View source for Bury St Edmunds

{{Short description|Town in Suffolk, England}}
{{About|the town}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox UK place
| static_image_name = {{multiple images
| image1 = Bury St Edmunds Abbey (44231403370).jpg
<!--please crop me at the top and bottom-->
| image2 = St Edmundsbury Cathedral - geograph.org.uk - 5661876.jpg 
| image3 = Bury St Edmunds, Abbeygate Street - geograph.org.uk - 4329023.jpg
| image4 = Abbey Gate, Bury St Edmunds - geograph.org.uk - 4287691.jpg 
| image5 = St Mary, Bury St Edmunds - geograph.org.uk - 5535399.jpg
|align = center |total_width = 250|perrow=1 2
}}
| static_image_caption = Clockwise from top: Bury aerial view, Abbeygate Street, [[St Mary's Church, Bury St Edmunds|St Mary's Church]], [[Bury Abbey|Abbeygate]] and [[St Edmundsbury Cathedral|Cathedral]]
| country = England
| coordinates = {{coord|52.2474|0.7183|display=inline,title}}
| official_name = Bury St Edmunds
| population = 41,700
| population_ref = (Parish, 2022)<ref name=2022census>{{cite web |title=2022 Census Parish Population Estimate|url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/customprofiles/build/#E04012710|website=ONS|publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=4 August 2025}} (To get individual parish data, use the query function on table PP002.)</ref><br>{{nowrap|41,280 (Built up area, 2021)<ref name=bua>{{cite web |title=Towns and cities, characteristics of built-up areas, England and Wales: Census 2021 |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/articles/townsandcitiescharacteristicsofbuiltupareasenglandandwales/census2021 |website=Census 2021 |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=8 August 2023}}</ref>}}
| civil_parish = Bury St Edmunds
| shire_district = [[West Suffolk (district)|West Suffolk]]
| region = East of England
| shire_county = [[Suffolk]]
| constituency_westminster = [[Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (UK Parliament constituency)|Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket]]
| post_town = BURY ST. EDMUNDS
| postcode_district = IP32, IP33
| postcode_area = IP
| dial_code = 01284
| os_grid_reference = TL855645
| type = [[Town]] and [[civil parish]]
}}
'''Bury St Edmunds''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ɛr|i|_|s|ə|n|t|_|ˈ|ɛ|d|m|ən|d|z}}), 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.<ref name=EX211>OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: {{gaps|1:25|000}}. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publishing Date:2008. {{ISBN|978 0319240519}}</ref> The town is best known for [[Bury St Edmunds Abbey]] and [[St Edmundsbury Cathedral]]. Bury is the seat of the [[Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich]] of the [[Church of England]], with the [[episcopal see]] at [[St Edmundsbury Cathedral]]. The town, originally called Beodericsworth,<ref>{{Cite web|title = Magna Carta 800 – Bury St Edmunds|url = http://magnacarta800.org.uk/blogpart3.html|website = magnacarta800.org.uk|access-date = 22 September 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150923061830/http://magnacarta800.org.uk/blogpart3.html|archive-date = 23 September 2015|url-status = dead|df = dmy-all}}</ref> was built on a grid pattern by Abbot Baldwin around 1080.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Our Bury St. Edmunds|url = http://www.ourburystedmunds.com/bid-home|website = www.ourburystedmunds.com|access-date = 22 September 2015|archive-date = 23 April 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190423211918/http://www.ourburystedmunds.com/bid-home|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=St Edmundsbury Local History - St Edmundsbury from 1066 to 1216|url=http://www.stedmundsburychronicle.co.uk/Chronicle/1066-1216.htm|access-date=18 May 2021|website=www.stedmundsburychronicle.co.uk|archive-date=18 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518100205/http://www.stedmundsburychronicle.co.uk/Chronicle/1066-1216.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> It is known for brewing and malting ([[Greene King]] brewery)<ref>{{Cite web|title = Greene King – Beers & breweries – Our breweries – Greene King Brewery|url = http://www.greeneking.co.uk/index.asp?pageid=10|website = www.greeneking.co.uk|access-date = 22 September 2015|archive-date = 11 June 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160611125914/http://www.greeneking.co.uk/index.asp?pageid=10|url-status = live}}</ref> and for a [[British Sugar]] processing factory, where Silver Spoon sugar is produced. The town is the cultural and retail centre for West Suffolk and tourism is a major part of the economy. The built up area had a population of 41,280 at the [[2021 United Kingdom census|2021 census]].

==Etymology==
The name ''Bury'' is [[etymological]]ly connected with ''[[borough]]'',<ref>{{cite web
 | last = Dictionary
 | first = reference
 | title = Borough
 | url = http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Boroughs
 | access-date = 15 September 2010
 | archive-date = 1 September 2010
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100901172709/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/boroughs
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref> which has [[cognate]]s in other [[Germanic languages]] such as German {{lang|de|Burg}} 'fortress, castle' and {{lang|de|Bereich}} '(defined) area' [[Old Norse language|Old Norse]] {{lang|non|borg}} 'wall, castle'; and [[Gothic language|Gothic]] {{lang|got|baurg}} 'city'.<ref>{{cite web
 | last = dorothea
 | first = david
 | title = Gothic Lessons: An Introduction
 | url = http://members.terracom.net/~dorothea/david/gothic/intro.html
 | access-date = 15 September 2010
| url-status = dead
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040109131448/http://members.terracom.net/~dorothea/david/gothic/intro.html
 | archive-date = 9 January 2004
| df = dmy-all
 }}</ref> They all derive from [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] {{lang|gem-x-proto|*burgs}} 'fortress'. This in turn derives from the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] root {{lang|ine-x-proto|bhrgh}} 'fortified elevation', with cognates including [[Welsh language|Welsh]] ''{{lang|cy|bera}}'' 'stack' and [[Sanskrit]] ''{{lang|sa|bhrant}}-'' 'high, elevated building'. In [[Medieval Latin]] it was known as {{lang|la|Burgum Sancti Edmundi}} (also spelled ''Aedmundi'').<ref>Memorials of St. Edmund's abbey: Annales Sancti Edmundi. Electio Hugonis abbatis. Epist. Roberti abbatis de Thorneye. La vie Seint Edmund, by Denis Piramus. Electio Symonis abbatis. Processus contra fratres minores, qualiter expulsi erant de villa Sancti Edmundi. Gesta sacristarum. Electio Thomæ abbatis. Deprædatio abbatiæ Sancti Edmundi. Appendix A, B. (1892:266). United Kingdom: H.M. Stationery Office.</ref><ref>Monumenta Germaniae historica inde ab anno Christi quingentesimo usque ad annum millesimum et quingentesimum: Scriptorum. (1964:427). Germany: Impensis Bibliopolii Aulici Hahniani.</ref> In the [[Anglo-Saxon]] period the town was called ''Bedricesweord''<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last= Blair |first= John |title=Bury St Edmunds (Suffolk)(''Bedricesweord'') |page=80|year=2014|editor1-first= Michael|editor1-last= Lapidge|editor2-first= John|editor2-last= Blair|editor3-first= Simon|editor3-last= Keynes |editor4-first= Donald|editor4-last= Scragg |encyclopedia=The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England|edition=2nd| publisher= Wiley Blackwell |location=Chichester, West Sussex |isbn=978-0-470-65632-7}}</ref> or ''Bedericesworth''.<ref>{{cite book| last=Keynes |first=Simon |chapter=The Burial of King Æthelred the Unready at St Paul's|page=138 |title=The English and their Legacy, 900-1200: Essays in Honour of Ann Williams|editor-first=David|editor-last=Roffe |publisher=The Boydell Press |location =Woodbridge, UK |year=2012|isbn=978-1-84383-794-7}}</ref>

The second section of the name refers to [[Edmund the Martyr|Edmund]], King of the [[Kingdom of the East Angles|East Angles]], called Edmund the Martyr, who was killed by the [[Great Heathen Army|Vikings]] in the year 869. He became venerated as a saint and a martyr, and his shrine made Bury St Edmunds an important place of pilgrimage.

The formal name of the diocese is "St Edmundsbury", and the town is colloquially known as Bury.

==History==
[[File:Arms of Bury.jpg|thumb|alt=medieval arms of Bury |Illumination of the [[Coat of arms|arms]] of Bury St Edmunds ([[British Library]])]]
An archaeological study in the 2010s on the outskirts of Bury St Edmunds uncovered evidence of Bronze Age activity in the area. The dig also uncovered [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] coins from the first and second centuries.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/prehistoric-remains-uncovered-by-archaeologists-in-bury-st-edmunds-1-5302606|title=Prehistoric remains uncovered by archaeologists in Bury St Edmunds|work=East Anglian Daily Times|date=30 November 2017|access-date=9 February 2018|archive-date=9 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209182328/http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/prehistoric-remains-uncovered-by-archaeologists-in-bury-st-edmunds-1-5302606|url-status=live}}</ref> Samuel Lewis, writing in 1848, notes the earlier discovery of Roman antiquities, and as with several other writers connects Bury St Edmunds with ''Villa Faustini'' or ''Villa Faustina'', although the location of this Roman site is also discussed by [[Edmund Gillingwater|E. Gillingwater]] (1804), who notes the lack of evidence for it being here.<ref name=Lewis1848>{{cite book|section=Burton-upon-Trent – Bushey|title=A Topographical Dictionary of England|editor=Samuel Lewis|location=London|year=1848|pages=452–460|via=British History Online|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp452-460|access-date=9 February 2018|archive-date=9 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209182451/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp452-460|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oj8QAAAAYAAJ|title=A Guide to the Town, Abbey and Antiquities of Bury St. Edmunds…|author=J. Deck|year=1821|page=2|access-date=9 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bG1HAAAAYAAJ|title=An Historical and Descriptive Account of St. Edmund's Bury, in the County of Suffolk…|author=Edmund Gillingwater|publisher=J. Rackham|year=1804|pages=3–6|access-date=9 February 2018}}</ref>

The town was one of the royal boroughs of the [[Saxons]].<ref name="Lewis1848"/> [[Sigeberht of East Anglia|Sigebert]], king of the [[Kingdom of the East Angles|East Angles]], founded [[Beodricesworth monastery]] here about 633, which in 924<ref>{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=Francis |title=Edmund: In Search of England's Lost King |date=2018 |publisher=Bloomsbury |location=London |isbn=978-17867-3-361-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wBOMDwAAQBAJ |p=75}}</ref> became the burial place of King Edmund the Martyr, who was slain by the [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danes]] in 869, and owed most of its early celebrity to the reputed miracles performed at the shrine of the martyr king. The town grew around [[Bury St Edmunds Abbey]], a site of [[pilgrimage]].

