Suffolk Villages & Towns – Bury St Edmunds
By Keith Sadler
Bury St Edmunds is a resplendent town. Full of rich, deep history sitting alongside all the buzz of a vibrant modern town.
Bury St Edmunds certainly lives up to its namesake. Just as Edmund was a king of East Anglia, similarly the town that takes his name is often considered first among the towns of Suffolk.
In medieval times Bury St Edmunds was home to one of the most prominent monasteries in the whole of Europe. The impressive ruins of the Benedictine Abbey now form the centre piece of the stunning Abbey Gardens.
Situated just a short walk from the town centre, the Abbey Gardens are much loved, and are visited by locals and tourists alike. Well worth a walk around. They are also an excellent place to have a picnic.
There genuinely is so much history in Bury St Edmunds that we can’t even begin to write about it all here in a short blog post. However a fantastic place to start exploring the heritage of the area is the Moyse’s Hall Museum.
Moyse’s Hall Museum is situated smack bang in the centre of the town in a lovely example of a medieval building.
It plays host to an eclectic selection of collections and exhibitions, as well as events such as themed craft workshops for all ages and historical talks and lectures.
As well as containing all that history, the town also has all the wonderful shops, cafes, bars and pubs one would expect from a large and lively modern English town.
And if it’s culture you’re looking for then Bury St Edmunds has stacks of that too. The town has many wonderful venues of all sizes. Two of which are the Apex and The Theatre Royal.
The Apex is a superbly designed modern concert hall that fully deserves its status as a prominent venue hosting some of the top acts from around the world.
The Theatre Royal is the last surviving Regency playhouse. It is in the hands of the National Trust (the only Theatre in their portfolio) and is well worth a visit for the architecture alone. Not to mention all the great shows they put on!
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