Monkton Movers 1 - Adrian 'Gunner' Mardon

The first in a regular series of features about Monktoners with interesting stories to tell.

By Paul Wade

Interviewing a real life, actual Ripon Hornblower, a resident of Bishop Monkton moreover, seemed like a great place to kick off a series of articles about Monktoners who do interesting things. And so it proved. I had prepared my opening question (of which more later), but as it turned out, my interviewee was in red hot form. Adrian Mardon aka ‘Gunner’ (only his Mum apparently calls him Adrian) has been a Hornblower since March 2024, could not have been more enthusiastic, helpful and knowledgeable on his subject. Unsurprisingly, after nearly 24 years in the Household Cavalry, his main themes turned out to be ‘Teamwork’ and ‘Tradition’.

‘In the army, looking out for your mates is everything. On and off duty,’ was just about the first thing he said.

Teamwork, it later transpires, is fairly fundamental to the subject we were about to discuss. 

‘Upholding tradition is also important to me,’ he added. ’Tradition is history and the importance of history is about acting on lessons learnt from the past’.

And the Hornblower tradition in Ripon does indeed have plenty of past. Gunner reminds me that King Alfred started the whole show in 886. Having briefly enjoyed the hospitality of the masons and glaziers of the area (building monasteries was their thing), Alfred was apparently so grateful that he granted a Royal Charter to the settlement of Ripon. This was a pretty big deal in those days as, amongst other things, it allowed the Charter holder to raise their own taxes and crucially Alfred marked the occasion with the presentation of a horn.

‘The horn was put to good use,’ Gunner assures me. ’The role of Wakeman was created and the horn blown by him every night to signal to early Riponians that the watch had been set and that they could count on the Wakeman’s policing team to keep them safe during the hours of darkness.’

’Ripon was way ahead of the game in terms of policing and what was effectively insurance and Council Tax-the policing service wasn’t for free even in the Dark Ages!’ (Astonishingly the original 886 horn still exists)

722 years later King James 1st-, apparently spurred on by jealous wealthy Riponians, sought to curb the powers of the Wakeman and had him report to a Mayor and this arrangement has been in place ever since.

‘I was advised by a friend of mine that there was a horn blowing vacancy’ says Gunner, when I ask him how he got a share in probably the oldest job in the UK .‘  I filled out the application form and was invited to an interview. They took me on as one of a team of four who share the duties.’ 

He is paid a nominal amount, but he gives the impression he would do it for free. The duty rota is set out three months in advance according to the availability of the various team members. When he is on duty, he arrives at the Obelisk in the Market Square at 9 p.m., dressed in full made to measure regalia and blows his horn at each corner of the 80ft high monument. 

‘You get training on how to blow the horn from the Bandmaster of Ripon. I have been allocated my own horn (the ‘QE11’ version), although it has taken me the best part of a year to master it. It is not really a musical instrument. There is also a lot of reading to do to make sure that the short history talk we do is accurate’, he says, although Hornblowers don’t have to stick to a script and can put their own personality into the proceedings. He gets the odd drunk or recalcitrant teenager to deal with, but people are ‘generally very respectful’ of the tradition and how it plays out. ‘The other Hornblowers turned out en masse for my debut’ he beams. ’Teamwork! They were really supportive and only picked me up on one or two small inaccuracies in my presentation!’

After the Obelisk talk is complete, the Hornblower then continues the ancient tradition by finding the Mayor, wherever they are in Ripon, to let them know that the ‘watch over the City has been set’. He has to blow his horn three times in their presence and the Mayor then signals acknowledgement. The ritual is complete for another day.

The reality is that there can be few if any other traditions that have been constant for what is now 1139 years and Gunner is proud to be part of a very long line of participants. Although we both feel that Ripon could maybe make even more capital out of probably one of the longest continuous traditions in the world, he is clear that the ceremony is not just something that is done for the sake of our forefathers.

’Judging by the numbers of people that show up every night to see us, it certainly helps bring in the tourist pounds which is good for the City and it forms part of Ripon’s pitch at tourism trade shows,’ he enthuses.

And so our conversation ends, although as Gunner thanks me for the coffee, I am reminded of where I thought it might have started, so I dig out the question I had prepared. I clear my throat.

’So, as I understand it, the Hornblower shows up at the Mayor’s house practically every night  and starts blowing a horn at 9.30pm. Don’t  you get loads of stick from the neighbours? What happens if they have just got the kids off to sleep?’

’‘Well’ said Gunner gently, ‘Sometimes the neighbours come out and support, but if truth be told I just blow as softly as I can get away with!’

At the end of our hugely enjoyable hour, I think my conclusion was that modern day Riponians can sleep as safely at night as their forbears did. Thanks to Gunner and his team mates the ancient and valuable tradition of the Ripon Hornblower is in very safe hands indeed.

If you have ideas for other Monktoners, we should interview for this series, please email us.