In 942 or 945, King [[Edmund I]] had granted to the [[abbot]] and [[convent]] jurisdiction over the whole town, free from all secular services, and [[Canute the Great|Canute]] in 1020 freed it from episcopal control. Later, [[Edward the Confessor]] made the abbot lord of the franchise. The older monastery was destroyed and, the secular priests having been expelled, a new [[Benedictine]] abbey was built.<ref name=britannica>{{cite book|title=Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition|volume=4|page=868}}</ref> Count [[Alan Rufus]] is said to have been interred at Bury St Edmunds Abbey in 1093. In the 12th and 13th centuries the head of the [[de Hastings family]], who held the [[Lordship of the Manor]] of [[Ashill in Norfolk]], was hereditary [[Steward (office)|Steward]] of this abbey.<ref>Richardson, Douglas, ''Magna Carta Ancestry'', Baltimore, Md., 2005, p.297.</ref>[[File:Moyses Hall Bury St Edmunds early view.jpg|thumb|left|Early view of [[Moyse's Hall]], today Moyse's Hall Museum]]

The town was for a time the home of a thriving Jewish community, and it is likely, although not certain, that [[Moyse's Hall]] belonged to a Jewish merchant.<ref name=Samuel>{{cite journal |last1=Samuel |first1=Edgar R. |title=Was Moyse's Hall, Bury St. Edmunds, a Jew's House? |journal=Transactions & Miscellanies |date=1973 |volume=25 |pages=43–47 |publisher=Jewish Historical Society of England|jstor=29778836}}</ref> On 18 March 1190, two days after the more well-known massacre of Jews at [[York Castle|Clifford Tower]] in [[York]], the people of Bury St Edmunds massacred 57 Jews.<ref>Hillaby, Joe. "Jewish Colonisation in the Twelfth Century," in The Jews in Medieval Britain: Historical, Literary, and Archaeological Perspectives, ed. Patricia Skinner (Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press, 2003), p. 31.</ref><ref>Roth, Cecil. A History of the Jews in England (Oxford: Clarendon, 1978).</ref> Later that year, [[Samson of Tottington|Abbot Samson]] successfully petitioned [[King Richard I]] for permission to evict the town's remaining Jewish inhabitants "on the grounds that everything in the town... belonged by right to St Edmund: therefore, either the Jews should be St Edmund's men or they should be banished from the town."<ref name="Jocelin">Jocelin of Brakelond, Chronicle of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds, trans. Diana Greenway and Jane Sayers (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1989)</ref> This expulsion predates the [[Edict of Expulsion]] by 100 years. In 1198, a fire burned the shrine of St Edmund, leading to the inspection of his corpse by [[Samson of Tottington|Abbot Samson]] and the translation of St Edmund's body to a new location in the [[Bury St Edmunds Abbey|abbey]].<ref name="Jocelin" />

The town is associated with [[Magna Carta]]. In 1214 the [[baron#Barons in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth|barons of England]] are believed to have met in the abbey church and sworn to force [[John of England|King John]] to accept the [[Charter of Liberties]], the document which influenced the creation of Magna Carta,<ref name="britannica" /> a copy of which was displayed in the town's cathedral during the 2014 celebrations. By various grants from the abbots, the town gradually attained the rank of a [[borough]].

[[Henry III of England|Henry III]] in 1235 granted to the abbot two annual fairs, one in December and the other the great [[St Matthew]]'s fair, which was abolished by the [[Fairs Act of 1871]].<ref name="britannica" /> In 1327, the Great Riot occurred, in which the local populace led an armed revolt against the abbey.<ref name="Stathambook">{{cite book |title= The Book of Bury St Edmunds |last= Statham|first= Margaret|year= 1988|publisher= Barracuda Books|location= Buckingham, England|isbn= 0-86023-405-3|pages= 12–13}}</ref> The riot destroyed the main gate, and a new, fortified gate was built in its stead.<ref name="Stathambook" /> On 11 April 1608 a ''great fire'' broke out in Eastgate Street, which resulted in 160 dwellings and 400 outhouses being destroyed.<ref name="Stathambook" />
[[File:Warren's map of Bury St Edmunds Suffolk.jpg|thumb|[[Thomas Warren]]'s map of Bury St Edmunds, 1776]]
The town developed into a flourishing cloth-making town, with a large [[wool]]len trade, by the 14th century.<ref name="Stathambook" /> In 1405 [[Henry IV of England|Henry IV]] granted another fair.<ref name="britannica" />

[[Elizabeth I]] in 1562 confirmed the charters which former kings had granted to the abbots. The reversion of the fairs and two markets on Wednesday and Saturday were granted by James I in fee farm to the corporation. [[James I of England|James I]] in 1606 granted a charter of incorporation with an annual fair in Easter week and a market. James granted further charters in 1608 and 1614, as did [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] in 1668 and 1684.<ref name="britannica" />

Parliaments were held in the borough in 1272, 1296 and 1446, but the borough was not represented until 1608, when James I conferred on it the privilege of sending two members.<ref name="britannica" /> The [[Redistribution of Seats Act 1885]] reduced the representation to one.<ref name="britannica" />

The borough of Bury St Edmunds and the surrounding area, like much of [[East Anglia]], being part of the [[Eastern Association]], supported [[Puritan]] sentiment during the first half of the 17th century. By 1640, several families had departed for the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] as part of the wave of emigration that occurred during the [[Great Migration (Puritan)|Great Migration]].<ref>Thompson, Roger, ''Mobility & Migration, East Anglian Founders of New England, 1629–1640'', Amherst: [[University of Massachusetts Press]], 1994.</ref> Bury's ancient grammar school also educated such notables as the puritan theologian [[Richard Sibbes]], master of St Catherine's Hall in [[Cambridge]], antiquary and politician [[Simonds d'Ewes]], and [[John Winthrop the Younger]],<ref>Thompson, Roger, ''Mobility & Migration, East Anglian Founders of New England, 1629–1640'', Amherst: [[University of Massachusetts Press]], 1994, 18.</ref> who became governor of Connecticut.

The town was the setting for [[Bury St. Edmunds witch trials|witch trials]] between 1599 and 1694.<ref name="Notestein">[[Wallace Notestein|Notestein, Wallace]] ''A History of Witchcraft in England from 1558 to 1718'', American Historical Association 1911 (reissued 1965) New York Russell & Russell,{{OCLC|223043}}</ref>
[[File:Abbey gate Bury St Edmunds Abbey.jpg|thumb|left|View of gate, Bury St Edmunds Abbey, c. 1920]]

===Modern history===
The population had reached 12,538 by 1841.<ref>''The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge, Vol.III'', London, John Knight, 1847, p.960</ref>

A permanent military presence was established in the town with the completion of the [[King's Road drill hall|Militia Barracks]] in 1857<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101022574-numbers-37-38-and-39-and-attached-walls-bury-st-edmunds#.Wi1gukpl8dU|title=Numbers 37, 38 and 39 and Attached Walls|publisher=British listed buildings|access-date=10 December 2017|archive-date=11 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211053234/https://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101022574-numbers-37-38-and-39-and-attached-walls-bury-st-edmunds#.Wi1gukpl8dU|url-status=live}}</ref> and of [[Gibraltar Barracks, Bury St Edmunds|Gibraltar Barracks]] in 1878.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.s234171324.websitehome.co.uk/saunders/the_suffolks.htm|title=History of the Suffolk Regiment|access-date=18 April 2014|archive-date=19 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719095106/http://www.s234171324.websitehome.co.uk/saunders/the_suffolks.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the [[Second World War]], the [[United States Army Air Forces|USAAF]] used [[Rougham Airfield]] outside the town.<ref>{{cite web
 | work = [[St Edmundsbury (borough)|St Edmundsbury Borough Council]]
 | title = America in Suffolk
 | url = http://www.stedmundsbury.gov.uk/sebc/visit/suffolk-america.cfm
 | access-date = 30 December 2007
 | archive-date = 9 November 2007
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071109120512/http://www.stedmundsbury.gov.uk/sebc/visit/suffolk-america.cfm
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref>

On 3 March 1974 a [[Turkish Airlines]] [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10|DC10]] jet [[Turkish Airlines Flight 981|Flight 981]] crashed near Paris killing all 346 people on board. Among the victims were 17 members of [[Bury St Edmunds RUFC|Bury St Edmunds Rugby Football Club]], returning from France.<ref>{{cite news
 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/3/newsid_2514000/2514823.stm
 | title=On This Day, 3 March – 1974: Turkish jet crashes killing 345
 | work=[[BBC News Online]]
 | access-date=24 July 2008
 | date=3 March 1974
 | archive-date=7 April 2008
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080407052824/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/3/newsid_2514000/2514823.stm
 | url-status=live
 }}</ref>

==Notable features==
Near the abbey gardens stands Britain's first internally illuminated street sign, the [[Pillar of Salt (road sign)|Pillar of Salt]], which was built in 1935. The sign is at the terminus of the [[A1101 road|A1101]], Great Britain's lowest road which is mostly below sea level.

