A thousand years of history and still this green oasis keeps evolving
This year Bury St Edmunds celebrates the belated millennium of its historic abbey, founded in 1020 by King Cnut. One man who is excited to finally mark the milestone is Martyn Taylor. Chairman of The Bury Society, he has lived in the town all of his life, and is the go-to person when it comes to all things Bury.
“It’s incredible that the abbey has now turned 1,000 years old, and we can finally celebrate that this year,” he says. "We’ve got lots of events taking place between now and November.” Keen to share the town’s history with both locals and tourists, Martyn joined the society’s committee in 2006 and has been working with it ever since, helping with initiatives such as the Blue Plaque trail, and organising a photo competition for its 40th anniversary in 2011.
The abbey is at the heart of Bury St Edmunds' unique place in British history. “The abbey grew due to the fact that Edmund, the King of East Anglia, was martyred on November 20, 869,” explains Martyn. King Edmund would end up being buried in a monastery in the settlement, which at the time was called Beodricesworth. Edmund eventually became the first patron saint of England, and an enormous Benedictine abbey grew around his shrine. Construction began in 1081 and was completed in 1210. It stood until 1539 when it was destroyed by Henry VIII in the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
“The abbey church was the largest Romanesque church in the whole of northern Europe," says Martyn. Today it's mostly ruins, extensive ruins nonetheless scattered through the Abbey Gardens in the centre of town, where you can also find the 14th century Abbeygate, and the 12th century Norman Tower. Abbey Gardens cover 14 acres, and are known for their award-winning floral displays. Visually, culturally, and historically, these gardens are a huge attraction and around one million people visit each year.
Around 20,000 plants are bedded out in the spring for the summer display, while 12,000 plants and 20,000 bulbs are planted in the autumn for the spring display. "Where the flowerbeds are today, this was called The Great Court of the Abbey and they were designed in 1831 by Nathaniel Shirley Harness Hodson,” explains Martyn. A keen horticulturalist, Hodson had a small botanical garden in Bury St Edmunds after moving there from London in 1818 to turn his hobby for plants into a profession.
His green-fingered skills caught the eye of the abbey’s owner, the Marquess of Bristol who was so impressed with Hodson’s work, he asked him to design a botanical garden on the former court of the abbey. Utilising the same concentric flowerbed design that was in the Royal Botanical Gardens in Brussels, he created the Abbey Gardens as we know them today. By 1820, Hodson brought his personal collection of plants to the new garden on the east side of the churchyard, three acres which ran down to the River Lark.
By 1831, it had officially opened. To help cover the costs of rent (£60 a year), the salary for a curator, and general maintenance, Hodson appealed for subscribers, who for a yearly fee, had access to the gardens for their enjoyment. He was signed up 133 subscribers to his garden. “When it first opened, it was two guinea per annum, and sixpence per child, which was a lot of money then,” explains Martyn. Over the years, thanks to subscribers and donations, Hodson was able to expand the garden. He was so beloved throughout the town, he became an esteemed member of Bury society, as well as the town’s mayor between 1855 and 1856. He also had a house built for him in the garden’s grounds – Alwyne House – which became a tearoom in the years following his death, but has since returned to being a private residence.
As you make your way through Abbey Gardens, Hodson’s influence can be seen to this day. Little white numbered discs scattered around the abbey site relate to his original plant cataloguing system. Just some of the plants that bloom year-in, year-out include roses, daffodils, wildflowers, tulips, and daisies, tended by gardeners and Abbey Garden volunteers, who keep it in top shape.
In 1912, Bury St Edmunds Borough Council took out a lease of the gardens from the fourth Marquess of Bristol for £90 a year. On December 28, the gardens officially opened to the public as a free park for all to enjoy. Horace Barker, curator of Moyses Hall Museum, said in a newspaper article at the time: “It is pitiable to compare the present state of the ruins with what is shown by 18th century prints, or even with what remained in one's own boyhood. The tale of the gradual demolition of the various buildings might form the basis for a sad but interesting record, but it is to be hoped that under the zealous care of the Corporation all that remains of the once magnificent Abbey will be carefully preserved for the admiration and instruction of generations yet to come.”
Over the years, the gardens have expanded greatly. In 1936, the garden’s concentric circles were replaced with 64 island beds, with illuminations that formed part of the coronation celebrations for George VI in 1937. “The Appleby rose garden is one of my favourite places,” says Martyn. Originally, pigs were kept there during the Second World War but now more than 400 rose bushes bloom. It is named after the late John Appleby, an American serviceman who served with the 487th Bomb Group in Lavenham.
“John spent his time riding a bike around Suffolk, and in 1948 released a book called Suffolk Summer detailing his short time here. It might be looked upon as twee now, but it captured a moment in time – and the royalties from that book helped create the rose garden.” Within it, a bench made from the wing of a Flying Fortress Bomber, and memorial stones, pay tribute to various conflicts and to the US service personnel who were stationed in Suffolk during the war, including 3,000 who were at former RAF Bury St Edmunds at Rougham.
Visitors to Abbey Gardens should keep an eye out for the Pilgrims’ Herb Garden. Opened in June 1988 by Prince Charles, it links the cathedral with the gardens, and features many of the traditional plants and herbs that were used for cooking, medicine, and warding off sprits in medieval times. It was inspired by a famous manuscript written at the abbey in the 13th century, now in Oxford’s Bodleian Library. In 1990, a sensory garden was established, designed with the visually impaired in mind, featuring plants and herbs such as lamb’s ear which is soft to the touch, prickly sempervivens, aromatic lemon thyme, sweetly-scented gladiola murielae, and two candyfloss trees.
In 2015, a Garden of Reflection was opened commemorating the murder of 57 Jewish people in the town on Palm Sunday in 1190, as well as all other victims of genocide. It features a 1.5m tall stainless steel teardrop symbolises human suffering and sorrow, two stone benches, and 57 cobble stones.
As well as plants, the gardens have a long and extensive history as a home for animals. In 1835, Hodson opened a menagerie which consisted of rabbits, guinea pigs, pheasants, wildfowl, and a variety of water birds. Today, a free-of-charge aviary survives, home to species such as canaries, budgies, teal ducks, Bengalese and Zebra finches and diamond doves.
The River Lark plays an important part in the garden’s history, and the Abbots Bridge which spans the river, goes back to the medieval era. Completed in the early 13th century, it’s at the north-east corner of the abbey precincts and is connected to a 12th century precinct wall. “This bridge allowed townspeople to access the vine fields, where they used to grow grapes,” says Martyn. Other historical monuments worth noting include the Sundial Fountain, given to the townspeople by the third Marquess of Bristol in 1870 and an early example of a sundial that was Greenwich Mean Time rather than local time. And in 2001, the world’s first internet bench was installed near the garden’s Abbey Gate in 2001 by tech giant Microsoft, enabling up to four people to plug their laptops into the modem jacks for free. It soon became an object of worldwide fascination, but it was rendered technically obsolete with the arrival of Wi-Fi. It's still a great place to sit and contemplate the fascinating history of this remarkable place...
To find out more about Bury St Edmunds, visit burysociety.com
