Famous hornblowers in Ripon to get new uniforms for first time in a decade

Ripon City Council, which is responsible for the unique nightly tradition that dates back more than 1,000 years, has agreed to buy new frock coats costing £900 each as well as hats.

The coats will be made by a specialist military tailor in Catterick and will feature the same design as the current uniform.

Known as “setting the watch”, the hornblower ritual takes place every night at 9pm around Ripon’s market square.

The tradition is said to date back to 886 AD when Saxon king Alfred the Great gave Ripon a horn after granting the city a Royal Charter.

The ceremony commemorates the time in the Middle Ages when Ripon’s first citizen, the Wakeman, was responsible for crime prevention in the city from 9pm until dawn and had to compensate victims of burglary.

It’s become a unique attraction for visitors to Ripon and Council Leader Andrew Williams said it was important the hornblowers looked the “bees knees”.

He said: “If we’re going to get more people to come here and see what we’re doing at 9pm, we need to ensure that our members of staff look the part so people can think it’s befitting of the tradition and they can go back home and talk about it.”