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352 



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the sacred text if reduced under proper heads, explained 

 and illustrated with the opinions xnd authorities of the An- 

 ticnt Fathers, Councils, &c.' The editor, in his preface, in- 

 forms the reader, that this book is given to the public upon 

 the judgment of several eminent divines ; he says that they 

 ' are, truly speaking, no other than loose papers, and that 

 the author, that great and venerable prelate whose name 

 they bear, does not seem to have designed them for the 

 press;' but that, 'upon consulting with several eminent 

 divines, and other pious and learned gentlemen, they did, 

 after perusal, conceive of them as just and choice fragments, 

 containing a summary of the Christian doctrine ; the several 

 topics being digested in a most excellent method, confirmed 

 from several parallel places of Scripture ; and very often 

 illustrated, in the like concise manner, from the testimonies 

 of fathers, councils, &c.' 6. ' A Defence of the Book of 

 Psalms, collected into English Metre by Thomas Sternhold, 

 John Hopkins, and others, with critical observations on the 

 New Version compared with the Old.' The bishop prefers 

 the Old Version to the New, on examination and compari- 

 son, as more genuinely expressing the signification of the 

 original, and as more suited to the general taste and capa- 

 city. It had been objected to the Old Version, that the 

 words were antiquated, out of date, and almost forgotten in 

 their meaning ; but he justly decides that, antiquated as 

 they may be called, they are true English words, faithfully 

 adhering to the meaning of those of which they are the 

 translation, full and sufficient in themselves ; and in any 

 instances where they are such as may seem ill adapted to 

 present habit, or to have gone out of use, they ore easy of 

 explanation, and readily to be brought home to the under- 

 standing ; and, when understood, show sterling wortli and 

 utility : whereas the more modern words, which have in the 

 New Version usurped their station, arc but a mixture of 

 different languages, living and dead, and can never be made 

 of satisfactory expression by the great mass of the people ; 

 besides which, he objects to the New Version as ruther a 

 paraphrase than as exact a translation as might have been 

 had. 7. 'Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles.' This 

 work was attacked with some considerable severity by an 

 anonymous writer ; but it may be enough to remark that, 

 the bishop's view being in entire conformity with every 

 principle of the Church of England, as maintained in her 

 Liturgy and Homilies, the attack was upon the Church 

 herself. The whole works, with the life of Bishop Beveridge, 

 and copious indexes, were published in 18-24, in nine vo- 

 lumes 8vo., by the Rev. Thomas Hartwell Home. 



BEVERLEY. a market town, a borough, and atownship, 

 the capital of the East Riding of the county of York. 

 Beverley and its liberties form a separate division of the 

 wapentake of Harthill. 'It contains the three parishes of 

 St. Mary, St. Nicholas, and St. Martin, and a small part of 

 the parish of St. John, without any house or building upon it. 



By the Boundary Act is added to the antient borough, 

 for the purposes of electing members to serve in parliament, 

 such part of the parish of St. John as is comprised within 

 the liberties of Beverley. That portion of the parish of St. 

 John which lies within the liberties of Bevcrli.'y contains 

 and is co-extensive with six of the eight 'townships into 

 which such parish is divided. These six townships consti- 

 tute the liberties.' (Corporation Reports.) It is 130 miles 

 N. by W. of London ; 9 miles N. by W. of Hull, and 28 

 miles E. by S. of York. It is situated at the base of the 

 Wolds and about-a mile from the river Hull. It is governed 

 by a mayor, a recorder, 12 aldermen, and 13 capital bur- 

 gesses; and it scuds two members to parliament. The 

 population of the borough and liberties of Beverley is 8302. 

 It is one of the polling-places, under the Reform Act, for 

 the East Riding of Yorkshire, and the court is held here 

 for the election of the Knights of the Shire. 



The antient history of Beverley is obscure. The tract of 

 country from the Humbcr to the Tyne was occupied by that 

 powerful nation of antient Britons, the Brigantes ; and there 

 are some indications of there having been British settlements 

 in the vicinity of Beverley, but whether during the Roman 

 way, prior to that period, or immediately after, appears un- 

 certain. No remains have been discovered which are suffi- 

 cient to warrant the idea of this town having been a Roman 

 station ; historians whose writings are generally recciu ! as 

 authentic date the origin of Beverley at A.D. 700. 



