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Beverley Minster. Photo by Mark Whitley |
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Beverley is an attractive, historic, market town about ten miles north of Hull. With its narrow streets and medieval buildings, it is the oldest town in East Yorkshire, around 1300 years old, and used to be one of England's most prosperous.
Like nearby York, Beverley had gateways, or Bars, to protect and enclose it. The North Bar, built in 1409, is the only medieval gatehouse in the town that has survived. Even though it had gatehouses, unlike York, the town didn't have a surrounding wall, but instead had a deep ditch as its defence. Beverley is dominated by the minster, a magnificent example of Gothic architecture, built between 1220 and 1425. If you have an interest in medieval or religious architecture, it is easy to while away a couple of hours inside the minster as it contains many interesting features such as sixty-eight 16th-century misericords, a saxon sanctuary chair, a canopy over the Percy tomb and over seventy medieval carvings of musical instruments in both stone and wood. The Percy tomb is a shrine to the Percy family of Northumberland, and its canopy's elaborate stone carvings depict a view of paradise, with angels and sacred figures. Misericords, also known as mercy seats, are hinged wooden seats placed in the choir stalls of churches to provide a ledge for worshippers to rest on. The misericords all have carved figures under the ledge; different ones on each seat. Carved in 1520, these scenes give an insight into early 16th century life. There are more misericords here than any other church in the country. |
