(Bury St Edmunds
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Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a
cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
as well as
market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
and
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the
West Suffolk West Suffolk may refer to the following places in Suffolk, England: * West Suffolk (county), a county until 1974 * West Suffolk District, a local government district established in 2019 * West Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency), an electoral di ...
district, in the county of
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: . Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publishing Date:2008. The town is best known for
Bury St Edmunds Abbey The Abbey of Bury St Edmunds was once among the richest Benedictine Monastery, monasteries in England, until its Dissolution of the Monasteries, dissolution in 1539. It is in the town that grew up around it, Bury St Edmunds in the county of Suff ...
and
St Edmundsbury Cathedral St Edmundsbury Cathedral (formally entitled the Cathedral Church of St James and St Edmund) is the cathedral for the Church of England's Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. It is the seat of the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich and is in ...
. Bury is the seat of the
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 ...
of the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
, with the
episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...
at
St Edmundsbury Cathedral St Edmundsbury Cathedral (formally entitled the Cathedral Church of St James and St Edmund) is the cathedral for the Church of England's Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. It is the seat of the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich and is in ...
. The town, originally called Beodericsworth, was built on a grid pattern by Abbot Baldwin around 1080. It is known for brewing and malting (
Greene King Greene King is a British pub and brewing company founded in 1799, currently based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. The company also owns brands including Hungry Horse and Farmhouse Inns, as well as other pubs, restaurants and hotels. It was listed o ...
brewery) and for a
British Sugar British Sugar plc is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods and the sole British producer of sugar from sugar beet, as well as medicinal cannabis. History Early history The company was formed as the British Sugar Corporation in 1936, wh ...
processing factory, where Silver Spoon sugar is produced. The town is the cultural and retail centre for West Suffolk and tourism is a major part of the economy. The built up area had a population of 41,280 at the 2021 census.


Etymology

The name ''Bury'' is
etymological Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
ly connected with ''
borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...
'', which has
cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...
s in other
Germanic languages The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania, and Southern Africa. The most widely spoke ...
such as German 'fortress, castle' and '(defined) area'
Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
'wall, castle'; and
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...
'city'. They all derive from
Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic languages, Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from ...
'fortress'. This in turn derives from the
Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...
root 'fortified elevation', with cognates including
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...
' 'stack' and
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
''-'' 'high, elevated building'. In
Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...
it was known as (also spelled ''Aedmundi''). The second section of the name refers to
Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and nobles *Ed ...
, King of the
East Angles The Kingdom of the East Angles (; ), informally known as the Kingdom of East Anglia, was a small independent kingdom of the Angles during the Anglo-Saxon period comprising what are now the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk and perhaps ...
, called Edmund the Martyr, who was killed by the
Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9â ...
in the year 869. He became venerated as a saint and a martyr, and his shrine made Bury St Edmunds an important place of pilgrimage. The formal name of the diocese is "St Edmundsbury", and the town is colloquially known as Bury.


