Shrewsbury's town crier - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

As the sun rises in England, Shrewsbury's most prominent citizen is headed to work. His office is town square. He opens his briefcase and grabs a 12.5 lb bell and begins to ring it.

"My Lord, ladies and gentlemen, I am commanded to welcome you all to this ancient and medieval town of Shrewsbury!"

Martin Wood is the town crier of Shrewsbury. It is a job requiring a loud voice.

"It (loud voice) was something I found in a box one day," laughed Wood. "My volume is about 107 decibels which is roughly the same sort of noise as a jumbo jet taking off. You need a good strong voice because if you're in a big crowd, like in Shrewsbury down the street, your voice has got to carry as far as possible," said Wood.

Wood said he was taught voice projection from Edward Woodward who filmed Christmas Carol in Shrewsbury.

"I just practice every day. Normally at traffic lights. It's something everybody can try because if you're sitting at a set of traffic lights, and they're red, you can actually shout at them and they'll change to green. It's brilliant, you know," said Wood.

Wood's costume also draws attention as he walks through Shrewsbury.

"This is actually regalia that would have been worn by the town crier in Shrewsbury in the 1700s. So, this is very much traditional regalia," said Wood about his clothing that often gets mistaken for another occupation. "Kids are great. A lot of them think I'm a pirate." Wood said.

Beyond the booming voice, Wood is an imposing figure. At 7'2", he is the world's tallest town crier.

"If you eat all your vegetables, you'll grow as tall as me," Wood tells a young child as he strolls through the town square explaining the history of the town crier.

"Back in the medieval days he was the news reporter. In those days, people couldn't read and write. So, it was up to the town crier to tell them what was going on," Wood explained. "So, the news would actually come from London and come up by stage coach, and each place he stopped at there would be a town crier, he would actually pick the news up and would go out and announce it to everybody else," said Wood.

The town crier also had the role of deputy executioner.

"So, if the actual executioner had gone on holiday, then it was up to me to put a noose around somebody's neck and see them off. Back in the medieval days, life was cheap. There was 257 crimes that carried the death penalty. From murder to stealing a bag of nails," said Wood.

The crier was also the town's official beer taster.

"Back in the 1300s, we had over 700 pubs in Shrewsbury, so the crier had to go and taste the ale out of each one. He had to go around and taste the ale from every single pub which would mean visiting at least 2 pubs a day which was dreadful. Terrible job," joked Wood.

"Nowadays, the job is more of tourism. We have many people coming into Shrewsbury, so it's basically taking people around the town, showing them all the beautiful buildings, teaching them all the history. I also do a mean ghost tour as well. So, there's all sorts of jobs the town crier would have done. and still do," said Wood. "Whenever I go, I'm obviously promoting Shrewsbury and people always know me as the town crier from Shrewsbury."

Wood estimates there are approximately 500 town criers throughout the United Kingdom. But, there probably isn't another one with a bigger bell or a louder voice.

"I've actually been heard from a mile and a half away. But, that's on a good day," laughed Wood. "It's no good just standing there ringing and in a funny high voice say 'my lord, ladies and gentlemen, be it known that'. That's rubbish. People wouldn't even hear you," said Wood. "So, you've got to sit there and ring the bell and in the booming voice say 'my lords, ladies and gentlemen' - it's got to carry."

Wood has been the town crier in Shrewsbury 27 years after working in a physically handicapped center and hospital in Shrewsbury. Wood says he has a connection to the Harry Potter movies.

"I am actually one of the Hagrid's body doubles. So, that just means whenever anybody wants one of the characters. They send me in and I get dressed up and scare everybody to death," said Wood.

Wood is upbeat with everyone he meets.

"I'm so proud of Shrewsbury. And, I'm so proud of what I do and that I'm helping to promote the town. I love everything there is about Shrewsbury. Mainly, obviously the history because that's what I'm based in. I love talking to people about Shrewsbury. It's a fabulous town. People are lovely," said Wood.