, in 1845 John Lord's occupation is "Bell Ringer" but this may refer to church bells so George Slater, "bellman and chimney sweep" in the Barrett's Directories of 1900 and 1903, is the earliest Town Crier we've found to date. Joseph Hindle is the next in the 1905 Directory as just "bellman".

Jack Quinn

Frank Saynor

Val Austin writes:

Joseph (Bellman) Hindle cried the fairs before, between and after the 1st and 2nd World wars. Fairs were not cried during the two world wars so exact dates are not known. It is known that he cried the fair in 1949. He was taken ill at the beginning of August 1950 and Samuel Mattinson stepped in to cry the fair. I do not have the date of Joe Hindle's death but Samuel Mattinson also cried the fair in 1951. Following Joe Hindle's death Sam Mattinson's nephew John Sim took on the role and held the job for four years with Cranborne Davis crying the fair on one year when John Sim was ill. (do not know which year)

In 1956 a crises arose when, following the death of John Sim no Town Crier had been appointed and on the morning of the fair day a small crowd gathered outside the Town Hall waiting for the annual ceremony. Council officials were desperate. Anxiously they went up to one of the crowd, an old-age pensioner named Mr. Ezra Westwell, thrust the bell in his hand and pleaded "ring the bell and say the words". He did and the tradition lived on.