The scallop shell is an ancient symbol of pilgrimage. As a nod to the town’s importance as a place of pilgrimage we have amassed 1300 scallop shells. Collect yours from St Mary’s Church any time during the festival and give it a person who is special to you or place it somewhere meaningful to you. We hope that these scallop shells will travel around the world from person to person and from place to place!

In this talk Dr John Jenkins explores the importance of John’s saintly relics to the medieval town and to the people of Beverley, and reveals why a miraculous healing oil began to flow from his shrine six centuries after his death.

A free family activity for Half Term. On Saturday 23rd October, doors will be flung open at heritage sites across the town centre, from the North Bar to the historic barges on the Beck, for our Pilgrimage Trail. Pick up your ‘Pilgrim Passport’ and get it stamped at each museum, gallery, and church on the trail to win a souvenir.

St John of Beverley is remembered for conducting many miracles, but did you know that one of them was creating an inexhaustible supply of beer for a banquet? A talk and beer tasting with Dr Dawn Maskell on the science of brewing, featuring a selection of local craft ales. What better way to end the Saturday of the festival? Cheers!

Join the congregation, choir and clergy of Beverley Minster for a festal service of Holy Communion – on the eve of the Feast of the Translation of St John of Beverley.

Mass celebrated by the Bishop of Middlesbrough.

A special screening of Laurence Olivier’s landmark 1944 adaption of Shakespeare’s epic play. Shot in Technicolour, and with a sweeping score by William Walton, the film marked Olivier’s triumphant debut as a director, earning him a special Oscar.

A talk by David Switalla about his years spent as a journeyman in Germany to become a master stonemason. David is based at the workshop of Matthias Garn in York which is carrying out the painstaking restoration of St Mary’s Church.

In this talk, the eminent historian Professor Anne Curry retraces the steps of Henry V from his audacious victory at Agincourt to Beverley and back.