in 1678: "Paid to the jewry that viewed the man that was drowned, 4s.; to the sargeant for warning them, 1s.; the shroud, 2s. 6d.; four men to carry him to church, 1s." The Whitsun farthings paid by this parish in 1589 amounted to 2s. 2d., which, at a farthing per head, would make 104 householders, and this was probably the arrears of two years, as in 1726 only 1s. 1d. was paid. The present rector of St. Andrew's is the Rev. G. Hodson; churchwardens, Mr. Stallard and Mr. Knight. Population in 1851, 1678. St. Helen's. Register commences with 1538, but appears to have been copied in one handwriting from a book of that date nearly a century later. (See remarks on St. Michael's.) The period of the Civil Wars is noted by much confusion, but there is nothing in the book beyond simple entries of births, marriages, and deaths. The account books, however, which date from 1682, possess a fair average amount of interest. In the beginning of last century various minor improvements and renovations were effected in the church and with the bells. The "chambermen's seat" (meaning the corporation), next the reading pew, "was ordered to be enlarged, and the women's seat next adjoining to be kept as large as now it is by adding the next seat to it." A vestry, held September 10, 1706, ordered "that the churchwardens do article and agree with Mr. R. Sanders,[2] bell-founder, or any other founder, for casting the five bells into eight," and voted a sum not exceeding £70 for founding and hanging the same. An agreement was accordingly made with Mr. Sanders. The five bells handed over to him weighed 85 cwt. 1 qr. 1 lb., and the eight recast 80 cwt. 2 qrs. 15 lb., making a difference of 518 lbs., which is charged at 12d. per lb. This famous octave--the inscriptions on which, in honour of Queen Anne and Marlborough's victories over the French, may be seen in all the local histories and guide books--weighed separately as follows: Blenheim, 6 cwt. 0 qr. 27 lb.; Barcelona, 6 cwt. 2 qr. 26 lb.; Ramilies, 7 cwt. 1 qr. 13 lb.; Menin, 8 cwt. 2 qr. 3 lb.; Turin, 9 cwt. 3 qr. 24 lb.; Eugene, 10 cwt. 1 qr. 3 lb.; Marlborough, 12 cwt. 3 qr. 4 lb.; Queen Anne, 18 cwt. 2 qr. 27 lb. A regular charge of 1s. is made for ringing the pye-bell between twelve and one on Christmas Day, which, I suppose, is in some way connected with the proverbial good cheer of that festive season, just as the "plum-pudding bell" of St. Martin's, and "the pancake bell" which was formerly common everywhere at Shrove Tuesday-- [2] Of Bromsgrove; see article on "Bells." "But hark, I hear the pancake bell, And fritters make a gallant smell." "For tolling ye passing bell as ye prisoners passed by" (to be hanged) was also a constant charge, as likewise the bow-bell (curfew) at night. On the 29th of May, 1723, the churchwarden, in the exuberance of his loyalty, records the payment of 5s. "ringing happy, glorious, and miraculous restoration."