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| Jason outside Beverly Minster |
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| A look down the Nave toward the Chancel |
On the recommendation of Paul Otte, Minister of Music at Peace Lutheran Church in Hutchinson and friend of Jason’s (for those who attended the wedding, Paul carried the cross, directed the handbell choir, and played guitar for one song) we took the long way to York via Beverly. Paul told us that it was worth the drive as it was the most beautiful church he’d ever seen.
As we drove into Beverly we drove toward the church and got very familiar with all the dead-end streets in the area. We’d had plenty of practice with that the previous day in Lincoln. Once we were finally able to find a parking spot.
Beverly Minster was one of the few churches we visited that had free entrance. We were invited by the sign near the door to spend as much time as we wanted and to enjoy the beautiful space. We took a walking-tour pamphlet and worked our way down the side wall of the sanctuary admiring all the amazing stone carvings along the wall—each figure was playing a different musical instrument—fife and drum, bell, cymbals, portative organ, bagpipes, etc. (See the photos)
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| Beverly Minster Baptismal Font |
As we crossed to the opposite wall of the building we saw the beautiful baptismal font. The cover on it was hand-carved wood and beyond comprehension in size and weight. We later learned from the two lovely older ladies in the gift shop that there is a giant “hamster wheel” in the attic of the church and when they want to lift the lid off the font, a person walks inside the wheel to life it!
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| Beverly Minster Pipe Organ |
As we made our way toward the division between the congregation and the quire and high altar we found the floor grave marker for St. John of Beverly who founded the church and died in A.D. 721—obviously the church has been around for a while!
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| Beyond the Quire Screen |
The organ was beautiful and Jason enjoyed taking some time to admire the decoratively painted pipes. He purchased a CD of most organs we saw and we enjoyed listening to the instruments on our long drives as well as since we’ve been back home.
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| Misericord |
Once we passed through the screen and into the quire area we saw more amazing wood carvings on the seats. Beverly Minster’s choir stall seats had a unique feature that not many churches had—misericords. Misericords are small shelves on the underside of the seats so when they are folded up it creates a small perch for choir members to lean on as they were not allowed to sit down for long periods of time during services. The Misericords at Beverly had amazing carvings on them!
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| Modern Stained Glass |
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| Pilgrim Sculpture |
As we passed by the high altar area and behind the altar screen we were met by a friendly local gentleman. He introduced himself as a member of the Minster and explained that he often volunteers to give tours, but on his days off he often comes to wander the Minster and have some quiet time in the beautiful surroundings. We had a great conversation and he explained many things about Beverly Minster. For example, he explained that the sculptures and very modern stained glass window (see photos) are of pilgrims who would come quietly in a side door of the Minster, walk through this area beyond the altar to pay respects to the body of St. John of Beverly, and then they would continue out the door on the other side. The pilgrim sculpture forms are supposed to be found in the glass. Do you see them?
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| Carved Stone Ceiling |
Beverly Minster was definitely another example of a “living cathedral”—an ancient facility filled filled with modern pieces that show how active this church still is.
