St Edmundsbury Cathedral Choir 2, Suffolk, UK - Diliff

St Edmundsbury Cathedral (formally entitled the Cathedral Church of St James and St Edmund) is the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

for the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich The Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich is a Church of England diocese based in Ipswich, covering Suffolk (excluding Lowestoft). The cathedral is St Edmundsbury Cathedral, and the bishop is the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. It is part ...

. It is the seat of the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich and is in Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. Originating in the 11th century, it was rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries as a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

and became a cathedral in 1914; it has been considerably enlarged in recent decades.

History

A church has stood on the site of the cathedral since at least 1065, when St Denis's Church was built within the precincts of Bury St Edmunds Abbey. In the early 12th century the

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

, Anselm, had wanted to make a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

along the

Way of St James The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint ...

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...

. He was unsuccessful and instead rebuilt St Denis's and dedicated the new church to Saint James, which served as the

for the north side of Bury St Edmunds. Anselm was also responsible for building the abbey

gate tower A gate tower (german: Torturm) is a tower built over or next to a major gateway. Usually it is part of a medieval fortification. This may be a town or city wall, fortress, castle or castle chapel. The gate tower may be built as a twin tower on ...

, known today as the Norman Tower, alongside St James's, which also served as the church's belfry and it continues in this function to the present day. The church is located about 200 yards from St Mary's Church, which is of a similar size. This church was largely rebuilt, starting in 1503, in the

Perpendicular style Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-ce ...

John Wastell John Wastell (1518) was an English gothic architect and master mason responsible for the fan vaulted ceiling and other features of King's College Chapel, Cambridge, the crossing tower (Bell Harry Tower) of Canterbury Cathedral, and sections of b ...

, a

master mason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

who also worked on

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

. Further alterations to the building were undertaken in the 18th and 19th centuries, notably a new

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

and a hammerbeam roof by George Gilbert Scott. When the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich was created in 1914, St James's Church was made the cathedral. In 1959

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

wrote the '' Fanfare for St Edmundsbury'' for a "Pageant of Magna Carta" held in the cathedral grounds. From 1959 onwards there was renewed building work designed to transform the former parish church into a cathedral building. Between 1959 and 1970, the Victorian

was demolished and replaced with a new quire, a

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

was added on the west side; also

transepts A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

, a

Lady chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as ...

and a

side chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

dedicated to St Edmund were built. The cathedral architect from 1943 to 1988 was Stephen Dykes Bower and he left £2 million for the completion of the cathedral. In the cathedral grounds a new choir school and visitor's centre, which were opened in 1990, were built by Dykes Bower's successor, Alan Rome. Work started on a Gothic revival style tower in 2000; funded by the

Millennium Commission The Millennium Commission, a United Kingdom public body, was set up to celebrate the turn of the millennium. It used funding raised through the UK National Lottery to assist communities in marking the close of the second millennium and celebra ...

, the Stephen Dykes Bower Trust and others, the Millennium Tower was designed by Hugh Mathew, an associate of Dykes Bower. The 150 foot (46 metre) structure was built from 600,000 bricks and faced with

Barnack Barnack is a village and civil parish, now in the Peterborough unitary authority of the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England and the historic county of Northamptonshire. Barnack is in the north-west of the unitary authority, south-east ...

and Clipsham stone. Its completion was officially celebrated on 22 July 2005. Further additions are the Chapel of the Transfiguration and the East Cloister, both completed in 2009, and the Crypt Treasury in 2012.Pepin p. 196

Interior

The font was designed in 1870 by George Gilbert Scott, constructed on a medieval shaft, with a cover by

Frank Ernest Howard Frank Ernest Howard (1888, Headington, Oxfordshire – 1934, Oxford) was an English architect who worked exclusively in the area of ecclesiastical furnishings and fittings. He was a pupil of Sir Ninian Comper and carried out much of his work ...

of Oxford. The decoration was added in 1960. A painting, "The Martyrdom of St Edmund" by Brian Whelan hangs in the Lady Chapel. A sculpture by

Elisabeth Frink Dame Elisabeth Jean Frink (14 November 1930 – 18 April 1993) was an English sculptor and printmaker. Her ''Times'' obituary noted the three essential themes in her work as "the nature of Man; the 'horseness' of horses; and the divine in ...

entitled ''Crucifixion'' stands by the Treasury steps. Stained glass in the cathedral includes the medieval ''Susanna Window'' which has

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

glass in the lower section and English glass at the top. The west window depicts the

Last Judgement The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

and dates from about 1900. In addition to guided tours of the cathedral itself, visitors can view changing exhibits of art in the Edmund Gallery, and an exhibit of historic and religious regalia and artefacts in the Cathedral Treasures display.

