BEVERLEY AND EAST-YORKSHIRE

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Beverley is the gateway of East Yorkshire, and in history books, is mentioed much earlier than Hull. It is a town having links from the early monks and friars, there is, in fact, a minster and a friary in the town in excellent condition. Both are in daily use and visitors should not miss either.
Both buildings date back to around 1100ad. or so, the minster being finished around 1500ad. It took around 300 years to complete this great monument. The name Beverley, originally "bever-lac", is thought to mean "The lake of the Beavers", or similar, and could be a Latin word from Roman times.
It is now known that a bronze-age settlement was created in the town, and pottery and other bits and pieces have been unearthed.
A new museum is planned for Beverley, and it is hoped that many ancient findings will be displayed.
In the middle ages, the town was the 10th largest in the country. Most of the land around was swampy, with fresh-water springs at Weedley, Newbald, Brantingham, Anlaby, and Beverley itself. An active spring still runs under houses in New Walk.


The Minster










Beverley Minster Official Site

Markets are held on a Saturday in the 'Market Place' in Beverley.Here, there are anual Folk-Festivals with Morris-Dancing etc. The buildings here are old, as many buildings are in the town.The 'Playhouse theatre', once owned by Mr&Mrs.Simmons,was used as a cinema. Many films were made by Mr.Simmons and shown at the theatre even up to the present day. The theatre was originally a "Corn-Exchange" where grain was sold by merchants to go to the mills, some driven by wind such as 'Skidby Mill' between Cottingham, and higher up, Hunsley, which is on the Roman Road that leads to North Cave and on to Howden.




Above can be seen the old "Friary"(left).On the right is the old "North Bar-Gate"
This building, and land around the Friary, was aquired by the late Gordon Armstrong, from Cumberland.
He was an engineer-genious and built cars, airplanes, engines etc.
He built up a large engineering empire in Beverley, and I was employed there myself for several years.
Shock absorbers were the main manufactured parts, and during the last war, he instituted a canteen especially for the troops and emergency services which was open-free all hours. His home was given up to be a hospital, for the length of the war, living himself, in a converted stable.
He made gifts for hospital upkeep, ant to the Scouts for a clubhouse. He was a gentleman who helped to form Beverley itself.
The factories are gone now, but Gordon Armstrong is not forgotten.
The 'Workhouse' of Beverley has long been a Maternity Hospital, and indeed where my three sons were born. Quite old, it can be reached from the 'Beverley Westwood', out to the west. Nearly opposite the 'Racecourse' is 'Burton Bushes', the remains of Beverleys 'Great West Wood'. A Roman chariot with skeletal remains were found here and later, taken to the 'British Museum'. Nearby are two very old burial mounds on the 'westwood pasture', iron/ bronze age.
Quite recently, a hoard of Celtic coins was unearthed near Beverley.
They are gold, of around 50yrs BC. Some(35) of the coins are due to be on show at Sewerby Hall, near Bridlington.They are worth many thousands of English Pounds
At the 'Army Transport Museum' ( NOW SHUT DOWN ), were many trophies from the second world war and other periods, including trucks, motorcycles, a car that one of Germany's top generals used during the war, and airplanes of diferent sizes. Recently a rocket launcher, used during the Faulkland's war was introduced.
Beverley shipyard, now closed down, once turned out many trawlers that were used by the Hull fleet
Much of Beverley's water came from Newbald, or Niewbolt as the old name used to be. The church here is very old, the base-structure older than Beverley Minster itself. The stone used for building it came from North Cliffe, which was the limits of the sea/Humber at one time. York Minster also used this stone. But Newbald church is quite lovely inside, with it's Norman font and wooden roof-interior. The main doorway is unique as far as the "Grafiti" on its arch-structure is concerned---There are signatures on it left by knights going off to the Great Crusades in the 'Holy Land'proving its age.
Newbald was a Roman settlement at one time, it lies on the course of the old Roman Road from Brough to Malton,once large Roman settlements. Between the two towns lies the western side of the Wolds, which stretch out from therabouts to just east of the Driffield area, a very beautiful part of the East Riding. Brantingham, once a place where Romans built a villa, has a breath-taking local landscape, and when arriving here by road from Hunsley, a wonderful drive to decend hundreds of feet in less than a mile can be experienced, almost like the Alps,with a fresh-water spring at the bottom. The 'Green Dragon Inn' at Welton, is where the famouse 'Highway-Man' -'Dick'Turpin drank his last pint of ale before the soldiers arrived to rush him to York, where he was hanged.

