town, unitary authority of East Riding of Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, England, just north of Kingston upon Hull. The town of Beverley grew in close association with a monastery established in the 7th century. Destroyed by the Danes in 806, the monastery was refounded by the Anglo-Saxon king Athelstan (reigned 925–939). The great Beverley Minster that dominates the town is a noted example of Gothic architecture as it developed from Early English to Decorated style. The community's first charter (1129) established it as an important market centre with a flourishing European cloth trade, but, because there has been no large-scale modern industrial development, much of its character as an old established abbey and market town has been retained. Beverley is the administrative centre of East Riding of Yorkshire; it is also a residential suburb of the city of Kingston upon Hull. Pop. (2001) 29,110.