The largest bell in the church tower is dated 1755 and bears the
inscription, "First I call you to God's word, and at last unto the Lord."
It is said that this bell was cracked owing to the great strength of one
of the ringers, and that the date 1755 is the year of the re-casting. The
flagon is the only piece of the church plate belonging to this period. It
was made in 1805 by Prince of York.
In the year 1837 the Rev. Joseph Kipling, grandfather of Mr Rudyard
Kipling, was living at Pickering, and on the 6th of July of that year a
son, John, was born. Mr Joseph Kipling was a Wesleyan minister, and his
residence at Pickering was only a temporary one.
Another Wesleyan who was living at this time was John Castillo, the author
of many quaint poems in the Yorkshire dialect, and an original local
preacher as well. He died in 1845, and his grave is to be seen in the
burial-ground of the Wesleyan Chapel. It bears a verse from "Awd Isaac,"
the poem by which he is best known--
"Bud noo his eens geean dim i' deeath,
Nera mare a pilgrim here on eeath,
His sowl flits fra' her shell beneeath,
Te reealms o' day,
Whoor carpin care an' pain an' deeath
Are deean away."
In 1720 a new chapel was built at Pickering for Protestant Dissenters, but
before that time--as early as 1702--Edward Brignall's house was set apart
for divine worship by Dissenters. An Independent Church was formed in
1715, the people probably meeting in private houses for several years.
Pages:
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209