Beverley Minster December 2025

Beverley Minster was founded by John of Beverley in AD 700. After retiring from his role as Archbishop of York, John resided here until his death in AD 721. The Anglo-Saxon church is long gone – destroyed by the Vikings – as is its Norman replacement following a devastating fire in 1188. Subsequent periods of rebuilding continued throughout the Middle Ages. Among the Minster’s treasures shown in the video is a rare Anglo-Saxon firth (or ‘peace’) stool, dating to the time when the Minster was granted the right of sanctuary, reportedly by King Athelstan in the 10th century. More treasures include some remarkable stone carvings from the 14th century, among them, as you’ll see, a cuddly dragon and a number of musicians playing different instruments. See if you can identify any of the medieval musical instruments! More importantly for pilgrims, of course, the Minster contains the relics of St John of Beverley. After his canonisation in 1037, the relics were moved from his tomb into a shrine close to the high altar. A second translation took place in 1292 and more followed. The translation of 1307 established the date of St John’s feast day (25 October) during which the relics were moved into a gold, silver, and enamelled jewelled reliquary. An outer casket sat over the reliquary and could be raised up on pulleys to reveal the magnificent reliquary within. Inevitably, the shrine didn’t survive the Reformation. However, in 1664 a stone vault beneath the nave was discovered by workmen and a lead casket containing ashes. An inscription dated to the 12th century suggested that these were the remains of St John. The relics have remained beneath the nave floor ever since, and today their position is marked by a plaque set into the pavement at the eastern end of the nave reading, ‘Here lies the body of Saint John of Beverley, founder of the church, Bishop of Hexham AD 687-705, Bishop of York AD 705-718. He was born at Harpham and died at Beverley AD 721’.