The Athenaeum is a

Grade I 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, Hi ...

building and a major venue in

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...

, England. Even before substantial rebuilding the site was used as an

Assembly Rooms In Great Britain and Ireland, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, assembly rooms were gathering places for members of the higher social classes open to members of both sexes. At that time most entertaining was done at home and there wer ...

for the town in the eighteenth century. The building was rebuilt in 1789 and further developed in 1804 under a subscription scheme established by its new owner, James Oakes.

Lord Arthur Hervey Lord Arthur Charles Hervey (20 August 1808 – 9 June 1894) was an English bishop who served as Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1869 to 1894. He was usually known by his aristocratic courtesy title, "Lord", rather than the Style (manner of address ...

founded the Athenaeum in 1853, originally operating out of

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 ...

. In 1854 the organisation moved into the former Assembly Rooms, since then the building has been known as the ''Athenaeum''. The building and its attached railings are a

Grade I listed building 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, Hi ...

References

Grade I listed buildings in Suffolk Year of establishment missing Bury St Edmunds {{Suffolk-struct-stub