History

An archaeological study in the 2010s on the outskirts of Bury St Edmunds (Beodericsworth, Bedrichesworth, St Edmund's Bury) uncovered evidence of Bronze Age activity in the area. The dig also uncovered
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
coins from the first and second centuries. Samuel Lewis, writing in 1848, notes the earlier discovery of Roman antiquities, and as with several other writers connects Bury St Edmunds with ''Villa Faustini'' or ''Villa Faustina'', although the location of this Roman site is also discussed by E. Gillingwater (1804), who notes the lack of evidence for it being here. The town was one of the royal boroughs of the
Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
.
Sigebert Sigebert (which means roughly "magnificent victory"), also spelled Sigibert, Sigobert, Sigeberht, or Siegeberht, is the name of: Frankish and Anglo-Saxon kings * Sigobert the Lame (died c. 509), a king of the Franks * Sigebert I, King of Austrasi ...
, king of the
East Angles The Kingdom of the East Angles (; ), informally known as the Kingdom of East Anglia, was a small independent kingdom of the Angles during the Anglo-Saxon period comprising what are now the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk and perhaps ...
, founded a
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
here about 633, which in 903 became the burial place of King Edmund the Martyr, who was slain by the
Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...
in 869, and owed most of its early celebrity to the reputed miracles performed at the shrine of the martyr king. The town grew around
Bury St Edmunds Abbey The Abbey of Bury St Edmunds was once among the richest Benedictine Monastery, monasteries in England, until its Dissolution of the Monasteries, dissolution in 1539. It is in the town that grew up around it, Bury St Edmunds in the county of Suff ...
, a site of
pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
. By 925 the fame of St Edmund had spread far and wide, and the name of the town was changed to St Edmund's Bury. In 942 or 945, King
Edmund I Edmund I or Eadmund I (920/921 – 26 May 946) was King of the English from 27 October 939 until his death in 946. He was the elder son of King Edward the Elder and his third wife, Queen Eadgifu, and a grandson of King Alfred the Great. Af ...
had granted to the
abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
and
convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
jurisdiction over the whole town, free from all secular services, and
Canute Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rul ...
in 1020 freed it from episcopal control. Later,
Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 â€“ 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...
made the abbot lord of the franchise. The older monastery was destroyed and, the secular priests having been expelled, a new
Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
abbey was built. Count
Alan Rufus Alan Rufus, alternatively Alanus Rufus (Latin), Alan ar Rouz ( Breton), Alain le Roux ( French) or Alan the Red (c. 1040 – 1093), 1st Lord of Richmond, was a Breton nobleman, kinsman and companion of William the Conqueror (Duke William II o ...
is said to have been interred at Bury St Edmunds Abbey in 1093. In the 12th and 13th centuries the head of the de Hastings family, who held the Lordship of the Manor of Ashill in Norfolk, was hereditary Steward of this abbey. The town was for a time the home of a thriving Jewish community, and it is likely, although not certain, that
Moyse's Hall Moyse's Hall is a building in the Suffolk town of Bury St Edmunds. It is a Grade I listed building and is thought to have been originally built circa 1180. It is probable but not certain that it was a Jewish merchant's house. In 1895, before it ...
belonged to a Jewish merchant. On 18 March 1190, two days after the more well-known massacre of Jews at Clifford Tower in
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
, the people of Bury St Edmunds massacred 57 Jews. Later that year, Abbot Samson successfully petitioned
King Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 â€“ 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard CÅ“ur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...
for permission to evict the town's remaining Jewish inhabitants "on the grounds that everything in the town... belonged by right to St Edmund: therefore, either the Jews should be St Edmund's men or they should be banished from the town."Jocelin of Brakelond, Chronicle of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds, trans. Diana Greenway and Jane Sayers (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1989) This expulsion predates the
Edict of Expulsion The Edict of Expulsion was a royal decree expelling all Jews from the Kingdom of England that was issued by Edward I of England, Edward I on 18 July 1290; it was the first time a European state is known to have permanently banned their prese ...
by 100 years. In 1198, a fire burned the shrine of St Edmund, leading to the inspection of his corpse by Abbot Samson and the translation of St Edmund's body to a new location in the
abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...
. The town is associated with
Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...
. In 1214 the barons of England are believed to have met in the abbey church and sworn to force King John to accept the
Charter of Liberties The Charter of Liberties, also called the Coronation Charter, or Statutes of the Realm, was a written proclamation by Henry I of England, issued upon his accession to the throne in 1100. It sought to bind the King to certain laws regarding the t ...
, the document which influenced the creation of Magna Carta, a copy of which was displayed in the town's cathedral during the 2014 celebrations. By various grants from the abbots, the town gradually attained the rank of a
borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...
. Henry III in 1235 granted to the abbot two annual fairs, one in December and the other the great
St Matthew Matthew the Apostle was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. According to Christian traditions, he was also one of the four Evangelists as author of the Gospel of Matthew, and thus is also known as Matthew the Evangelist. The claim of his g ...
's fair, which was abolished by the
Fairs Act of 1871 The Fairs Act 1871 ( 34 & 35 Vict. c. 12) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It empowered the Home Secretary in the United Kingdom to, on petition, make orders for the abolition of fairs. Such provision was made at this time by ...
. In 1327, the Great Riot occurred, in which the local populace led an armed revolt against the abbey. The riot destroyed the main gate, and a new, fortified gate was built in its stead. On 11 April 1608 a ''great fire'' broke out in Eastgate Street, which resulted in 160 dwellings and 400 outhouses being destroyed. The town developed into a flourishing cloth-making town, with a large
wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...
len trade, by the 14th century. In 1405 Henry IV granted another fair.
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
in 1562 confirmed the charters which former kings had granted to the abbots. The reversion of the fairs and two markets on Wednesday and Saturday were granted by James I in fee farm to the corporation.
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334†...
in 1606 granted a charter of incorporation with an annual fair in Easter week and a market. James granted further charters in 1608 and 1614, as did Charles II in 1668 and 1684. Parliaments were held in the borough in 1272, 1296 and 1446, but the borough was not represented until 1608, when James I conferred on it the privilege of sending two members. The
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 23) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (sometimes called the "Reform Act of 1885"). It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that r ...
reduced the representation to one. The borough of Bury St Edmunds and the surrounding area, like much of
East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...
, being part of the
Eastern Association The Eastern Association of counties was an administrative organisation set up by Parliament in the early years of the First English Civil War. Its main function was to finance and support an army which became a mainstay of the Parliamentarian m ...
, supported
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
sentiment during the first half of the 17th century. By 1640, several families had departed for the
Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...
as part of the wave of emigration that occurred during the Great Migration. Bury's ancient grammar school also educated such notables as the puritan theologian
Richard Sibbes Richard Sibbes (or Sibbs) (1577–1635) was an Anglican theologian. He is known as a Biblical exegete, and as a representative, with William Perkins and John Preston, of what has been called "main-line" Puritanism because he always remained in ...
, master of St Catherine's Hall in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, antiquary and politician
Simonds d'Ewes Sir Simonds d'Ewes, 1st Baronet (18 December 1602 – 18 April 1650) was an English antiquary and politician. He was bred for the bar, was a member of the Long Parliament and left notes on its transactions. D'Ewes took the Puritan side in the Civ ...
, and
John Winthrop the Younger John Winthrop the Younger FRS (February 12, 1606 – April 6, 1676) was an English politician and alchemist. An early governor of the Connecticut Colony, he played a large role in the unification of the colony's settlements into a singular ...
, who became governor of Connecticut. The town was the setting for
witch trials A witch hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. Practicing evil spells or incantations was proscribed and punishable in early human civilizations in the Middle East. ...
between 1599 and 1694. Notestein, Wallace ''A History of Witchcraft in England from 1558 to 1718'', American Historical Association 1911 (reissued 1965) New York Russell & Russell,


Modern history

The population had reached 12,538 by 1841. A permanent military presence was established in the town with the completion of the Militia Barracks in 1857 and of Gibraltar Barracks in 1878. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the
USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
used
Rougham Airfield Royal Air Force Bury St Edmunds or simply RAF Bury St Edmunds is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located east of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. It is not to be confused with the RAF grass strip on ...
outside the town. On 3 March 1974 a
Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları''), or legally Türk Hava Yolları Anonim Ortaklığı, is the flag carrier of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 352 destinations (including cargo) in Europe, Asia, Oce ...
DC10 jet Flight 981 crashed near Paris killing all 346 people on board. Among the victims were 17 members of Bury St Edmunds Rugby Football Club, returning from France.


