Beverley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Beverley is a market town in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and is also the county town of the riding, north of Kingston upon Hull, east of Market Weighton and west of Hornsea.
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.
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[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 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 as Beverley 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
[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.
[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.
[edit] Events
- Every Saturday and Wednesday is a Market day in Beverley.
- 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.
- Beverley Town FC - in the Humber Premier League
- Beverley Town Reserves FC - in the East Riding County League Division One
- Lord Nelson FC - in the East Riding County League Division One
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.
[edit] Gallery
 St Mary's Church |
 The White Horse Pub which still is lit by gas lamps |
 The Westwood Black Mill as seen from Burton Bushes, Beverley |
 Beverley on one of the two market days |
 Beverley, Saturday market |
 Beverley Market Cross |
 Beverley railway station |
[edit] Twin towns
Nogent-sur-Oise in France
Lemgo in Germany
[edit] Source
- Isaac Taylor, Names and Their Histories (London: Rivington's, 1898), 68.
[edit] External links
- Beverley Minster
- Beverley Racecourse
- Nellie's (White Horse Inn)
- Beverley & East Riding Folk Festival - June
- Beverley Literature Festival - October
- 1st Beverley (St. Nicholas) Scouts
- Beverley Leisure Complex
- Sunday Live
