Bury St Edmunds Cathedral Town and Abbey, UK
Suffolk town where the Barons Vowed to get the Magna Carta Ratified
The extensive ruins of the Abbey are an interesting family day out, enough obstacles for children to climb all over, atmospheric enough to evoke the year before the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215. Here at Bury St Edmunds the misrule of King John was such that the barons came together in the Abbey Church and plotted to extract concessions from the King. On November 20th 1214 Cardinal Langton and twenty-five barons swore an oath to make King John accept these conditions, enshrined in the first ever documented Bill of Rights, the Magna Carta.
Bury St Edmunds Abbey Ruins and Cathedral
The atmospheric ruins that are visible are what remains of the Benedictine abbey founded around 1020 on the site of an earlier religious foundation. The Abbey church of St James was to become Bury St Edmunds Cathedral in the early part of the 20th century–but the building was not completed until the next century when the cathedral Tower was completed in 2005.
Abbey Gardens and the Appleby Rose Garden
The Abbey's extensive gardens are attractive, and feature a sensory garden, aviary and a rose garden with a charming story. During World War II the USAF had a base near Bury St Edmunds (now Rougham Airfield). American serviceman John T. Appleby bicycled around Suffolk on this days off and wrote a delightful book "Suffolk Summer" chronicling his travels and the people he met. The royalties from the sale of this book go to the upkeep of the Appleby Rose Garden in the Abbey Grounds–a little reminder of the extensive American presence during the war, when one out of seven Suffolk inhabitants was American service personnel.
Other Sights in Bury st Edmunds
The large church of St Mary is also part fo the Abbey Grounds and is the civic church of the town. The main part of Bury St Edmunds and pedestrianised shopping area is to the west of the Abbey ruins, reached by exiting the Abbey Gate, crossing the road and passing through the large car park. The Tourist Information Centre is located at the edge of the car park.
Incongruously marooned in the car park is Britain's first illuminated road sign, built in 1935. Nearby is a tiny public house, the Nutshell, which hosts the suspended body of a mummified cat. It was an old building tradition in Suffolk to wall the body of a cat behind a fireplace to keep the house safe from evil spirits and this macabre object was uncovered in building work. Greene King, Britain's largest brewery, is located in Bury St Edmunds.
Other Places to go in Suffolk
Lavenham, Tudor half-timbered wool town
West Stow Country Park and Reconstructed Anglo-Saxon Village
Bury St Edmunds Abbey Gate
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Bury St Edmunds Abbey Ruins
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Bury St Edmunds Cathedral
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Plaque showing Magna Carta meeting site
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First UKinternally lit road sign (Pillar of Salt)
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