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18
Sept 2021
New Ripon horn planned for The Queen's Platinum Jubilee
A new horn is being commissioned for the Ripon hornblowers to celebrate next year's Platinum Jubilee.
The original Charter Horn was a gift of gratitude from Alfred the Great, recognising the way in which local people fought off a Viking incursion.
Further horns were added to the collection, including one presented to the city in May 2019, by Councillor Pauline McHardy, shortly before the end of her third term in office as the Mayor of Ripon.
The McHardy Quest Horn - so named because it came from a bull called Seterrington Quest - has been in regular use at the setting of the watch ceremony performed daily at 9pm on Market Square.
The proposal to commission the new horn to mark The Queen's 70 years of service to this country, was put forward by city council leader Andrew Williams and received unanimous support:
He said:
Cllr Williams, added:
The Alfred the Great Charter Horn of 886 remains a prized possession in the Ripon collection.
Read more:
- When did the hornblowers return to Ripon Market Square?
- Ancient choir stall restored at Ripon Cathedral
It was succeeded by the1690 horn, costing six shillings and eight pence and in 1886, to mark 1,000 years since the granting of Ripon's first charter, the city received an African Ox Horn.
A further 100 years of Ripon's history was marked in 1986 when an ox horn with ornate copper fittings was created by a local craftsman and financed and donated to the city by Sigma Antiques.
Ripon is proud of its hornblower tradition, which dates back 1,135 years and is believed to be the world's longest-running daily ceremony.
During the covid lockdowns, which prevented them from appearing on Market Square, the hornblower team kept the custom alive by blowing their horns behind closed doors at their respective homes.
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