First Impressions

 

 I am reminded from the blog title that the first title Jane Austen chose for her subsequent Pride and Prejudice, was First Impressions
so I must tread softly less I tread on anyone’s dreams, as W.B.Yeats might have put it.

A strong feature for me immediately, of living in Bury, was of the open and friendly nature of the local populace and the very different street courtesies and public connections from those in Beloved Bruges. I had been used to a similar atmosphere in Wye in Kent where I lived for over thirty years, but that is easier to achieve in a village of two and a half thousand people, than in a medium-sized tourist town. Another strong impression I have gained, is that there is quite a lot of relative poverty in this area though this is not manifested in unease or unhappiness. Not at all; one senses chiefly contentment and acceptance; I have seen any number of “little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love” [Wordsworth], small courtesies that warm the heart. Truly “the best portion of a good man’s life” as the poet observed. But, nonetheless, there is poverty and quite a sizeable middle class with a gap between the two. Perhaps not surprising then to realise that this is a Conservative stronghold which reminds me that it is time to re-join the Labour Party, now chiefly de-Corbynised.

The Abbey Gardens nearby are stunning in scope, beauty and early mediaeval ruins and were created as such in 1831. That the Gardens are in the centre of town, close to coffee shops and newsagents, still seems remarkably fortunate, demonstrating history living and touching the present day. Thus, in a few square metres from the Angel Hotel, beloved of Dickens, begin the numerous remains of the Abbey of St Edmund, founded in 1020 and once one of the richest and most powerful Benedictine monasteries in England, built to house the remains of Edmund, King of the Angles after his murder by marauding Danes in 869 A.D. His shrine became a place of pilgrimage for hundreds of years. It was here in 1214 that the English barons met to swear the oath that would eventually force King John to accept what became the Magna Carta.

St Mary’s nearby, was built between 1290 and 1490 as part of the Abbey complex. Mary Rose Tudor,

Queen of France, and later Duchess of Suffolk, is buried

St Mary's, Bury St Edmunds

there and a supreme irony is that her Royal brother’s greed and wanton use of his limitless power began the slow decay of the venerable Abbey, stripped of its gold, its treasures, and tragically, its lead. It was largely destroyed by the 18^th century. Mary Tudor died six years before the Dissolution of the Monasteries and was initially buried in a splendid tomb in the ancient Abbey before eventually being removed to a much more modest resting place in St. Mary’s.

Mary Tudor, 1496-1533

Then, still in this same small area, is St Edmondsbury Cathedral, built on the site of 1000 years of worship and pilgrimage. Originally dedicated as St James’s Church and built within the precincts of the Abbey in the early 12^th century, it was largely re-built in 1503 and promoted to Cathedral in 1914 when the Diocese of St Edmundsbury was created though not until 1959 did renewed construction begin to truly up-grade the church to the status of Cathedral. The Gothic Revival tower was added in 2000 funded by the Millennium Commission and the Cathedral celebrated as complete on July 20 2005.

Unitarian Baptist Chapel, Churchgate Street.

I have noticed several Nonconformist chapels, such as Baptist and Methodist, when wandering the central streets, but I suspect there is quite a convoluted and complex history of a religious tapestry in Bury, other than the Church of England, typical of Nonconformist and Roman Catholic histories elsewhere in England. However, Bury seems to have been strong in different Nonconformist strands. One classic building which has caught my eye is the Bury Unitarian Baptist Church, Grade 1 listed and built in 1711 in the English Baroque style, in Churchgate Street. Constructed of two tone red bricks, it is of beautiful proportions and must be one of the finest buildings in the town. Certainly, its facade is “one of the jewels of Bury” and inside the spacious interior, lit by beautiful windows, there used to be box pews.

St. Edmundsbury Cathedral
Completed 2005.

Baptist Chapel, Garland Street, built in 1834 after its 
congregation outgrew the original premises on
Lower Baxter Street, itself opened in 1800 as the 
first Baptist Church in Bury.

Bury United Reformed Church, Brentgovel Street,
formed in 1972 from several Congregational and 
Presbyterian churches. Similar to the 
Methodist and Baptist faiths.