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The following summary is a small selection of interesting points
throughout the ages. Greater information can be obtained from the
local library or Suffolk Records Office.
In the autumn of the year 869 the Danes invaded East Anglia. King
Edmund fought against them but during the conquest was slain, the
anniversary of his death being commemorated on 20 November. By the
time of his martyrdom the site of the Abbey of Beodricsworth, afterwards
known as Bury St Edmunds, had existed for nearly three centuries.
A shrine to St Edmund was created by the small religious household
who guarded his relics.
Canute became King of England in 1016 and in recognition of his
great belief in St Edmund he ensured that funds were used to create
Bury St Edmunds as a town of renown. He established the town’s
monastery in 1020 with a community of 20 monks. From the King’s
funding and at the direction of Abbot Baldwin the Abbey Church was
rebuilt and the relics of St Edmund were translated to the Abbey
and the shrine became the seat of many pilgrimages.
The history of the governance of Bury St Edmunds lay in its Abbey
from which considerable power was exercised and controls of land
and tithes were administered. Key figures in this dominance were
the Abbey’s Cellarer and Sacrist.
The Cellarer was an officer whose responsibility was to ensure that
the monks of the religious community were fed and he ensured that
the people of the agricultural land surrounding the town made their
contribution either by materials or produce. He was also able to
negotiate beneficial prices of goods sold in the town’s market.
The Sacrist was another key member of the Abbey’s organisation,
being the collector of rents. He owned at least 250 houses and was
the controller of the markets and fairs all of which raised substantial
income from rent. He also administered the courts, regulated weights
and measures and controlled the provision of intoxicating liquor.
It can be seen that the roles undertaken by the Cellarer and Sacrist
were the forerunner of the model of modern local authorities but
life did not always function smoothly - disputes were regular and
riots occasional. Throughout the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries
tensions between the Abbey and townspeople were high, the latter
regarding their life as being undemocratically ruled.
Bury St Edmunds was described as being in a lawless state in 1327,
a situation that lasted two years. On 15 January 1327 approximately
3,000 people gathered at the gates of the Abbey, forcibly entered
the premises, manhandled the monks and looted property including
the town’s charters. A great desire among the rebellious townspeople
was that the Borough should become incorporated and they extorted
from the Abbot a charter of incorporation but upon the restoration
of law and order the charter was nullified because it had not been
freely and lawfully obtained.
More riots occurred in May that year when townspeople, Franciscan
friars and other clergy carried out a further assault on the Abbey
and destroyed the doors of the churches of St Mary and St James.
In August the situation worsened when the Abbot was kidnapped. It
was not until November 1327 that the King’s soldiers intervened,
rounded up the perpetrators and the town was fined £14,000
for its rebelliousness, remitted to £4,000 if the townspeople
behaved.
The national peasants’ revolt of 1381 against the introduction
of a poll tax led to further disorder in the town in June of that
year. Peasants and people from the town ransacked the Abbey and
the home of the King’s Chief Justice, barbarically murdering
the latter and  one
of the monks. The revolt was quelled within nine days, again resulting
in the townspeople being fined.
During the fifteenth century the Guildhall Feoffment Trust was established
and was allowed by law in 1472 to administer the bequests of two
of its prominent members, John (known as Jankyn) Smyth and Margaret
Odeham and others who subsequently gave or bequeathed large sums
to the Trust. The Trustees not only used the money to provide alms
to the poor but also to maintain the town’s fabric, for example
by repairing its gates and bridges.
As part of the English Reformation, Henry VIII began the dissolution
of the monasteries. In 1539, the Abbey was invaded by his followers
and sacked. Without its roofs being protected, the structure of
the buildings rapidly deteriorated and fell to ruin. Townspeople
added to the destruction by removing stonework, recycling it for
other purposes. The only buildings to survive were the Churches
of St Mary and St James, the Abbey Gate, Norman Tower and the foundations
of parts of the original Abbey.
Many developments in the town and considerable social change occurred.
Population grew to 7,135 in 1757 and although there were many signs
of  affluence,
poverty was equally evident. The latter half of the century saw
the removal of the town gates to improve the highway access for
carriages. Laws passed in 1811 empowered Improvement Commissioners
to watch, pave, light and clean the streets. Gas was introduced
to the town in 1830; the brewing industry, banking and shops began
to prosper. In 1827 the decision was taken to build a new Cattle
Market but about 300 people petitioned against its removal from
the Corn Market.
Bury St Edmunds was formerly the county town and administrative
centre of West Suffolk, an administrative county of England created
in 1889 which survived until 1974 when it was rejoined with East
Suffolk to create a Suffolk-wide administration. After the local
government reorganisation in 1974 Bury St Edmunds did not have a
Town Council but the town’s viewpoints were represented through
the Bury St Edmunds Town Area Forum. In 2003 Bury St Edmunds Town
Council was established.
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