Jo’s Monday walk : A whizz around Beverley

Many of you had never heard of Beverley in East Yorkshire when I shared my recent visit to its magnificent Minster.  I’m back this morning to give you a whistlestop tour of the town.  Hold on to your hats!

It was another of those whims of mine that took me there on a coach trip one September day.  The journey seemed tortuous and I wondered why I was putting myself through it, but immediately I set foot inside the Minster I knew that it had been worthwhile.

I glimpsed the spires as we drove into town and as soon as the coach doors opened I was off and beelining for it.  I found the Tourist Information office on Butcher Row en route, and grabbed a map with details of the Beverley Town Trail.  Patience not being my middle name, when I realised that it gave a choice of 4 local walks I threw up my hands and just got on with the job.  Straight down Highgate brought me to the gates of the Minster.  It was a grey old sky, not bringing out the best of the old stone, yet the building had presence.

Bowled over by Beverley will take you inside, if you missed it.  Glancing at the map when I came out, I continued around the outside of the grounds to Minster Yard South.  I was quite surprised to find a grassy paddock with cows grazing contentedly, here in the middle of town.  I knew that it was a market town, but still, a little strange?  The white phonebox set a smile on my face as I continued onto Eastgate.

I detoured, as directed, on Friary Walk for a look at the former Friary, but this was planted firmly in the midst of a housing complex, and I did not loiter.  Back towards Wednesday Market- what an endearing name for the square, peaceful on a Thursday, with pavement cafes and coffee drinkers enjoying the mild temperatures.  On along Butcher Row, taking more notice this time of an interesting mix of shops and eating places.

I stopped occasionally to consult the trail guide, which was full of fascinating snippets of information.  Medieval Beverley was a wealthy town with a diverse population of skilled workers.  Carpenters, armourers, printers, locksmiths, weavers, hatters, brewers, ropemakers- the list is impressive and comprises 39 different medieval guilds.  Do you know what trade a fletcher pursued?  No- nor me! (He made arrows)  The trail encourages you to look for signs of each, but time was precious.  I was heading for Saturday Market and a handsome Market Cross.

It surprised me to read that Beverley was once the 10th largest town in England, and one of the richest, based on the wool industry and the pilgrims who came here to venerate its founder.  The town dates back to 700AD, when St. John of Beverley founded a monastery on the site of the Minster.

Market Cross sits most elegantly at the heart of the square known as Saturday Market, surrounded by attractive buildings.  Did you notice two more white telephone boxes?  Saturday is the main market day here and I can imagine traffic coming to a standstill.  Just beyond the square you can see the tower of St. Mary’s Church, and that’s where I headed next.  As luck would have it, closing was at 4, giving me half an hour to explore.

St. Mary’s was founded in 1120 and the foundations of the early Norman building are still visible in places.  A notable feature of the church are the stone carvings.  The Minstrel Pillar is shown below but I missed the carving of a rabbit dressed as a pilgrim, dated around 1330 and said to have been the inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s White Rabbit.  (You can see him on this link)  The vestry ceiling is painted to represent a map of the heavens, and reminded me of Polish churches I’ve seen.

Amazing to have such a beautiful church and the Minster in one small town.  The ceiling of the chancel is quite breathtaking and I was thrilled to be able to get close to the 28 wonderfully carved misericords.  And who can resist that humble donkey, waiting in the wings?

Take a breath!  The misericords next…

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My time in Beverley was running out, and looking at the trail guide it seems I’d covered most of the 4 walks.  I was disappointed not to have found the Beck and its shipping heritage, but a bonus was the logically named North Bar Within and North Bar Without.  They sandwich North Bar, the earliest brick built town entrance in England.

Heading back to the coach, there was just time to stick my nose in the Coronation Garden, formerly owned by St. Mary’s Church, which explains the headstones.  The benches were empty but I couldn’t stop.

I grabbed a takeaway coffee and a few munchies and subsided onto the bus home, via the Humber Bridge.  But that will have to wait for another time.  I’m off to the Algarve on Wednesday and not sure exactly when I’ll be posting again.

Did you manage to keep up?  I hope you enjoyed it.  I’m onto my second cup of coffee and I’m hoping you’ll do the same.  Put the kettle on and have a good read.  All of these are worth it so please do visit them.  Thank you so much to everyone who’s taken part and kept me company all these weeks.  I’ll be popping in on you when I can.