There is a network of tunnels which are evidence of [[chalk]]-workings,<ref>{{cite web
 | publisher = [[English Nature]]
 | url = http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003555.pdf
 | title = The Glen Chalk Caves, Bury St Edmunds
 | access-date = 22 January 2008
 | archive-date = 29 February 2008
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080229174727/http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003555.pdf
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref> though there is no evidence of extensive tunnels under the town centre. Some buildings have inter-communicating cellars. Due to their unsafe nature the chalk-workings are not open to the public, although viewing has been granted to individuals. Some have caused [[subsidence]] within living memory, for instance at Jacqueline Close.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1978/nov/29/housing-subsidence |title=HOUSING SUBSIDENCE |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=29 November 1978 |access-date=12 October 2013 |archive-date=15 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015060911/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1978/nov/29/housing-subsidence |url-status=live }}</ref>

Among noteworthy buildings is [[St Mary's Church, Bury St Edmunds]], where [[Mary Tudor, Queen of France]] and sister of [[Tudor dynasty|Tudor]] king [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]], was re-buried, six years after her death, having been moved from the abbey after her brother's [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]]. [[Queen Victoria]] had a [[stained glass window]] fitted into the church to commemorate Mary's interment.<ref>{{cite web
 | last = Knott
 | first = Simon
 | title = Suffolk Churches
 | url=http://www.simonknott.co.uk/suffolkchurches/burymary.htm
 | access-date = 30 December 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071203124850/http://www.simonknott.co.uk/suffolkchurches/burymary.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 3 December 2007}}</ref> [[Moreton Hall (Suffolk)|Moreton Hall]], a [[Listed building|Grade II*listed building]] by [[Robert Adam]], houses the now-closed Moreton Hall Preparatory School.<ref name="BLB">British Listed Buildings. [http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-466967-moreton-hall-school-bury-st-edmunds Moreton Hall School, Bury St Edmund's] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028063703/http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-466967-moreton-hall-school-bury-st-edmunds |date=28 October 2011 }} (English Heritage Building ID: 466967)</ref> [[Bury St Edmunds Guildhall]] dates back to the late 12th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thepilgrimtrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/budget1459.pdf|title=An Appeal for the Guildhall, Bury St Edmunds|publisher=The Pilgrim Trust|access-date=24 August 2019|archive-date=24 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824220357/https://www.thepilgrimtrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/budget1459.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Bury St Edmunds has one of the full-time fire stations run by [[Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service]]. Originally located in the Traverse (now the Halifax bank),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/runninginsuffolk/1107130879/in/pool-50views |title=Old Fire Station Bury St Edmunds Suffolk &#124; Flickr – Photo Sharing! |publisher=Flickr |date=16 March 2007 |access-date=10 January 2014 |archive-date=29 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629142010/http://www.flickr.com/photos/runninginsuffolk/1107130879/in/pool-50views |url-status=live }}</ref> it moved to Fornham Road in 1953. The Fornham Road site (now Mermaid Close) closed in 1987 and the fire station moved to its current location on Parkway North.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/40382097@N05/3836748422/ |title=Suffolk F&RS – Bury St Edmunds Fire Station &#124; Flickr – Photo Sharing! |publisher=Flickr |date=20 August 2009 |access-date=10 January 2014 |archive-date=21 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021110014/http://www.flickr.com/photos/40382097@N05/3836748422/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Since March 2015, Bury St Edmunds has been the home town of the London and South East Regional Divorce Unit<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.find-court-tribunal.service.gov.uk/courts/bury-st-edmunds-regional-divorce-centre | title=Bury St Edmunds Regional Divorce Centre - Find a Court or Tribunal - GOV.UK |website= |access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref> and the Maintenance Enforcement Business Centre (for issues with maintenance payments outside Greater London).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.gov.uk/child-maintenance-if-one-parent-lives-abroad/other-partner-lives-abroad | title=Child maintenance if a parent lives abroad |website= |access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thelawpages.com/magistrates-county-crown-court/Maintenance-Enforcement-Business-Centre-(England)-906.html | title=Maintenance Enforcement Business Centre (England) Contact Details, Email, Cases, Daily & Archive Hearing List Records |website= |access-date=17 November 2025}}</ref> The former processes divorce documents from across London and South East England as one of five centralised units covering the United Kingdom. Both units are based with Bury St Edmunds County Court in Triton House, St Andrews Street North.

==Geography==
Bury is located in the middle of an undulating area of East Anglia known as the East Anglian Heights, with land to the east and west of the town rising to above {{convert|100|m|ft}}, though parts of the town itself are as low as {{convert|30|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}} above sea level where the Rivers [[River Lark|Lark]] and Linnet pass through it.

===Climate===
There are two [[Met Office]] reporting stations in the vicinity of Bury St Edmunds, Brooms Barn (elevation {{convert|76|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}}), {{convert|6+1/2|mi|km|0|abbr=off}} west of the town centre, and Honington (elevation {{convert|51|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}}), about {{convert|6+1/2|mi|km|0|abbr=on}} north. According to Usman Majeed, head of Honington, the latter ceased weather observations in 2003, while Brooms Barn remains operational. Brooms Barn's record maximum temperature stands at {{convert|38.1|C|F}}, recorded in July 2022.<ref>https://www.roostweather.com/ukobs/temp_station_extreme_map.php {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2025}}</ref> The lowest recent temperature was {{convert|−10.0|C|F}}<ref>{{cite news
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/dec/20/winter-weather-coldest-places-britain
|title=Winter weather: the coldest places in Britain
|access-date=23 February 2011
|location=London
|work=The Guardian
|date=21 December 2010
|archive-date=9 January 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109144858/https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/dec/20/winter-weather-coldest-places-britain
|url-status=live
}}</ref> during December 2010.

Rainfall is generally low, at just over {{convert|600|mm|in|abbr=on}}, and spread fairly evenly throughout the year.

{{Weather box|width=auto
|metric first=y
|single line=y 
|collapsed = Y
|location =  [[Broom's Barn Experimental Station|Brooms Barn]],{{efn|Weather station is located {{convert|6.0|mi|1|abbr=out}} from the Bury St Edmunds town centre.}} (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1964–present)
|Jan record high C = 15.4
|Feb record high C = 18.3
|Mar record high C = 23.9
|Apr record high C = 26.9
|May record high C = 28.0
|Jun record high C = 33.3
|Jul record high C = 38.1
|Aug record high C = 36.7
|Sep record high C = 32.4
|Oct record high C = 28.9
|Nov record high C = 17.8
|Dec record high C = 15.6
|Jan record low C = -12.5
|Feb record low C = -10.0
|Mar record low C = -10.0
|Apr record low C = -5.4
|May record low C = -1.3
|Jun record low C = 0.2
|Jul record low C = 3.9
|Aug record low C = 5.0
|Sep record low C = 0.6
|Oct record low C = -2.5
|Nov record low C = -7.5
|Dec record low C = -11.0
|Jan high C = 7.1
|Feb high C = 7.7
|Mar high C = 10.5
|Apr high C = 13.8
|May high C = 17.0
|Jun high C = 19.9
|Jul high C = 22.6
|Aug high C = 22.3
|Sep high C = 19.1
|Oct high C = 14.7
|Nov high C = 10.3
|Dec high C = 7.5
|year high C = 
|Jan mean C = 4.5
|Feb mean C = 4.8
|Mar mean C = 6.9
|Apr mean C = 9.3
|May mean C = 12.3
|Jun mean C = 15.2
|Jul mean C = 17.7
|Aug mean C = 17.5
|Sep mean C = 14.9
|Oct mean C = 11.3
|Nov mean C = 7.5
|Dec mean C = 4.9
| year mean C = 
|Jan low C = 1.9
|Feb low C = 1.8
|Mar low C = 3.2
|Apr low C = 4.8
|May low C = 7.6
|Jun low C = 10.5
|Jul low C = 12.7
|Aug low C = 12.7
|Sep low C = 10.6
|Oct low C = 7.9
|Nov low C = 4.6
|Dec low C = 2.3
|year low C = 
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 51.6
|Feb precipitation mm = 41.7
|Mar precipitation mm = 39.8
|Apr precipitation mm = 40.0
|May precipitation mm = 48.3
|Jun precipitation mm = 56.9
|Jul precipitation mm = 54.6
|Aug precipitation mm = 65.7
|Sep precipitation mm = 49.9
|Oct precipitation mm = 61.0
|Nov precipitation mm = 60.2
|Dec precipitation mm = 57.6
|year precipitation mm = 627.3
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 10.9
| Feb precipitation days = 10.0
| Mar precipitation days = 9.2
| Apr precipitation days = 8.7
| May precipitation days = 8.0
| Jun precipitation days = 9.1
| Jul precipitation days = 9.0
| Aug precipitation days = 9.6
| Sep precipitation days = 8.6
| Oct precipitation days = 10.5
| Nov precipitation days = 11.6
| Dec precipitation days = 11.5
| year precipitation days =116.8
|year rain days= 
|Jan sun = 62.2
|Feb sun = 76.4
|Mar sun = 121.3
|Apr sun = 170.5
|May sun = 207.6
|Jun sun = 198.1
|Jul sun = 208.1
|Aug sun = 194.6
|Sep sun = 152.4
|Oct sun = 114.5
|Nov sun = 70.0
|Dec sun = 57.5
|year sun = 
|source 1 = Met Office<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-climate-averages/u123kcwkd
|title = Brooms Barn 1991–2020 averages
|access-date = 26 February 2022
|publisher = Met Office
|archive-date = 26 February 2022
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220226172631/https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-climate-averages/u123kcwkd
|url-status = live
}}</ref>
| source 2 = Starlings Roost Weather<ref>{{cite web
|url= http://starlingsroost.ddns.net/weather/ukobs/temp_month_record_tmax_map.php
|title= Monthly Extreme Maximum Temperature, Monthly Extreme Minimum Temperature
|publisher= Starlings Roost Weather
|access-date= 16 December 2024
|archive-date= 1 February 2023
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230201173843/http://starlingsroost.ddns.net/weather/ukobs/temp_month_record_tmax_map.php
|url-status= dead
}}</ref>
}}

==Religion==
[[File:St edmundsbury cathedral.jpg|thumb|300px|[[St Edmundsbury Cathedral]] from the east]]
The town has a Christian heritage dating back to the foundation of the abbey in 1020. Today there are many active churches in the town.

