Beverley MinsterMinster Originally a church with a group of clergy which served a large area. Later used to describe a church staffed by many priests or a monastic community was founded as a monasteryMonastery The house of a religious community in the late-7th or early-8th century by St John of BeverleyJohn of Beverley, St (d. 721) An English bishop whose shrine was renowned for healing miracles, attracting large numbers of pilgrims. His life combines the asceticism of a hermit with his role as a bishop. He is one of the saints mentioned by Julian of Norwich, bishopBishop Bishops exercised pastoral care over a diocese and authority to confirm and ordain of HexhamHexham St Wilfrid founded an abbey here in Northumbria in 674 dedicated to St Andrew. After the Norman Conquest it was re-established as an Augustinian Priory. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries the church was retained as a parish church. The crypt built by St Wilfrid survives (687-705) and YorkYork 1. A Roman city and early centre of Christianity. 2. Diocese and province under the leadership of the Archbishop of York. (705-714). He spent his final years in Beverley and after his death in 721 was buried in the church. He was officially recognised as a saintSaint In the New Testament applied to all Christians. Later used of those who were martyred or showed exceptional holiness and whose status was confirmed by the church. The practice of venerating the saints and their relics and asking for their intercessions (prayers) can be observed from the second and third centuries onward and played a central role in popular medieval religion. in 1037 and the site of his grave and relics is marked on the floor of the naveNave The central aisle in a longitudinal (basilican) church, often used for processions. Also the area used by the congregation during worship.. Beverley was an important place of sanctuarySanctuary The area around the main altar of a church. Sanctuaries in the Graeco-Roman world usually comprised a temple which housed the cult statue and votive offerings, and an outdoor space often planted with trees in the medieval period. There is a stone chair in the church, possibly of the late-7th century, which may have been an early bishop’s throne but was associated in the later Middle Ages with claiming the right to sanctuary.
References: BedeBede, the Venerable (c.673-735) Anglo-Saxon historian and biblical scholar. Sent to study at the monastery of Wearmouth at seven; later transferred to Jarrow. Renowned in his lifetime for his learning, Bede wrote treatises on poetry, time and cosmography. Historical works include History of the Abbots, prose and verse versions of the Life of St Cuthbert and Ecclesiastical History of the English People., The Ecclesiastical HistoryEcclesiastical History Full title: Ecclesiastical History of the English People. The best known work of the Venerable Bede (c.673-735), a five-book account written in Latin which covers the period from the Roman invasion of Britain to 731CE. It was later translated into Old English of the English People, 5:6; Victoria County History of Yorkshire 6: Beverley, pp. 2-4.