Beverley

Beverley, the chief town of the East Riding of Yorkshire, 1 mile W. of the river Hull, with which it communicates by canal, and 8 miles NNW. of the city of Hull. Its trade consists in corn and coal, and tanning and the manufacture of agricultural implements are the staple industries. The finest object in Beverley is the superb Gothic minster, or the Collegiate Church of St John, ranking next to York Minster among the ecclesiastical structures of the county, and exhibiting different styles of Gothic architecture, the oldest part being of the 13th century. It is 334 feet long and 167 across the transept; the western towers are 200 feet high. The choir contains the celebrated Percy shrine, of the most exquisite workmanship. The minster has been restored since 1867 by Sir G. G. Scott, by whom, too, was restored the fine cruciform church of St Mary. The 14th-century North Bar is the sole survivor of four old gates. The grammar-school of Beverley is so old that the date of its foundation is unknown. Beverley arose out of a priory founded by St John of Beverley, who was born at the neighbouring village of Cherry Burton, became Bishop of Hexham first, and then of York, and died in 721. The name is a corruption of Beverlac, 'lake of beavers.' Pop. (1851) 10,058; (1881) 11,442; (1891) 12,539.