Ripon Market Square (Ripon)

United Kingdom / England / Ripon
 marketplace, historic town square
 Upload a photo

The custom of blowing the wakeman's horn every night at nine o'clock, maintained to this day, is said to have originated about AD 700. It was probably at first a means of calling the people together in case of a sudden invasion, but was afterwards a signal for setting the watch. A horn with a baldric and the motto "Except the Lord keep the city the watchman waketh but in vain" forms the mayor's badge.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   54°8'10"N   1°31'25"W
This article was last modified 10 years ago