Marlborough town crier crowned Wiltshire champion

Mr Tupman MBE, 74, of Burbage, travelled to Bowood House on Saturday (August 6) to attend the crier contest where he faced off against four other criers from Wiltshire.

“The contest was held on the east lawn of Bowood House, it is beautiful up there. I have lived here for 42 years and have never been around the house or the gardens. As well as other criers from the county there were also visitors from Cornwall, Worcester, Suffolk and Devon,” Mr Tupman said.

The winner of the competition is awarded a cup which they keep until the following event as well as a tankard which they can keep.

“The winner of the competition is also told that their town will be the host for the following year’s competition, so I went to the town council and told them that next year Marlborough will be the staging ground,” added Mr Tupman.

The win came as a surprise for the crier, as he has only been at his post for the past five months.

“Well I was amazed when they announced my name, I only started in March after I left the police force and the town council asked me to become the crier. I was so shocked you could’ve knocked me down with a feather,” he said.

As part of the competition, each crier had to recite a cry for their respective towns and for Bowood itself.

“Each crier was only allowed 125 words to sum up their town or they would get penalised. What I said captured the spirit of the town,” Mr Tupman said.

Mr Tupman took up the post of town crier in March after working for Wiltshire Police for 31 years. After living in the area for 42 years and leaving his post with Wiltshire Police, Mr Tupman decided to go up for the role as the town’s crier, taking over the role from Alfie Johnson who rang the bell for 21 years.

“I have two daughters, Helen who lives in Broad Hinton with her two boys, and Carole who lives about 200 yards from me with her twin daughters. My wife died six years ago so I live here on my own,” he added.