Early in the 8th century the then bishop of York, John, founded a monastery. When he died in 721 his body was buried in a chapel of the monastery’s Saxon church. In 1037 he was canonised and his monastery, and the town that had grown up around it, became a place of pilgrimage.
Today Beverley is an attractive small market town dominated by a very large church, the Minster, which was built on the site of that earlier Saxon church.
Let’s take a Monday Walk to explore not only this but also another historically interesting, and beautiful, church.
Beverley Minster
Beverley Minster
The Minster in Beverley is not only one of the largest parish churches in the UK, it is actually larger than one-third of all English cathedrals! The present church was built largely between the late twelfth and early fifteenth centuries. There is an interesting history of the church on the Minster’s website so I won’t go into details here. The website also includes lots of information about the architectural style, which is mainly Gothic (a mix of Decorated and Perpendicular styles).
Inside the Minster
Highlights inside include the Medieval Minstrels. There are over 70 carvings, in wood and stone and dating from the medieval period, which depict about 20 different instruments as well as singers. This is believed to be the largest collection of such carvings in the world.
Medieval Minstrels
The font is very interesting. It dates from about 1170, and survived a fire in 1188 that damaged the Norman church to such an extent that it had to be rebuilt. The wooden cover was added during the 18th century restoration of the church. It was designed by Hawksmoor and carved by William Thornton of York. Our guide demonstrated how the heavy cover could be lifted with one finger, thanks to an ingenious pulley system.
The font, with our guide demonstrating the lofting of the cover
A simple plaque on the floor between the nave choir stalls marks where the relics of St John of Beverley were interred.
According to the Minster’s website:
From very early days John’s miraculous powers were believed to include the granting of victory in battle. Alfred’s grandson, King Athelstan, is said to have prayed for success at his tomb, as a result of which he destroyed a coalition of his enemies in a great battle in 937.
In 1415 King Henry V won the Battle of Agincourt on the Feast of St. John’s translation (25 October); afterwards the King visited John’s shrine to give thanks, and made him one of the patron saints of the Royal family.
https://beverleyminster.org.uk/top-10-st-john/
Roof tour
My friends and I had booked one of the guided tours offered here which takes visitors up into the roof. We had to sign a disclaimer beforehand, as the tour involves some narrow spaces and a climb of 113 steps up a tight spiral staircase. It was well worth it however!
Once we’d tackled the climb, we were in the rafters above the south transept (most of them centuries old) and could look out through one of the church’s ‘wheel’ windows to see houses below and countryside beyond.
Ancient rafters and the wheel window in the south transept
The most interesting part of the tour was when our guide demonstrated the still-working old treadwheel mechanism that lifted the central boss above the crossing. We could look down at the floor far beneath us and had an unusual view of the magnificent organ.
Raising the boss
From here we went into the space above the north transept, from where we were able to look through another wheel window overlooking the town. The window is engraved with historic graffiti scratched here by past minster workers and also by personnel from nearby RAF Leconfield. The latter not only left their names but also ‘drawings’ of aircraft.
Inscriptions on the wheel window in the north transept
Although it meant we had less time to explore the main body of the Minster, the roof tour was well worth doing. If you’re interested to follow in my footsteps, it currently costs £12.75 and must be booked in advance here: https://beverleyminster.org.uk/minster-tours-school-visits/
Around town
Not content with the impressive Minster, the small town of Beverley has another church worth visiting, St Mary’s. To get there we must walk through the pleasant town centre. There is a mix of independent shops and some high street staples. I was most interested in photographing some of the quirky details. The parade of beavers around the top of the lamppost reflects the origin of the town’s name. Originally Inderawuda, in the 10th century it was renamed Bevreli or Beverlac, meaning a beaver-clearing or beaver-lake. This was a reference to the colonies of beavers living in the River Hull at that time.
The mice on the post box are a seasonal touch. They are dancing around a maypole, an English tradition on May Day (the 1st of May). The plaque to Mary Wollstonecraft is self-explanatory.
Around Beverley
The various paintings around the town are part of ‘Paint the town Fred’, an art trail celebrating the work of two Beverley artists, Fred and Mary Elwell.
‘Paint the Town Fred’
St Mary’s Church
And so we come to St Mary’s Church, at the northern end of the main street, Lairgate. It was founded in the first half of the 12th century to serve as a daughter church of Beverley Minster, in particular for the town’s trading community. Most of the present structure dates from the 14th and 15th centuries. However in 1520 the tower collapsed (during Evensong no less!) and caused considerable damage to the body of the church too, necessitating significant rebuilding. The church was restored in the 19th century.
The famous historian, Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, described St Mary’s as ‘One of the most beautiful parish churches of England’.
Most of the beautiful stained-glass windows date back to the 14th century and are very well preserved.
Stained-glass in St Mary’s
The panelled timber ceiling is stunning, and the medieval and Tudor bosses at the intersections of each panel are all unique. According to the church’s website they are currently the subject of a restoration project. The same website tells us:
Central to St Mary’s bosses is that each is telling a different and deliberate story, and that these stories were designed to have an effect on those viewing them from below: some bosses were designed to educate, some to instruct, and some to entertain.
Source: https://www.stmarysbeverley.org/heritage/bosses-project/introducing-the-bosses-of-st-marys/
Even more stunning is the ceiling in the chancel, known as the Ceiling of Kings. It depicts forty kings of England, from the legendary Brutus to Henry VI, and was originally constructed in 1445.
Look out for the carving of the Pilgrim Hare on the door archway of the sacristy in the north choir aisle. We know he’s a pilgrim because his bag carries an image of a scallop shell, the symbol of the Camino de Santiago. This carving is said to have been the inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s White Rabbit.
The Pilgrim Hare and an angel
Talking of carvings, in 2020 the church commissioned fourteen carvings of characters from The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, to be installed on the exterior of the north nave. Plaster casts of these are displayed inside the church.
Narnia plaster casts with a close-up of Mr Tumnus the fawn on the right
And of course we then went outside to see them high on the walls.
Aslan the lion and Glenstorm the centaur
Note the drainpipe on the right above. All of them are dated, from very old ones like this to those restored/added in the last few decades.
There are also apparently similar carvings on the south side of the church, featuring ‘Women of Influence’. These include Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Seacole, Marie Curie, Amy Johnson and Helen Sharman. But try as we might, we couldn’t see them!
Another detail to look for outside is the Danish soldiers’ plaque, which records an interesting historical event. William of Orange had hired 7,000 mercenaries from Denmark to support him in his efforts to claim the English throne. On their voyage from Copenhagen two of them got into a quarrel, possibly about a girl. After their arrival in Hull a duel ensued, and one was killed by the other. Under Danish law of that time, duelling was forbidden and when it resulted in a death it carried the death sentence. The killer was court-martialled and executed, beheaded by sword in Beverley’s market-place. This was the last ever use of a sword for execution in England. The two soldiers were interred side by side at St Mary’s and a memorial plaque erected. This one is a copy as the original became too worn to be read.
My featured image was also taken in St Mary’s Church.
I hope you’ve enjoyed your tour of these two beautiful churches. This week I’m happy to double up with a new (to me) challenge, Pepper’s One Step at a Time.
I visited Beverley in May 2026
One Comment
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
So grand, wonderful details.