them to
presse his Lordship notwithstanding the former excuse to have yet a
further care of the teaching so great a multitude (they being 4000 people)
considering how busie the priestes and Jesuits are in these dayes
(especially in these quarters) not only laboring to corrupt his ma^ties
subjects in their religion but also infecting them with such damnable
posiciones and Doctrine touching the valew ... (?) unto his ma^ties sacred
person where upon the said bishop made offer unto the boarde that he would
forthwith (?) remove the vicar now there present and place in his roome
some lerned and religious pastor who should as it was desired weekely
preach unto the people and carefully instruct them in the points of faith
and religion of which their Lordships were pleased to accept for the
present, and accordingly inioyned him to the performance thereof and
withall ordered the said preacher now to be presented should first be
approved and allowed by the lorde Archbishop of Yorke in respect of
abilitie and sufficiencie." This entry is thus attested:--

"CONCORDAT CUM REGISTRO
FFRANCIS COTTINGTON
LAURENCE TROTTER ATTORNIE
EDWARD BRIGHT VICARIUS DE
PICKERING SCRIPTOR HUIS EXEMPLARIS."

[Illustration: The Font of Pickering Church.

It dates in its present form from 1644, but the upper portion, which shows
traces of painting, appears to be of very much earlier workmanship, and
has been thought to be of Saxon origin.
]

Edward Bright succeeded to the living in 1615. We may believe that he was
selected as being a "lerned and religious pastor." He appears to have
remained in possession until his death in 1659, though there is an entry
of the baptism of a son of a certain Robert King in 1644, who is described
as "minister." There must have been some exciting scenes in Pickering at
this time, for in the year 1644, when many other churches suffered a
similar fate, the registers record the breaking up of the font and the
tearing to pieces of the church Prayer Book on the same day. The entries
are in very small pale writing at the back of one of the books and read:--

"Baptisterii Pickerensis Demolitio, Septemb. 25, 1644."

And in another hand:--

"Liturgia ecclesie ibidem lacerata eodem die 1644."

Edward Bright had several children whose names appear in the registers,
and one of them, Joseph Bright, was on the 11th of July 1652 "elected and
declared to be the parish clerk of Pickering." He was then twenty-five
y