Notable features

Near the abbey gardens stands Britain's first internally illuminated street sign, the Pillar of Salt, which was built in 1935. The sign is at the terminus of the A1101, Great Britain's lowest road which is mostly below sea level. There is a network of tunnels which are evidence of
chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...
-workings, though there is no evidence of extensive tunnels under the town centre. Some buildings have inter-communicating cellars. Due to their unsafe nature the chalk-workings are not open to the public, although viewing has been granted to individuals. Some have caused
subsidence Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope mov ...
within living memory, for instance at Jacqueline Close. Among noteworthy buildings is
St Mary's Church, Bury St Edmunds St Mary's Church is the civic church of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England and is one of the largest parish churches in England. It claims to have the second longest nave (after Christchurch Priory), and the largest West Window of any parish chur ...
, where
Mary Tudor, Queen of France Mary Tudor ( ; 18 March 1496 – 25 June 1533) was an English princess who was briefly Queen of France as the third wife of King Louis XII. Louis was more than 30 years her senior. Mary was the fifth child of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth ...
and sister of Tudor king
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
, was re-buried, six years after her death, having been moved from the abbey after her brother's Dissolution of the Monasteries.
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
had a
stained glass window Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
fitted into the church to commemorate Mary's interment. Moreton Hall, a Grade II*listed building by
Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...
, houses the now-closed Moreton Hall Preparatory School.British Listed Buildings
Moreton Hall School, Bury St Edmund's
(English Heritage Building ID: 466967)
Bury St Edmunds Guildhall Bury St Edmunds Guildhall is a municipal building in the Guildhall Street, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. The building currently operates as a heritage centre and also serves as the meeting place for Bury St Edmunds Town Council. It is a Grade I list ...
dates back to the late 12th century. Bury St Edmunds has one of the full-time fire stations run by
Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is the statutory fire and rescue service covering the county of Suffolk in East Anglia, England. It was formed in 1948 as the Suffolk & Ipswich Fire Service, before changing after the 1974 Local Government ...
. Originally located in the Traverse (now the Halifax bank), it moved to Fornham Road in 1953. The Fornham Road site (now Mermaid Close) closed in 1987 and the fire station moved to its current location on Parkway North. Since March 2015, Bury St Edmunds has been the home town of the London and South East Regional Divorce Unit and the Maintenance Enforcement Business Centre (for issues with maintenance payments outside Greater London). The former processes divorce documents from across London and South East England as one of five centralised units covering the United Kingdom. Both units are based with Bury St Edmunds County Court in Triton House, St Andrews Street North.


Geography

Bury is located in the middle of an undulating area of East Anglia known as the East Anglian Heights, with land to the east and west of the town rising to above , though parts of the town itself are as low as above sea level where the Rivers
Lark Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark occ ...
and Linnet pass through it.


Climate

There are two
Met Office The Met Office, until November 2000 officially the Meteorological Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather and climate service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and ...
reporting stations in the vicinity of Bury St Edmunds, Brooms Barn (elevation ), west of the town centre, and Honington (elevation ), about north. According to Usman Majeed, head of Honington, the latter ceased weather observations in 2003, while Brooms Barn remains operational. Brooms Barn's record maximum temperature stands at , recorded in August 2003. The lowest recent temperature was during December 2010. Rainfall is generally low, at under , and spread fairly evenly throughout the year.


Religion

The town has a Christian heritage dating back to the foundation of the abbey in 1020. Today there are many active churches in the town.


Abbey

In the centre of Bury St Edmunds lie the remains of an
abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...
, surrounded by the abbey gardens. The abbey is a
shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...
to Saint Edmund, the Saxon King of the East Angles. The abbey was sacked by the townspeople in the 14th century and then largely destroyed during the 16th century with the Dissolution of the Monasteries, but the town remained prosperous throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, only falling into relative decline with the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
.


Anglican Churches

Until the building of St John's in 1840, the town had just two parishes, St James's and St Mary's. The former has now become the cathedral. The town now has seven
Anglican churches The Anglican Communion is a Christian communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, recognised as ' ...
in six parishes, St Peter's being in the same parish as St Mary's.


Cathedral

St James' parish church became
St Edmundsbury Cathedral St Edmundsbury Cathedral (formally entitled the Cathedral Church of St James and St Edmund) is the cathedral for the Church of England's Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. It is the seat of the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich and is in ...
when the
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 ...
was formed in 1914. The cathedral was extended with an eastern end in the 1960s. A new Gothic revival cathedral tower was built as part of a Millennium project running from 2000 to 2005. The opening for the tower took place in July 2005, and included a
brass band A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularl ...
concert and fireworks. Parts of the cathedral remain uncompleted, including the
cloisters A cloister (from Latin , "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 warm southe ...
. The tower makes St Edmundsbury the most recently completed Anglican cathedral in the UK, and was constructed using original fabrication techniques by six masons who placed the machine-cut stones individually as they arrived.


St Mary's Church

St Mary's Church is the civic church of Bury St Edmunds and the third largest parish church in England. It was part of the abbey complex and originally was one of three large churches in the town (the others being St James, now St Edmundsbury Cathedral, and St Margaret's, now gone). It is renowned for its magnificent
hammer-beam A hammerbeam roof is a decorative, open timber roof truss typical of English Gothic architecture and has been called "the most spectacular endeavour of the English Medieval carpenter". They are traditionally timber framed, using short beams proje ...
"angel" roof, and is the final resting place of
Mary Tudor, Queen of France Mary Tudor ( ; 18 March 1496 – 25 June 1533) was an English princess who was briefly Queen of France as the third wife of King Louis XII. Louis was more than 30 years her senior. Mary was the fifth child of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth ...
,
Duchess of Suffolk Earl of Suffolk is a title which has been created four times in the Peerage of England. The first creation, in tandem with the creation of the title of Earl of Norfolk, came before 1069 in favour of Ralph the Staller; but the title was forfei ...
and favourite sister of
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
. St Mary's is also home to the Chapel of the
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
and
Royal Anglian Regiment The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the line regi ...
s. The town has other Anglican churches: * All Saints, Park Road; built 1953 *Christ Church, Moreton Hall; founded 1983, built 1993 * St George, Anselm Avenue; built 1951 * St John, St John's Street, built 1840 * St Peter, Hospital Road (district church; daughter church of St Mary's); built 1856-58


Non-Conformist Churches and chapels

* Baptist Church, Garland Street *Beacon Church Bury St Edmunds, Oakes Road, an evangelical, charismatic and Pentecostal church; part of
Assemblies of God in Great Britain The Assemblies of God in Great Britain (AoG GB) is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in Great Britain. It is affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship. Its headquarters are in Manchester, England. History The Assemblies of God in ...
*Bridge Community Church, West Road, until September 2021 known as West Road Church; affiliated to the
Evangelical Alliance The Evangelical Alliance (EA) is a UK organisation of evangelical individuals, organisations, and churches, which is itself a member of the World Evangelical Alliance. Founded in 1846, the Evangelical Alliance aims to promote evangelical Chr ...
*Horringer Court Community Church, Glastonbury Road *Kingsgate Church, Grove Road; affiliated to the
Evangelical Alliance The Evangelical Alliance (EA) is a UK organisation of evangelical individuals, organisations, and churches, which is itself a member of the World Evangelical Alliance. Founded in 1846, the Evangelical Alliance aims to promote evangelical Chr ...
* Evangelical Presbyterian Church, St Olaves Road *
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
Meeting House, St John's Street *Seventh Day Adventist Church, Fornham Road, built as a
Railway Mission The Railway Mission is a British mission devoted to the rail industry. It was founded in 1881 based in mission halls, and now operates a chaplaincy service. In the early days of the Railway Mission there were a number of mission halls at rai ...
"
tin tabernacle A tin tabernacle, also known as an iron church, is a type of prefabricated ecclesiastical building made from corrugated galvanised iron. They were developed in the mid-19th century, initially in the United Kingdom. Corrugated iron was first u ...
" *Southgate Church, Caie Walk * Trinity Methodist Church, Brentgovel Street * Unitarian Meeting House, Churchgate Street, built as Presbyterian Meeting House * United Reformed Church, Whiting Street, formerly Congregational Church * Westgate Chapel, Hospital Road, an independent evangelical church; affiliated to the FIEC * West Suffolk
Vineyard Church The Association of Vineyard Churches, also known as the Vineyard Movement, is an international neocharismatic evangelical Christian association of churches.Despite the fact that some might see denominational labels as divisive, the founder of the ...
, Northern Way


