London may define England and arguably the entire United Kingdom, but small towns and villages remain the lifeblood of this country.
One such place is Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Surrounded by the countryside of the Yorkshire Wolds this relatively small town (population about 30,000) punches well above its weight.
Beyond its showpiece church, which rivals many cathedrals in both grandeur and size, there is also a pleasant city center with storefronts neither empty nor occupied by the thrift shops that plague too many of this country’s main streets or high streets, as they are called in British English.
For me, Beverley Minster with its medieval architecture and superb twin west towers was the big draw. Other visitors may, however, be interested in the several music, food and literary festivals held throughout the year. Then there are the quaintly named towns and villages of the Wolds — Bishop Burton, Sledmore, Fridaythorpe, Pocklington — that surround Beverley.
There is even a good chance you have seen the minster without knowing it. That’s because it has been used by filmmakers to double for the considerably more famous Westminster Abbey in London.
Beverley’s principal parish church is not a cathedral, despite there being a suffragan (or assistant) bishop of Beverley in the episcopacy of the Church of England. Rather, the minster designation is a British peculiarity, reflecting the church’s Anglo-Saxon origins. In those days, churches with a monastic or collegiate foundation were named minsters.
The present edifice is a 13th…
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