Starting with an introduction- meet Nadja and her scene stealing photos of Austria :

The Maltese Valley

Fantastic memories of one lovely lady, from another!  Thanks so much, Becky :

An evening stroll for Jo

What would you expect to find at a zoo?  Violet had a bit of a surprise :

At the zoo

I adore dates, and here’s Jackie teasing me with date cake!

Matrimonial cake

Are you an early morning jogger?  Ju-Lyn has the nicest surrounds to tempt you out of bed :

Guess who I met at the Singapore Botanic Gardens?

Candy has some really lovely walks in Brittany.  This is just one of many :

A walk around Landerneau

Kathrin is determined to hike Half Dome one day, but this looks just as good!

North Dome Hike

Carol’s finally finished her English adventures.  What next?  I think I know :

The Last Afternoon

Woolly has a wonderful way with our feathered friends :

Jo’s-Monday-Walk-Wk38_Balyang-Sanctuary-2

Bringing a bit of desert heat our way, I wish I was looking over Drake’s shoulder :

In the sand

And with even more sand in the picture, this is a real beauty from Karen, if a little strenuous!

The Three Beaches Walk

Putting up a gutsy performance and us dilettantes to shame, I’m ending on a real high with Lexie :

High Tatras High

Ending on a high is always a good way to go.  Take good care of yourselves, and I’ll be back before you know it.

175 comments

  2. I love your whims Jo – they lead to such interesting places! I had no idea Beverley had so much to it. Fascinating to read about its history and wealth in medieval times. St Mary’s is a very impressive church too along withe the Minster. Safe travels to the Algarve!

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    1. Ah, but the weather’s not so good, Pit! But judging on what’s come everyone’s way this year it’s not quite so crystal clear, is it? Still 16C when we were out walking this morning, which is really good for October (and 10 degrees warmer in the Algarve 🙂 ) Thank, hon! Take good care!

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      1. “The weather is not so good” – Well, that’s two-sided. When we have the sweltering summer days here, with temperatures hovering around4 0 degrees, we DREAM of 16! 😉

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  5. Gostei muito do seu articulo……etc,etc.

    I’m anticipating Algarve , as it seems….
    I really loved this post and was surprised to see so many beautiful pieces of art , in Beverley!
    I thought it was a small old town , but didn’t know about all those interesting historic buildings….
    Through your photos I could breathe its English atmosphere and I wish I could visit Beverly as soon as possible….
    Thanks for this share , have a good time in Portugal and …….see you soon!

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    1. The temperatures over there are lovely right now, Gilda, but we really can’t complain. We were walking near the Moors this morning and it was 16C. It’s about 10 degrees warmer there. Many thanks! 🙂 🙂

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  8. What a whirlwind of a walk, Jo! Such a fabulous place all around. I love the Minster (so grand!) and St. Mary’s Church with that gorgeous exterior and the ceilings and interior. I love the soap shop, Unicorn Tears – how cute – and the white phone boxes and the cows in the paddock. This would be just my kind of town. So charming all around. Have a great time in the Algarve.

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    1. Hiya darlin! You’re home and planning the next adventure, Cathy? Or recovering from this one! 🙂 🙂 The photos looked great. I’m gone quite a while but I’ll catch up if we’re at an Internet cafe, or when the neighbours get there because they have Wifi 🙂

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      1. I’m home and it was a fabulous trip, Jo! Of course I’m always planning the next adventure, but I’ll enjoy going through my pictures, editing and writing about our trip. I’m still not even finished with my final 10 days in Japan! I hope you have a fabulous time in the Algarve!

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      2. Thanks, hon 🙂 🙂 We have James, girlfriend and her little boy coming out for a week. The little one will be 5 while they’re there so I’ve got the Lego and balloons ready. 🙂 And then Lisa and Leo are joining us just before we come home in November.

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  9. There was so much to see on this walk that I feel a little out of breath just reading about it, Jo! I love the age and history of this community – when we think of something “old” in New York City, it rarely goes back further than the 1700s. And yet some of the things you saw go back almost 1000 years being that! The church is beautiful, with so many details to explore.

    I’ve had a 4-day weekend – today is a holiday, so I’ve been catching up reading and writing blog posts. I’ve actually got a couple of Monday walks I intend to post today – probably the first time I’ve ever posted any on a Monday! Enjoy your visit to the Algarve.

