The East Yorkshire market town of Beverley is one of Yorkshire’s hidden gems, with much to offer the visitor wanting to stay in and around the town, or to use it as a base for venturing further afield. The town’s greatest claim to fame, of course, is the 13th century Minster, a graceful gothic building of considerable magnitude – there are plenty of cathedrals in the country which do not match Beverley Minster for size or for architectural elegance. The town in fact can trace its founding back to St John of Beverley, one time Bishop of York who retired in 718 to live the monastic life in the area. This holy man became known as a miracle worker, and thus Beverley became a centre of pilgrimage in Norman and medieval Britain. Indeed, the Normans spared the town during the terrible Harrying of the North because of its repute as a holy place. A rather different pilgrimage is made to the area by race-goers, for whom the Beverley races on their Westwood site offer a great day out in lovely countryside. The town itself has some pleasing architecture to offer beyond the religious buildings which dominate the view. There are some lovely Georgian houses well worth a look during a stroll through the place, and Beverley Grammar School is the oldest state school in the country, founded in 700AD. In its industrial heyday Beverley was a thriving place with rope-making, textiles, and iron foundries, and as a river port of some size it even had a shipyard. The pretty waterside of Beverley Beck is another spot not to be missed, with retail and hospitality offerings having replaced the industrial these days. In the 2001 census the Beverley area was home to 29,110 people, with some 17549 actually resident within the parish of Beverley itself. As a town of reasonable size it has good facilities, and the market, once a vital trading point for much of the East Riding, is still a bustling and diverse one, especially on a Saturday.
The East Yorkshire market town of Beverley is one of Yorkshire’s hidden gems, with much to offer the visitor wanting to stay in and around the town, or to use it as a base for venturing further afield. The town’s greatest claim to fame, of course, is the 13th century Minster, a graceful gothic building of considerable magnitude – there are plenty of cathedrals in the country which do not match Beverley Minster for size or for architectural elegance. The town in fact can trace its founding back to St John of Beverley, one time Bishop of York who retired in 718 to live the monastic life in the area. This holy man became known as a miracle worker, and thus Beverley became a centre of pilgrimage in Norman and medieval Britain. Indeed, the Normans spared the town during the terrible Harrying of the North because of its repute as a holy place. A rather different pilgrimage is made to the area by race-goers, for whom the Beverley races on their Westwood site offer a great day out in lovely countryside. The town itself has some pleasing architecture to offer beyond the religious buildings which dominate the view. There are some lovely Georgian houses well worth a look during a stroll through the place, and Beverley Grammar School is the oldest state school in the country, founded in 700AD. In its industrial heyday Beverley was a thriving place with rope-making, textiles, and iron foundries, and as a river port of some size it even had a shipyard. The pretty waterside of Beverley Beck is another spot not to be missed, with retail and hospitality offerings having replaced the industrial these days. In the 2001 census the Beverley area was home to 29,110 people, with some 17549 actually resident within the parish of Beverley itself. As a town of reasonable size it has good facilities, and the market, once a vital trading point for much of the East Riding, is still a bustling and diverse one, especially on a Saturday.