Ancient & Modern in Abbey Gardens, Bury St Edmunds, in Suffolk, England
To view more of my images, Abbey Gardens, and St Edmundsbury Cathedral, please click "here" !
I would be grateful if you would refrain from inserting images, and/or group invites, thank you!
The remains of Bury St Edmunds Abbey today are extensive, but even so they do little justice to what was once one of the largest and grandest monasteries in England. Its name derives from the martyred King Edmund, who was killed by the Danes and who came to be venerated as a saint soon afterwards. After his remains were enshrined at Bury St Edmunds Abbey, it became one of the most famous and wealthy pilgrimage destinations in England. Bury’s importance led to its destruction. When Henry VIII closed the abbey in 1539, it was systematically demolished to demonstrate the king’s power and control. Apart from the abbot’s palace, the site was allowed to become a quarry for local building stone. The ruins now lie mostly within a public park, giving visitors a glimpse of the abbey’s medieval glory. Before England was unified under one king, Bury St Edmunds (then known as Beodricsworth) was in the kingdom of East Anglia. East Anglia was converted to Christianity in the reign of Sigeberht (c.630–40), who was said to have retired to a monastery. Not long afterwards he was killed when his kingdom was attacked by Penda, King of Mercia. Later generations believed that the monastery he retired to was at Beodricsworth. Edmund was a Christian king of the East Angles who reigned from about 855 to 869. Little is known of his life, other than that Danes invaded his kingdom in 869 and killed him. Within a generation of his death he was revered as a martyr. The martyrdom of St Edmund, depicted in a 12th-century manuscript. © The Morgan Library & Museum. Around 985–8 a French monk, Abbo of Fleury, wrote an idealised life of St Edmund, portraying him as a saintly ruler who died for his faith. Abbo describes how Edmund was tied to a tree, shot full of arrows and then beheaded. When supporters went looking for his body, they found a wolf guarding the head at a place called Haegelidun. Recent research has identified its possible location as a field formerly called Hellesden Ley, about 6 miles from Bury.
THE RISE OF THE ABBEY Edmund’s remains were moved from their original burial place to a new church at Bury at some point between about 889 and 945. A large wooden church was built to house his remains, and Edmund, King of England (r.939–46), gave it large estates. In 1020 King Cnut (r.1016–35) sponsored a rebuilding. A stone rotunda, which stood until the late 13th century, was added to the wooden church to house the shrine of the saint. A community of Benedictine monks replaced the priests who had served the old church and the first abbot, Ulvius, was consecrated. King Cnut, depicted in an 11th-century manuscript. © British Library Board (Stowe MS 944, fol 6r) King Edward the Confessor (r.1042–66) visited Bury in 1044. He greatly increased the abbey’s privileges, giving it jurisdiction over about a third of the county of Suffolk. This area became known as the Liberty of St Edmund, and within it the abbot of Bury exercised civil authority. The abbey also owned most of the churches in the area. These sources generated large revenues, which made the abbey one of the wealthiest monastic communities in England. A reconstruction of the round church built by King Cnut in 1032, and incorporated into the later church. © Historic England/English Heritage Trust (reconstruction by Steven Brindle, Carlos Lemos and Bob Marshall) In 1065 the monks elected Edward the Confessor’s French-born doctor, Baldwin, as abbot. He proved an energetic leader, who raised the number of monks from 20 to 80. Baldwin resisted attempts by the Bishop of East Anglia to move his see (the seat of his bishopric) from Thetford to Bury, which would have given him control over the abbey. In 1071 Baldwin travelled to Rome and won the support of Pope Alexander II for Bury’s independence, which William the Conqueror also supported. The bishops of East Anglia moved to Norwich instead, but the rivalry between them and the abbots of Bury persisted.
Extracted from English Heritage:-
www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/bury-st-edmunds-...
Ancient & Modern in Abbey Gardens, Bury St Edmunds, in Suffolk, England
To view more of my images, Abbey Gardens, and St Edmundsbury Cathedral, please click "here" !
I would be grateful if you would refrain from inserting images, and/or group invites, thank you!
The remains of Bury St Edmunds Abbey today are extensive, but even so they do little justice to what was once one of the largest and grandest monasteries in England. Its name derives from the martyred King Edmund, who was killed by the Danes and who came to be venerated as a saint soon afterwards. After his remains were enshrined at Bury St Edmunds Abbey, it became one of the most famous and wealthy pilgrimage destinations in England. Bury’s importance led to its destruction. When Henry VIII closed the abbey in 1539, it was systematically demolished to demonstrate the king’s power and control. Apart from the abbot’s palace, the site was allowed to become a quarry for local building stone. The ruins now lie mostly within a public park, giving visitors a glimpse of the abbey’s medieval glory. Before England was unified under one king, Bury St Edmunds (then known as Beodricsworth) was in the kingdom of East Anglia. East Anglia was converted to Christianity in the reign of Sigeberht (c.630–40), who was said to have retired to a monastery. Not long afterwards he was killed when his kingdom was attacked by Penda, King of Mercia. Later generations believed that the monastery he retired to was at Beodricsworth. Edmund was a Christian king of the East Angles who reigned from about 855 to 869. Little is known of his life, other than that Danes invaded his kingdom in 869 and killed him. Within a generation of his death he was revered as a martyr. The martyrdom of St Edmund, depicted in a 12th-century manuscript. © The Morgan Library & Museum. Around 985–8 a French monk, Abbo of Fleury, wrote an idealised life of St Edmund, portraying him as a saintly ruler who died for his faith. Abbo describes how Edmund was tied to a tree, shot full of arrows and then beheaded. When supporters went looking for his body, they found a wolf guarding the head at a place called Haegelidun. Recent research has identified its possible location as a field formerly called Hellesden Ley, about 6 miles from Bury.
THE RISE OF THE ABBEY Edmund’s remains were moved from their original burial place to a new church at Bury at some point between about 889 and 945. A large wooden church was built to house his remains, and Edmund, King of England (r.939–46), gave it large estates. In 1020 King Cnut (r.1016–35) sponsored a rebuilding. A stone rotunda, which stood until the late 13th century, was added to the wooden church to house the shrine of the saint. A community of Benedictine monks replaced the priests who had served the old church and the first abbot, Ulvius, was consecrated. King Cnut, depicted in an 11th-century manuscript. © British Library Board (Stowe MS 944, fol 6r) King Edward the Confessor (r.1042–66) visited Bury in 1044. He greatly increased the abbey’s privileges, giving it jurisdiction over about a third of the county of Suffolk. This area became known as the Liberty of St Edmund, and within it the abbot of Bury exercised civil authority. The abbey also owned most of the churches in the area. These sources generated large revenues, which made the abbey one of the wealthiest monastic communities in England. A reconstruction of the round church built by King Cnut in 1032, and incorporated into the later church. © Historic England/English Heritage Trust (reconstruction by Steven Brindle, Carlos Lemos and Bob Marshall) In 1065 the monks elected Edward the Confessor’s French-born doctor, Baldwin, as abbot. He proved an energetic leader, who raised the number of monks from 20 to 80. Baldwin resisted attempts by the Bishop of East Anglia to move his see (the seat of his bishopric) from Thetford to Bury, which would have given him control over the abbey. In 1071 Baldwin travelled to Rome and won the support of Pope Alexander II for Bury’s independence, which William the Conqueror also supported. The bishops of East Anglia moved to Norwich instead, but the rivalry between them and the abbots of Bury persisted.
Extracted from English Heritage:-
www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/bury-st-edmunds-...