OUT OF BEVERLEY// NORTH-YORKSHIRE and EAST COAST

Going towards York, is Market Weighton,a market town where once lived one of the tallest men in England, William Bradley. On a shop-front on the Main Street can be seen a 'cast' of one of his shoes, to show how big his proportions were. Pocklington is another market town on the Wolds. an old place again, you can see a pair of 'Stocks' used to hold law-breakers for public display
At Stamford Bridge is the scene of a great historical battle ,
Here King Harold fought a victory, but also went on to Hastings, where he was killed. There is a very old stone bridge at Stamford Bridge, as it's name suggests.
York itself has much to offer tourists and visitors. The Vikings captured the town around 867AD.
Antiquities are many,with a 'Viking Museum', 'Railway Museum','Castle Museum',and others. They are not free, but driving around certainly is, and the sights are superb. The Roman Walls are well kept, and can be walked along.
The Vikings left all sorts of remains in the East Yorks' area, including some of our local dialect and villiage names.
At Nunburnholm Church is a Viking cross inside the church itself. On it are Scandinavian symbols.

ANCIENT EGYPTIANS IN YORKSHIRE

Local Historian, Lorrain Evans, the author of a recently published book,-- "Kingston Of The Ark" - (Published by Simon And Schuster), has put forward a very convincing theory that Egyptian boats sailed into the River Humber as long ago as 2000yrs BEFORE the Vikings arrived.
In 1937, at North Ferriby, near Brough(An ancient Roman City), two boats were excavated.
It had always been ASSUMED that these boats must have been of Viking origin, as many such boats have been dug out in the area.
It has been confirmed that these two boats are actually of a design exactly the same as a boat found intact INSIDE an Egeptian Pyamid which dates back to about 1350 to 1400 BC.
An even more startling discovery is that at that very time, it is known that a fleet sailed from Egypt, fleeing with a princess to avoid death.
These were more than likely to eventually arrive in Ireland.
The two found in North Ferriby are thought to belong to that very fleet.
No proof however, can be verified to this most probable find.

The HMS.BEVERLEY

Beverley can be remembered not only from its roots onland, but also from past maritime history and a mass tragedy.
On April 11th, 1943, the destroyer-HMS.Beverley, was holes by a collision with a merchant ship, "Cairnvalona", in the Atlantic.
Not only was she hit by this ship, but soon afterwards was torpedoed by the German U-Boat "U188".
But not only that, another destroyer with the HMS.Beverley-- "The Clover", fired depth-charges towards the U188, and by accident the charges hit the already sinking HMS.Beverley and stricken crew in the water.
--The loss was 151 men
She was an important vessel in the Atlantic, being the first of its small size to escort convoys including Russians, accross the Atlantic. She was built in the U.S.A. in 1919.
A book is available written by Geoffrey Blewett, telling the whole story and much more. It is published by Alan Twiddle, who can be contacted on (UK=44)-01377-270058.

ON TO NORTH-YORKSHIRE AND THE EAST COAST

Above the Wolds, which strech out from South-Cave and Welton in the south, to a line above Malton and Driffield in the north, Hemsley to Pickering marks the start of the 'North-Yorkshire Moors', and here can be seen some of the most beautiful scenery in England.

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Maritime Special Photo-Pages(7 pages)
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Books on Beverley and East-Yorkshire include the following authors:--
Mr.J.Markham, Mr.I.Hall, Mr.P.Robinson(Ghost Stories), Eileen Rennison, Mr.B.Dyson, Mr.T.Garlick, Mr.M.Boyles. For more - visit your local library.

Useful Tel. Numbers:-
Tourist Info.-Beverley-01482-867430------------------/-------------------------East-Yorkshire Bus Co.-01482-327146
Beverley Minster-------01482-868540-----------------/------------------------------Beverley Friary--------01482-881751
Beverley Racecourse----01482-882645---------------/----------Army Transport Museum-Beverley--01482-860445

PAGE UPDATED-27th-March-04