BEVERLEY MINSTER SECURES MAJOR GRANT

Beverley Minster recently received a £440,000 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for an exciting heritage project: ‘Beverley Minster - Place of Sanctuary since 937’. Made possible with money raised by National Lottery players, the project will explain why Beverley was once famous as a place of sanctuary for fugitives from rough justice. Today, sanctuary is still a priority for displaced people all over the world. The Minster’s project will enable people to find refuge in one of the finest Gothic buildings in Europe 

The Minster will work with The National Lottery Heritage Fund to engage with a diverse audience, to include people that may not traditionally engage with the Minster and Beverley’s history of sanctuary. A Learning Officer and Project Manager will be appointed, as well as additional volunteers and tour guides, to increase the number of tours currently offered. Some of these tours will be in the medieval roof structure, part of which is being repaired, restored and made safe by this project. 

Using the latest technology, the story of the sanctuary will be told through enhanced displays in the Minster. The creation of a guidebook will accompany updates to the website to ensure that the latest information and resources on the Minster’s history are available both on- and offline. The wider community is invited to take part in craft workshops and sanctuary-themed cultural and heritage events. An area of the Minster churchyard will be redeveloped as a sanctuary garden for peaceful reflection. 

Founded in the eighth century, Beverley Minster is a long-established site of pilgrimage and has had a strong influence in the region. The Minster is the largest Parish Church in the country and larger than a third of English Cathedrals. In the centre of the medieval town of Beverley, it towers above the surrounding rural landscape of East Riding of Yorkshire. The project team expect this initiative to attract many new visitors, as well as local people, to wonder at the great heritage at the heart of Beverley. 

Commenting on the award The Vicar, Revd Canon Jonathan Baker, said: “We are thrilled to have received this support thanks to National Lottery players and are confident the project will engage a wide and diverse audience. It is also an emphatic endorsement of the recently formed joint fundraising initiative with St Mary’s Church called ‘Two Churches One Town’. St Mary’s Church also recently received an important grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.” 

David Renwick, Director of England, North, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “I am delighted that Beverley Minster’s longstanding history of sanctuary and those that sought it can finally be shared with the wider community thanks to National Lottery Players. The use of augmented reality is a welcomed approach that will surely bring to life the historic setting and the centuries-old stories it holds. We’re also happy that this concept can be used to reach out to audiences affected by modern day issues who may need sanctuary themselves. The joint working with the East Riding of Yorkshire Council and St Mary’s in Beverley is a great example of collaboration to benefit a place.”