Beverley | |
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Beverley Minster |
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Arms of Beverley Town Council |
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Beverley shown within the East Riding of Yorkshire | |
Population | 29,110 (2001 census) |
OS grid reference | TA035399 |
Civil parish |
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Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | BEVERLEY |
Postcode district | HU17 |
Dialling code | 01482 |
Police | Humberside |
Fire | Humberside |
Ambulance | Yorkshire |
EU Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
UK Parliament | |
Website | www.beverley.gov.uk |
Beverley is a market town, civil parish and the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town is noted for Beverley Minster, Beverley Westwood, North Bar (a 15th-century gate) and Beverley Racecourse. Its namesake serves as the origins for the cities of Beverly, Massachusetts, and, in turn, Beverly Hills in California.
The town was originally known as Inderawuda and was founded around 700 AD by Saint John of Beverley during the time of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria. After a period of Viking control, it passed to the Cerdic dynasty, a period during which it gained prominence in terms of religious importance in Great Britain. It continued to grow especially under the Normans when its trading industry was first established. A place of pilgrimage throughout the Middle Ages due to its founder, it eventually became a notable 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. After the Reformation, the regional stature of Beverley was much reduced.
In the 20th century, Beverley was the administrative centre of the local government district of the Borough of Beverley (1974–1996). It is now the county town of the East Riding, located 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Hull, 10 miles (16 km) east of Market Weighton and 12 miles (19 km) west of Hornsea. According to the 2001 United Kingdom census 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 2011 United Kingdom census.