===Abbey===
{{Main|Bury St Edmunds Abbey}}
In the centre of Bury St Edmunds lie the remains of an [[abbey]], surrounded by the abbey gardens. The abbey is a [[shrine]] to [[Edmund the Martyr|Saint Edmund]], the [[Kings of East Anglia|Saxon King of the East Angles]]. The abbey was sacked by the townspeople in the 14th century and then largely destroyed during the 16th century with the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]], but the town remained prosperous throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, only falling into relative decline with the [[Industrial Revolution]].

=== Anglican Churches ===
Until the building of St John's in 1840, the town had just two parishes, St James's and St Mary's.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Suffolk Churches|url=http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/buryjohn.html|access-date=30 September 2021|website=www.suffolkchurches.co.uk|archive-date=30 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930162708/http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/buryjohn.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The former has now become the cathedral. The town now has seven [[Anglican Communion|Anglican churches]] in six parishes, St Peter's being in the same parish as St Mary's.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Parish boundaries|url=http://www.wearechurch.net/admin/parish-boundaries/|access-date=30 September 2021|website=St. Mary's with St. Peter's|archive-date=30 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930162708/http://www.wearechurch.net/admin/parish-boundaries/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Cathedral====
{{Main|St Edmundsbury Cathedral}}
St James' parish church became [[St Edmundsbury Cathedral]] when the [[Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich]] was formed in 1914. The cathedral was extended with an eastern end in the 1960s. A new Gothic revival cathedral tower was built as part of a Millennium project running from 2000 to 2005. The opening for the tower took place in July 2005, and included a [[brass band]] concert and fireworks. Parts of the cathedral remain uncompleted, including the [[cloisters]]. The tower makes St Edmundsbury the most recently completed Anglican cathedral in the UK, and was constructed using original fabrication techniques by six masons who placed the machine-cut stones individually as they arrived.

====St Mary's Church====
{{Main|St Mary's Church, Bury St Edmunds}}
St Mary's Church is the civic church of Bury St Edmunds and the third largest parish church in England. It was part of the abbey complex and originally was one of three large churches in the town (the others being St James, now St Edmundsbury Cathedral, and St Margaret's, now gone). It is renowned for its magnificent [[Hammerbeam roof|hammer-beam]] "angel" roof, and is the final resting place of [[Mary Tudor, Queen of France]], [[Duchess of Suffolk]] and favourite sister of [[Henry VIII]]. St Mary's is also home to the Chapel of the [[Suffolk Regiment|Suffolk]] and [[Royal Anglian Regiment]]s.

The town has other Anglican churches:

* All Saints, Park Road; built 1953<ref>{{Cite web|title=ALL SAINTS|url=https://www.northburychurches.org.uk/all-saints|access-date=30 September 2021|website=northbury-churches|language=en|archive-date=30 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930162708/https://www.northburychurches.org.uk/all-saints|url-status=live}}</ref>
*Christ Church, Moreton Hall; founded 1983, built 1993<ref>{{Cite web|title=Christ Church Moreton Hall : History|url=https://www.ccmh.org.uk/Groups/297065/History.aspx|access-date=30 September 2021|website=www.ccmh.org.uk|archive-date=30 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930162709/https://www.ccmh.org.uk/Groups/297065/History.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>
* St George, Anselm Avenue; built 1951<ref>{{Cite web|title=ST GEORGE'S|url=https://www.northburychurches.org.uk/st-georges|access-date=30 September 2021|website=northbury-churches|language=en|archive-date=30 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930162708/https://www.northburychurches.org.uk/st-georges|url-status=live}}</ref>
* St John, St John's Street, built 1840<ref name=":0" />
* St Peter, Hospital Road (district church; daughter church of St Mary's); built 1856-58<ref>{{Cite web|title=Our History|url=https://stpetersbse.uk/Groups/278095/Our_History.aspx|url-status=live|website=St Peter's, Bury St Edmunds|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923190047/https://stpetersbse.uk/Groups/278095/Our_History.aspx |archive-date=23 September 2019 }}</ref>

=== Non-Conformist Churches and chapels ===

* Baptist Church, Garland Street<ref>{{Cite web|title=About|url=https://www.garlandstreet.org.uk/about.html|access-date=8 April 2021|website=Garland Street Church|language=en|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420013538/https://www.garlandstreet.org.uk/about.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
*Beacon Church Bury St Edmunds, Oakes Road, an evangelical, charismatic and Pentecostal church; part of [[Assemblies of God in Great Britain]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=ABOUT US|url=https://www.beaconchurchuk.org/about-us|access-date=8 April 2021|website=Beacon Church|language=en|archive-date=7 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507213927/https://www.beaconchurchuk.org/about-us|url-status=live}}</ref>
*Bridge Community Church, West Road, until September 2021 known as West Road Church; affiliated to the [[Evangelical Alliance]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=West Road Church|url=https://www.westroadchurch.org.uk/|access-date=8 April 2021|language=en-US|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414125500/https://www.westroadchurch.org.uk/|url-status=live}}</ref>
*Horringer Court Community Church, Glastonbury Road<ref>{{Cite web|title=Home » Horringer Court Community Church|url=https://hc3church.co.uk/|access-date=30 September 2021|website=Horringer Court Community Church|language=en-GB|archive-date=22 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922133125/https://hc3church.co.uk/|url-status=live}}</ref>
*Kingsgate Church, Grove Road; affiliated to the [[Evangelical Alliance]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kingsgate Church|url=https://www.kingsgate-church.org/|access-date=30 September 2021|website=www.kingsgate-church.org|archive-date=30 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930162709/https://www.kingsgate-church.org/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales|Evangelical Presbyterian Church]], St Olaves Road<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bury Presbyterian Church|url=https://bse-pc.org/|access-date=8 April 2021|website=Bury Presbyterian Church|language=en-GB|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420164859/https://bse-pc.org/|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[Quakers|Quaker]] Meeting House, St John's Street<ref>{{Cite web|title=Quakers in Bury St Edmunds - a Simple & Contemporary Way Of Life|url=https://burystedmundsquakers.org/|access-date=30 September 2021|website=Quakers Bury St Edmunds|language=en|archive-date=30 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930162710/https://burystedmundsquakers.org/|url-status=live}}</ref>
*Seventh Day Adventist Church, Fornham Road, built as a [[Railway Mission]] "[[tin tabernacle]]"<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bury St Edmunds Adventist Church - Welcome to Our Historic Church!|url=https://bury-st-edmunds.adventistchurch.org.uk/welcome-page|access-date=8 April 2021|website=bury-st-edmunds.adventistchurch.org.uk|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225215801/https://bury-st-edmunds.adventistchurch.org.uk/welcome-page|url-status=live}}</ref>
*Southgate Church, Caie Walk<ref>{{Cite web|title=Southgate Church, Bury St Edmunds {{!}} Community Directory|url=https://infolink.suffolk.gov.uk/kb5/suffolk/infolink/service.page?id=EON7oKAUk7c|url-status=live|access-date=9 April 2021|website=infolink.suffolk.gov.uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819193308/https://infolink.suffolk.gov.uk/kb5/suffolk/infolink/service.page?id=EON7oKAUk7c |archive-date=19 August 2021 }}</ref>
* Trinity Methodist Church, Brentgovel Street<ref>{{Cite web|title=Trinity Methodist Church, Bury St Edmunds|url=http://www.trinitymethodistchurch.org.uk/|access-date=8 April 2021|website=www.trinitymethodistchurch.org.uk|archive-date=16 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416001630/http://trinitymethodistchurch.org.uk/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Unitarian Meeting House, Churchgate Street, built as Presbyterian Meeting House<ref>{{Cite web|title=Unitarian Chapel, Churchgate Street, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk {{!}} Educational Images {{!}} Historic England|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/education/educational-images/unitarian-chapel-churchgate-street-bury-st-edmunds-6492|access-date=8 April 2021|website=historicengland.org.uk|language=en|archive-date=19 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819220607/https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/education/educational-images/unitarian-chapel-churchgate-street-bury-st-edmunds-6492|url-status=live}}</ref>
* United Reformed Church, Whiting Street, formerly Congregational Church<ref>{{Cite web|date=1 September 2015|title=History {{!}} Bury St. Edmunds URC|url=https://burystedmundsurc.org.uk/history/|access-date=8 April 2021|website=burystedmundsurc.org.uk|language=en-GB|archive-date=14 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514044055/https://burystedmundsurc.org.uk/history/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Westgate Chapel, Hospital Road, an independent evangelical church; affiliated to the [[Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches|FIEC]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Our history – Westgate Chapel|url=https://www.westgatechapel.org.uk/about-us/our-history/|access-date=8 April 2021|language=en-GB|archive-date=13 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413173840/https://www.westgatechapel.org.uk/about-us/our-history/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* West Suffolk [[Vineyard Churches UK and Ireland|Vineyard Church]], Northern Way<ref>{{Cite web|title=West Suffolk Vineyard Church|url=https://wsvc.org.uk/|access-date=8 April 2021|website=West Suffolk Vineyard Church|language=en-GB|archive-date=4 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210404093820/https://wsvc.org.uk/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Catholic church ===
{{Main|St Edmund's Church, Bury St Edmunds|l1 = St Edmund's Catholic Church, Bury St Edmunds}}

[[St Edmund's Church, Bury St Edmunds|St Edmund's Catholic Church]], located in Westgate Street, is the Roman Catholic parish church of Bury St Edmunds. Founded by the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]] in 1763, the present church building is [[Listed building|grade II listed]]. It was built in 1837. It is administered by the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia|Diocese of East Anglia]] in its Bury St Edmunds deanery.

