The minster dedicated to St John in the town of Beverley in East Yorkshire has a long and interesting history. There is some evidence, through coins and some mosaic tiles discovered over the centuries - that there was a Roman settlement at Beverley sometime before the fifth century. After all, the Roman base at York, then named Eboracum, was nearby. It seems to have been certainly established by the Saxon period.
It was at this period that the impressive minster was built, likely on the site of a smaller, wooden Saxon church. The later Romans worked to convert the Saxon communities to Christianity and it may have been because of this that the early church was founded. The minster is said to have been established by John Archbishop of York in the eighth century, who spent three decades building a Christian community in the county and built the earliest parts of the building we see today. It was founded in around 700, and he lived at the minster from 717 and died there in May 721. In recognition of his work in the church, he was given a sainthood, and after his death was known as St John of Beverley.
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| Beverley Minster, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons |
Both monks and nuns lived in the Saxon minster, which evolved to play a key part in the town's administration and government. Religious houses were often the site for the trying of crimes, the settling of disputes and provided lodgings to visitors. The monks also worked the lands near their centres, farming, rearing livestock and producing cheese, honey and milk.
In around the mid-ninth century, events worked to upset the tranquil life of the monks and nuns established by St John of Beverley. In 866, an attack by the Danes almost destroyed the minster completely, taking its valuable relics and manuscripts. The building was however restored in the following years, and John's tomb was repaired by the time King Athelstan visited it in around 937. On his way to York he stopped at Beverley to pray at John's tomb. Legend has Athelstan taking a dagger out of its scabbard and laying it on the high altar, promising to bestow wealth on the church should he be successful in his military pursuits against rebels in the north. Following his victory, he marched back to Beverley and granted privileges and lands to the community, including those in Brandesburton and Lockington. The minster was also given the right of sanctuary, a term that provided shelter from enemies until a compromise could be achieved, usually within a set number of days. The king also provided for the creation of a College in the building, with seven priests.
The growth of the minster was crucial to the rise of the town as a centre for trade, public administration and worship. It was primarily a farming and labouring town, but the shrine of St John attracted pilgrims, who then ate and stayed in the town, supporting local businesses. Dignitaries visited the town, with Archbishops of York residing in the minster over the years. It was considered important enough to be enlarged by Alfiric Pottoc, Archbishop of York in 1033, with three annual fairs granted by the king, Edward the Confessor. Edward also confirmed the almost 200-year-old charter provided by Athelstan. Over the rest of the Saxon period and into the Norman period from 1066, Beverley Minster supported a community of both monks and nuns, preserved order in the townspeople and provided a lasting visible symbol of the recent establishment and growth of Christianity.
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Source: James Joseph Sheahan, History and Topography of the City of York, the East Riding of Yorkshire and a Portion of the West Riding. John Green, Beverley, 1857.
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