Ruins Of Abbey Church Of St Edmund

TL8564SE 639-1/8/94 07/08/52

BURY ST EDMUNDS ABBEY PRECINCTS Ruins of Abbey Church of St Edmund (Formerly Listed as: ABBEY PRECINCTS Abbey Ruins)

GV I

Ruins of the Abbey Church of St Edmund, excluding the West Front (qv), which is included separately. C11 and C12. In flint rubble, with the remains of stone dressings. EXTERIOR: the church was 505 feet long. The nave, extended into 12 bays under Abbot Anselm (1121-1148), was arcaded on both sides: little now remains but the rubble bases of several of the columns. More complete are the 2 large transepts which had eastern aisles and 2 apsidal chapels on each side, one on the north replaced by a Lady Chapel in 1275. Parts of the high crossing arches supporting the central tower are today the tallest parts of the ruins. The crossing tower, begun just after 1100, was completed by Abbot Anselm, but damaged later and rebuilt in stages from 1361. Beyond the site of the High Altar the ground drops sharply: the 5-bay chancel is missing but the crypt below it, which is the oldest surviving part of the Abbey, built under Abbot Baldwin soon after 1066, is clearly laid out: the outer walls rise above the level of the former window sills and the bases of most of the columns along the line of the ambulatory remain. The form is apsidal, with 3 chapels at the east end, the 2 to each side of the apse semicircular. The plan of the chancel itself was similar, with an ambulatory and 3 radiating chapels at the east end. Scheduled Ancient Monument. (BOE: Pevsner N: Radcliffe E: Suffolk: London: 1974-: 139).

Listing NGR: TL8575364100