Beverly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Beverly first arose amongst the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is derived from their having lived in Yorkshire. The Beverly family was originally found at the village and parish of Beverly, from which they took their name. Beverley, which literally means beaver stream, is located in the East Riding of Yorkshire. 1

Early Origins of the Beverly family

The surname Beverly was first found in Yorkshire. Undoubtedly, the first record of the name was John of Beverley (died 721), an East Anglian bishop. He was the Bishop of Hexham and then the Bishop of York. He went on to found the town of Beverley and building the first structure there, a monastery. John was associated with miracles during and after his lifetime, became a saint, canonized by the Catholic Church in 1037.

Leven in the East Riding of Yorkshire is another ancient family seat. “[Leven] is of considerable antiquity, a church being mentioned as existing here at the time of the Norman survey, when the manor was in the possession of the church of St. John de Beverley, which retained it till the Dissolution.” 2

Philip Beverley or Ingleberd (fl. 1290), was an “Oxford benefactor, Rector of Kayingham, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, is said to have been ‘the most subtle Aristotelian in Oxford.’ ” 3

John of Beverley (d. 1414), was “a Carmelite of great theological fame, doctor and professor of divinity at Oxford, was born at Beverley, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. He became a canon of St. John’s, Church in that town, and from the few records left of him it appears that in 1367 he gave a chaplain and his successor forty acres of land in North Burton and Raventhorpe.” 3