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The most popular derivation of the name Beverley is the Anglo-Saxon
“Beoferlic” or “Beaver Clearing in the Woods”
- quite probably a reference to the beavers that used to dwell on
and around the River Hull as it passed Beverley. Although the beavers
have long since gone, the town’s crest depicting such an animal
by water still remains.
When John, Bishop of York, retired to Beverley in 718 AD, he lived
in his own monastery “in the wood of Deira” - this being
an ancient name for East Yorkshire. The monastery is generally regarded
as the direct ancestor of Beverley Minister and in turn helped to
develop the town as a whole.
John himself became renowned for performing several miracles and
after his death and subsequent canonisation as Saint John of Beverley,
the town became a place of pilgrimage and sanctuary. John’s
bones now lie in Beverley Minster and his legacy is remembered at
an annual festival held in his honour.
Royal charters under various monarchs continued to develop the town,
giving it the right to hold a range of markets and fairs. Our thriving
markets on a Saturday and Wednesday are still governed and guided
by an ancient royal charter, with newer events such as the annual
Food Festival and Festival of Christmas following in this tradition.
Dominant over all is the gothic majesty of the Minster. It was not
until 1220 that the current building was begun, with various Minsters
before it falling foul to a range of disasters, such as destruction
by Vikings and a fiery fate due to a dreadful blaze that swept the
town in 1188.
The Minster is not alone, as the main stretch of central Beverley
is bounded by both the great Minster and the equally beautiful St
Mary’s Church. We also have the medieval North Bar, the Market
Cross, ancient alms houses, the Guildhall, the Friary, Beverley
Beck, the free pastures including Westwood… the list goes
on, but each is as special and unique as the next.
The reformation of the church had a considerable impact on the town
in terms of a loss of economy and during the Civil War, Charles
I placed his headquarters in Beverley as he repeatedly attempted
siege on Hull. In 1665 the plague arrived claiming many local lives,
with the plague pit located where the railway station stands today.
In terms of trade and economy, Beverley was a trading post of the
Hanseatic League and had a large number of medieval guilds, which
are now celebrated by the Town Trail. By the eighteenth century,
the Industrial Revolution brought much prosperity to the town and
developments in mechanised farming practices strengthened the rural
economy in the surrounding farmland and countryside.
The Great War saw many local lads sent overseas not to return. However,
it was during the Second World War that Beverley found itself in
the direct line of fire. The most devastating event took place on
August 3rd 1942, when a bomb was dropped on Flemingate, resulting
in one immediate fatality and several subsequent deaths due to injuries
sustained in the attack.
As national socio-economic trends changed from the 1960s onwards,
Beverley lost its once thriving industrial heartland, which included
a ropery, wool dying, a shipyard and tannery. In recent years there
has been much regeneration on the old industrial sites, which are
now residential and retail areas.
A unique and much loved area of Beverley is Westwood. This common
pasture land has been under the guardianship of the Pasture Masters
for generations, alongside the other common lands of Swinemoor and
Figham Pasture. Beverley is very lucky to have such unspoilt areas
accessible to all and part of Westwood, known as the Hurn, houses
the racecourse. Since the sixteenth century horse racing has been
an important part of the local economy and continues to be a vital
element of Beverley’s ongoing sustainability.
From the gothic majesty of the Minster and the rolling grasslands
of Westwood, to the regeneration of old industrial areas and community
spirit that is evident throughout all quarters of the town, Beverley
is a wonderful place in which to live. Whilst events from the past
have developed the town to be how we know it today, what we do now
will help to shape it for the generations to come.
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