Criers often dressed elaborately, by a tradition dating to the 18th century, in a red and gold coat, white breeches, black boots and a tricorne hat.[where?]

[3] In Goslar, Germany, a crier was employed to remind the local populace not to urinate or defecate in the river the day before water was drawn for brewing beer.

[4] Bells were frequently used to attract attention, but not always – in the Netherlands, a gong was the instrument of choice for many, and a drum or a hunting horn was used in France.

In the observance of Allhallowtide, "it was customary for criers dressed in black to parade the streets, ringing a bell of mournful sound and calling on all good Christians to remember the poor souls.

In medieval England, town criers were the chief means of news communication with the townspeople, since many were illiterate in a period before the moveable type was invented.

Royal proclamations, local bylaws, market days, advertisements, even selling loaves of sugar were all proclaimed by a bellman or crier throughout the centuries—at Christmas 1798, the Chester Canal Company sold some sugar damaged in their packet boat and this was to be advertised by the bellman.

[citation needed] The crier also escorted the destitute to the workhouse, installed minor criminals in the stocks and administered floggings.

In 1715, a local man recorded that the: "Belman at the Cross … Reads publicly a proclamation in the Mayor's name, commanding all persons in the City to be of peaceable and civil behaviour, not to walk around the Streets or Rows at unreasonable hours of night.

A copy of a royal proclamation announcing the dissolution of the Parliament of the United Kingdom is delivered by hand from the Privy Council Office to Mansion House in the City of London.

All through the American Colonies and beyond, such as Santa Fe, New Mexico; Boston, Massachusetts and Stamford, Connecticut had criers during the mid 17th century.

[11] In many parts of India, the village crier traditionally carried a rustic drum to call public attention, following up with the message.

[12][13] Town criers were prominent in the precolonial and colonial eras of Igboland, a West African region in the present-day Nigeria.

Tony Appleton, an octogenarian and self-proclaimed “royalist crier,” took it upon himself to announce, as loudly as he can, important news about the royal family.

The best dressed town crier at the World Championships in 2008 was Daniel Richer dit La Flêche representing the cities of Ottawa and Gatineau, in Canada.

[34] Daniel Richer dit La Flêche, who is a member of the First Nations Abenaki tribe, is a full-time bilingual town crier.

[35] Taking place from the 20th to 23 August 2014, Chris Whyman from Kingston, Ontario, Canada, was declared the winner of the 2014 World Town Crier Tournament in Chester.