St Edmundsbury Cathedral

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It was a very clear and sunny in Bury St Edmunds on 1 November 2005. John, Mary, Mark and I strolled through the historical spots of Bury St Edmunds.

After leaving the Car Park, we stopped at the 13th century Abbot’s Bridge crossing over the river. We weren’t able to cross over the bridge, but the authentic stone arch bridge offered a picturesque sight with willows, golden, red, and yellow coloured leaves, and waterfowl, which were reflected on the water.

Next, we entered the Abbey Garden, and walked around the flowerbeds, rose garden, and aviary. Winter flowering plants e.g. pansies, primulars, planted in the flowerbeds.

After ambling through the garden, we approached St Edmundsbury Cathedral from the rose garden. The cathedral looked a brand new building as it had been re-built with the millennium project. We heard that Prince Charles visited there recently.

We were amazed at the very decorative ceiling in the nave roof, which was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott. There were excellent waxworks representing angels and shields attached on both sides of the nave roof. According to the guidebook of St Edmundsbury Cathedral, the nave is the most historical part in the building, which was initially designed in the 16th century by John Wastell whose work can be seen in King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, Bell Harry Tower at Canterbury Cathedral, the fan vault at Peterborough Cathedral and some parish churches in the UK. We saw the font, Reynolds monument, and medieval columns with Victorian decoration while walking round the nave. Next, we moved to the choir and chancels via the Lady Chapel, which was designed by Stephan Dykes Bower. Having seen the design of the ceiling, furniture, and monuments, I could clearly see the difference between the nave and choir’s seats, decorations on the interior and exterior and furniture that have been designed and enlarged recently, i.e. the 1960s onwards.

We entered the Treasury Room, and looked at the collections of gold, silver, and bronze-gilt plates, wine cups, and bowls in the glass cabinet, an embroidery representing the life of St Edmund, a replica of the medieval cloister cross carved in the 12th century from walrus ivory, etc displayed in the rooms.

We then went to the tea room, which was converted from the Refectory. I remembered seeing the iron sculpture of the ship in the garden. John and Mary were wonderful people and they treated us to the main dish and desserts for the lunch.

Finally, we popped in the shop. There were a lot of books relating to the history of Bury St Edmunds, East Anglia, and Suffolk, postcards, CDs, and clothing items. We noted some festive items such as chocolates and candles.

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