The woods and marshes of Deira lay immediately to the 

 north of the Humbcr. These marshes arc supposed to ILL-,.- 

 been lakes, or mures whenever the river Hull ovcrtioweu 



the country. That there have been many such meres m 

 iliilderness and the adjacent country i* evident not only 

 from the appearance of the district, but also from the n. 

 of many places within such district. Woodman" i. H 

 Walton (ll'ft-tnirn), Hornmi. \ i< vi.il .1 



mere at Homsea. The termination tea (or tey, as it is also 

 spelt) is nearly synonymous with mere. (See Young and 

 Bird's Geological Survey of the Yorkihirt Coait.) Be- 

 verley also takes its name from one of these lakes 



'ic, the lake of beavers, 'so named from tin- 1.. 

 with which the neighbouring river Hull abounded.' 



In the early part of the eighth century, John, archbishop 

 of York, dedicated u church which he founded at I' 

 St. John the Baptist; and he afterwards conicrtcd it into a 

 monastery ; he passed four years in this retirement, and 

 when he died was buried here. Towards the close ol 

 century the church and monastery were ravaged by the 

 Danes, who destroyed 'all the books and ornament*;' 'the 

 monastery of Beverley remained three years desol, 

 words the presbyters and clerks returned to Bcvei-lcy, and 

 repaired the place.' (See Monatticon Anglicunum.) In 

 the time of Athelstan the church of Beverley was vi-iud 

 by that monarch on his route northwards to punish tl: 

 faith of Constantino, the king of Scotland. Athenian 

 changed it from a monastery into a college. lie placed 

 himself under the protection of the sainted John < ; 

 returned from his expedition victorious, and in gratitude to 

 his patron-saint, he conferred great privileges and rich 

 possession son the church of St. John. This was probably 

 about the year 937-8. Athelstan granted a charter to the 

 people of 'Beverley, exempting them from certain lolls, 

 and conferring upon them important privileges, in allusion 

 to which the following distich U to be seen in the minster 

 church, between the pictures of Athelstan, the founder, and 

 St. John of Beverley, the patron-saint of the church ; 



AU free, make 1 the 



At Iwit may thynko, or eyh can He. 



The charter of Athelstan was confirmed by succeeding 

 kings, or similar ones were granted. John especially con- 

 ceded to them freedom from ' toll, pontage, p; ,.i;."-,' 

 &c. in consequence of which the burgesses had to pay him 

 five hundred marks. Of these rights and privileges the 

 people of Beverley became afterwards exceedingly tenacious. 

 Mr. Poulson, the modern historian of Beverley, writing of 

 the year 1424, says, 'It is probable that as trade increased 

 they (the burgesses) resorted to all the markets and fairs of 

 the neighbouring towns for the disposal of their goods, which 

 they had an opportunity of vending, without being subject 

 to the above impositions' (tolls or customs), ' and which, at 

 the time referred to, would give them advantages over their 

 less privileged competitors.' ' It seems to have been the 

 constant practice of the burgesses to apply for a ratification 

 of their privileges on the accession of every new king ; 

 and it appears that they were compelled to this m 

 preserving their rights from the constant demands made 

 upon them in other boroughs for the payment of toll. 



It appears that Beverley was a manufacturing town at an 

 early period, and it is mentioned as one of the towns 

 which might ' freely buy and sell dyed cloths.' It isproimMe 

 that the arts of weaving and dyeing were carried ,n at 

 Beverley, woad and wool being two of the articles which 

 paid a toll when taken there for sale. In the reign of 

 Henry II. some outward-bound Spanish merchants wen- 

 plundered on the Essex coasts of scarlet and other cloths, 

 which were recognised as being those of Beverley, Stam- 

 ford, and York. 



In the time of Edward III. Hull was a town of increasing 

 importance; its first and great charter was gram- 

 Westminster in 1299. (See Frost's Notices of the Town 

 and Port of Hull.) This town was an impediment to the 

 advancement of Beverley, and as it offered greater fa< 

 for domestic and foreign commerce, it obtained the prefer- 

 ence due to its superior situation at the junction of the 

 river Hull with the Humbcr, and the pretensions of Beverley 

 as a port became disregarded. 



To raise the declining commerce of Beverley, a charter 

 incorporating the town was procured in the 13th year of 

 Kli/.-ilu-th, and the right to send two burgi-sscs I- 

 the buvu-sses in parliament was acknowledged. This right. 

 tin; men of Beverley had exercised as early as the time of 

 Edward I., but for a long scries of years they had ceased to 

 avail themselves of such privilege." The last and the gj- 

 verning charter is that of 1 Jamua II. A printing-press was 



