HE may have looked like a tinker or a down-on-his-luck travelling salesman, but Nicholas Postgate had a secret - one that would cost him his life.

Father Postgate was a Catholic priest in the 16th Century - at a time when to be a Catholic in England could spell death.

Disguised as a tinker or a gardener, he travelled around the North York Moors bringing Mass and Sacraments to Catholics brave enough to follow their faith.

He ministered throughout the area from northern Cleveland to Pickering.

Fr Postgate introduced the daffodil to his cottage at Ugthorpe, near Whitby, and this is now one of his emblems.

He offered Mass at many locations around Ugthorpe, and sheets were spread on the ground in the fields as a sign that a priest was about to offer Mass.

But official distrust of the Catholic Church meant many Catholics came to be seen as dangerous malcontents.

Eventually, Fr Postgate was arrested and accused of conspiring to kill the King.

Witnesses were brought who testified to having received the Sacraments from Postgate, but since having become Protestant.

One woman who testified against him came later to see him in prison, to beg his forgiveness. He not only freely forgave her, but gave her some of the small amount of money which the Catholics of York had sent him to relieve his hardship, to get her safely home.

The priest's death was set for August 7, 1679, when he was 80. He was taken to the gallows on the Knavesmire, in York, and was put to death by hanging, drawing and quartering, which the law decreed for priests.

This weekend, hundreds of pilgrims will converge on the North York Moors to press for his canonisation.

The annual rally to honour the man widely known as the Martyr of the Moors will again focus on persuading the Vatican to bestow the ultimate honour on Postgate.

A casket containing his preserved hand is to feature in the procession.

It will be brought by a monk from Ampleforth Abbey, who is to join more than 1,000 people on the rally at Ugthorpe, near Whitby, on Sunday.

The rallies began in 1974, alternately at Egton Bridge, where Postgate was born, and at nearby Ugthorpe, where he spent his final years.

Postgate was beatified - the first step to becoming a saint - by the Pope in 1987, along with 84 other English martyrs.

Father Dan Cahill, priest at St Anne's Church, Ugthorpe, said: "For our parishioners, he is very much a saint."

Hymn-singing starts at 2.30pm, with Mass starting at 3pm