Monastic houses in mediaeval Beverley

Monastic Houses of Mediaeval Beverley

Beverley had a number of religious houses in mediaeval period. The most important of these was obviously Beverley Minster  A monastery (possibly a minster) called Inderawuda, was recorded as early as 685 and was also mentioned by Bede who explainsthat the name meant ‘In the wood of the Deirans’. The present Minster was a collegiate church of canons built in 1225 on the site of the Early Mediaeval minster. Until its suppression in 1548, the church served as a college for canons, its status then changing to parish church.

Probably the next most significant was Preceptory of the Holy Trinity of the Knights Hospitallers, remains of which have been found under the car park onTrinity Lane, the station yard and other sites around the station. It was founded soon after 1201, when Sybil de Valloines gave the Order the manor of the Holy Trinity. It became one of wealthiest houses of the Order in England. The preceptory site has been fairly well mapped out. It included residential and service buildings, a church and a burial ground, enclosed by a deep moat and entered by a formal gateway. The moat still existed when the railway was built but was filled in to create sidings. On maps from 1893 part of the moat is still marked on the east side of the station, roughly parallel with the track, and the area around the station is named as Outer and Inner Trinities. Archaeological investigations of the extent of silt in the ditches that the site was probably abandoned following the Dissolution.

Both the Franciscans and Dominicans had a presence in the town; Greyfriars (Franciscan) was probably founded pre-1267 at a site within the town boundaries, but moved to land granted to the friars around the chapel of St Elena on the Westwood in 1297. It probably stood somewhere near Albert Terrace, where remains relating to the Friary, including burials, have been found during development work. Remains including over 300 inhumations and associated mediaeval objects were also found on the Westwood in the 19^th Century and were thought to be associated with the Franciscan friary. Greyfriars is not to be confused with the Dominican Friary, simply referred to as ‘The Friary’ today and now a YHA hostel. ‘Blackfriars’ was founded before 1240 and dissolved in 1539. Near to it was located the mediaeval St Nicholas hospital for the poor, which may have been somewhere between the Friary and the mediaeval St Nicholas church. 

Beverley also had several monastic hospitals. The oldest was the Augustinian St Giles Hospital which was located outside Newbigin Bar around where Minster School stands today, its existence commemorate in the street name St Giles’ Croft. In the Victorian period the fields in this area were marked on maps as ‘St Giles Crofts’ It was a pre-Conquest foundation by someone called Wuse. In 1277 it was in a delapidated state and was united with Warter Priory for priests and `conversi' to be in the hospital. It was disolved in 1538.  A leper house originally stood well away from the town on Humbergate (now Queen’s gate) but was replaced by St Mary’s Hospital in 1402 which was in North Bar Without (possibly somewhere around beginning of New Walk).  Two late mediaeval additions were the Trinity Hospital and Hospital of St John the Baptist. Trinity Hospital was founded in 1397 and had a chapel on the Cross Bridge (see map in the previous post). It became the Corporation Almshouse after the dissolution and was later used as the town gaol until it was demolished in 1805. The Hospital of St John the Baptist (c1444 – 1547) was on the west side of Lairgate to the south end.  It was suppressed in 1547 but continued as a maison dieu into Elizabeth's reign.  It had a chapel and associated chantry.)