Bury St Edmunds Abbey — Attraction in West Suffolk

The Abbey of Bury St Edmunds is the burial place of Anglo-Saxon martyr-king, St Edmund, killed by the “Great Heathen Army” of Scandinavian warriors in 869. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Annales Bertiniani, the “Great Heathen Army” formed in 865 after years of increasingly large raids since the Viking raid of Lindisfarne in 793. The three thousand strong force were over-wintering near Thetford when King Edmund of East Anglia attacked them. It is unclear if Edmund was killed in the battle or murdered after but the legend goes that Edmund was tied to an oak tree and shot with many Viking arrows. He was beheaded by a wolf appeared and guarded his severed head until Edmund’s allies arrived. Edmund's remains were moved in the early 10th century to Beodricsworth, afterwards known as St Edmundsbury, but the site had been a religious settlement for several centuries before. Lands were granted to the Benedictine monks of St Edmundsbury by King Canute in 1020 and the abbey became a popular pilgrimage destination for the cult of St Edmund. The Abbey grew in size and wealth through the 11th and 12th centuries. There were three breweries in the precinct and monks were entitled to eight pints a day. The Abbey was destroyed completely in 1327 during the Great Riot where local peasants revolted against the wealth of the monastery. It was rebuilt but a variety of other misfortunes befell the monastery in the following centuries prior to the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. The ruins of the abbey are much decayed by time and mining by locals after building materials and there isn’t so much to see. The 14th century Abbey Gate and 12th century Norman Gate remain in excellent condition as does the 12th century Church of St Mary at the corner of the...

There is something magical about this place. I can’t walk through the ruins without getting a tangible sense of the folk who walked through the Abbey in it heyday and there is still a beauty in the ‘jagged teeth’ which remain. If you are lucky, you might catch a glimpse of actors, promoting their latest performance in the town while you are almost certain to see bridal parties who use the gardens as a setting for their photos.

The actual gardens are meticulously maintained by a team of gardeners who are always happy to talk to you about the plants they tend. For the children, there is a play area, an aviary and a bowling green with mini golf and boules to hire and ice creams at the cafe as well as open access to the ruins where barons met eight hundred years ago to discuss their grievances with King John which would lead to the signing of the Magna Carta the following year.

Feeling peckish? There is a small cafe in the grounds for light refreshments as well as The Refectory at The Cathedral which lies within the Abbey walls. Alternatively, pop into the town, just a five minute walk away, where you can buy food for an impromptu picnic from one of the indie cafes offering takeaways or a sandwich from one of the chains.

Enjoy your visit. I will probably be sitting on one of the benches, perhaps with some knitting, watching the world go by. Did I mention that it’s the perfect place for people and...

The abbey was actually a Saxon foundation rather than Norman and housed the remains of St Edmund, martyred by the Vikings in 869AD. Edward the Confessor expanded the abbey and the Normans developed it further, making it one of the richest and largest in the country. This made it a primary target for Henry VIII and very little remains of it now. The gatehouse is a restoration/rebuild of the Victorian era and the West front of the abbey has been incorporated into a row of houses. Other than that there is an excavated crypt and various bits of flint wall but little of the splendour that must have existed at one time.

The abbey is now set in the town park and was lovely to walk around the gardens. There were a few information boards too and we spent about an hour and a half walking around the park before heading back to the hotel and checking out. The town of Bury St Edmunds was a very pleasant market town and warranted a longer visit in itself,...