Catholic church

St Edmund's Catholic Church, located in Westgate Street, is the Roman Catholic parish church of Bury St Edmunds. Founded by the
Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
in 1763, the present church building is
grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
. It was built in 1837. It is administered by the
Diocese of East Anglia The Diocese of East Anglia () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church covering the counties of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Peterborough in eastern England. The diocese makes up part of the Catholic Association Pilgrimage. Statisti ...
in its Bury St Edmunds deanery.


Former churches

Bury St Edmunds has several former church and chapel buildings: * Methodist Chapel, 4A St Mary's Square (converted to residential) *Rehoboth Strict Baptist Chapel, Out Westgate (now called Chapel House) *Victory Congregational Chapel, Northgate Street (converted to commercial) *Chapel, St Botolph's Lane (now called Old Mission House)


Culture

The Theatre Royal was built by
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...
architect William Wilkins in 1819 and is the sole surviving
Regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
Theatre in the country. The theatre, owned by the
Greene King Greene King is a British pub and brewing company founded in 1799, currently based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. The company also owns brands including Hungry Horse and Farmhouse Inns, as well as other pubs, restaurants and hotels. It was listed o ...
brewery, is leased to the
National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
for a nominal charge, and underwent restoration between 2005 and 2007. It presents a full programme of performances and is also open for public tours. In August 2023, the Theatre Royal closed suddenly due to fire safety issues. An additional arts venue, The Apex, was built on the site of the former cattle market in 2010.
Moyse's Hall Museum Moyse's Hall is a building in the Suffolk town of Bury St Edmunds. It is a Grade I listed building and is thought to have been originally built circa 1180. It is probable but not certain that it was a Jewish merchant's house. In 1895, before it ...
is one of the oldest (c. 1180) domestic buildings in East Anglia open to the public. It has collections of fine art, for example
Mary Beale Mary Beale () (16331699) was an English portrait painter. She was part of a small band of female professional artists working in London. Beale became the main financial provider for her family through her professional work a career she maintai ...
, costume, e.g.
Charles Frederick Worth Charles Frederick Worth (13 October 1825 – 10 March 1895) was an English fashion designer who founded the House of Worth, one of the foremost fashion houses of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He is considered by many fashion historians to ...
,
horology Chronometry or horology () is the science studying the measurement of time and timekeeping. Chronometry enables the establishment of standard measurements of time, which have applications in a broad range of social and scientific areas. ''Hor ...
, local and social history, including
Witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...
. It holds an original
death mask A death mask is a likeness (typically in wax or plaster cast) of a person's face after their death, usually made by taking a cast or impression from the corpse. Death masks may be mementos of the dead or be used for creation of portraits. The m ...
of William Corder who was hanged for the infamous 1827
Red Barn murder The Red Barn Murder was an 1827 murder in Polstead, Suffolk, England. A young woman, Maria Marten, was shot dead by her lover William Corder at the Red Barn, a local landmark. The two had arranged to meet before eloping to Ipswich. Corder se ...
. The
Market Cross A market cross, or in Scots, a mercat cross, is a structure used to mark a market square in market towns, where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or a baron. History Market crosses ...
, today a community space, is a building restored by
Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...
in 1780s. Between 1972 and 2018 the Market Cross was an art gallery called "Smiths Row", hosting a programme of changing contemporary art and craft exhibitions and events by British and international artists. The town holds several festivals a year. The largest festival is held in May and includes concerts, plays, dance, and lecturers culminating in fireworks. There was an annual Christmas Fair in the town up until 2019, with food, drink, local crafts and fairground rides available, stretching from the Abbey Gardens to the Arc Shopping Centre. Bury St Edmunds is home to England's oldest Scout group, 1st Bury St Edmunds (Mayors Own).


Sport

The town's main
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club,
Bury Town Bury Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club, based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. The club are currently members of the and play at Ram Meadow. History Early history The club was established by William Lake at a meeti ...
, is the fourth oldest
non-league Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...
team in England. They are members of the
Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...
and have played at Ram Meadow since moving from
Kings Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents) is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both ...
in the 1970s.
Suffolk County Cricket Club Suffolk County Cricket Club is one of twenty minor county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Suffolk. The team is currently a member of the Minor Counties Championship East ...
play occasional games at the Victory Ground, which is also the home ground of Bury St Edmunds Cricket Club. The cricket club previously played at
Cemetry Road Cemetry Road was a cricket ground in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. The ground was known as Field Lane from 1826 to 1854 and was later known as the West Suffolk Cricket Ground. Today, the location of the ground would be along King's Road in Bury St ...
. Bury St Edmunds Rugby Football Club has an extensive history, including the devastating
plane crash An aviation accident is an event during aircraft operation that results serious injury, death, or significant destruction. An aviation incident is any operating event that compromises safety but does not escalate into an aviation accident. Pre ...
that killed several members who had attended a 1974 Five Nations Championship match. Eastgate Amateur Boxing club was established in 1981. The club has been headquartered at various locations in and around the town, but are now training in an old World War I gym in Rougham. West Suffolk Swimming Club formed in 1998 from the merger of two local swimming clubs and operates from pools in Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill and Culford. West Suffolk Athletics Club are based at the West Suffolk College sports ground. Nowton Park hosts a parkrun every Saturday morning where runners, joggers and walkers can take part free-of-charge, supported by volunteers. A junior parkrun is held every Sunday morning at Ten Acre Field on the Moreton Hall estate, where 4-14 year olds can participate for free, cheered on by volunteers. A friendly running club called Bury St Edmunds Pacers welcomes runners of all abilities to join and holds regular running events.


