Beverley looks to the future with a New South Bar

Beverley looks to the future with a New South Bar In celebration of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, plans have been unveiled to bring back some of the nostalgia to our historic market town.

Following an extensive survey carried out during lockdown, what people like about Beverley, those that entered the town via
North Bar thought it was a fantastic, nostalgic welcome to the town and immediately raised people's spirits and minds, to enter as one person put "The world of Beverley".

With such history embraced in one section of the Town and the immediate impact it has on people, local councillors felt the timing would be right to introduce more symbolic entrance to the town.

Consultation is on the way for at least one more Bar "South Bar", with the ongoing conversation around Jocks Lodge to have a "Jocks Lodge Bar" built on entry to the Town. Repeating on history following on from the historic stone markers to the centre of Beverley the Jocks Lodge Bar will be incorporated into the designs as people come into Town.

Keeping the Symbolic North Bar Design, but with a modern twist will leave people with a fantastic first impression.

There’s evidence that Beverley was unique in Medieval times in that it did not have walls, but it did have ‘bars’ at its main entry points. The only ‘bar’ left standing is North Bar, which was built in 1409, at what was, in those days, the main entrance to the town.

The original South Bar was somewhere on Keldgate. As times have changed, the most used access to the town is from the South and with changes to the road layout, it seems to be an excellent idea to build a modern-day South Bar.

In the last 700 years, Beverley’s growth has been due to its importance geographically and strategically as well as to its links with St John of Beverley, who founded the town in 721AD, and his impact on Kings and Queens throughout the years, many of whom have visited.

The erection of a South Bar would remind people of the town they are entering, its history and relevance and could carry images of some of the industries which have made Beverley what it is as a centre of commercial excellence over the years (everything from wool, tanning, cloth-making, coopering, brick and tile-making and chemicals to ship-building) as well as being at the forefront of education (St John founded Beverley Grammar School in 700AD).

Cllr Linda Johnson, Mayor of Beverley said :"The fact that Beverley had ‘bars’ was nothing to do with fortification and everything to do with taxation! Beverley was a well-off town and the need to collect taxes on trade to improve the infrastructure was as important then as it is now.

"Building a new South Bar somewhere near the Sanctuary Stone on the A164, near its intersection with the A1079, which is 2 miles from Beverley Minster, would also remind us of Beverley’s historic status as a place of refuge which has traditionally helped and welcomed refugees and which, with the War in Ukraine, Beverley is being called on again to do."