with very bad taste, is partly sunk into a deep hole made in the floor, and hid by the reading desk, which stands close to it. At the west end of the nave are two very large unsightly canopied pews, which exhibit some good wood carving. One of these belongs to the Corporation of Beverley, and the other has carved on it the inscription already alluded to:

Pray God have marce of al the sawllys of the men and wymen and ccheldryn whos bodys was slayn at the faulying of thys cchere whych fown ***** thys fawl was the XXIX day of Aperel in the yere of owr Lord A MVC. and XIII. and for al the sawls of thaym the whyth haws hyn *** ys * * schal be gud benefactors and helppers of the sayd ccherc up a gayn and for al crystyan sawllys the whyth God wold have prayed for and for the sawllys of ser Recherd Rokkysbe knycht and daym Jone his wife whych gave two hundreth poundes to the building of thys ccherc and for the sawllys of Willm Hall cooper and his wife.

The organ stands on a small gallery, erected beneath the beautiful eastern arch of the nave, which is entirely filled up with unsightly panelling. This instrument was built by Donaldson, of York, in 1792, at a cost of £311. 8s., which was raised by subscription. In the year 1616 the nave of the church was disfigured by the introduction of a gallery over its north aisle; in 1726, an addition was made to it; and in 1754 this loft was taken down, and two new galleries erected over both aisles; but happily these excrescences were removed a few years ago.

The south transept has a flat ceiling panelled, and once richly painted and decorated; but now a perfect ruin, propped up by rough timbers. Two arches separate this transept from a side aisle on the east side, which was doubtless a chapel or chantry before the Reformation. The ceiling is panelled, and painted of an oak colour, but it was formerly decorated with the figures of Saints, with legends on scrolls. This chapel was open to the south aisle of the chancel, but a brick work, erected to support a monument, now blocks up that passage. There are some traces of rich shrine work here. Gent tells us that this sacred oratory was once converted into a blacksmith's shop; and not many years ago it was used as a depository for useless lumber, and a workshop for the stonemasons employed in repairing the church.

"To what base uses may we return, Horatio."

The north transept has also a painted ceiling in panels, not quite so much decayed as the other, but all traces of the subjects are lost. On the east side of this transept, and divided from it by two arches of an early character, is a large space, which was originally open both to the transept and the north aisle of the chancel. Here it may be supposed were anciently one or two chapels; but the place is now roughly enclosed by brick work, and converted

into vestries, &c. The ceiling of this part of the edifice is of wood, in square panels, painted an azure colour, and powdered with golden stars. The bosses of several portions of this ceiling are charged with Latin inscriptions, and the oaken beams belonging to a part of it, which covers the west end of the north aisle of the chancel, have carved upon them the following, in Old English letters:-Mayn in thy lyffyng loufe God a bown all thyng and euer thynke at the Begynyng quhat schall cowme off the endyng. These inscriptions were placed here by the benefactor to the church, who gave this ceiling, and whose gift is commemorated by the following sentence, carved on the bosses, formed by the junction of the ribs-a single letter on each boss-W. Hal. Carpenter mad thys Rouffe.

The choir or chancel is divided from the aisles by five pointed arches; those of the south side springing from columns formed by the union of four cylinders, and those on the north from three cylinders attached to each pier. In the spandrils of the arches are circles enclosing enriched trefoils; and the windows of the clerestory are about one third panelled. All the work of the north side of the chancel is of a much richer character than that of the south. Near the centre of that side is a splendid niche, with an enriched canopy. There being no stained glass in either of the windows, nor the least attempt at decoration either behind or about the communion table, the aspect is anything but devotional. The eastern part of the north aisle has a curiously groined stone roof, which has attracted the attention of many antiquaries and architects.

In describing this peculiar roof, Mr. Poulson says, "The ribs which form the groins of the roof unite on the north side in a cluster at the impost, and are continued down the pier, forming with it one unbroken line, being destitute of impost, mouldings, or capital; but on the opposite side they all enter into rings, without appearing below them; they do not spring, as is usual, from the same circumference of one circle, but are distributed; the arrangement produces this singular effect, that the ribs upon the south side cross each other, whereas those on the north side diverge uniformly; a contrast which is extremely curious. The mouldings of these groins are highly indented and characteristic; their strongly marked indentures produce a great effect in the crossings, and upon the north side all the mouldings, except the most prominent, coincide and disappear in the body of the column, the upper fillet and mouldings of each groin only appearing, and producing, by their assemblage, a set of flutes not unlike those of a Corinthian column. The diagonal arch is a complete semicircle."

This part of the aisle, the windows of which are very rich in Decorated tra

cery, has evidently been a chapel, for on the 30th of June, in the present year (1855), the sexton discovered a piscina in the wall near the east window of the aisle, which had long been concealed by the timber work at the back of the seats. There is also a small side chapel out of this aisle, which is likewise groined, and contains the remains of a piscina.; and there is a large room over the groined part of the aisle, which is approached by a winding staircase in one of the large octagon buttresses or turrets at the east end of the church. This staircase is accessible from the chancel. It is somewhat remarkable that the heads of the busts above both sides of the pillars of the south aisle are (save one) turned towards the west-looking, as it were, towards the chapel on the east side of the south transept.

It may not be uninteresting to know that a number of casts have been taken from the decorative sculpture of this church, and of the Minster, for the enrichment of the new Houses of Parliament, at Westminster.

On each side of the chancel aisles are fourteen oaken stalls without canopies, the seats being ornamented with carved shields and grotesque figures and devices, similar to those in the Minster. The ceiling of the south aisle of the choir is flat, and the panels are in blue and gold; and that of the middle aisle is also flat, and divided into forty panels, with paintings, which represent the portraits of forty Kings of England, each in his robes of state, with a scroll behind him. The royal portraits commence with the fabulous Brutus, and finish with Edward IV.; at the end of whose reign, therefore, it may be reasonably conjectured that these designs were made.