Media

Local news and television programmes is provided by
BBC East BBC East is one of BBC's English Regions covering Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and parts of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire (including the City of Milton Keynes). It is headquartered in The Forum ...
and
ITV Anglia ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...
. Television signals are received from the
Tacolneston Tacolneston () is a village and civil parish in the South Norfolk District of Norfolk with a population of around 700, measured at the 2011 Census as a population of 825. Its name occurs in the 1086 Domesday Book as ''Tacoluestuna'' and is theo ...
TV transmitter and the local relay transmitter. The town's local radio stations are
BBC Radio Suffolk BBC Radio Suffolk is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Suffolk. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on St Matthews Street in Ipswich. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience ...
on 104.6 FM,
Heart East Heart East was a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to the East of England from studios in Milton Keynes. The station launched on 3 June 2019, following a merger of four Heart station ...
on 96.4 FM and RWSfm on 103.3 FM, a community radio station that broadcast from the town. The local newspapers are the
East Anglian Daily Times The ''East Anglian Daily Times'' is a British local newspaper for Suffolk and Essex, based in Ipswich. History The newspaper began publication on 13 October 1874, incorporating the ''Ipswich Express'', which had been published since 13 August ...
and Bury Free Press.


Public houses

Many pubs in the town have closed over the years, but the town still has a variety of pubs


Local economy


Tourism

The Angel Hotel is a Georgian building on Angel Hill.
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
stayed there while giving readings in the
Athenaeum Athenaeum may refer to: Books and periodicals * ''Athenaeum'' (German magazine), a journal of German Romanticism, established 1798 * ''Athenaeum'' (British magazine), a weekly London literary magazine 1828–1921 * ''The Athenaeum'' (Acadia U ...
, as mentioned in ''
The Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was the Debut novel, first novel serialised from March 1836 to November 1837 by English author Charles Dickens. Because of his success with ''Sketches by Bo ...
''.
Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie ( ; born Angelina Jolie Voight, , June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Angelina Jolie, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards ...
stayed there while filming ''
Tomb Raider ''Tomb Raider'', known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an Action-adventure game, action-adventure video game series created by British video game developer Core Design. The franchise i ...
''. A
coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of t ...
has existed on the site since the 15th century.


Brewing

Greene King Greene King is a British pub and brewing company founded in 1799, currently based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. The company also owns brands including Hungry Horse and Farmhouse Inns, as well as other pubs, restaurants and hotels. It was listed o ...
, is situated in Bury St Edmunds, as is the smaller Old Cannon Brewery. Just outside the town, on the site of RAF Bury St Edmunds, is Bartrums Brewery, originally based in
Thurston Thurston may refer to: Places Antarctica * Thurston Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Thurston Island, off Ellsworth Land United Kingdom * Thurston, Suffolk, England, a village and parish ** Thurston railway station United States * Thurston County, Neb ...
, and to the north is the Brewshed brewery, located in Ingham. The Greene King pub
The Nutshell The Nutshell is a pub in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England, that until 2016 claimed to be the smallest pub in Britain, although this claim was challenged by several others, including the Smiths Arms at Godmanstone (since closed) and the Lakesid ...
is situated in the centre of the town, and is one of several that claim to be Britain's smallest
public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
.


Sugar beet

Bury's largest landmark is the
British Sugar British Sugar plc is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods and the sole British producer of sugar from sugar beet, as well as medicinal cannabis. History Early history The company was formed as the British Sugar Corporation in 1936, wh ...
factory near the A14, which processes
sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and that is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together with ...
into refined crystal sugar. It was built in 1925 when the town's MP, Walter Guinness, was
Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...
, and for many of its early years was managed by Martin Neumann, former manager of a sugar beet refinery in
Šurany Šurany (until 1927, ''Veľké Šurany'') is a town and a railroad hub in the Nové Zámky District, Nitra Region, southern Slovakia. Alongside the main settlement, it has the boroughs of Kostolný Sek and Nitriansky Hrádok, both annexed 1976. ...
, then part of
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''ÄŒesko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
. Neumann was invited by the British government to oversee the refinement of sugar in Bury St Edmunds and, with his family, immigrated to the United Kingdom. The actor and writer
Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...
is a grandson of Martin Neumann, as recounted in the BBC programme '' Who Do You Think You Are?'' The refinery processes beet from 1,300 growers. 660 lorry-loads of beet can be accepted each day when beet is being harvested. Not all the beet can be crystallised immediately, and some is kept in solution in holding tanks until late spring and early summer, when the plant has spare crystallising capacity. The sugar is sold under the
Silver Spoon The English language expression silver spoon is synonymous with wealth, especially inherited wealth; someone born into a wealthy family is said to have "been born with a silver spoon in their mouth". As an adjective, "silver spoon" describes som ...
name (the other major British brand,
Tate & Lyle Tate & Lyle Public Limited Company is a British-headquartered, global supplier of food and beverage products to food and industrial markets. It was originally a sugar refining business, but from the 1970s, it began to diversify, eventually dive ...
, is made from imported
sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...
). By-products include molassed sugar beet feed for cattle and LimeX70, a soil improver. The factory has its own power station, which powers around 110,000 homes. A smell of burnt starch from the plant is noticeable on some days.


Governance

There are three tiers of local government covering Bury St Edmunds, at
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
(town),
district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
, and
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
level: Bury St Edmunds Town Council, West Suffolk Council and
Suffolk County Council Suffolk County Council is the upper-tier Local government in England, local authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 75 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. It is a member of the East of England Local Governme ...
. The town council meets at
Bury St Edmunds Guildhall Bury St Edmunds Guildhall is a municipal building in the Guildhall Street, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. The building currently operates as a heritage centre and also serves as the meeting place for Bury St Edmunds Town Council. It is a Grade I list ...
, parts of which date back to the 13th century, and has its offices in an adjoining building at 79 Whiting Street. West Suffolk Council is also based in the town, at West Suffolk House on Western Way, which was built in 2009 and also includes an area office for the county council. For national elections, the town forms part of the
Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament represented since its creation for the 2024 general election by Peter Prinsley of the Labour Party. The constituency is named for the Suffolk towns of B ...
constituency. The current MP is
Peter Prinsley Peter Richard Prinsley (born 8 April 1958) is a British Labour Party UK, Labour Party politician, who was elected as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (UK Parliament constituency), Bury ...
of the Labour Party, who was first elected in the
2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...
.


