Bury St Edmunds houses [290]

Image: © Michael Dibb Taken: 8 Sep 2020

This magnificent house in Eastgate Street is now divided into two, The Ancient House, number 33A and Oak House, number 33B. Built on a corner site in a half-H form with a central range and two jettied and gabled cross wings. The central range was built up in the 18th century when the house was refronted. Some of the timber framing is exposed but the house is mostly stuccoed. The house was the home of King Edward VI Grammar School from 1550 to 1664. Listed, grade II*, with details at: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1343595 Until the second half of the 20th century, there were almost no buildings east of the River Lark except along Eastgate Street which has a number of 16th and 17th century houses. Now there are several large housing estates and a fairly large industrial estate. 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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