England
Suffolk

St Edmundsbury Cathedral

In a sense, this oldest and most revered of Suffolk churches owes its existence to a defeat in battle. Edmund, king of the East Angles, was defeated and killed by the Danes in 869.

Edmund was buried at Hoxne, but after miracles were reported at his tomb the king was canonized, and his body was moved to the monastery of Beodricksworth, which was renamed St Edmund's Bury in his honour. King Canute later made the monastery an abbey, and Edward the Confessor reinforced its status by granting it an estate which covered large portions of modern Suffolk.

A number of smaller churches were constructed within the abbey grounds. One of these churches was the pet project of Abbot Anselm. Anselm was unable to take a pilgrimage to the shrine of St James at Compostela, Spain, and instead built a church for pilgrims to the shrine of St Edmund, and dedicated it to St James. It is this church which was to become St Edmundsbury Cathedral. Originally St James church served the residents of the north of Bury St Edmunds, as well as catering to pilgrims.

The nave of the church was rebuilt in about 1503 by John Wastell, a local mason who also worked on King's College Chapel, Cambridge and the bell tower of Canterbury Cathedral. In 1914 the church was extended and raised to cathedral status. The abbey itself was largely demolished in the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

The Landing Gallery and Cloisters host a changing exhibition of art, and a display of church plate can be seen in the Treasury above the north transept. The cathedral has benifitted from a special Millenium Project, which allowed the building of a central lantern tower in emulation of Wastell's tower at Canterbury.

Entry
Free entry, but donation requested. For entry times and dates please see the official website (below).

Contact
St Edmundsbury Cathedral
Angel Hill
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk
IP33 1LS
Tel: 08712224244
Fax: 01502 732143
website
Location map

Related:
East Anglia attractions