BURY (ST-EDMUND'S), a borough and market-town, having exclusive jurisdiction,
locally in the hundred of Thingoe, county of SUFFOLK, 26 miles (N. W. by W.) from
Ipswich, and 71 (N. E. by N.) from London, containing 9999 inhabitants. This was
a place of importance long before the introduction of
Christianity into Britain, and is by some-antiquaries supposed
to have been the Villa Faustina of the Romans;
it evidently was in the possession of that people, from
the discovery of many Roman antiquities, among which
are four antique heads, of colossal dimensions, cut out
of single blocks of freestone, representing some of their
divinities, which were found in digging up an old
foundation. Soon after the settlement of the Saxons
it was made a royal burgh, and called Beodrics worthe,
signifying the dwelling of Beodric, to whom it belonged
at the time of the Octarchy, and who, at his death,
bequeathed it to Edmund, afterwards canonized as a
martyr, from whom it was named' St. Edmund's Bury.
Edmund, having succeeded to the kingdom of East
Anglia, on the death of Offa, was crowned here in the
fifteenth year of his age; but being afterwards taken
prisoner by the Danes, who in 870 made an irruption
into this part of the country, he was cruelly put to
death. The circumstances attending his death and
burial are thus superstitiously related: on his refusal
to become a vassal to the conquerors, they bound him
to a tree, pierced his body with arrows, and striking off
his head, threw it into a neighbouring forest. After
the enemy had retired, the East Anglians assembled to.
perform the funeral obsequies to the remains of their,
sovereign; having found the body, they went into the"
forest to search for the head, and discovered it between,
the fore paws of a wolf, which immediately resigned it
on their approach: the head, on being placed in. contact
with the trunk, is then said to have re-united so closely,-
that the juncture was scarcely visible. The subject of
this fabulous story has been assumed for the device of
the corporate seal.
Forty days after his death, the remains of Edmund
were interred at Hoxne, in a small chapel built of wood,
and the report of miracles wrought at his tomb being
promulgated and believed, they were removed to this
place in 90S. A new church was built in honour of
St. Edmund, by some Secular priests, -who were incorporated
by King Athelstan, about the year 925, and
the establishment made collegiate. The town and
church having been nearly destroyed by Sweyn, King
of Denmark, in 1010, were restored: by Canute, who
being warned, as it is said, by a vision, raised the
town to more than its former splendour, rebuilt the
church and monastery, which he endowed with
great possessions, and, expelling the Sectilar canons,
placed in their stead monks of the Benedictine order.
The monastery of St. Edmund, in process of time,
became one of the most splendid establishments in the
kingdom; and, in magnificent buildings, costly decorations,
valuable immunities, and rich endowments, was
inferior only to that of Glastonbury. It had the
royalties, or franchises, of many separate hundreds,
and the right of coinage; its abbot sate in parliament,
and possessed the power of determining all suits within
the franchise, or liberty, of Bury, and of inflicting capital
punishment. These high privileges were frequently
the cause of strife'and bloodshed} and in the year 1327,
the townsmen and neighbouring villagers, assembling to
the number of twenty thousand, headed by their alder-,
man and capital burgesses, made a violent attack;upon
the monastery; they demolished the gates, doors, and
windows, and reduced a considerable part of the building
to ashes; they wounded the monks, and pillaged
the coffers, from which they took the charters, deeds,
and other valuable property, including plate, £5000
sterling, and three thousand florins of gold. The king,
having been informed of this outrage, sent a military
force to quell the tumult; the alderman and twentyfour
of the burgesses were imprisoned, and thirty carts
loaded with rioters were sent to Norwich; of these,
nineteen were executed, and one was pressed to death
for refusing to plead: thirty-two of the parochial
clergy were also convicted as abettors; and the inhabitants
were adjudged to pay a fine of £140,000, which was
afterwards mitigated on the restoration of the stolen
property.
The monastery remained in the possession of the
Benedictine monks for five hundred and nineteen years;
it contained within its precincts the churches of St.
Margaret, St. Mary, and St. James, and its revenue, at
the dissolution, was £2336. 16. The remains consist
chiefly of the abbey gate, still entire, and displaying
some elegant features in the decorated style of English
architecture; the abbey bridge, in good preservation;
and detached portions of the walls, which still ex-,
hibit traces of its former magnificence. About the year
1256, a fraternity of the Franciscan order came to Bury,
but they were compelled by the abbot to remove beyond
the precincts of the town, where their establishment
continued till the dissolution. Henry I., on 'his return
from Chartres, repaired to the shrine of St. Edmund,
where he presented a rich offering, in gratitude for his
safe return to his own dominions; and in 1173, Henry
II., having assembled a large army at this place, to
oppose his rebellious sons, caused the sacred standard
of St. Edmund to be borne in front of his troops, and
to its influence was ascribed the victory that he obtained
over them in the battle of the 27th of October.