Dean and chapter

The

Dean of St Edmundsbury The Dean of St Edmundsbury is the head (''primus inter pares'' – first among equals) and chair of the chapter of canons, the ruling body of St Edmundsbury Cathedral. The dean and chapter are based at the Cathedral Church of Saint James in Bury ...

is the head (''primus inter pares'' — first among equals) and chair of the chapter of canons, the ruling body of the cathedral. Before 2000 the post was designated as a provost, which was then the equivalent of a

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

at most English cathedrals. The first provost was

John Orpen John Herbert Orpen (30 September 1868 - 3 December 1950) was an Anglican priest in the 20th century. He was born on 30 September 1868, educated at Selwyn College, Cambridge, and ordained for service in the Diocese of Liverpool in 1894. He held c ...

. , the clergy are: *Dean —

Joe Hawes Joseph Patricius Hawes (born 1965) is a British Anglican priest. Since 2018, he has been the Dean of St Edmundsbury. From 2003 to 2018, he was Vicar of All Saints Church, Fulham in the Diocese of London. His early parish ministry was spent in ...

(installed 14 July 2018) *Sub-Dean & Canon Pastor — Matthew Vernon (Sub-Dean since 18 November 2012 licensing; Canon Pastor since 8 February 2009) *Canon Precentor — Philip Banks (since 19 February 2012 installation) * Archdeacon for Rural Mission and

Diocesan Canon According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

— Sally Gaze (since 10 February 2019 installation) *Canon Theologian and Bishops' Chaplain (Diocesan Canon) — Michael Robinson (since 2 February 2020 installation) The cathedral, which is also a parish church, has not filled the position of Vicar since at least 2005.

Organ and organists

Organ

The Organ was rebuilt by

Harrison and Harrison Harrison & Harrison Ltd is a British company that makes and restores pipe organs, based in Durham and established in Rochdale in 1861. It is well known for its work on instruments such as King's College, Cambridge, Westminster Abbey, and the ...

in 2010
Details of the organ from the National Pipe Organ Register

Directors of Music

* 1896 Charles John Harold Shane * 1937 Edwin Percy Hallam * 1958 Harrison Oxley * 1985 Paul Trepte * 1990 Mark Blatchly * 1993 Mervyn Cousins * 1997

James Thomas James Thomas may refer to: Politicians * James Thomas (Australian politician) (1826–1884), civil engineer who was Director of Public Works in Western Australia, 1876–1884 * James Thomas (Governor of Maryland) (1785–1845), served as the 23rd ...

* 2020 Richard Cook (acting) * 2020 Timothy Parsons

Bells

peal In campanology (bell ringing), a peal is the special name given to a specific type of performance of change ringing which meets certain exacting conditions for duration, complexity and quality. The definition of a peal has changed considerably ...

of 12 bells are located in the Norman Tower. The original ten bells were cast in 1785 by Thomas Osborn of

Downham Market Downham Market, sometimes simply referred to as Downham, is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It lies on the edge of the Fens, on the River Great Ouse, approximately 11 miles south of King's Lynn, 39 miles west of Norwich and 30 ...

. In 1973 the bells were rehung in an iron frame at a lower level in the tower. Following a public appeal, a further two bells were added at Easter 2012. A thirteenth bell was added in 2013 which allows beginners to practice with a full octave, without having to use the three heaviest bells. The bells are rung on Sundays before the morning and evening services, and also for weddings and other special occasions.

Gallery

File:St Edmundsbury Cathedral Nave 1, Suffolk, UK - Diliff.jpg, The nave of Bury St Edmunds Cathedral, facing East File:Martrydom of St Edmund by Brian Whelan.jpg, The Martyrdom of St Edmund by Brian Whelan File:St Edmundsbury Cathedral Choir 3, Suffolk, UK - Diliff.jpg, The view from the nave to the sanctuary File:St Edmundsbury Cathedral Nave 2, Suffolk, UK - Diliff.jpg, Looking west towards the entrance of the nave File:St Edmundsbury Cathedral Choir 1, Suffolk, UK - Diliff.jpg, The choir looking towards the nave File:Baptismal font, St. Edmundsbury Cathedral.JPG, Baptismal font File:Tower of Bury St Edmunds Cathedral - geograph.org.uk - 501569.jpg, The Millennium Tower, completed in 2005 File:Norman tower - geograph.org.uk - 639143.jpg, The adjacent 12th-century Norman Tower, which houses the cathedral's bells

References

External links

Official site

Flickr images tagged Bury St Edmunds Cathedral
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Edmundsbury Cathedral Church of England church buildings in Suffolk Bury St Edmunds Tourist attractions in Suffolk Anglican cathedrals in England Bury St Edmunds, Cathedral Grade I listed cathedrals English Gothic architecture in Suffolk Gothic Revival architecture in Suffolk Art museums and galleries in Suffolk Museums in Suffolk Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Buildings and structures in Suffolk