Bury St Edmunds buildings [30]

Image: © Michael Dibb Taken: 13 Sep 2020

This fine building was built in two stages. The part furthest from the camera was erected in 1856 for Gurneys Bank. The second part was built in matching style in 1880 and Gurneys moved into the new part the post office occupying the older part until 1895. Barclays Bank took over the entire premises which they occupied until 2013 when the ground floor was converted to two restaurants. The upper floors are offices. Built in brick with some fine stucco detailing. Listed, grade II, with details at: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1141139 Abbeygate Street is the principal shopping street of the town. Bury St Edmunds is a market town which is the cultural and retail centre for West Suffolk and is known for brewing (Greene King) and sugar (British Sugar). There is scattered evidence of earlier activity but essentially Bury St Edmunds began as one of the royal boroughs of the Saxons and a monastery was founded which became the burial place of King Edmund. A new Benedictine abbey was built in 1020 which became rich and powerful and the town was laid out on a grid pattern by Abbot Baldwin. After the dissolution the abbey became ruinous. A new church, later the cathedral, was begun in the early 16th century.

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