closely interwoven with the history of Be-ley, into a state of ruinous decay, and in verley, was born in that place, in the year 640, about the time of the second introduction of christianity into the North of England, by St. Austin and the Roman missionaries. He was descended of a good family. And after a course of religious education, under St. Hilda, the famous abbess of Whitby, and under Theodore, the 5th archbishop of Canterbury, he became himself, in the year 687, the 5th archbishop of York, under the popular name of St. John of Beverley. His fame for sanctity was so great, that the venerable Bede declares of his own knowledge, that the holy man performed many miracles. At length, grown aged and infirm, he resigned his bishoprick to Wilfrid II. in 718, and retired to Beverley, where having lived three years in seclusion, he died on the 7th of May, 721, and was buried in the church porch belonging to that college which he had founded.

In 1188, this church was again destroyed by fire, and upon opening a grave, on the 13th September, 1664, a vault was found in which there was a leaden plate, bearing a Latin inscription, which may be thus rendered :--

"In the year of the incarnation of our Lord, 1188, this church was destroyed by fire, in the night following the feast of St. Matthew, the apostle: in the year 1197, on the 6th of the Ides of March, an inquisition was made for the relics of the blessed John, and the bones were found in the Eastern part of the sepulchre, and here reposited; and dust mixed with mortar was in the same place found, and re-interred." Subsequently, namely in the year 1726, these relics were again taken up, and deposited in an arched vault prepared for their reception. The pious zeal which shone so conspicuously in the 12th century, soon reinstated the Minster in all its former grandeur, and archbishop Kinsius built the great steeple. In the year 1421, Henry V. after the coronation of Catharine of France, at Westminster, made a pilgrimage to Beverley, because, as the Historians of those times say, a strong report prevailed, that the tomb of St. John of Beverley, sweat blood all the day that the famous battle of Agincourt was fought, and it was imputed to the merits of that saint that this great victory was won.

The dissolution of the Collegiate church of St. John, took place on the 20th of March, 1544, in the 37th year of the reign of Henry VIII. The silent and almost imperceptible dilapidations of time, had in five centuries brought the Minster at Bever

the year 1710, a considerable sum of money was raised by a general brief, and by individual donations, with which sum it was reedified and adorned; the choir was paved with marble of various colours; a magni. ficent arch, curiously engraved was raised over the altar, under which was placed a table of fine white marble; the large East window was decorated with rich painted glass, collected from the other windows, amongst which are the twelve apostles. Since that time, the screen between the choir and the nave has been rebuilt of Roach abbey stone, curiously carved in Gothic work; the floor of the body of the church is paved with stone from the same quarry, and the galleries have been re-built, and beauti. fully finished after the Doric order, resembling those of St. Albans, at Rome. From some cause not explained, the North gable end of the Minster had shrunk, and hung over the foundation 42 inches; to remedy this dangerous deformity, Mr. Thornton, a carpenter, of York, aided by Mr. Rushworth, a stone mason, formed a machine by which this part of the building, was, in 1739, actually screwed up into its proper place, and restored again to the perpendicu lar line!

The clergy of the Minster at present consist of a curate, and two assistants, the patronage being in the Mayor, Aldermen, and capital burgesses. The certified value of the living is stated in Bacon's Liber Regis, at £31. 6s. 8d. The curate is the Rev. Joseph Coltman, and the Rev. James Eyre, and the Rev. William Hildyard, are the assistant curates. At the South East transept stands the freed-stool mentioned by Camden, made out of one entire stone, and said to have been removed from Scotland On which is inscribed

Hæc sedes Lapidea, Dicitur, i. e. Pacis Cathedra, ad quem Reus Fugiendo Perueniens Omnimodam Habet Securitatem.

In English thus:-" This stone chair is called Freed Stool, i. e. The chair of Peace, to which what criminal soever flies, hath full protection."

