A hidden museum of treasures
Above St Michael’s chapel lies one of St Mary’s most hidden, but most significant treasures: the so-called Priests’ Rooms.
A staircase from the south east corner of St Michael’s chapel leads up to two rooms which today hold a huge number of artefacts from St Mary’s and Beverley’s past. Built in the mid fourteenth century, the original purposes of these rooms are unknown, but it seems likely that at one point they were used as lodging quarters for priests, hence their name.
Among the items in the Priests’ Rooms are original panels from the Ceiling of Kings, various pieces of medieval carved stonework, sixteenth-century wooden roof bosses, and a poignant ‘Maiden’s Garland.’
The Priests’ Rooms are only open to the public a few times a year, notably on Heritage Open Days.
If you are interested in viewing the Priests’ Rooms outside these dates, for example as part of a tour of St Mary’s, please get in touch with the Church Office.
To learn more about the Maiden’s Garland, click the image below.