Administrative history

Bury St Edmunds was an
ancient borough An ancient borough was a historic unit of lower-tier local government in England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the co ...
. It is known to have been granted a
municipal charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally, the granting of a charter ...
by
Henry I Henry I or Henri I may refer to: :''In chronological order'' * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry ...
(reigned 1100–1135), which has since been lost. The borough was controlled by the abbey until its dissolution in 1539.
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334†...
issued a new charter in 1606, which confirmed Bury's ancient rights and incorporated it under a new constitution. The borough covered the two
ancient parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
es of St James and St Mary. The borough was reformed to become a
municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...
in 1836 under the
Municipal Corporations Act 1835 The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 ( 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The le ...
, which standardised how most boroughs operated across the country. The borough was enlarged in 1935 to take in areas from the neighbouring parishes of
Fornham All Saints Fornham All Saints is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England in the West Suffolk district. It is north-northwest of the town of Bury St Edmunds and 500m west of Fornham St Genevieve. Fornham All Saints is one of a trio of contiguous vil ...
and Westley. The borough council historically met at the Guildhall. It moved its offices to a new building called Borough Offices at 7 Angel Hill in 1935. Council meetings continued to be held at the Guildhall until 1966, when a new council chamber was built in an extension to the Borough Offices. When elected county councils were established in 1889, the old western
quarter sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts that were traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388; they were extended to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535. Scotland establ ...
division of Suffolk was made the
administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...
of
West Suffolk West Suffolk may refer to the following places in Suffolk, England: * West Suffolk (county), a county until 1974 * West Suffolk District, a local government district established in 2019 * West Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency), an electoral di ...
.
West Suffolk County Council West Suffolk County Council was the county council of the administrative county of West Suffolk in east England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1889 and acted as the governing authority for the county until it was amalgamated with East Suffolk ...
was based in Bury, meeting at the town's courthouse, Shire Hall, which had been built around 1750. The borough of Bury St Edmunds and administrative county of West Suffolk were both abolished in 1974 under the
Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
. Bury became part of the new
Borough of St Edmundsbury St Edmundsbury was a local government district with borough status in Suffolk, England. It was named after its main town, Bury St Edmunds. The second town in the district was Haverhill. The population of the district was 111,008 at the 2011 Ce ...
, which covered the town and surrounding rural areas. The county-wide Suffolk County Council was created at the same time. St Edmundsbury Borough Council was based in the town, initially using various buildings inherited from its predecessors including the Borough Offices on Angel Hill. In 2009, it consolidated its offices at West Suffolk House, sharing the building with the county council. No
successor parish Successor parishes are Civil parishes in England, civil parishes with a parish councils in England, parish council, created in England in 1974. They replaced, with the same boundaries, a selected group of Urban district (England and Wales), urban d ...
was created for the area of the abolished municipal borough at the time of the 1974 reforms, and so it became an
unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparis ...
. A new
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
of Bury St Edmunds was created in 2003, with its parish council taking the name Bury St Edmunds Town Council. The town council election in 2007 was won by the "Abolish Bury Town Council" party, but they lost their majority shortly afterwards and the town council was not abolished. In 2020, the town council moved its meetings to the Guildhall. In 2019, St Edmundsbury and the neighbouring district of
Forest Heath Forest Heath was a local government district in Suffolk, England. Its council was based in Mildenhall. Other towns in the district included Newmarket. The population of the district at the 2011 Census was 59,748. The district's name reflecte ...
merged into a new West Suffolk district (which covers a smaller area than the pre-1974 administrative county of the same name).


