Beverley is a market town, civil parish and the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, located between the River Hull and the Westwood. The town is noted for its main feature the Beverley Minster and architecturally significant religious buildings along New Walk and others areas, as well as the Beverley Racecourse and the market place; the town itself is around 1,300 years old. It also home to the oldest Grammar school in the country, Beverley Grammar school.
The town was originally known as Inderawuda and was founded by Saint John of Beverley during the time of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria. After a period of Viking control, it passed to the Cerdic dynasty, a period during which it gained prominence in terms of religious importance in Great Britain. It continued to grow especially under the Normans when its trading industry was first established. A place of pilgrimage through the Middle Ages due to its founder, Beverley eventually became known as a noted wool-trading town. Beverley was once the 10th largest town in England and among the richest, owing broadly to its connection with founding saint of the town John of Beverley. However, following the English Reformation, Beverley's regional stature was reduced.
For 22 years, Beverley was the administrative centre of the local government district of the Borough of Beverley, and is now the East Riding county town. It is located 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Hull, 10 miles (16 km) east of Market Weighton and 12 miles (19 km) west of Hornsea. According to the 2001 United Kingdom Census the total population of the urban area of Beverley was 29,110, of whom 17,549 live within the historic parish boundaries.[2] As well as its Racecourse and markets, Beverley is known in the modern day for hosting various music festivals throughout the year and food festivals. In 2007 Beverley was named as the best place to live in the United Kingdom in an "Affordable Affluence" study by the Royal Bank of Scotland