There are several monuments in this church, the most imposing of which are those of the Wartons. Drake, the historian of York, lies buried here ; his monument, which stood within the west door of the nave, has lately been removed. (See vol. i., p. 639.)

Underneath the north-east portion of the church is a crypt, simply groined with circular arches, and originally supported, as is conjectured, by nine pillars or more; but a part of it has been evidently walled up in times comparatively modern, so that only three pillars are now distinctly visible. On one of the buttresses on the south side of the church is an oval tablet, to commemorate the sad fate of two Danish soldiers. (See page 220.) In addition to the churchyard there is an extensive burial ground on the opposite side of North Bar Street Within, which was opened in 1829.

Besides the grant of Queen Elizabeth, lands, tenements, &c., were left and given by pious individuals for the support of the fabric of St. Mary's Church, in the same manner as to the Church of St. John. The rents have hitherto been totally inadequate to this purpose, as the parishes have no church rate,

and the consequence is, that the church has in a great measure fallen to decay. Previously to the year 1813, the annual receipts of the reparation fund did not amount to £60.; but they had subsequently increased to £650. The rents, &c., now produce about £900. per ann., which will, it is hoped, in a few years, with good management, restore this edifice to something like its former elegance and grandeur.

The Vicarage House is a large building, pleasantly situated in a garden, at the end of a lane diverging from North Bar Street Within.

The other places of religious worship in Beverley are as follows:

The Minster Chapel of Ease, in Lairgate, built by subscription in 1839, on land given by the late Mrs. Walker, and opened in 1840. It is a neat white brick edifice, in which was used all the materials of the Church Methodist Chapel, which stood in Landress Lane. The west end is of Gothic design. The interior is neat, and will contain 900 persons. The three east windows of stained glass, contain the coat of arms of all the Protestant Sovereigns from the period of the Reformation to the present reign; also the arms of the Archbishop of York, and the town of Beverley. The patronage is vested in five Trustees, who are obliged to offer the living first to the Incumbent of the Minster, and if he refuses, it can be given by them to any other clergyman. The present Minister is the Rev. G. Swift.

The Baptist Chapel in Well Lane, fronting Register Street, erected in 1834. It is a large brick building, with a neat front covered with compo. The Rev. C. Upton, is the present pastor.

The Sandemanian or Scotch Baptist Chapel, in Walkergate, is a small mean building, erected in 1808. Mr. William Thirsk officiates in it.

The Independent Chapel, Lairgate, is a commodious but plain brick building, first erected in 1704 as a Presbyterian place of worship, but rebuilt in 1800, on a more modern principle. In 1845 it underwent considerable repairs. The Rev. William Young is the present pastor. There is a neat house and garden for the minister nearly opposite the chapel.

The Wesleyan Methodists have a chapel in Walkergate, a large building erected in 1805, and considerably enlarged some years ago. The Primitive Methodists have a chapel in Wednesday Market, built in 1823; and the Reformed Methodists conduct their services in the Temperance Hall. The Association Methodists had formerly a chapel in Wood Lane, which is now converted into a warehouse.

A body of persons calling themselves Church Methodists erected a neat chapel, of semi-gothic design, in Landress Lane, in 1825. We have seen above that this chapel was pulled down, and the materials used in the chapel of ease to the Minster.

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The Society of Friends or Quakers built a neat meeting house at the top of Wood Lane, but except on rare occasions it has not been used as a place of worship for several years. A girls' school is held in it.

The Catholics of Beverley attend Divine service in a temporary chapel, in North Bar Street Without. This place of worship stands on a piece of ground, purchased a few years ago, on which to erect a handsome church or chapel for the use of the Catholic body. The present priest is the Rev. Henry Walker. This town, through being, as it were, founded by that glorious old Saxon Archbishop of York-St. John of Beverley is held in much veneration by the Catholics of Yorkshire; and this veneration has increased considerably since Beverley was raised to the dignity of a Bishop's See, by the present Pope. (See vol. i., p. 551.)

ANCIENT RELIGIOUS HOUSES. -Besides the great Abbey and Collegiate Society of St. John, there were several other religious houses here, the leading particulars of which are as under :

BLACK FRIARY.-The order of Preaching or Black Friars (the former term derived from their office, and the latter from their dress), founded by St. Dominic, about the year 1215, is said to have come into England in 1221, and it is certain that they were established in Beverley before the year 1299, when Edward I. paid it a visit; for, as we have seen in the account of the Church of St. Nicholas, at a previous page, a certain sum was paid to them on that occasion by Friar Richard. Their house at Beverley is said to have been founded by a person of the name of Goldsmith, and the site for it was given to them by Thomas de Holme. The sanctity of the friars induced many persons to select them for their confessors, and in their last moments to aspire after sepulture among such hallowed men. Richard de Holme and his son John de Holme, by their last wills, desired to be buried in the Church of the Friars Preachers. The Friary was situated on the east side of the Minster; its grounds (still called the Friary) are surrounded by a brick wall, having two ornamental gateways, one opening into Eastgate, the other into Charity Lane. Only a part of the original building remains, but still sufficient to attest its former beauty. (See page 226.) Friaries were seldom endowed, because the friars were medicants, but many of the buildings were nevertheless large and stately, and connected with noble churches. Henry VIII. granted the house, &c., belonging to the Dominican Friars at Beverley, to John Pope and Anthony Foster.

GREY FRIARY.- The house of the Franciscan Minorite, or Grey Friars, was founded here at an early period. In 1297 W. de Liketon gave some ground near the chapel of St. Helen, or Elen (the site of which chapel is now

VOL. II.

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