Beverley is the county town of the East Riding Yorkshire. It is a market and minster town and a civil parish.
The town centre is located 27 miles (43 km) south-east of York’s centre and 15 miles (24 km) north-west of City of Hull.
The town is known for Beverley Minster, Beverley Westwood, North Bar (a 15th-century gate) and Beverley Racecourse. The town was listed in the 2018 Sunday Times report on Best Places to Live in northern England.
The town was founded around 700 AD by Saint John of Beverley during the time of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria.
It was a place of pilgrimage throughout the Middle Ages due to its founder, it eventually became a significant wool-trading town. Beverley was once the tenth-largest town in England, as well as one of the richest, because of its wool and the pilgrims who came to venerate its founding saint, John of Beverley.
The 2001 United Kingdom census shown the total population of the urban area of Beverley was 29,110 – of whom 17,549 live within the historic parish boundaries. The population of the parish had risen to 18,624 at the time of the UK’s 2011 census.
Beverley is a bustling market with characterful pubs offering music and good pub grub. There are also restaurants and cafes with a wide choice of food styles and prices. The Beverley Arms Hotel is in the centre of Beverley and was refurbished in recent years with lovely rooms, a bar and restaurant.
The medieval skyline remains unspoilt, and the town boasts cobbled streets and quaint courtyards, with elegant Georgian and Victorian terraces. There are many high street shops including Brown’s Department Store plus an interesting selection of smaller independent shops and delicatessen and the Saturday and Wednesday market. The town centre has several pavement cafes and coffee shops.
Beverley Racecourse on Beverley Westwood is one of Yorkshire’s leading racecourses which holds numerous meets through the flat season and Beverley Westwood is one of the few common pasturelands to remain in the country and is open to both residents and visitors.
Beverley is close to several pretty villages and the east coast seaside.