At the upper end of the body of the church hangs an ancient tablet with the picture of St. John and of King Athelstan, and between them this distich,

"Als Free make I The

"As hert may thynke or Egh may see." Hence the burgesses of Beverley generally pay no toll or custom in any port or town of England, and before they travel, they can, if they choose, receive at the Mayor's office a certificate, setting forth, "That King Athelstan, of famous memory, did grant and

also, King Henry I. did grant and confirm to the men of the town of Beverley an exemption from all manor of imposts, tolls, tallage, stallage, tunnage, lastage, package, wharfage, and of and from all and every the like exactions, payments and duties, throughout, and in all places whatsoever, by land or sea, within all the dominions of England and Wales; which said grants have been confirmed by all, or most of the succeeding kings and queens of England. And these are also to certify, that the bearer, (mentioning his name and trade) is a burgess of the said town of Beverley, and is thereby discharged of, and from all and every the like exactions, payments and duties." Similar privileges extend to the inhabitants of the liberty of St. John of Beverley, who may also, by application to the deputy steward of the court, obtain a certificate of exemption. This privilege, though of general, is not of universal application; for it appears, that in the year 1803, an act of parliament was obtained in favour of the Hull and Driffield navigation, for making some alteration in the bridge, called Hull bridge, by which act vessels belonging to the burgesses of Beverley have since been subjected to a toll, or tonnage. This, however, is the only toll which can be legally exacted from them, when they are supplied with the requisite certificate. The right of exemption from tolls has been granted, or confirmed by charter and letters patent to the burgesses of Beverley, by no fewer than twenty-one sovereigns, commencing with King Athelstan, in 925, and ending with James II. in 1688. Another privilege ataching to the free burgesses of Beverley, nd a much more important one, is the ight of pasturage on the fertile and extenive commons belonging to that borough:

These are

*Westwood, containing 504 acres.
Hurn..................... 110
Figham.....
.......... 297

lings per head is paid for cattle pastured during the summer upon Westwood, ten shillings and sixpence per head upon Swinemoor, nine shillings upon Figham, and two shillings and sixpence per head upon Hurn, from May-day to the races in the beginning of June; and three shillings and sixpence the remainder of the year.

The church of St. Mary, though
greatly inferior to the Minster as a building,
is a venerable parish church, of which the
King is the patron. In the King's books this
living is valued at 147. 2s. 4jd.
church there are several monuments, but
In this
the most remarkable of them is one dated
1689, which records the fate of two Danish
duelists, who are here interred, and whose
epitaph runs thus:-

Here two young Danish soldiers lie,
The one in quarrel chanced to die;
The other's head, by their own law,
By sword was severed at one blow.

The places of worship not within the pendent Chapel, Lairgate, the Rev. James pale of the establishment, are:-the IndeMather, minister; the Methodist Chapel, Walkergate; the Friends' Meeting-House, Wood lane; and the Baptist Chapel, Walkergate, the Rev. John Carlton, minister.

MRS. ANNE ROUTH'S HOSPITAL, in KeldThe Hospitals at Beverley consist of gate, for ancient poor widows, in which there are thirty-two inmates, who are each allowed five shillings per week, with a gown and a supply of coals yearly, arising from the rents of estates in different parts of the PITAL, in Minster moorgate, county. MR. CHARLES WARTON'S HOSwidows, of whom fourteen are accommofor poor dated, and have each allowed four shillings a week, with a gown each, and coals yearly, from an estate called Killingraves, between Beverley and Bishop Burton; the Trustees of which charity also apprentice a number of boys annually, with a premium of four pounds each. SIR MICHAEL WARTON'S HOSPITAL; in Minster moorgate, for six Each freeman is allowed to turn three poor widows, who are each allowed three Head of Cattle into Westwood, six into Swine- shillings weekly, with a gown and coals anmoor, three into Figham, and one into nually. Fox's HOSPITAL in Minster moorHurn. For this privilege only seven shil-gate, for four poor widows, who have each Westwood is held by a grant from lexander Neville, Archbishop of York nd Figham, by a grant from William Wykham, Archbishop of the same proince. There is a tradition, that Westwood was presented to the freemen of Beverley, y two maiden sisters, whose "Virgin Tomb" stands in the body of the church, ear the pillars of the little South aisle, but his popular error is wholly unsupported by

And Swine moor......... 263

Evidence.

