Beverley

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Beverley

Beverley shown within the East Riding of Yorkshire
Population 29,210 (2001)
OS grid reference TA035399
Parish Beverley
Unitary authority East Riding of Yorkshire
Ceremonial county East Riding of Yorkshire
Region Yorkshire and the Humber
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BEVERLEY
Postcode district HU17
Dialling code 01482
Police Humberside
Fire Humberside
Ambulance Yorkshire
UK Parliament Beverley & Holderness
European Parliament Yorkshire and the Humber
List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire
Coordinates: 53°50′43″N 0°25′39″W / 53.8454, -0.4275
For other uses, see Beverley (disambiguation).

Beverley is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is also the county town of the riding. It is situated 8 miles north of Kingston upon Hull, 10 miles east of Market Weighton and 12 miles west of Hornsea.

According to the 2001 UK census, Beverley parish had a population of 17,549 and the built-up area a total of 29,210.

It is best known for Beverley Minster and its race course, and also for Beverley Friary and a fine medieval church, St Mary's, reflecting its former status as a wealthy wool-trading town.

Contents

[edit] Administration

Beverley was the seat of the Beverley borough in the administrative county of Humberside from 1974 to 1996. It is now the seat of the East Riding of Yorkshire (as it also was before 1974).

[edit] History

Beverley was built on fines. The local courts used to fine traders that sold goods of incorrect weight or of poor quality, which made the town one of the finest towns to trade in, since buyers knew that they were buying high quality goods. Traders from all over England headed to Beverley to buy and sell goods. In the Middle Ages Beverley also prospered from the pilgrim traffic to the shrine of Saint John of Beverley. In the 14th century, Beverley was classed as the eleventh richest town in England.

[edit] Etymology

Beverley is derived from the Anglo-Saxon place-name "Beoferlic," which later became corrupted as "Beverlith," "Beverlea," "Beverlac," and "Beforlac." This name may have the literal meaning of "beaver lake," a reference to the colonies of beavers in the River Hull. A beaver forms part of the arms of the town. Isaac Taylor, however, identified Beverley with the Romano-British Petuaria and theorized that the original Celtic name of the site, Pedwarllech, became corrupted by the Saxons in order to make the name intelligible to them by the process of folk-etymology. Pedwarllech is said to signify "four boundary stones," "pedwar" meaning "four."

[edit] Present day

In 2007 Beverley was named as the best place to live in Britain in a study by the Royal Bank of Scotland.[1]

[edit] Transport

The town is served by Beverley railway station on the Yorkshire Coast Line that runs between Hull and Scarborough.

The five-mile £13m A1079 Beverley Bypass opened in May 1980.

Beverley Beck gives boats access to the town from the River Hull.

[edit] Education

Beverley is also home to the oldest state school in England: Beverley Grammar School (founded 700 AD). Other schools include Beverley High School and Longcroft School and Performing Arts College.

The Defence Driver Training School at Leconfield is nearby.

[edit] Public Houses

Beverley town is also very well know for its rich variety of public houses, such as The Sun Inn, the town's oldest public house dating back to the early 12th century. There are over 40 public houses in Beverley - the vast majority have been there for over a century. Beverley is also home to one of the last pubs in the world to still use authentic gas lighting; The White Horse Inn (or "Nellie's" to the local population) is owned by the Samuel Smith Brewery company and has become popular with the local student population due to its low prices (less so since the crackdown on underage drinking one finds).

[edit] Events

  • Every Saturday and Wednesday is a Market day in Beverley. The main market day is on Saturday with a limited number of stalls on a Wednesday.
  • About every month, on a Sunday, there is a music cafe at The Beverley Memorial Hall called Sunday Live, which features bands and solo artists from around Beverley and the surrounding area.
  • Each year there is the Beverley Folk Festival, two days of folk music, comedy and workshops. It is currently in its 24th year.

[edit] Sports

The town has two main English football teams.

The town hosted the 2006 British National Cycling Championships.

Horse racing is catered for at Beverley Racecourse.

[edit] Religion

Beverley is a suffragan bishopric of the Diocese of York, created in 1994 to provide a provincial episcopal visitor for the Province of York. As of 2006, the present Bishop of Beverley is the Right Reverend Martyn Jarrett.

Beverley Minster is regarded as the most impressive church in England that is not a cathedral. It contains a tomb said to contain the bones of St. John of Beverley (died 721) who founded a monastery in the town.

Molescroft Beverley merged with the village of molescroft to create a town. The town is refereed to as Beverley because it was the oldest part and also the largest village of the two.

[edit] Gallery

The White Horse Public House.jpg

The White Horse Pub which still is lit by gas lamps

Beverley Westwood showing The Black Mill.jpg

The Westwood Black Mill as seen from Burton Bushes, Beverley

Beverley on market day.jpg

Beverley on one of the two market days

Beverley 1.jpg

Beverley, Saturday market

Beverley 2.jpg

Beverley Market Cross

Beverley Station.jpg

Beverley railway station

Beverley Beck 1.JPG

Beverley Beck

[edit] Twin towns

[edit] References

  1. ^ Beverley 'is the top place to live in Britain'. Yorkshire Forward (2007-09-03). Retrieved on 2007-10-24.

[edit] Source

  • Isaac Taylor, Names and Their Histories (London: Rivington's, 1898), 68.

[edit] External links

[edit] Schools

et:Beverley eo:Beverley it:Beverley nl:Beverley sv:Beverley vo:Beverley

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