Series of events announced to mark 1000 years of the founding of the Abbey of St Edmund

Bury St Edmunds will celebrate the founding of the Abbey of St Edmund by King Canute 1000 years ago with a year of special events which were launched on St Edmund’s Day, Saturday, November 20, and culminated on the Saint’s feast day next year.

Some of the events have been brought forward from 2020, when they were postponed due to the pandemic, others are new for 2022.

Key events planned are:

Sculpture exhibition preview, giant monk in Abbey Gardens.

A giant 7ft 6ins tall monk sculpture, made from 2mm thick steel and weighing some 250kg, went on display in the Abbey Gardens to celebrate St Edmund’s Day and to promote the Abbey 1000 celebrations for 2022. Designed by Nigel Kaines and made by blacksmith Kevin Baldwin from Designs on Metal, it was installed in the crypt in the abbey ruins, where St Edmund’s Shrine would have stood. The preview weekend was the public’s only chance to take a photograph or selfie with the monk this year for entry into an online competition as it will not be displayed again until next May, when it will be the first installation at the Abbey 1000 Sculpture Exhibition (May 1 to November 30, 2022), which will feature a different sculpture each month. 

St Edmund’s Day Mass at St Edmund’s RC Church.

To celebrate the feast of St Edmund and as a start to the Abbey 1000 celebrations a service was held at St Edmund’s Catholic Church, in Westgate Street, yesterday, Sunday, November 21, when the congregation was joined by civic dignitaries. Following the service there was a traditional ale stew in the crypt beneath the church where there was also an exhibition of items relating to St Edmund.

Abbey of St Edmund Anniversary Tours – April to October.

Bury St Edmunds Town Guides’ season of daily town walks runs from April to October alongside tours focusing on various aspects of the Abbey and St Edmund. These bring to life the significance and enormity of the Abbey, shedding light on what life was like for those living within its walls as well as for those on the outside. Special tours have also been devised for children.   

Abbey 1000 Heritage Trail – May 21 to November 20.

Our Bury St Edmunds BID and historian and author Martyn Taylor have created a brand new Abbey 1000 Heritage Trail around the town centre for 2022.

Abbey 1000 Sculpture Exhibition – May to November.

A monthly changing display of sculptures will be on display between May and November in the crypt within the Abbey ruins, where the shrine of St Edmund would have stood. Schools and artists are being invited to create the artworks on a theme of the story of the Abbey and St Edmund. The first sculpture to be installed will be the giant Monk.

Exhibition of Abbey Manuscripts in Cathedral Treasury – May 2 to June 9.

Seven manuscripts from the Abbey Scriptorium are being reunited for the first time in their place of origin since 1539. Hand written and decorated by monks in the Abbey, they will be displayed in the Cathedral Treasury. The manuscripts are on loan from Pembroke College, Cambridge where they were donated by William Smart (Portreeve of Ipswich) in 1599.

Pilgrimages from St Benet’s, Norfolk and Ely.

A group of walkers will be making a pilgrimage from St Benet’s, Norfolk, to Bury St Edmunds, arriving on May 14. King Canute founded Benedictine monks at St Benet’s Abbey in 1019; Uvius, the first Abbot at the Abbey of St Edmund (1020-1044) came from St Benet’s accompanied by 20 monks, believed to be 13 from St Benet’s and seven from Ely.  Another pilgrimage group will walk from Ely to Bury St Edmunds in the spring to mark this historic anniversary.

Abiding Wisdom – Gathering of Benedictine monks and nuns in Cathedral and Abbey ruins – May 14 and 15.

One hundred Benedictine monks and nuns from communities across Britain, including the Isle of Wight and possibly from abroad, will gather in Bury St Edmunds for the first time in 500 years since the dissolution of the monasteries. They will be joined by 400 other people; Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, will also be attending. They will join a procession into the ruins of the Abbey Church; there will also be talks and workshops in the Cathedral and Ecumenical Vespers with monastic chanting.

Bury St Edmunds BioBlitz – May 20 to 21.

