After a wet and chilly Friday, Bob and I were excited to get out in the sunshine today. We decided to explore a bit more of the God’s Square area of Bury — the area between St Mary’s church, the former Abbey west front, the cathedral church of St James, and Angel Hill. Specifically, we wanted to check out the rose garden area behind the cathedral and then go down the street a bit to visit St Mary’s church, the parish church (religious center) of Bury.
St Mary’s church was one of three churches that were originally part of the Benedictine Abbey of St Edmund, along with St James, which became the cathedral, and St Margaret’s, which was demolished. A church has stood on the current site for 900 years. It was enlarged in the 15th century to its current form and is one of the largest parish churches in England.
On the way to St Mary’s we entered the Abbey Gate to try to see more of the cathedral gardens. We were only partially successful.
The garden behind the building next to the cathedral which holds the gift shop and tourist information center.
which we couldn’t enter due to a Remembrance Ceremony.
Love the old wall between the cathedral and the red building.
by local wood carver John Williams
is the detached bell tower of the cathedral.
The tower and the Abbey Gate are the only two
surviving structures of the Abbey.
the largest in a parish church, funded by landowners in 1854
I would say this is accurately described as a cadaver tomb.
It is for John Barat, a benefactor of the town and church.
celebrating the 250th anniversary
of the raising of the SuffolkRegiment.
we continued down the street
We didn’t do a tour of the brewery, but we did pop in to check out the shop. The walls inside had a timeline of its history. Monks were brewing ale on the site of the Abbey as of 1086. The Greene King brewing company was formed in 1799 and is based in Bury.
Peckish Travels 