Total.....

-1174

four shillings a week, a quantity of coals yearly, and a new gown every two years, from a small estate and money in the funds. TEMPERTON'S HOSPITAL, Walkergate, for

his life time £500 towards the repairs of *This gentleman contributed during the Minster; and bequeathed £4000 as a perpetual fund to beautify and keep it in

order.

supporting six poor persons, men and square adjacent to Tollgavel. This estabwomen; the funds arising from landed pro-lishment is of modern origin, and owes its perty. There are also twenty-two Maisons institution to the munificence of the Rev. de dieu and four Bead Houses, which afford James Graves, late curate of the Minster, accommodation to as many poor families, who bequeathed a sum of money amountwith some small allowance to each. Exclu- ing to about 3000l. in the public funds for sive of these benevolent institutions, there the education of youth in Beverley. For are several other charities under the direc- about two years a temporary school room tion of trustees, who make periodical dis- was used; but in 1814 the trustees purchased tributions to the poor. Formerly there were the old play house, and having divided it by in this place a preceptory of Knights Hospi-a partition, fitted it up for schools for boys talers of St. John of Jerusalem, and hospitals dedicated to St. Nicholas, St. Giles, and the Trinity; and an hospital without the North Bargate, with a house of black and another of grey friars.

The Free Schools of Beverley are the Grammar School, the National School, and Graves's School. The Grammar School, which is of ancient date, is probably coeval with the Collegiate Society of Saint John, for it does not appear when or by whom it was founded. The patronage of this school is now in the corporation. The old school of brick stood in the Minster yard, on the site of the cloisters and conventual buildings, but in the year 1816 it was taken down to improve the church, and by the liberality of the corporation a new school was built in a commodious and handsome style, in Keldgate, with a large and convenient house attached, for the convenience of the master. The school is open to sons of burgesses indefinitely, on the payment of two pounds per annum for their instruction in the classics, and two guineas for writing and arithmetic. The sons of non-freemen and day scholars pay six guineas for the classics, and three pounds for writing and accounts. The present master is the Rev. J. P. Richards, whose stipend is a hundred pounds a year, being ten pounds from Dr. Metcalf's endowment, twenty pounds as an annual gift from the members of the borough, and seventy pounds as an annual donation from the corporation. There is no church preferment attached to the grammar school, but the parishioners of St. Mary's sometimes give the lectureship of their church to the master. This school has two fellowships, six scholarships, and three exhibitions to St. John's College, Cambridge. Among the eminent men who have been educated here may be mentioned John Alcock, D. D. Bishop of Ely; John Fisher, D. D. Bishop of Rochester; John Green, D. D. Bishop of Lincoln; Robert Ingham, a worthy divine; and Henry Revel Reynolds, an eminent physician. There is a select library of classical books attached to the school, containing several Aldine editions. Graves's Free School is situated in the

and girls. Here one hundred boys from the town and neighbourhood receive gratuitous instruction, under the tuition of Mr. William Watson, on the Lancasterian plan; and one hundred girls, on the plan of Dr. Bell, and in the afternoon the girls are taught needle work by Mrs. Watson. At the National School, which is situate in Minster moorgate, about 160 boys are taught by Mr. G. Blyth.

The town of Beverley is airy, well built, and extensive. The market place, in particular, is very spacious, occupying four acres of land; it is ornamented by a cross supported by eight columns, each consisting of a single stone, and was erected at the expense of one of the members of the borough. The market, which is held on Saturday, is well supplied, and the business done here in the corn trade is very consider. able. The canal, called Beverley Beck, cut in the year 1727, from this town to the river Hull, affords great facilities to trade, by opening a communication with the Humber, and coals are brought in large quantities to the staiths, for the supply of the interior part of the East-Riding. Here is likewise a trade in malt and leather, and several of the poorer class find employment in the extensive nurseries of Messrs. George and William Tindall, and the mint plantations of Messrs. Walker, Parker, and Hall.

