ased the tolls from
the Duchy of Lancaster, so that it has been possible to obtain a
photographic record of two of the Duchy tenants who used to take part in
the ceremony. On market mornings the Steward of the Duchy armed with a
sword in a richly gilt scabbard would repair to the castle on horseback,
where he would be joined by two freeholders of Duchy land, also mounted;
one carrying the antique halbert and the other the spetum that are now
preserved in a solicitor's office in Eastgate.[1] They would then ride
down to the top of the market-place, where the steward would take out of
his pocket a well-worn piece of parchment and read the following
proclamation.

"_O'yes! O'yes! O'yes!_

"Our Sovereign Lady the Queen and the Reverend John Richard Hill, Lord of
this Manor, proclaim this fair by virtue of Her Majesty's writ of _ad quod
Damnum_, for establishing the same for buying and selling of horses,
geldings, cattle, sheep, swine, and all sorts of merchandise brought here
to be sold, and do hereby order and direct a court of Pye Powder to be
held at the house of Robert Simpson, where all matters in Difference will
be heard and determined according to Law and Justice, and that no person
do presume to buy or sell anything but between the rising and setting of
the Sun, and they do strictly charge and command all persons to be of good
behaviour during the continuance of this Fair.

"God save the Queen and the Lord of the Manor."

[Footnote 1: Mr Arthur Kiching's office. The sword is kept by Mr Boulton.]

[Illustration: THE OLD CUSTOM OF RIDING T' FAIR AT PICKERING.

Two of the Duchy tenants carrying the halbert and spetum as they used to
appear when the market proclamation was read.
]

[Illustration: THE HALBERT (7 feet long) and SPETUM (6 feet 2 inches)
that were carried by the men who accompanied the Steward of the Duchy when
he declared the markets open.]

The parchment is now in the possession of the present steward of the Duchy
property, Mr J.D. Whitehead, who was appointed in 1887 and was the last to
read the proclamation. From the market-place the steward with his armed
attendants rode to the east end of Hungate, and to one or two other points
in the town, reading the proclamation at each place.

The Court Leet, or, as its full title appears, the Court Leet, View of
Frank Pledge, Court Baron, Copy-hall and Customary Court of the Castle
Manor and Honour of Pickering, still meets every second year in October