=== Former churches ===
Bury St Edmunds has several former church and chapel buildings:

* Methodist Chapel, 4A St Mary's Square (converted to residential)<ref>{{Cite web|title=4A, ST MARYS SQUARE, Bury St. Edmunds - 1135168 {{!}} Historic England|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1135168|access-date=8 April 2021|website=historicengland.org.uk|language=en|archive-date=6 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106102741/https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1135168|url-status=live}}</ref>
*Rehoboth Strict Baptist Chapel, Out Westgate (now called Chapel House)<ref>{{Cite web|title=St Edmundsbury Local History - Wallplaques around Bury St Edmunds|url=http://www.stedmundsburychronicle.co.uk/wallplaquespage_03.htm|access-date=9 April 2021|website=www.stedmundsburychronicle.co.uk|archive-date=20 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620130718/http://stedmundsburychronicle.co.uk/wallplaquespage_03.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=GENUKI|title=Genuki: Rehoboth Chapel(Out Westgate), Bury St Edmunds, Particular Baptist, Suffolk|url=https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SFK/BuryStEdmunds/RehobothChapel|access-date=10 January 2022|website=www.genuki.org.uk|language=en|archive-date=11 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220111091805/https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SFK/BuryStEdmunds/RehobothChapel|url-status=live}}</ref>
*Victory Congregational Chapel, Northgate Street (converted to commercial)<ref>{{Cite web|date=10 August 2018|title=Northgate Street {{!}} Hazells' Histories|url=https://www.hazells.co.uk/2018/08/10/northgate-street-hazells-histories/|access-date=8 April 2021|website=Hazells|language=en|archive-date=7 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507002200/https://www.hazells.co.uk/2018/08/10/northgate-street-hazells-histories/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=11 July 2020|title=Former SK Clinic and Spa building, in Bury St Edmunds, could become offices and bar|url=https://www.suffolknews.co.uk/bury-st-edmunds/news/former-spa-is-set-for-office-and-bar-9115421/|url-status=live|access-date=9 April 2021|website=Suffolk News|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820045937/https://www.suffolknews.co.uk/bury-st-edmunds/news/former-spa-is-set-for-office-and-bar-9115421/ |archive-date=20 August 2021 }}</ref> 
*Chapel, St Botolph's Lane (now called Old Mission House)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Geograph:: Old Mission House © John Goldsmith cc-by-sa/2.0|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2584960|access-date=9 April 2021|website=www.geograph.org.uk|language=en|archive-date=26 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526084940/https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2584960|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Culture==
[[File:Broyal01.JPG|thumb|[[Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds]] exterior.]]

The [[Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds|Theatre Royal]] was built by [[National Gallery, London|National Gallery]] architect [[William Wilkins (architect)|William Wilkins]] in 1819 and is the sole surviving [[English Regency|Regency]] Theatre in the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/theatre-royal-bury-st-edmunds/features/history-of-the-theatre-royal-bury-st-edmunds|title=History of the Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds|website=National Trust|language=en|access-date=25 February 2020|archive-date=25 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225152754/https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/theatre-royal-bury-st-edmunds/features/history-of-the-theatre-royal-bury-st-edmunds|url-status=live}}</ref> The theatre, owned by the [[Greene King]] brewery, is leased to the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] for a nominal charge, and underwent restoration between 2005 and 2007. It presents a full programme of performances and is also open for public tours. In August 2023, the Theatre Royal closed suddenly due to fire safety issues.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bury St Edmunds's Theatre Royal closed with immediate effect |url=https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/23700473.bury-st-edmundss-theatre-royal-closed-immediate-effect/ |website=East Anglian Daily Times |date=4 August 2023 |access-date=7 August 2023}}</ref>
An additional arts venue, The Apex, was built on the site of the former cattle market in 2010.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/suffolk/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_9070000/9070362.stm|title=Apex aims to attract big names|date=11 October 2010|access-date=25 February 2020|language=en-GB|archive-date=25 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225152637/http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/suffolk/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_9070000/9070362.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Moyse's Hall Museum]] is one of the oldest (c. 1180) domestic buildings in East Anglia open to the public. It has collections of fine art, for example [[Mary Beale]], costume, e.g. [[Charles Frederick Worth]], [[horology]], local and social history, including [[Witchcraft]].<ref>{{cite web
 | work = [[St Edmundsbury (borough)|St Edmundsbury Borough Council]]
 | title = Moyse's Hall Museum
 | url = http://www.moyseshall.org/
 | access-date = 30 December 2007
 | archive-date = 11 September 2012
 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120911031536/http://www.moyseshall.org/
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref>
It holds an original [[death mask]] of William Corder who was hanged for the infamous 1827 [[Red Barn murder]].

The [[Market Cross, Bury St Edmunds|Market Cross]], today a community space, is a building restored by [[Robert Adam]] in 1780s.<ref>{{NHLE|num= 1076930|desc= Market Cross|access-date=29 April 2023}}</ref> Between 1972 and 2018 the Market Cross was an art gallery called "Smiths Row", hosting a programme of changing contemporary art and craft exhibitions and events by British and international artists.<ref>{{Cite web|date=9 June 2018|title=Smiths Row arts organisation announces its closure|url=https://www.suffolknews.co.uk/bury-st-edmunds/news/smiths-row-arts-organisation-announces-its-closure-9001497/|url-status=live|access-date=10 January 2022|website=Suffolk News|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220111091851/https://www.suffolknews.co.uk/bury-st-edmunds/news/smiths-row-arts-organisation-announces-its-closure-9001497/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 }}</ref>

The town holds several festivals a year. The largest festival is held in May and includes concerts, plays, dance, and lecturers culminating in fireworks. There was an annual Christmas Fair in the town up until 2019, with food, drink, local crafts and fairground rides available, stretching from the Abbey Gardens to the Arc Shopping Centre. Bury St Edmunds is home to England's oldest Scout group, [[Scouting in Suffolk#Scout Groups|1st Bury St Edmunds (Mayors Own)]].

===Sport===
The town's main [[association football|football]] club, [[Bury Town F.C.|Bury Town]], is the fourth oldest [[non-league]] team in England. They are members of the [[Isthmian League]] and have played at Ram Meadow since moving from [[Cemetry Road|Kings Road]] in the 1970s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.burytownfc.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=2|title=History of Bury Town Football Club – Founded in 1872|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123050937/http://www.burytownfc.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=2|archive-date=23 January 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Suffolk County Cricket Club]] play occasional games at the Victory Ground, which is also the home ground of Bury St Edmunds Cricket Club. The cricket club previously played at [[Cemetry Road]]. Bury St Edmunds Rugby Football Club has an extensive history,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/burystedmunds/a/history-8750.html |title=History – Bury St Edmunds RUFC |publisher=Pitchero.com |date=29 April 2013 |access-date=12 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014081713/http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/burystedmunds/a/history-8750.html |archive-date=14 October 2013 }}</ref> including the devastating [[Turkish Airlines Flight 981|plane crash]] that killed several members who had attended a [[1974 Five Nations Championship]] match. Eastgate Amateur Boxing club was established in 1981. The club has been headquartered at various locations in and around the town, but are now training in an old World War I gym in Rougham. West Suffolk Swimming Club formed in 1998 from the merger of two local swimming clubs and operates from pools in Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill and Culford. West Suffolk Athletics Club are based at the West Suffolk College sports ground.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.westsuffolkac.com/index.html |title=West Suffolk Athletics Club |access-date=8 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504062627/http://www.westsuffolkac.com/index.html |archive-date=4 May 2015}}</ref>

[[Nowton Park]] hosts a parkrun every Saturday morning where runners, joggers and walkers can take part free-of-charge, supported by volunteers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bury St Edmunds parkrun |url=https://www.parkrun.org.uk/burystedmunds/ |website=Bury St Edmunds parkrun |access-date=1 December 2024}}</ref> A junior parkrun is held every Sunday morning at Ten Acre Field on the Moreton Hall estate, where 4-14 year olds can participate for free, cheered on by volunteers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bury St Edmunds junior parkrun |url=https://www.parkrun.org.uk/burystedmunds-juniors/ |website=Bury St Edmunds junior parkrun |access-date=1 December 2024}}</ref> A friendly running club called Bury St Edmunds Pacers welcomes runners of all abilities to join and holds regular running events.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bury St Edmunds Pacers |url=https://www.pacers.org.uk/ |website=Bury St Edmunds Pacers |access-date=1 December 2024}}</ref>

===Media===
Local news and television programmes is provided by [[BBC East]] and [[ITV Anglia]]. Television signals are received from the [[Tacolneston transmitting station|Tacolneston]] TV transmitter and the local relay transmitter.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Bury_St_Edmunds | title=Bury St Edmunds (Suffolk, England) Freeview Light transmitter | date=May 2004 }}</ref> The town's local radio stations are [[BBC Radio Suffolk]] on 104.6 FM, [[Heart East]] on 96.4 FM and [[RWSfm 103.3|RWSfm]] on 103.3 FM, a community radio station that broadcast from the town. The local newspapers are the [[East Anglian Daily Times]] and [[Bury Free Press]].

=== Public houses ===
Many pubs in the town have closed over the years, but the town still has a variety of pubs<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lost Pubs In Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk|url=http://www.closedpubs.co.uk/suffolk/burystedmunds.html|access-date=9 April 2021|website=www.closedpubs.co.uk|archive-date=1 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601191313/https://www.closedpubs.co.uk/suffolk/burystedmunds.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=30 April 2019|title=Bury St Edmunds' lost pubs - see our interactive map|url=https://www.suffolknews.co.uk/bury-st-edmunds/news/bury-st-edmunds-lost-pubs-see-our-interactive-map-9068643/|url-status=live|access-date=9 April 2021|website=Suffolk News|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204175329/https://www.suffolknews.co.uk/bury-st-edmunds/news/bury-st-edmunds-lost-pubs-see-our-interactive-map-9068643/ |archive-date=4 December 2020 }}</ref>

