The Misericords and history of Beverley Minster,
St John and St Martin.
Beverley Minster has 68 early 16th century misericords.
Click to launch a description of the misericords of Beverley Minster
Please click on the thumbnail misericords for larger images.
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Beverley Minster |
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Founded in about 700 AD by John, Bishop of York (latterly St John of Beverley) as a monastery. St John’s body still lies under the Minster church. The Saxon monastery went through successive rebuilding until 1220 when after a serious fire the current building was started, but was not completed until 1425 - over 200 years in three distinct phases. The first part of the building, 1220 - 1260 was in the early English Gothic style, which included much of the fabric including the twin transepts. The second phase from 1309 - 1349 was in the Decorative style, which includes the vault, the clerestory decoration and pillar capitals / corbels. The final phase is from 1380 to 1425, in the perpendicular style, which includes the twin West towers and the North porch.
The misericords were carved, probably by the Ripon School of Carvers, in 1520, if they’d been commissioned but 18 years later, they would never have existed!
With the dissolution in 1538, the Minster church might have become a cathedral, but instead was saved to become the parish church of Beverley.
The 18th century brought with it the new central tower which replaced the original lantern. It is noteworthy that the treadmill crane that was used in the tower’s construction is still in place within the roof space, this is the largest surviving treadmill crane in England.
Beverley Minster has many wonderful carvings, I have put a selection on this daughter page
The official Beverley Minster website.
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