at
Keld Head was utilised to give the town a water-supply, and thus the wells
and pumps were superseded. Before the Local Board came into being about
half a century ago, piles of timber were allowed to lie in Eastgate, and
generally one may imagine the rather untidy quaintness so strongly
characteristic of the engravings that illustrate country scenes in that
period.

In 1841 or thereabouts there was a great gale that carried away the sails
of the windmill which stood near the railway station, and a year or two
afterwards the brick tower was demolished.

The early years of Queen Victoria's reign saw the destruction of several
picturesque features, and they also witnessed the decease of some more of
the old customs that were still fighting for their existence. Some of the
old folks can just remember hearing their fathers tell of "the standing in
church," described in the last chapter, and they quite well remember when
the children used to receive prizes for saying poetry in front of the
Communion-table in the parish church. Stang-riding continued up to
twenty-five years ago in spite of the opposition of the police. Two
figures to represent the individuals who had earned popular disfavour were
placed in a cart and taken round the town for three successive nights,
accompanied by a noisy crowd, who sang--

"Arang atang atang
Here do we ride the stang,
Not for my cause nor your cause
Do we ride the stang,
But for the sake of old...."

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