In 1214, King John was met here by the barons, who
compelled him to confirm the grant of Magna Cbarta,
to abolish the Norman laws, and to govern the kingdom
by those of Edward the Confessor. Henry HI. held a
parliament here in 1272, which may be regarded as the
outline of a British House of Commons; and in. 1296,
Edward I. visited this town, where he also held a parB
Hainerit. In 1381, Sir John Cavendish, then Lord Chief
Justice, was brought hither and beheaded by the Suffolk
and Norfolk insurgents, amounting to fifty thousand"
men, who afterwards attacked the abbey, executed
the prior, Sir John Cambridge, and continued their career
of lawless outrage till they were finally dispersed
by the exertions of Spencer, the martial Bishop of Norwich.
In 1526, the Dukes of Suffolk and Norfolk
assembled their forces here, to quell a dangerous insurrection
of the inhabitants of Lavenham and the
adjacent country; and on the death of Edward VI.,
in -1553, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland,
made this place the rendezvous of his forces, when he
caused Lady Jane Grey to be proclaimed successor to
the1 throne. In 1555-6, twelve persons Were burned
at'the stake, in the persecutions on account of religious
tenets during the reign of Mary: in 1583, her successor
Elizabeth visited Bury, where she was magnificently
entertained.
The town is delightfully situated on a gentle eminence/
on the western bank of the river Larke, also
called the'Bourne, in the centre of an open and richly
cultivated tract' of country: the streets are Spacious,
well paved, and lighted with oil, under an act of parliament
passed in the 51st of George IIL, and extended
for general improvement in the 1st of George IV. The
houses are in general uniform and handsomely built,
and the inhabitants are amply supplied with water: the
air is salubrious, the environs abound with interesting
scenery, and the peculiar cleanliness of the town, and
the number and variety of its public institutions,
render it desirable as a place of residence. The subscription
library, formed by the union of two separate
institutions, one of which was 'established in 1790, and
the other in 1795, contains a valuable collection,' and
is liberally supported: there are also a newsrroom,
four circulating libraries, and a billiard-room. The botanical
gardens, containing a well-arranged assortment
of'aquatic, alpine, and herbaceous plants, and forming
an agreeable promenade, in one of the finest situations,
commanding a view of the ruins of the abbey and
much picturesque scenery, were-established by Mr. N. S.
Hodson, and are supported by an annual subscription
of two guineas from each member: the theatre, a neat
building; erected in 1819, is opened during the great
fair, by the Norwich company of comedians. Concerts
take place occasionally in the old theatre, built in 1780,
which has been converted to this use; and assemblies
are held during the season at the subscription
rooms, erected in 1804, and handsomely fitted up. A
mechanics' institution has recently been established.
The spinning of yarn was formerly the principal source
of employment for the poor, and the halls in which the
wool was deposited are yet standing; but no particular
branch of "manufacture is at present carried on. About
a mile from the town the river Larke becomes navigable
to Lynn, whence coal and other commodities are brought
hither in small barges. The market days are Wednesday
and Saturday, the former for corn, &c., the latter
for meat and poultry. Fairs are held on the Tuesday
in Easter week, for toys, &c.; October 1st, for horses,
cattle, butter, and cheese: the great fair commences on
the 10th of the same month, and generally continues
about three'weeks; and December 1st, for cattle, butter,
cheese, &c.
The government, by charter of incorporation granted in the 4th of James
I, and extended in subsequent reigns, is vested in an
alderman, recorder, twelve capital burgesses, and twenty-
four common councilmen, assisted by a townclerk,
four Serjeants at mace, andsubordinatebfficers. The
alderman, who is chosen annually from, among the
capital burgesses, recorder, and coroner, are justices
of the peace; there are also five assistant justices,
chosen either from the burgesses, or from the inhabitants
generally: these magistrates exercise exclusive
jurisdiction. The freedom of the borough is acquired
by servitude and gift, but is never taken up.
The corporation hold courts of session for the trial of
capital offenders, and a court of "pleas to the amount of
£ SJOO: a court for the recovery of debts under 40s. is
held under the chief steward of the liberty of Bury.
The assizes for the county and liberty are also held
here: there is always a separate commission for the
borough and liberty. The shire-hall, on the site of the
ancient church of St. Margaret, is a neat modern building,
containing two courts for civil and criminal causes.
The guildhall, where the borough courts are held, has
a beautiful ancient porch of flint, brick, and stone, on
which are sculptured the arms of the borough; the
hall contains some good portraits of members of the
corporation, and representatives of the borough,
among which is a portrait of Admiral Hervey, by Sir
Joshua Reynolds; over the entrance is a chamber
wherein the records of'the corporation are deposited.
