The belfry is located on the Trading side of Yaroslav's Court, a few meters west of St. Nicholas Cathedral and north of the Church of the Myrrh-Bearing Women. It is surrounded on both sides by a stone two-story building of the city school from the 19th century, which covers the lower two or three tiers of the belfry and connects it to the gate tower of the trading courtyard.

In pre-revolutionary and Soviet sources, the belfry is dated to the late 17th century. In 1970, S.I. Sivak discovered a damaged manuscript from the same period in the library of the Academy of Sciences, which mentions construction work at Yaroslav's Court. The document indicates that the belfry was built over two autumn-summer seasons in 1684-1685, with the completion of work occurring in September 1685. Several bells hung in the belfry: in the mid-19th century, there were six, and by the end of the century, eight. The largest of them, weighing 61 poods, was cast in 1652. At the end of 1687, it was taken to Moscow, and a new bell weighing 106 poods was installed in its place.

The belfry was damaged in the severe fire of 1696, when all churches and shops on the Trading side burned down, except for the Church of Boris and Gleb.

During the Great Patriotic War, the monument suffered less than other buildings in the city: the walls had bullet and shell damage, the covering of the tent was damaged, and floors and fillings of openings were missing.

Currently, the belfry has mostly been preserved in good condition, although most of the bells have been lost, with only two remaining.

The belfry belongs to five-tiered tent structures of the type "octagon on a square." Inside, it is divided by vaults or ceilings into five tiers. This is a characteristic example of a tent belfry, widespread in Novgorod in the late 17th century, and it holds significant urban planning importance.