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    2. I’m not sure when I’ll be putting my next walk up, Susan, but if you come back here and put the link in the comments people will see it. And I’ll share them as I always do on Facebook tomorrow. I was literally bowled over by Beverley Minster but then when I saw St. Mary’s I could hardly believe my luck. 🙂 🙂

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  10. I barely managed to keep up with this walk of yours around Beverley. So many stunning photos, and so well done especially of the church and the buildings. Munchies, hehe. And I thought I was the only one who liked that word 🙂

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  12. Jo you have no idea how much I just loved walking round. Beverly with you, BECAUSE in 1959 I spent one year, when I was 17, on a live in course at the agricultural college in Bishop Burton, a neighbouring village to Beverly and when we were allowed out (only after signing in and out and under strict curfews) we loved to go to Beverly. That is so many years ago, but your post brought all the memories flooding back. Now I must read your other post about the minster. I lived in Hull and I’m looking forward to your photos of the Humber Bridge as it wasn’t there when I left UK in 1961.

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    1. It’s funny, isn’t it, that in all these years I’d never managed to get to Beverley, though I’d heard it was a nice place. 🙂 🙂 The Humber Bridge was the deal clincher when I booked the trip, never having seen that either. I thought we’d drive across but the driver stopped at a viewing point and let us walk out as far as we wanted, so yes, I do have a few pics but heaven knows when I’ll post them. We’re in the Algarve for 5 weeks, Pauline, which is why I’ve been deliberately vague about when I’ll post again. We won’t have Internet to start with and I’m looking forward to switching off for a while.

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      1. We actually did see the bridge in 1990 when we did a trip to visit my Mam for her 90th birthday. Spent a year in U.K. A time filled with memories. I actually felt like a tourist as in the 1950’s before I left for NZ I had not seen much at all. But after a year I was so pleased to be going back “home” to NZ. Have a lovely time with your folks in the Algave, and enjoy your technology free time…

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  13. Another lovely church and the town as well. I like the seahorse door knocker, but then I liked the entire walk. Still dark here, so I won’t get in a real walk for another couple of hours. I’m up extra early, having not slept too well, but at least I’ll get a lot done. 🙂 Thanks again for taking me along and safe travels on Wednesday.

    janet

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    1. Thanks, darlin! I had a lot on my mind and was awake and up when it was still dark this morning too. Good job really as it took me quite a while to finish off the walk. Might be an early night tonight 🙂 🙂

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  15. What an interesting tour. Some of the stained glass shots are just wow! And how ironic that only recently my 16yo son was asking what a fletcher did! Hope you have a relaxing break Jo. Take care xo

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    1. I’d never even heard of a fletcher till I read it on the trail leaflet, Miriam. That son of yours must be getting a good education 🙂 🙂 Thanks darlin- on the countdown and looking forward to it.

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  16. Oh, now this was a post I enjoyed! Beverley is just lovely! One of my favourite places and so very close to my Dad. It’s a place we always visit when in Hull. Meet me there next time and I’ll show you the beck and the white rabbit in St. Mary’s 😉

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    1. So funny- one of my friends on here who emigrated to Australia spent some of her youth in Beverley. Small world, isn’t it? I didn’t know about St. Mary’s till I got there so wasn’t aware to look for the rabbit. Shame, really, but what a wonderful church! 🙂 🙂

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  17. What a lovely town! I once knew someone who lived there, back in the day when it was in North Humberside, but never visited! I clearly missed a trick…. Anyway, thanks for the virtual visit, and have some well deserved R&R in the Algarve! Big hugs 😊😊

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    1. Hi Sue 🙂 🙂 Pomme was just saying that it was her nearest town when she was at college, way back when, and another who now lives in Israel has a Dad in Hull, just down the road. This blogging world is minute, isn’t it? Thanks, darlin! We’re ready for a break.

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    2. Argh, ‘North Humberside’ is swearing to anyone from Yorkshire😉
      All my family are from the East Riding, and I remember well the disgust at being renamed North Humberside in the 1970’s.
      I, and many others still continued to address any post to EAST YORKSHIRE.
      Someone eventually got the message, as it returned to its rightful title in the 1990’s 👍🏼👍🏼

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    1. And you are a very lovely friend. 🙂 🙂 Thank you for making time to join me, and I wish you a wonderful and not too very busy week. The hugs are being parcelled as we speak. 🙂

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