{{columns-list|colwidth=width|
* Beerhouse, 1 Tayfen Road (formerly Ipswich Arms)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bury St Edmunds Beerhouse {{!}}{{!}} The Suffolk Pubs Guide|url=https://suffolk.camra.org.uk/pub/143|access-date=9 April 2021|website=suffolk.camra.org.uk|archive-date=17 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517011746/https://suffolk.camra.org.uk/pub/143|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Bushell, St John's Street (formerly Rose)
* [[Corn Exchange, Bury St Edmunds|Corn Exchange]] ([[Wetherspoons]])
* Dog and Partridge, 29 Crown Street<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gallery Viewer {{!}} Past and Present|url=https://www.burypastandpresent.org.uk/gallery-viewer/|access-date=9 April 2021|language=en-US|archive-date=19 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819190303/https://www.burypastandpresent.org.uk/gallery-viewer/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Dove, 68 Hospital Road
* Fox, 1 Eastgate Street
* Greyhound, 28 Eastgate Street
* Grapes, 1 Brentgovel Street
* Greengage, Tollgate Lane
* King's Arms, 22 Brentgovel Street
* Macebearer, Home Farm Lane
* Mason's Arms, Whiting Street (formerly Bricklayers' Arms)
* Moreton Hall, Orttewell Road
* [[The Nutshell|Nutshell]], The Traverse, claims to be the smallest pub in Britain
* One Bull, 17 Angel Hill (formerly Black Bull)
* Queen's, 39 Churchgate Street (formerly Queen's Head)
* Rose and Crown, Whiting Street
* Spread Eagle, Out Westgate
* The Linden Tree, Station Hill (formerly Great Eastern and The Station)
* The Rising Sun, 98 Risbygate Street
* The Old Cannon Brewery, 86 Cannon Street
* The Westgate, Guildhall Street (formerly The Black Boy)<ref>{{Cite web|last=Chambers|first=Sarah|date=5 February 2021|title=Vote to rename Black Boy pubs amid fears of 'racist' overtones|url=https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/business/vote-to-rename-suffolk-black-boy-pubs-7308448|access-date=9 April 2021|website=East Anglian Daily Times|language=en-UK|archive-date=13 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513154022/https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/business/vote-to-rename-suffolk-black-boy-pubs-7308448|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=13 February 2021|title=Greene King Black Boy pubs renamed in 'anti-racist' move|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-berkshire-56040545|access-date=9 April 2021|archive-date=19 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210219014423/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-berkshire-56040545|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Tollgate, 142 Fornham Road
}}

==Local economy==
[[File:Bury St Edmunds, Angel Hotel (23401163280).jpg|thumb|Angel Hotel located on Angel Hill]]
[[File:Dickens plaque, Angel Hotel 1.JPG|thumb|220x220px|Dickens plaque at The Angel Hotel.|alt=]]

===Tourism===
The Angel Hotel is a [[Georgian architecture|Georgian]] building on Angel Hill. [[Charles Dickens]] stayed there while giving readings in the [[Athenaeum, Bury St Edmunds|Athenaeum]], as mentioned in ''[[The Pickwick Papers]]''. [[Angelina Jolie]] stayed there while filming ''[[Lara Croft: Tomb Raider|Tomb Raider]]''. A [[coaching inn]] has existed on the site since the 15th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/mar/29/angel-hotel-bury-st-edmunds|title=Checking in: The Angel Hotel, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk|author=Joanne O'Connor|work=The Guardian|date=29 March 2009|access-date=7 December 2015|archive-date=8 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151008044319/http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/mar/29/angel-hotel-bury-st-edmunds|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Brewing===
[[Greene King]], is situated in Bury St Edmunds, as is the smaller [[The Old Cannon Brewery|Old Cannon Brewery]]. Just outside the town, on the site of [[RAF Bury St Edmunds]], is Bartrums Brewery, originally based in [[Thurston, Suffolk|Thurston]], and to the north is the Brewshed brewery, located in Ingham.

The Greene King pub [[The Nutshell]] is situated in the centre of the town, and is one of several that claim to be Britain's smallest [[Pub|public house]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/heritage/england/suffolk/article_1.shtml|title=BBC – Legacies – Architectural Heritage – England – Suffolk – Beer in a Nutshell – Article Page 1|website=BBC|access-date=5 April 2018|archive-date=25 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925070036/http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/heritage/england/suffolk/article_1.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Sugar beet===
Bury's largest landmark is the [[British Sugar plc|British Sugar]] factory near the [[A14 road (Great Britain)|A14]], which processes [[sugar beet]] into refined crystal sugar. It was built in 1925 when the town's MP, [[Walter Guinness, 1st Baron Moyne|Walter Guinness]], was [[Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food|Minister of Agriculture]], and for many of its early years was managed by Martin Neumann, former manager of a sugar beet refinery in [[Šurany]], then part of [[Czechoslovakia]]. Neumann was invited by the British government to oversee the refinement of sugar in Bury St Edmunds and, with his family, immigrated to the United Kingdom. The actor and writer [[Stephen Fry]] is a grandson of Martin Neumann, as recounted in the BBC programme ''[[Who Do You Think You Are? (British TV series)|Who Do You Think You Are?]]''

The refinery processes beet from 1,300 growers. 660 lorry-loads of beet can be accepted each day when beet is being harvested. Not all the beet can be crystallised immediately, and some is kept in solution in holding tanks until late spring and early summer, when the plant has spare crystallising capacity. The sugar is sold under the [[British Sugar|Silver Spoon]] name (the other major British brand, [[Tate & Lyle]], is made from imported [[sugar cane]]). By-products include molassed sugar beet feed for cattle and LimeX70, a soil improver. The factory has its own power station,<ref>[http://www.cheng.cam.ac.uk/exemplarch2002/mcp21/backimgs.html Industrial-scale evaporators] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080926053124/http://www.cheng.cam.ac.uk/exemplarch2002/mcp21/backimgs.html |date=26 September 2008 }} Chemical Engineering Department, University of Cambridge</ref> which powers around 110,000 homes. A smell of burnt starch from the plant is noticeable on some days.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.englishtowns.net/bury-st-edmunds/|title=Bury St Edmunds|access-date=7 December 2015|archive-date=23 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323191436/http://www.englishtowns.net/bury-st-edmunds/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Governance==
[[File:Entrance porch to Bury St Edmunds Guildhall.jpg|thumb|[[Bury St Edmunds Guildhall|The Guildhall]]]]
There are three tiers of local government covering Bury St Edmunds, at [[Parish council (England)|parish]] (town), [[non-metropolitan district|district]], and [[non-metropolitan county|county]] level: Bury St Edmunds Town Council, [[West Suffolk Council]] and [[Suffolk County Council]]. The town council meets at [[Bury St Edmunds Guildhall]], parts of which date back to the 13th century,<ref>{{NHLE|desc=The Guildhall and attached railings|num=1363726|grade=I}}</ref> and has its offices in an adjoining building at 79 Whiting Street.<ref>{{cite web |title=Council and Committee Meetings |url=https://www.burystedmunds-tc.gov.uk/agendas-minutes-2025 |website=Bury St Edmunds Town Council |access-date=14 May 2025}}</ref>

[[File:West Suffolk House - geograph.org.uk - 1724161.jpg|thumb|West Suffolk House]]
West Suffolk Council is also based in the town, at West Suffolk House on Western Way, which was built in 2009 and also includes an area office for the county council.<ref name=Bunn>{{cite web |last1=Bunn |first1=Roderic |title=West Suffolk House |url=https://www.usablebuildings.co.uk/UsableBuildings/Unprotected/LCBPWestSuffolkHouse.pdf |website=Usable Buildings |access-date=4 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Contact us |url=https://www.westsuffolk.gov.uk/contact-us.cfm |website=West Suffolk Council |access-date=17 May 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Suffolk County Council offices |url=https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/about/how-to-find-us |website=Suffolk County Council |access-date=17 May 2025}}</ref>

For national elections, the town forms part of the [[Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (UK Parliament constituency)|Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket]] constituency.<ref>{{cite web |title=Election Maps |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/ |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=17 May 2025}}</ref> The current [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]] is [[Peter Prinsley]] of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]], who was first elected in the [[2024 United Kingdom general election|2024 general election]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket - General Election Results 2024 |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/E14001146 |access-date=21 July 2024}}</ref>

===Administrative history===
Bury St Edmunds was an [[ancient borough]]. It is known to have been granted a [[municipal charter]] by [[Henry I of England|Henry I]] (reigned 1100–1135), which has since been lost. The borough was controlled by the abbey until its dissolution in 1539. [[James VI and I|James I]] issued a new charter in 1606, which confirmed Bury's ancient rights and incorporated it under a new constitution. The borough covered the two [[ancient parish]]es of St James and St Mary.<ref>{{cite book |title=Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the Municipal Corporations in England and Wales: Appendix 4 |date=1835 |page=2171 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MHBTAAAAcAAJ&dq=edmund&pg=PA2171 |access-date=17 May 2025}}</ref>

[[File:Register Office, Bury St Edmunds.jpg|thumb|Register Office, 7 Angel Hill; built 1935 as Borough Offices]]
The borough was reformed to become a [[municipal borough]] in 1836 under the [[Municipal Corporations Act 1835]], which standardised how most boroughs operated across the country.<ref>{{cite book |title=Municipal Corporations Act |date=1835 |page=456 |url=https://archive.org/details/statutesunitedk35britgoog/page/456/mode/2up |access-date=17 May 2025}}</ref> Until 30 September 1895 the borough contained the parishes of St James and St Mary when the 2 parishes were merged to form a single Bury St Edmunds parish. The borough was enlarged in 1935 to take in areas from the neighbouring parishes of [[Fornham All Saints]] and [[Westley, Suffolk|Westley]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Bury St Edmunds Civil Parish |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10251552#tab02 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=17 May 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bury St Edmunds Municipal Borough |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10153128#tab02 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=17 May 2025}}</ref> The borough council historically met at the Guildhall. It moved its offices to a new building called Borough Offices at 7 Angel Hill in 1935. Council meetings continued to be held at the Guildhall until 1966, when a new council chamber was built in an extension to the Borough Offices.<ref>{{cite news |title=£100,000 Offices: Foundation stone laying ceremony |url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0000762%2F19660218&page=6 |access-date=14 May 2025 |work=Bury Free Press |date=18 February 1966 |page=6}}</ref>