The annual fairs are held on the Thursday before old Valentine's day, on the 5th of July, on the Wednesday before the 25th of September, and on the 6th of November

During the civil wars this place was alternately the prey of the King's troops and of the troops of Parliament. At the com mencement of the quarrel, when Charles the First attempted to make himself master of Hull, and was refused admission by Sir John Hotham, the governor of that garti son, he had his quarters at Beverley, but the place soon fell into the hands of the Parlia mentary forces, and Sir John, when he fled from Hull, on account of his treason against that cause which he had originally so much advanced, was taken prisoner the streets of Beverley, and afterwards ex lecuted on Tower Hill.

The population of this town has, within the last ten years, increased nearly 10 per cent. over the population of 1811. In the former return the numbers were 6035; they now are

St. Martin's Parish............2937
St. Mary's ditto..............3214
St. Nicholas, ditto............ 577

Total...................6728

The government of the Borough is in a Mayor, (who is always coroner for the time being) twelve Aldermen, and thirteen capital Burgesses, under a charter granted by Queen Elizabeth, and renewed by James II. in the year of the revolution. The mayor and capital burgesses are elected annually, on the Monday next before the 29th of September. By the charter of this corporation the mayor is chosen out of the aldermen by the freemen, and the capital burgesses are nominated by the new mayor, and elected by acclamation (or shouted in, as it is called) by the freemen, immediately after the election of the mayor. The power is vested in the King to remove from their respective offices the mayor, recorder, aldermen, capital burgesses, and common clerk, or any of them; and in 1688 this power was exercised, for on the 11th of June, in that year, an order was sent to Beverley, by the King in council, for the removal of the recorder, four aldermen, and three burgesses. So long ago as the reign of Edward I. Beverley returned two members to Parliament, but after the death of that monarch, this borough ceased to make returns till the 5th of Elizabeth, when it was incorporated. The election is in the free burgesses, resident and non resident, of which there are

*The list of the corporate body for the year 1823 will be found prefixed to this volume, under the head of Additions and Alterations."

about 2000, and the present members are John Wharton, Esq. of Skelton Castle, and George Lane Fox, Esq. of Bramham Park.

The House of Correction, or gaol of the East-Riding, which was built about the year 1809, ou a new site, is situated a little distance without the North bar, and the sessions for the East-Riding are always held in the Court-House within this building.There is also a court of record held in the

Guildhall, called the Provost's Court, in which all causes may be tried arising within the liberties of this borough, except titles to land; and the corporation is said to possess a power of trying capital felonies, but they do not exercise it.

The office for the registration of wills and deeds, established in the 6th year of the reign of Queen Anne, called the Register Office of the East-Riding, gives name to the square in which it is situated. office H. W. Maister, Esq. is registrar, and Mr. C. A. Atkinson is deputy.

Of this

The Theatre is a small building situated in Lairgate, and is generally well attended during the race week, which always follows the week of the York spring meeting.

At the Subscription News Room, held at Mr. Thomas Elcock's, in the Marketplace, the London daily and some of the provincial papers are regularly received.

The vicinity of Beverley, towards the West, is elevated and pleasant; the common

pasture of Westwood commands a beautiful view of the town and Minster, and of the western parts of Holderness. To the East and South the country, to the distance of several miles, is flat and uninviting, but even here the scenery is greatly improved by drainage, inclosure, and cultivation; and this extensive tract of fen land, which fifty years ago was a solitary waste, flooded during the greater part of the year, now presents an aspect of fertility.

POST-MASTER, Mr. JOHN GARDHAM, Tollgavel.

4 do.
4 do.

Debraws Miss, (boarding) Wednesday market

Elrington Margaret, (ladies' day) High-
gate

Graves's Free School, W. Watson,
Register square