Notable people

Notable people from Bury St Edmunds include
Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...
and Lord High Chancellor of England
Stephen Gardiner Stephen Gardiner (27 July 1483 – 12 November 1555) was an English Catholic bishop and politician during the English Reformation period who served as Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I. Early life Gardiner was born in Bury St Ed ...
, the 18th-century landscape architect
Humphry Repton Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great designer of the classic phase of the English landscape garden, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown. His style is thought of as the precursor of the more intric ...
, the hymn writer
Alice Flowerdew A. Flowerdew (1759 – 23 September 1830) was an English teacher, religious poet and hymnist. Her main work was ''Poems on Moral and Religious Subjects'' (1867). She died in 1830. Early life Alice (sometimes mistakenly referred to as "Anne") Fl ...
, the artist and photographer William Silas Spanton, the author Maria Louise Ramé (also known as
Ouida Maria Louise Ramé (1 January 1839 – 25 January 1908), going by the name Marie Louise de la Ramée and known by the pseudonym Ouida ( ), was an English novelist. Ouida wrote more than 40 novels, as well as short stories, children's boo ...
), the engineer and inventor
Hiram Codd Hiram Codd (10 January 1838 – 18 February 1887) was an English engineer and inventor. In 1872, he patented a bottle filled under gas pressure which pushed a marble against a rubber washer in the neck, creating a seal for soft drinks. Thi ...
, the cyclist James Moore, and the portrait painter Rose Mead. More recent figures from the town include artist and printer
Sybil Andrews Sybil Andrews (19 April 1898 – 21 December 1992) was an English-Canadian artist who specialised in printmaking and is best known for her modernist linocuts. Life in England Born in 1898 in Bury St Edmunds, Andrews was unable to go straight t ...
, artist and suffragette
Helen Margaret Spanton Helen Margaret Spanton (15 September 1877 – 17 September 1934) was a British artist and suffragette. Portrait and figure painter Helen Margaret Spanton was born at 16 Abbeygate Street, Bury St Edmunds, the eldest child of William Silas Spant ...
, Canadian
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
general
Guy Simonds Lieutenant-general (Canada), Lieutenant-General Guy Granville Simonds, (April 23, 1903 – May 15, 1974) was a senior Canadian Army officer who served with distinction during World War II. Acknowledged by many military historians and senior comm ...
, Winston Churchill's secretary Elizabeth Nel, theatre director Sir Peter Hall,
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...
footballer
Liam Gibbs Liam Geoffrey Gibbs (born 16 December 2002) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Norwich City. Career Ipswich Town Gibbs joined the Ipswich Town academy in 2011, progressing through the club's youth system a ...
, Canadian journalist and author
Richard Gwyn Richard Gwyn (ca. 1537 – 15 October 1584), also known by his anglicized name, Richard White, was a Welsh teacher at illegal and underground schools and a bard who wrote both Christian and satirical poetry in the Welsh language. A Roman C ...
, actors
Bob Hoskins Robert William Hoskins (26 October 1942 – 29 April 2014) was an English actor and film director. Known for his intense but sensitive portrayals of "tough guy" characters, he began his career on stage before making his screen breakthrough pl ...
and
Michael Maloney Michael Maloney (born 19 June 1957) is a British actor. Life and career Born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, Maloney's first television appearance was as Peter Barkworth's teenage son in the 1979 drama series ''Telford's Change''. He made his ...
, speedway rider
Danny Ayres Daniel Stuart Ayres (16 August 1986 – 1 February 2020) was a speedway rider who rode in Great Britain. Career Ayres began his career in motocross and converted to speedway relatively late, in 2014. He rode for various teams, including Kent K ...
, television presenter
Becky Jago Rebecca Joanne Jago (née Gunton; born 20 April 1976 in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk) is an English television news presenter, currently employed by ITV Anglia. Career Jago attended Stowmarket High School from 1989 to 1994. She graduated from the U ...
, digital writer and artist Chris Joseph, author, archaeologist and television presenter John-Henry Phillips, and writer/director Adrian Tanner.
Thomas Clarkson Thomas Clarkson (28 March 1760 – 26 September 1846) was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade (also known ...
, a leading
abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...
, lived in the town for parts of his life. Though born in
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...
, actor
John Le Mesurier John Le Mesurier (, born John Elton Le Mesurier Halliley; 5 April 191215 November 1983) was an English actor. He is probably best remembered for his comedic role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC television situation com ...
grew up in the town.
Sir James Reynolds, junior Sir James Reynolds (1686–1739) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons from 1717 until 1725 when he was appointed a judge. He was Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer from 1730 to 173 ...
,
Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who pres ...
, lived in the town for much of his life and was buried in the Cathedral in 1739.
Messenger Monsey Messenger Monsey (October 1694 – 26 December 1788) was an English physician and humorist. He became physician to the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, a home for injured and elderly soldiers. Known for his eccentricity and ill manners, he is describe ...
, later physician to the
Royal Hospital Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is an Old soldiers' home, Old Soldiers' retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse — the ancient sense of the word "hospital" — by King Charles II of Eng ...
and a man notorious in London society for his bad manners, practised in Bury in the 1720s. Children's writer
A.M. Howell Ann-Marie Howell is an English children's author who writes historical mystery novels. Biography Howell lived in Nottinghamshire before studying at the University of Manchester, where she completed a BA in geography and an MA in Town Plannin ...
moved to Bury St Edmunds in 2001. Among notable people who have chosen to retire to or have second homes in Bury St Edmunds are former members of parliament and government ministers
Lord Tebbit Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit, (born 29 March 1931) is a British retired politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1981 to 1987 as Secretary of State for Employment (1981–1983), Secretary of State ...
, Sir John Wheeler, Sir
Eldon Griffiths Sir Eldon Wylie Griffiths (25 May 1925 – 3 June 2014) was a British Conservative politician and journalist. Early life Griffiths was born on 25 May 1925 in Wigan, Lancashire. His Welsh father was a police sergeant. He attended Ashton-under ...
, and former senior
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
commander, Air Marshal Sir Reginald Harland.


Bands and Musicians

Notable bands and performers from Bury St Edmunds include
Jacob's Mouse Jacob's Mouse were a three-piece indie rock band from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England, consisting of identical twins Hugo and Jebb Boothby on guitar and bass respectively, and singing drummer Sam Marsh. History The band members first got tog ...
,
Miss Black America The Miss Black America beauty contest is a competition for young African-American women. The pageant has garnered the support of artists, activists and performers including Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, and Oprah Winfrey. After 40 years, in 200 ...
, The Dawn Parade,
Kate Jackson Lucy Kate Jackson (born October 29, 1948), known professionally as Kate Jackson, is an American actress and television producer, known for her television roles as Sabrina Duncan in the series ''Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1979) and Amanda King i ...
of
The Long Blondes The Long Blondes were an English indie rock band formed in Sheffield in 2003 by Dorian Cox (lead guitar and keyboards), Reenie Hollis (real name Kathryn Hollis) (bass guitar and backing vocals), Emma Chaplin (rhythm guitar, keyboards and backin ...
, Paul Hopfensperger of The Teazers and siblings Sean and
Andi Oliver Andrea Oliver (born 26 May 1963) is a British chef, television and radio broadcaster, and former singer. She is best known for her appearances on the BBC TV cooking show ''Great British Menu''. She is the author of the book ''The Pepperpot Dia ...
of
Rip Rig + Panic To rip is the act of tearing an object. Rip may also refer to: Places * Nioro du Rip, a town in the southern Kaolack Region of Senegal * 7711 Říp, an asteroid * Rip Bridge, New South Wales Australia * Říp, a mountain in the Czech Republic ...
. Sean Oliver also performed with
Terence Trent D'Arby Sananda Francesco Maitreya (born Terence Trent Howard; March 15, 1962), who started his career with the stage name Terence Trent D'Arby, is an American singer and songwriter who came to fame with his debut studio album, '' Introducing the Hard ...
co-writing the international number 1 bestseller "
Wishing Well A wishing well is a term from European folklore to describe water well, wells where it was thought that any spoken wish would be granted. The idea that a wish would be granted came from the notion that water housed deity, deities or had ...
".


Education


Primary and secondary

State-funded
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
s that serve the town are Howard, Westgate, Hardwick, Sebert Wood, Abbot's Green, Sexton's Manor, Guildhall Feoffment, St Edmund's, St Edmundsbury and Tollgate Primary Schools. The town has four
secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
s: Bury St Edmunds County High School, King Edward VI School, St Benedict's Catholic School and Sybil Andrews Academy. In 2019 the town's first
Sixth Form College A sixth form college (pre-university college in Malaysia) is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 study typically for advanced post-school level qualifications such as GCE Advanced Level, A Levels, Business and Technology Edu ...
, Abbeygate Sixth Form College, opened. It is located on Beeton's Way. Upon its opening, King Edward VI School has closed its Sixth Form provision. The closest public school (for a period post-war, a
Direct grant grammar school A direct grant grammar school was a type of selective secondary school in the United Kingdom that existed between 1945 and 1976. One quarter of the places in these schools were directly funded by central government, while the remainder attracted ...
) to the town is
Culford School Culford School, formerly the East Anglian School for Boys, is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils age 1–18 in the village of Culford, north of Bury St Edmunds in ...
, located just north of the town in the village of
Culford Culford is a village and civil parish about north of Bury St Edmunds and north east of London in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. According to the 2011 Census the parish had a population of 578, a decrease from 620 recorded a ...
. The town has one independent preparatory school, South Lee School. The former Moreton Hall Preparatory School closed in 2020.