When elected county councils were established in 1889, the old western [[quarter sessions]] division of Suffolk was made the [[administrative county]] of [[West Suffolk (county)|West Suffolk]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Parliamentary Intelligence: The Local Government Bill in the House of Lords |work=The Times |date=7 August 1888 |location=London |page=7}}</ref><ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=act|act=Local Government Act 1888|year=1888|chapter=41|access-date=2 January 2024}}</ref> [[West Suffolk County Council]] was based in Bury, meeting at the town's courthouse, [[Shire Hall Complex, Bury St Edmunds|Shire Hall]], which had been built around 1750.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Old Shire Hall and Magistrates Court|num=1460009|grade=II}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Municipal Year Book |date=1966 |publisher=Municipal Journal |page=791}}</ref>

The borough of Bury St Edmunds, the parish of Bury St Edmunds and administrative county of West Suffolk were abolished on 1 April 1974 under the [[Local Government Act 1972]]. Bury became part of the new [[Borough of St Edmundsbury]], which covered the town and surrounding rural areas. The county-wide [[Suffolk County Council]] was created at the same time.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972|year=1972|number=2039|access-date=3 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973|year=1973|number=551|access-date=3 March 2023}}</ref> St Edmundsbury Borough Council was based in the town, initially using various buildings inherited from its predecessors including the Borough Offices on Angel Hill. In 2009, it consolidated its offices at [[West Suffolk House]], sharing the building with the county council.<ref name=Bunn/>

No [[successor parish]] was created for the area of the abolished municipal borough at the time of the 1974 reforms, and so it became an [[unparished area]]. A new [[civil parish]] of Bury St Edmunds was created on 1 April 2003 which also took in the area of [[Hardwick, Suffolk|Hardwick]] parish that had been abolished in 1988 and had also become unparished.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/bury%20st%20edmunds.html|title=Bury St Edmunds Registration District|publisher=UKBMD|access-date=3 October 2025}}</ref> The parish council taking the name Bury St Edmunds Town Council.<ref>{{cite book |title=Bulletin of changes to local authority elections, areas and names in England, 2002–2003 |date=2003 |publisher=Office of the Deputy Prime Minister |location=London |page=10 |url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20221201175817mp_/https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lgbce/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/11375/bulletinchanges02-03.pdf |access-date=17 May 2025}}</ref> The town council election in 2007 was won by the "Abolish Bury Town Council" party,<ref>{{cite web|last=Thewlis|first=Jo|work=[[Bury Free Press]]|title= Uproar at town council meeting |url= http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/news/Uproar-at-town-council-meeting.2887445.jp |access-date   = 14 January 2008 |archive-url  = https://archive.today/20130114014530/http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/news/Uproar-at-town-council-meeting.2887445.jp  |archive-date = 14 January 2013 |url-status= dead  |df= dmy-all}}</ref> but they lost their majority shortly afterwards and the town council was not abolished.<ref>{{cite web |last= Marais |first= Kirsty |work= [[Bury Free Press]] |title= Plug pulled on displays |url= http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/news/Plug-pulled-on-displays.3199823.jp |access-date= 14 January 2008 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20120802202829/http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/news/Plug-pulled-on-displays.3199823.jp |archive-date= 2 August 2012 |url-status= dead  |df= dmy-all}}</ref> In 2020, the town council moved its meetings to the Guildhall.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ghaemi |first1=Mariam |title=Town council moving back to 800-year old Guildhall in centre of Bury St Edmunds |url=https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/21405434.town-council-moving-back-800-year-old-guildhall-centre-bury-st-edmunds/ |access-date=14 May 2025 |work=East Anglian Daily Times |date=6 March 2020}}</ref>

In 2019, St Edmundsbury and the neighbouring district of [[Forest Heath]] merged into a new West Suffolk district (which covers a smaller area than the pre-1974 administrative county of the same name).<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The West Suffolk (Local Government Changes) Order 2018|year=2018|number=639|access-date=17 May 2025}}</ref>

==Notable people==
[[File:Abbeygate In Bury St Edmunds.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.2|The Abbeygate, a local symbol of the town]]

Notable people from Bury St Edmunds include [[Bishop of Winchester]] and [[Lord Chancellor|Lord High Chancellor of England]] [[Stephen Gardiner]],<ref>Mee, Arthur, ''The King's England, Suffolk, Our Farthest East'', London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1947 (reprint), 89.</ref> the 18th-century landscape architect [[Humphry Repton]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britainexpress.com/History/bio/repton.htm|title=Humphry Repton|publisher=Britain Express|access-date=13 August 2008|archive-date=4 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204181650/http://www.britainexpress.com/History/bio/repton.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> the hymn writer [[Alice Flowerdew]], the artist and photographer [[William Silas Spanton]], the author Maria Louise Ramé (also known as [[Ouida]]), the engineer and inventor [[Hiram Codd]],<ref>{{cite web| title = An Act of Codd| work = Digger Odell Bottle Price Guides| publisher = Digger Odell Publications| year = 2007| url = http://www.bottlebooks.com/Codd/an_act_of_codd.htm| access-date = 2 March 2008| archive-date = 10 February 2008| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080210023302/http://www.bottlebooks.com/Codd/an_act_of_codd.htm| url-status = dead}}</ref> the cyclist [[James Moore (cyclist)|James Moore]], and the portrait painter [[Rose Mead]]. More recent figures from the town include artist and printer [[Sybil Andrews]], artist and suffragette [[Helen Margaret Spanton]], Canadian [[World War II]] general [[Guy Simonds]], Winston Churchill's secretary [[Elizabeth Nel]], theatre director [[Peter Hall (theatre director)|Sir Peter Hall]], [[Norwich City F.C.|Norwich City]] footballer [[Liam Gibbs]], Canadian journalist and author [[Richard Gwyn (Canadian writer)|Richard Gwyn]], actors [[Bob Hoskins]]<ref>{{IMDb name|id=0001364|name="Bob" Hoskins}}</ref> and [[Michael Maloney]],<ref>{{IMDb name|id=0540585|name=Michael Maloney}}</ref> speedway rider [[Danny Ayres]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.britishspeedway.co.uk/riderindex2019|title=RIDERS - A - British Speedway Official Website|website=www.britishspeedway.co.uk|access-date=1 February 2020|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221182645/http://www.britishspeedway.co.uk/riderindex2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://heavy.com/sports/2020/02/danny-ayres-dead/|title=Danny Ayres Dead: Speedway Racer Dies at 33|last=Farrell|first=Paul|date=1 February 2020|website=Heavy.com|language=en|access-date=1 February 2020|archive-date=1 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201211241/https://heavy.com/sports/2020/02/danny-ayres-dead/|url-status=live}}</ref> television presenter [[Becky Jago]], digital writer and artist [[Chris Joseph (writer/artist)|Chris Joseph]], author, archaeologist and television presenter [[John-Henry Phillips]], professional football player [[Ed Upson]], and writer/director [[Adrian Tanner]].

[[Thomas Clarkson]], a leading [[Abolitionism in the United Kingdom|abolitionist]], lived in the town for parts of his life. Though born in [[Bedford]], actor [[John Le Mesurier]] grew up in the town.<ref>[http://www.tonyhancock.org.uk/mesurier.html Biography of John Le Mesurier on Tony Hancock.Org] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081212105059/http://www.tonyhancock.org.uk/mesurier.html |date=12 December 2008 }} retrieved 19 November 2008</ref> [[Sir James Reynolds, junior]], [[Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer]], lived in the town for much of his life and was buried in the Cathedral in 1739. [[Messenger Monsey]], later physician to the [[Royal Hospital Chelsea]] and a man notorious in London society for his bad manners, practised in Bury in the 1720s.<ref>J. F. Payne/Michael Bevan: "Monsey, Messenger", ODNB (Oxford:OUP, 2004) [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/18984 Retrieved 27 December 2014. Pay-walled.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306025557/http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/18984 |date=6 March 2016 }}</ref> Children's writer [[A.M. Howell]] moved to Bury St Edmunds in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|last=Morrison|first=Rhoda|date=17 June 2019|title=Author A.M. Howell's first novel, The Garden of Lost Secrets, inspired by Ickworth house and gardens near Bury St Edmunds|url=https://www.suffolknews.co.uk/bury-st-edmunds/news/authors-first-novel-inspired-by-history-and-mystery-of-ickworth-9073309/|website=Suffolk News|access-date=11 January 2022|archive-date=11 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220111025503/https://www.suffolknews.co.uk/bury-st-edmunds/news/authors-first-novel-inspired-by-history-and-mystery-of-ickworth-9073309/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Among notable people who have chosen to retire to or have second homes in Bury St Edmunds are former members of parliament and government ministers [[Norman Tebbit|Lord Tebbit]],<ref>{{cite news|author=Deborah Ross|author-link=Deborah Ross (journalist)|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/norman-tebbit-margaret-and-i-both-made-the-same-mistake-we-neglected-to-clone-ourselves-1796187.html|title=Norman Tebbit: 'Margaret and I both made the same mistake. We neglected to clone ourselves'|work=The Independent|date=3 October 2009|access-date=12 October 2013|archive-date=26 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826031329/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/norman-tebbit-margaret-and-i-both-made-the-same-mistake-we-neglected-to-clone-ourselves-1796187.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[John Wheeler (British politician)|Sir John Wheeler]],<ref>{{Cite web|title = About Bury St Edmunds: Well-Known People, Films, Books, Music, Odd Facts|url = http://www.uniquewebsites.co.uk/blog/bury-st-edmunds-facts/|website = www.uniquewebsites.co.uk|access-date = 22 September 2015|archive-date = 23 September 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150923060210/http://www.uniquewebsites.co.uk/blog/bury-st-edmunds-facts/|url-status = live}}</ref> Sir [[Eldon Griffiths]],<ref>{{Cite news|title = Sir Eldon Griffiths – obituary|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10872932/Sir-Eldon-Griffiths-obituary.html|work = The Daily Telegraph|access-date = 22 September 2015|archive-date = 25 September 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150925083012/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10872932/Sir-Eldon-Griffiths-obituary.html|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/bury-st-edmunds-former-mp-sir-eldon-met-dame-elizabeth-2005620|title=Bury St Edmunds: Former MP Sir Eldon met Dame Elizabeth Taylor as teen star|first=Mariam|last=Ghaemi|date=25 March 2011|website=East Anglian Daily Times|access-date=26 January 2021|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624011324/https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/bury-st-edmunds-former-mp-sir-eldon-met-dame-elizabeth-2005620|url-status=live}}</ref> and former senior [[Royal Air Force]] commander, [[Reginald Harland|Air Marshal Sir Reginald Harland]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Air Marshal Sir Reginald Harland|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10321739/Air-Marshal-Sir-Reginald-Harland.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10321739/Air-Marshal-Sir-Reginald-Harland.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|website=www.telegraph.co.uk|date=19 September 2013|publisher=The Telegraph|access-date=12 October 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Bands and Musicians===
Notable bands and performers from Bury St Edmunds include [[Jacob's Mouse]], [[Miss Black America (band)|Miss Black America]], [[The Dawn Parade]], [[Kate Jackson (singer)|Kate Jackson]] of [[The Long Blondes]], [[Paul Hopfensperger]] of [[The Teazers]] and siblings Sean and [[Andi Oliver]] of [[Rip Rig + Panic]]. Sean Oliver also performed with [[Terence Trent D'Arby]] now known as Sananda Maitreya, Sean is credited by Sananda Maitreya for being the inspiration behind the international number 1 bestseller of Sananda Maitreya "[[Wishing Well (Sananda Maitreya song)|Wishing Well]]".

