St Mary’s Church, Beverley
Most towns would be content with one great medieval church. Beverley has two. At one end stands the Minster; at the other, by the old North Bar, is St Mary’s, the church of the town’s merchants and guilds, nearly 200 feet long and full of the things they paid for: carved minstrels, painted ceilings, a pilgrim hare and a tower rebuilt after it fell on the congregation in 1520.
The townspeople’s church
St Mary’s began in the first half of the twelfth century as a chapel of the Minster, built for the traders around Beverley’s market. As the town grew rich on wool and cloth, so did its church. Chapels and aisles were added through the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the Black Death halted the work, and around 1400 the west front was rebuilt with its great window and pinnacled turrets.
Then, during Evensong on 29 April 1520, the central tower collapsed, burying some of the congregation. Rebuilding began at once, and inscriptions on the north arcade record who paid for its pillars: a merchant and his wife, the good wives of Beverley, and the town’s minstrels.
The visitor's cheat sheet
| Where | North Bar Within, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, HU17 8DL |
|---|---|
| Getting there | Beverley station about 10 minutes’ walk; town-centre car parks |
| Opening hours | Monday to Saturday, 11am–4pm (April–October) and 11am–3pm (November–March); Sundays for services |
| Admission | Free; donations welcome |
| How long | 45 minutes to an hour |
| Best time | A weekday, then on to the Minster |
| Dress code | No rule; respectful dress in a working church |
| Tours | Self-guided; tower and priests’ rooms on special open days |
Hours and admission checked against the official site in October 2026. They change; the official site is always the last word.
The pilgrim hare. On the doorway of the sacristy in the north choir aisle is a carving of a hare dressed for a pilgrimage, with a satchel over its shoulder, made around 1330–40. The church’s tradition is that Lewis Carroll saw it and had John Tenniel draw the White Rabbit after it.
What to see, in the order you meet it
The west front and the nave
Walk round to the west end first, where the front of around 1400 faces the street. Inside, the nave was rebuilt after the fall of the tower, with tall arcades and a clerestory that fills it with light. Look for the carved and painted figures on the pillars and the names of the donors on the hoodmoulds above them.
The Minstrels’ Pillar
On the north side of the nave, a pillar is crowned with five painted figures of musicians, recording that the minstrels of Beverley, who had their own guild, paid for it. It is one of the best-loved carvings in Yorkshire, and a reminder of how much of the church was funded by the townspeople themselves.
The ceilings
Look up. St Mary’s has fine wooden ceilings of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The chancel ceiling is painted with forty English kings, from the legendary Brutus to Henry VI; it was repainted in 1863, and George VI was added in 1939.
St Michael’s Chapel and the pilgrim hare
The north choir aisle and St Michael’s Chapel beyond it were remodelled in the fourteenth century with flowing tracery and a star-shaped rib vault, the finest architecture in the church. The pilgrim hare is on the sacristy doorway here; look for it before you leave.
The font and the carvings
The font, of dark Derbyshire marble, was given in 1530 by William Leryffax, a Beverley draper. All around the church are carved heads and grotesques, and outside, worn medieval figures are being replaced with new carvings, among them characters from The Chronicles of Narnia and famous women of science and history.
Visiting
Free to visit
There is no admission charge. The church is open Monday to Saturday from 11am (closing at 4pm in summer and 3pm in winter), and on Sundays for services.
The hotel link goes to Booking.com. This site earns nothing from it at present — it is here because it is the quickest way to check what is actually available.
Don't miss
- The Minstrels’ Pillar Five painted musicians on a nave pillar.
- The pilgrim hare The carving linked with the White Rabbit.
- The painted kings Forty monarchs on the chancel ceiling.
- St Michael’s Chapel A fourteenth-century star vault.
- The font Derbyshire marble, given in 1530.
- The North Bar The medieval brick town gate next door.
Insider tips
See both churches in a day. Walk from St Mary’s through the market place to Beverley Minster and back; it is a pleasant 10 to 15 minutes each way through the old town. The tower and the hidden priests’ rooms are opened on Heritage Open Days in September.
Common questions
Does it cost anything to visit St Mary’s, Beverley?
No. The church is free to visit, and donations are welcome to help look after it.
When is St Mary’s open?
Monday to Saturday, from 11am to 4pm between April and October and from 11am to 3pm between November and March. On Sundays it is open for services. Over Christmas and New Year it opens only for services, and very occasionally it has to close if there are no volunteers, so if you are coming a long way it is worth getting in touch first.
Is this the church with the White Rabbit?
Yes. On a doorway in the north choir aisle is a carving of a hare dressed as a pilgrim, with a satchel over its shoulder, made around 1330–40. The church says Lewis Carroll saw it and that it inspired Tenniel’s White Rabbit in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; it is a tradition rather than a proven fact, but the likeness is striking.
Is St Mary’s the same as Beverley Minster?
No. Beverley has two great medieval churches. The Minster is at the southern end of the town; St Mary’s, which began as a chapel of the Minster for the market people, stands at the northern end by the North Bar, about 10 to 15 minutes’ walk away.
How do you get to St Mary’s?
The church is on North Bar Within in the centre of Beverley. Beverley station, on the line from Hull to Scarborough, is about 10 minutes’ walk away, and there are town-centre car parks.
Where to stay and eat nearby
Beverley is an attractive market town with plenty of pubs, cafés and small hotels, and Hull is half an hour away.
More English churches
- Beverley Minster — the town’s other great church
- Hull Minster — England’s largest parish church
- St Patrick’s, Patrington — the Queen of Holderness
See all the cathedrals and churches worth visiting in England →