The town bridewell, situated on the Hog hill, was formerly
a synagogue; the circular windows bespeak its
antiquity, and it appears, -from other parts^ to be
of Norman origin. The new county gaol, erected in
1805, is a spacious building upon the radiating principle,
the keeper's house being in the centre: the
buildings are surrounded by a stone wall twenty
feet high, enclosing an octagonal area, the diameter of
which is two hundred and ninety-two feet; they consist
of four wings, and have been lately enlarged; a
tread-wheel has also been recently added. The house
of correction, near the gaol, enclosed within a high
wall, is arranged with a due regard to classification;
and the internal regulations are superior to those of
most others in the country. The borough first received
a precept to return representatives to parliament in the
30th of Edward I., but made no subsequent return till
the 4th of James I., since which it has continued to
send two members: the right of election is vested
exclusively in the alderman and thirtyTsix burgesses,
who are in the interest of the Duke of Grafton and the
Marquis of Bristol: the alderman is the returning
officer, and has the casting vote.
Bury comprises the parishes of St. Mary and St,
James; the living of each is a donative, in the patronage
of the Mayor and Corporation. The church, dedicated
to St, Mary, completed about the year 1433, is a
spacious and elegant structure in the later style of English
architecture, with a low massive tower; the north
door is in the decorated style, and the porch, the roof
of which is singularly beautiful, is of later date: the
roof of the nave is finely carved, and supported upon
slender-shafted columns;. the roof of the chancel is
painted and gilt, and highly embellished in compartments:
on the north side of the altar is a monument
of white marble to the memory of Mary Tudor, third
daughter of Henry VII., wife of Louis XII. of France,
and afterwards of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk.
The church of St. .lames is a large and handsome edifice,
in the later style of English architecture, of which
the western end is a rich and beautiful specimen: the
church gate,, leading to the precinct of the abbey, is
surmounted by a -fine .Norman tower, containing the
bells: the chancel has been much altered from its
original character, by the insertion of modern windows.
There are two places of worship for,Independents, and
one each for Baptists, the Society of Friends, Methodists,
Unitarians, $n.d Roman Catholics.
The grammar: school, founded by Edward VI., is
open to the sons of inhabitants, upon the payment of
two guineas.entrance, and the same sum per annum; it
has four: exhibitions of the value of £20 each, and two
others of about the same value each, per annum, to
either of the Universities: .there are about one.hundred
scholars on the foundation: .a new school-house
has been erected by public contribution; over the entrance
is a bust of the founder, with an appropriate
inscription, and adjoining the school-room is a good
house for, the master; the institution, in which several
distinguished individuals, have received the rudiments
of their education, has long occupied a high statioii
among the schools in the country. There are four charity
schools, in two of which four hundred boys, and
in the others one hundred and fifty "girls, are instructed
and clothed, supported partly by an endowment of
£70 per annum, and partly by subscription. The
almshouses, about one hundred in number, were founded
by Mr. Edmund King, Mrs. Margaret Drury, and
others, and are under the superintendence of trustees,
in whom funds, amounting to £2000 per annum, have
been .at various times invested for charitable uses.
Cloptqn's asylum was founded for the support of six
aged widowers, and the same number of widows, being
decayed housekeepers, by Poley Clopton, M.D., who
endowed it with property producing £300 per annum;
it is a neat brick building with projecting wings, having
the arms of the founder over the entrance in the
centre. The Suffolk general hospital, established in
1825, and supported by subscription, was originally
built by government for an ordnance dep6t, but was
afterwards purchased and converted to its present use;
it contains accommodation for forty patients, and is
under the superintendence of a president, vice-presidents,
and governors, and gratuitously attended by the physicians
and surgeons in the town and neighbourhood.
Near the north gate, on the road to Thetford, are the
ruins of St. Saviour's hospital, founded in the reign of
King John, with an income of one hundred and.fiftythree
marks, where the "good" Duke of Gloucester
is believed to have been murdered. A little beyond it
stood St. Thomas' hospital and chapel, now a private
dwelling; and about half a mile distant may be traced
the site of the old priory. Various other ruins connected
with the abbey and its early history are visible.
Many minor institutions were dependent on it, of which
there are not at present any remains: among these may
be noticed a college of priests, dedicated to the Holy
Name of Jesus, founded in the reign of Edward IV.,
and suppressed in that of Edward VI.; an hospital]
dedicated to St. John, founded by one of the abbots
in the reign of-Edward I. j an hospital dedicated-to St.
Nicholas, founded also by an abbot of St. Edmund's,
the revenue of which, at the dissolution, was £6.19.11.-
and St. Peter's hospital, founded in the latter part of
the reign .of Henry I., or the beginning of that of Stephen,
the revenue of which, at the dissolution, was
£10. 18. 11. This is the native place of Sir Nicholas
Bacon, Bishops Gardiner and Pretyman, and Dr.
Blomfield, the present Bishop of London. . Bury confers
the.title of viscount on the family of Keppel; earls
of Albemarle.