Publish date: 8 March 2023
Many congratulations to Kila Redfearn, Head of Charity for Blue Skies at Blackpool hospitals, who has been appointed the first woman Town Crier of Lytham.
“I always wanted to be a town crier, even as a little girl – I just loved the pomp and ceremony of the role,” said Kila. “It embraces everything I love, dressing up, representing my community, meeting new people and being in the middle of everything.”
Prior to leading Blue Skies, Kila worked for 31 years in events and finance at the Blackpool’s Winter Gardens.
Historically town criers were the original broadcasters of their day and can be traced back to medieval times. There are about 140 registered criers in England and Wales of who 20 or so are women.
Today, town criers mainly perform ceremonial duties and make proclamations such as when the Queen died and when royal babies are born.
Kila will formally take up the role on Sunday at Lytham Hall where she will be officially appointed.
One of her first official duties is likely to be the announcement of the King’s Coronation in May.