==Education==
===Primary and secondary===
State-funded [[primary school]]s that serve the town are Howard, Westgate, Hardwick, Sebert Wood, Abbot's Green, Sexton's Manor, Guildhall Feoffment, St Edmund's, St Edmundsbury and Tollgate Primary Schools.

The town has four [[secondary school]]s: [[Bury St Edmunds County High School]], [[King Edward VI School, Bury St Edmunds|King Edward VI School]], [[St Benedict's Catholic School]] and Sybil Andrews Academy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/trainingschools/schools_directory/?view=get&school=718633&t=1190734444|title=Directory of Training Schools|access-date=25 March 2008}}{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In 2019 the town's first [[Sixth form college|Sixth Form College]], Abbeygate Sixth Form College, opened. It is located on Beeton's Way. Upon its opening, King Edward VI School has closed its Sixth Form provision.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Abbeygate Sixth Form College - GOV.UK |url=https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/147063 |access-date=20 February 2023 |website=get-information-schools.service.gov.uk |language=en |archive-date=20 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220184843/https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/147063 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The closest [[Public school (UK)|public school]] (for a period post-war, a [[Direct grant grammar school]]) to the town is [[Culford School]], located just north of the town in the village of [[Culford]]. The town has one independent preparatory school, South Lee School. The former [[Moreton Hall, Bury St Edmunds|Moreton Hall Preparatory School]] closed in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Barnett|first=Sophie|date=22 April 2020|title=Prep school to close for good after coronavirus 'unravels plans for growth'|url=https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/moreton-hall-prep-school-in-bury-st-edmunds-closes-due-2666908|access-date=9 April 2021|website=East Anglian Daily Times|language=en-UK|archive-date=20 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620051425/https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/moreton-hall-prep-school-in-bury-st-edmunds-closes-due-2666908|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Higher and further===
The town's largest [[further education]] provider is [[West Suffolk College]], with over 10,000 students studying with the college every year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.westsuffolkcollege.ac.uk/about-us/about-us/key-facts.aspx|title=Key facts {{!}} News and Events{{!}} West Suffolk College|website=www.westsuffolkcollege.ac.uk|language=en|access-date=10 February 2017|archive-date=18 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918134202/http://www.westsuffolkcollege.ac.uk/about-us/about-us/key-facts.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> The college was set to expand in September 2018, following a £7m government grant to help pay for an £8m energy, engineering and manufacturing teaching centre.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.westsuffolkcollege.ac.uk/news-and-events/latest-news/559/Energy-engineering-and-manufacturing-skills-get-7million-boost-at-West-Suffolk-College|title=Latest news {{!}} News and Events {{!}} West Suffolk College|website=www.westsuffolkcollege.ac.uk|language=en|access-date=10 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211081402/http://www.westsuffolkcollege.ac.uk/news-and-events/latest-news/559/Energy-engineering-and-manufacturing-skills-get-7million-boost-at-West-Suffolk-College|archive-date=11 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> From 2015, students have been able to study foundation and undergraduate degrees at the [[University of Suffolk|University of Suffolk at West Suffolk College]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.westsuffolkcollege.ac.uk/about-us/about-us/key-facts.aspx|title=Key facts {{!}} News and Events{{!}} West Suffolk College|website=www.westsuffolkcollege.ac.uk|access-date=16 September 2015|archive-date=14 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150414073708/http://www.westsuffolkcollege.ac.uk/about-us/about-us/key-facts.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Transport==
[[Bury St Edmunds railway station]] serves the town, operated by [[Greater Anglia (train operating company)|Greater Anglia]], on the [[Ipswich to Ely Line]]. Trains run seven days a week, every two hours to Peterborough and hourly to [[Ipswich railway station|Ipswich]] and [[Cambridge railway station|Cambridge]]. Trains from [[Peterborough railway station|Peterborough]] continue to Ipswich after Bury St Edmunds. Onward train connections from [[Cambridge railway station|Cambridge]] link with [[London King's Cross railway station|London King's Cross]], [[Liverpool Street station|London Liverpool Street]] and [[Stansted Airport railway station|Stansted Airport]], whilst [[Ipswich railway station|Ipswich]] provides connections to Liverpool Street via [[Colchester railway station|Colchester]].

The main interchange for bus and coach services for Bury St Edmunds is the bus and coach station, located on St Andrews Street North in the town centre. Bus services link the town centre with the main residential housing areas of the town. From November 2012 Sunday bus services were introduced over some of these routes. There are regular bus services to the neighbouring towns of [[Brandon, Suffolk|Brandon]], [[Cambridge]], [[Diss, Norfolk|Diss]], [[Haverhill, Suffolk|Haverhill]], [[Ipswich]], [[Mildenhall, Suffolk|Mildenhall]], [[Newmarket, Suffolk|Newmarket]], [[Stowmarket]], [[Sudbury, Suffolk|Sudbury]] and [[Thetford]] and many of the villages in between. Daily [[National Express Coaches|National Express]] coach services between [[Victoria Coach Station]] in London and Bury stop at the town's bus and coach station, as does the cross-country service between [[Clacton-on-Sea]] and [[Liverpool]] which travels via Cambridge, Peterborough, [[Leicester]], [[Nottingham]], [[Sheffield]] and [[Manchester]].

The town is partly bisected by the [[A14 road (England)|A14]] trunk road, running east–west and serving as a major transport corridor between the east coast and the Midlands. There are three junctions serving Bury St Edmunds, numbered 42-44 and denoted west, central and east respectively.

==Twin towns==
Bury St Edmunds is [[sister city|twinned]] with:
* [[Compiègne]], Oise, [[Picardy (region)|Picardy]], France
* [[Huy]], [[Wallonia]], [[Liège (province)|Liège]], Belgium
* [[Kevelaer]], North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
* [[Xi'an]], Shaanxi, China

== Affiliations ==
*[[HMS Vengeance (S31)|HMS Vengeance]]: Royal Navy Vanguard Class [[SSBN]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/submarine-service/ballistic-submarines-ssbn/hms-vengeance/ |title=HMS Vengeance : Ballistic Submarines (SSBN) : Submarine Service : Operations and Support : Royal Navy |access-date=15 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107224620/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/submarine-service/ballistic-submarines-ssbn/hms-vengeance/ |archive-date=7 January 2010}}</ref>

==Literature==
Bury St Edmunds is a location mentioned several times in the short ghost story [[The Ash-tree]] by [[M.R. James]] published in ''[[Ghost Stories of an Antiquary]]'' in 1904.

Author [[Norah Lofts]], though born in [[Shipdham]], Norfolk, bases many of her stories in Baildon, a fictionalised Bury St Edmunds, where she was educated and lived.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Saltmarsh|first=Abigail|date=23 December 2016|title=A House That Inspired a British Novelist|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/23/realestate/a-house-that-inspired-a-british-novelist.html|access-date=9 April 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=12 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612063039/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/23/realestate/a-house-that-inspired-a-british-novelist.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Arms==
{{Infobox COA wide
|title=Bury St Edmunds Town Council
|escutcheon = Azure three open crowns Or each transfixed with two arrows in saltire [points downward] Argent.
|crest = On a wreath of the colours a wolf sejant Proper holding a king's head couped at the neck of the last crowned Or.
|mantling = Gules doubled Argent.
|motto = Sacrarium Regis Cunabula Legis (The Shrine Of The King And The Cradle Of The Law)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://civicheraldry.co.uk/east_of_england.html |title=East of England Region |publisher=Civic Heraldry of England |access-date=10 March 2021 |archive-date=3 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503163713/http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk/east_of_england.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
|notes = Granted 29 November 1606}}

==See also==
*[[Cloisters Cross|Bury St Edmunds Cross]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist|30em}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{EB1911 poster|Bury St Edmunds}}
{{Commons category}}
*{{wikivoyage inline|Bury St Edmunds}}
*[http://www.stedmundsbury.gov.uk St Edmundsbury Council] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229215041/http://www.stedmundsbury.gov.uk/ |date=29 December 2019 }}
*[http://www.burypastandpresent.org.uk Bury St Edmunds Past and Present Society]
*[https://www.welovebse.com/jewels/ We Love Bury St Edmunds! Reference Gallery] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813163957/https://www.welovebse.com/jewels/ |date=13 August 2018 }}
*[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/articles/bury-st-edmunds-daytripper-see-and-do/?WT.mc_id=e_DM1200689&WT.tsrc=email&etype=Edi_Edi_New_Reg&utmsource=email "The delightful English town with a very horrible history" by Tom Ough, "Daily Telegraph" 17 February 2020"]
{{Suffolk}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Bury St Edmunds| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Suffolk]]
[[Category:Market towns in Suffolk]]
[[Category:Towns with cathedrals in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Suffolk]]
[[Category:Borough of St Edmundsbury]]
[[Category:Cities built on a grid]]