Beverley, Yorkshire - February 2020

In February my step sister, step-sister in-law and myself met for lunch in the small Yorkshire town of Beverley.   I had never been there before and was surprised to find it had a lovely old town center with not just one but two magnificent churches, Beverley Minster and St Mary’s Church.  The town was obviously much more significant in its past than it is now and apparently in the Middle Ages it was the 11th largest town in England.

St Mary's Church, Beverley

I parked in the Market Square and went over to the nearby church thinking it was the Minster because it was quite large and impressive.  I was however informed that it was not the Minster but in fact St Mary’s Church. The Minster, which is even bigger and more impressive, is on the other side of the town.  St Mary’s though is a wonderful church and I spent some time wandering around inside. There are some beautiful stained glass windows dating from the Victorian era. A ceiling painted with the constellations of the stars.  Beautiful carvings in both wood and stone. Particularly interesting was a colorful carving of a group of minstrels on one of the columns. Apparently the Guild of Minstrels had its northern headquarters in Beverley back in the day.

Interior, St Mary's Church

The Minstrels in St Mary's Church

I also learned a bit more about misericords.  I first came across them on my recent visit to Manchester Cathedral but there were some more nice ones in St Mary’s.  The name sounds to me more like a piece of music or an incantation but a misericord is a type of folding seat in a choir stall that can be folded down to provide a rest for clergy and choir while they appear to be still standing.  Most essential for a long church service. The other unusual thing about misericords is that they have carvings on the underside of the seat. Often not religious but more whimsical.

Misericords

One thing that I didn’t pay much attention to was the Memorial Door, a carved wooden door by the quite famous Robert “Mouseman” Thompson.  Another carved object I missed was the 1325 carving of a rabbit in the Sacristy door that allegedly was the inspiration for the illustrations of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.  It's a shame I didn’t read the guide book more carefully when I was in the church.

Beverley Minster

The ornate entry to the Minster

The Minster which I visited after lunch is even larger and more impressive than St Mary’s.  It’s exterior is quite ornate with a beautifully carved doorway. Inside the nave is immense and there are so many intricate and ornate carvings.  Where did all these craftsmen come from and who can do this kind of work these days? There is an organ with ornate painted pipes; the choir stalls and chancel has the most remarkable wooden carvings; there are Misericords here too and they have carvings on the underside of the seat, but not as impressive as those in St Mary’s.

The Altar and Reredos

The altar is relatively modest but behind it there is a screen of beautiful carvings.  I believe they call this a reredos. Down one side there are a series of small sculptures of musicians - perhaps again something to do with the Guild of Minstrels.

One of the many Minstrel Carvings

What a beautiful town Beverley is with its lovely old town center and its two fine churches.  It even has a racetrack (for horse racing). Well worth a visit.

There are more photos of the churches here.