Yorkshire's hidden Gothic jewel — a minster that rivals York
Beverley is a compact, confident market town in the East Riding of Yorkshire that punches far above its size with a minster so magnificent that it was the direct model for Westminster Abbey's nave. The twin west towers are among the finest Gothic architecture in England, and the medieval misericords inside are the richest set in the country. The Saturday Beverley Market has operated since 1124, and the town's racecourse is one of England's most charming.
Beverley grew around the tomb of St John of Beverley, a 7th-century bishop of York whose shrine attracted pilgrims and whose right of sanctuary — any criminal who reached the sanctuary chair inside the minster was safe for 30 days — made the town a significant medieval centre. Henry V visited to give thanks before Agincourt, and the town's wealthy wool merchants endowed the minster with increasingly elaborate architecture between the 13th and 15th centuries. The minster survived the Dissolution because it was a parish church rather than a monastery, keeping its fittings intact.