Higher and further

The town's largest
further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is additional education to that received at secondary school that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It ...
provider is
West Suffolk College West Suffolk College is a Further Education college in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. The college delivers a range of courses, including vocational and technical courses, apprenticeships, and an array of higher-apprenticeships and bachelor's degree ...
, with over 10,000 students studying with the college every year. The college was set to expand in September 2018, following a £7m government grant to help pay for an £8m energy, engineering and manufacturing teaching centre. From 2015, students have been able to study foundation and undergraduate degrees at the University of Suffolk at West Suffolk College.


Transport

Bury St Edmunds railway station Bury St Edmunds railway station serves the town of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England. The station is on the Ipswich–Ely line and all trains calling there are operated by Greater Anglia (train operating company), Greater Anglia. History Earl ...
serves the town, operated by
Greater Anglia Greater Anglia (legal name Transport UK East Anglia Limited) is a British train operating company owned as a joint venture by Transport UK Group and Mitsui & Co. It operates the East Anglia franchise, providing the commuter and inter-city se ...
, on the Ipswich to Ely Line. Trains run seven days a week, every two hours to Peterborough and hourly to
Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...
and
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
. Trains from
Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...
continue to Ipswich after Bury St Edmunds. Onward train connections from
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
link with
London King's Cross King's Cross railway station, also known as London King's Cross, is a passenger railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, on the edge of Central London. It is in the London station group, one of the List of busiest railway stations in ...
,
London Liverpool Street Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a major central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is ...
and
Stansted Airport Stansted Airport is an international airport serving London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Uttlesford, Essex, northeast of Central London. As London's third-busiest airport, Stan ...
, whilst
Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...
provides connections to Liverpool Street via
Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...
. The main interchange for bus and coach services for Bury St Edmunds is the bus and coach station, located on St Andrews Street North in the town centre. Bus services link the town centre with the main residential housing areas of the town. From November 2012 Sunday bus services were introduced over some of these routes. There are regular bus services to the neighbouring towns of Brandon,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, Diss, Haverhill,
Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...
, Mildenhall, Newmarket,
Stowmarket Stowmarket ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England,OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publishing Date:2008. o ...
,
Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...
and
Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road (England), A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, coverin ...
and many of the villages in between. Daily
National Express Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. Th ...
coach services between
Victoria Coach Station Victoria Coach Station in the City of Westminster is the largest bus station, coach station in London, and a bus terminus, terminus for medium and long distance Coach transport in the United Kingdom, coach services in the United Kingdom. It is ...
in London and Bury stop at the town's bus and coach station, as does the cross-country service between
Clacton-on-Sea Clacton-on-Sea, often simply called Clacton, is a seaside town and seaside resort, resort in the county of Essex, on the east coast of England. It is located on the Tendring Peninsula and is the largest settlement in the Tendring District, wi ...
and
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
which travels via Cambridge, Peterborough,
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
,
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
,
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
and
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
.


Twin towns

Bury St Edmunds is twinned with: *
Compiègne Compiègne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department of northern France. It is located on the river Oise (river), Oise, and its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois'' (). Administration Compiègne is t ...
, Oise,
Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...
, France *
Huy Huy ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. Huy lies along the river Meuse, at the mouth of the small river Hoyoux. It is in the '' sillon industriel'', the former industrial backbone of Wall ...
,
Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...
,
Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
, Belgium *
Kevelaer Kevelaer (; Low Rhenish: ''Käwela'') is a town in the district of Kleve, in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is the largest Catholic pilgrimage location within north-western Europe. Over one million Marian devotees, mostly from Germany and ...
, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany *
Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...
, Shaanxi, China


Affiliations

*
HMS Vengeance Eight ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Vengeance''. * was a 28-gun sixth rate captured from the French in 1758 and sunk as a breakwater in 1766. * was a 74-gun third rate launched in 1774. She became a prison ship in 1808 and was b ...
: Royal Navy Vanguard Class
SSBN A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. These submarines became a major weapon system in the Cold War because of their nuclear deterrence capabil ...


Literature

Bury St Edmunds is a location mentioned several times in the short ghost story
The Ash-tree "The Ash-tree" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James, included in his 1904 collection ''Ghost Stories of an Antiquary''. Plot summary In 1690, the English county of Suffolk is wracked with a fear of witches. Many women are accused of ...
by
M.R. James Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English Medieval studies, medievalist scholar and author who served as provost (education), provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936) as w ...
published in ''
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary ''Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'' is a collection of ghost stories by British writer M. R. James, published in 1904 (some had previously appeared in magazines). Some later editions under this title contain both the original collection and its su ...
'' in 1904. Author
Norah Lofts Norah Ethel Lofts (née Robinson; 27 August 190410 September 1983) was a 20th-century British writer. She also wrote under the pen names Peter Curtis and Juliet Astley. She wrote more than fifty books specialising in historical fiction, but she ...
, though born in
Shipdham Shipdham is a village and civil parish in the Breckland (district), Breckland district, in Norfolk, England, approximately south-south-west of Dereham. In the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 census the parish had a population of 2,145 in 899 ...
, Norfolk, bases many of her stories in Baildon, a fictionalised Bury St Edmunds, where she was educated and lived.


Arms


See also

* Bury St Edmunds Cross


Notes


References


External links

*
St Edmundsbury Council

Bury St Edmunds Past and Present SocietyWe Love Bury St Edmunds! Reference Gallery

"The delightful English town with a very horrible history" by Tom Ough, "Daily Telegraph" 17 February 2020"
{{Authority control Towns in Suffolk Market towns in Suffolk Towns with cathedrals in the United Kingdom Civil parishes in Suffolk Borough of St Edmundsbury Cities built on a grid