Bury Water Meadows Group will invite nature lovers and budding ecologists to join in a hunt for as many species of plant, insect and animal that can be found in the Abbey precinct. Specialists in everything from buttercups to bumble bees to bats will be on hand to confirm findings, give demonstrations and lead guided walks and activities.

Abbey 1000 Concert – Elgar’s Enigma Variations and the Abbey 1000 Commission – May 28.

The Suffolk Philharmonic, Suffolk’s professional orchestra, will present the Abbey 1000 Concert; Elgar’s Enigma Variations, including the best-known “Nimrod”, will be played as well as an attractive new work specially commissioned for Abbey 1000, “Into The Light” by composer Paul Carr. The programme also includes Benjamin Britten’s “Fanfare for St Edmundsbury” and Parry’s “I Was Glad”.

St Edmundsbury Cathedral Flower Exhibition – June 20 to 29.

Themed to mark the 1,000-year anniversary, the Cathedral will hold a flower exhibition.

Schools Celebration – June 29.

An Education Heritage project led by Community Artist and Educator Louise Gridley will culminate in a Schools’ Celebration event in the Abbey Gardens. There will be performances and a historical themed parade in the town.

Churches Together Summer Celebration – June 26.

Churches from across Bury St Edmunds and surrounding area will come together to celebrate Jesus Christ, in unity, worship and public witness. Churches Together is made up of 50 churches representing around 12 Christian denominations.

The Abbey of St Edmund: Artisan and Pilgrimage Exhibition – Moyse’s Hall Museum – July 1 to September 30.

A new exhibition at Moyse’s Hall Museum will help tell the story of St Edmund and the Abbey. “The Abbey of St Edmund: Artisan and Pilgrimage” will include original stained glass, new stained glass and original pilgrims’ badges.  There will also be touch screen displays, loans from national, private and regional collections and family workshops and master classes in medieval craft skills.

Picnic in the Park – July 16.

A community picnic in the Abbey Gardens to celebrate the 1000 year anniversary of the founding of the Abbey of St Edmund. The Celebrations for All project will allow hundreds of people with mobility issues to take part.

2022 St Edmund Lecture – November 19.

Guest lecturer to be announced.

St Edmund’s Day Finale and Spectacle of Light – November 17 to 20.

A three evening Spectacle of Light show projecting images of illuminated manuscripts from the Abbey onto historic buildings plus a light trail through the Abbey ruins in partnership with West Suffolk College.

Ongoing Projects

Abbey of St Edmund and Shrine of St Edmund in CGI.

A fly through video of the Abbey of St Edmund ruins showing how the great Abbey Church and the Shrine of St Edmund would have looked during its heyday is being produced using cutting edge CGI as part of the marketing for the celebratory year. 

Abbey of St Edmund Heritage Partnership .

A new visitor leaflet and map for the Abbey of St Edmund and an enlarged version of the map of the ruins for the Abbey Gardens is being produced by the Abbey of St Edmund Heritage Partnership. Further research projects will also be looking into the history of the Abbey ruins.

Greene King Brewery.

Greene King Brewery will be celebrating the milestone with Abbey 1000 activity around its famous Bury St Edmunds brewed beer, “Abbot Ale”. 

Abbey 1000 Commemorative Beer.

The Old Cannon Brewery in Bury St Edmunds is producing a special commemorative beer to celebrate 1000 years since the Abbey’s founding. 

Travelling Exhibition.

A travelling exhibition will tour heritage attractions, cultural venues, local schools, the college and the town centre during the Abbey 1000 celebrations and again in future years. It will explain the heritage of the Abbey of St Edmund and encourage people to visit the Abbey ruins that remain today to understand the history of the last 1000 years. The exhibition will have five pop-up banners for a general audience and two more banners for young children; it will also be available to everyone online. The main banners will tell the story of St Edmund, outline the development of the Abbey, explain the dissolution and describe recent archaeological and architectural investigations. The two banners for children will summarise the life and legend of St Edmund, the importance of the Abbey and everyday life in the Abbey in the medieval period. All the banners are being produced by Dr Richard Hoggett who wrote the Heritage Assessment of the Abbey for the Abbey of St Edmund Heritage Partnership.