St Mary's Church wasn't on our priority list of places to visit in Beverley. The priorities were all buildings that we had not looked round before. Fortunately we ended up ahead of our schedule, so we had time to look round this lovely building.
St Mary's was established in the first half of the 12th century as a daughter church of Beverley Minster, to serve Beverley's trading community.
Several phases of building and rebuilding took place up to the mid 15th century, making it a much larger building. There have been several periods of restoration since then, with the latest being repair and replacement of some of the stonework on the exterior of the nave, recently completed.
There were some badly eroded sculptures close to the roof line which have been replaced, and inside the church is a display of casts of the new sculptures. One series is of 'Inspirational Women' placed on the exterior of the south wall of the nave, and the second series is of characters from the 'Chronicles of Narnia', placed on the exterior of the north wall of the nave.
This shot was taken from the chancel, looking through the arch towards the nave. Two of the impressive ceilings are visible. Above the chancel the ceiling panels depict forty English kings from the mythical Brutus through to Henry VI, with a portrait of George VI from 1939 added later. This ceiling has appeared before in our project - https://365project.org/fishers/365/2016-09-21 The second ceiling visible is the nave ceiling which can be seen through the arch. This ceiling is painted blue and decorated with stars.
This church is well worth a visit, with a lot to see, and a warm and friendly welcome from the people on duty there.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
Though not the largest church in Beverley, it is my favourite, for its grandeur and for the welcome visitrs receive there. The largest church is Beverley Minster, which on this visit we didn't have time to visit.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
Though not the largest church in Beverley, it is my favourite, for its grandeur and for the welcome visitrs receive there. The largest church is Beverley Minster, which on this visit we didn't have time to visit.
Ian
(I will also admit that I had to look up “chancel”!!)
Thank you John - it is a very attractive building, and the volunteers on duty there are very welcoming.
Ian
Thank you Brian. We have visited this church several times, and I always come away with even more photos!
Ian