On the third night the effigies were burnt.

There was formerly a gallery at the west end of the church where the choir and organ were situated so that during the musical portions of the services the congregation turned towards the west to face the choir.  About fifty years ago the leader who started the tune with a trumpet was James Ruddock “a bedstuffer.”  An old pitch-pipe used for starting the tunes was recently discovered by Mr J. Grant James, vicar of Marske-in-Cleveland.

Hungate Bridge, an iron structure, having made its appearance in 1864, is, as may be imagined, no ornament to the town.

In November 1851 the weathercock on the spire of the church was blown off, and in the following year it was replaced.

The restoration in 1878-79 included the very difficult work of renewing the Norman foundations of the tower, which were quite unable to continue to support the crushing weight of the spire.  Sir Gilbert Scott, who inspected the tower and was pointed out several of the results of the unequal strains on the fabric, solemnly warned those concerned not to be stingy with cement if they wished to save the tower.  The advice was taken, and after the removal of the crushed and rotten stones and many other repairs the tower and spire were left in a state of greatly increased security.  The framework supporting the bells dated from about 1450, and as there were no louvres to the windows for a long time, rain and snow must have been blown in upon the woodwork, for it was found to be entirely rotten, and it was astonishing that the timbers had not given way under the great weight of the bells.

[Illustration:  THE OLD FIRE-ENGINE AT PICKERING.]

It is an old custom that is still preserved to ring the biggest, or the “pancake” bell, as it is often called, at eleven in the morning on Shrove Tuesday.  At that welcome sound the children are allowed to leave school for the day, the shops are closed, and a general holiday is observed in the town.  The work bell is rung every morning from 5.55 to 6.0, and from 6.0 to 6.5 every evening from March to November, and the bells are rung backwards to call out the fire brigade.  The curious little fire-engine upon which the town used to rely is still preserved in a shed in Willowgate.  It is one of those primitive little contrivances standing on very small solid wheels, suggesting those of a child’s toy horse.

Until the restoration of the church the pulpit was of the two-decker type, the clerk’s desk being under the pulpit, with the reading-desk at the side.  The inlaid sounding-board which was taken out of the church at the restoration is now preserved in the vicarage.  It was in these days, namely about thirty years ago, that the sexton and his deputy used to visit the public-houses during church time in order to fetch out those who were wasting the precious hours.  At Christmas time the waits still enliven the early hours with their welcomes to each individual member