Beverley Town Defences

In the civil parish of Beverley.
In the historic county of Yorkshire East Riding (Modern Authority of East Riding of Yorkshire, 1974 county of Humberside).

C14 town had ditch and earth ramparts and five masonry gates. North Bar survives, although rebuilt in brick in 1409. No murage grants, but town petition to parliament after Scots raid in 1321, indicates desire to wall town. The North Bar was built in 1409 at a cost of £96 0s 11 d. 2 storeys in brick with room over archway. North face shows buttresses framing a depressed pointed arch over which is a late C17 cartouche of arms in carved stone. 2 blind niches and 1 window have trefoil heads and label moulds with finials. Under the embattled parapet is a cogged string course. South face, main opening has label mould. 3 trefoil arches are grouped inside the strings arranged gablewise surmounted by finial. 3 brick shields. 2 small modern windows. Cogged string and embattled parapet lined in by a pilaster strip on corbels. Interior of main opening has plain brick vault to contour of arch. Rib vaulted in 2 bays with single chamfered brick ribs and portcullis groove.

This site has been described as a;
Urban Defence.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Major remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TA03013988

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 79096

• Web site links
  • http://website.lineone.net/~hoskin/stmaryschurch/Beverley/North-Bar/beverley-north-bar.htm
• Books
  • Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p37, 39, 90, 92, 135, 147, 207, 218, 267
    Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles and Tower Houses of Yorkshire (Malvern) p20
    Ingham, Bernard, 2001, Bernard Ingham's Yorkshire Castles (Dalesman) p130-1
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p281
    Allison, K.J. (ed), 1989 'Fortifications' VCH Yorkshire East Riding Vol6 p178-80 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=36439
    Bond, C.J., 1987, 'Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Defences' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p92-116
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p534
    Miller, K., Robinson, j., English, B. and Hall, I., 1982, Beverley: an Archaeological and Architectural Study (London: HMSO, RCHME Supplementary Series 4)
    Barley, M.W., 1975, 'Town Defences in England and Wales after 1066' in Barley (ed) Medieval Towns in England and Wales (CBA research reports) pp57-71
    Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London) p99-100
• Journal Articles
  • Miller, K., 1984, ‘Beverley town defences' Archaeological Journal Vol141 p21–2
    Miller, K., 1984, ‘Beverley, North Bar' Archaeological Journal Vol141 p23–5
    Leach, 1896, East Riding Antiquarian Society Vol4 p26-37
    Bilston, 1896, East Riding Antiquarian Society Vol4 p38-49
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p534, 569
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol1 p47, Vol5 p39