From Rise to Ruins: four streamed talks planned

Four online talks streamed free from St Edmundsbury Cathedral to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the founding of the Abbey in 1020.

28 November 2020
Dr Richard Hoggett, The Abbey, the Antiquaries and the Archaeologists: Discovering the Abbey of St Edmund – This talk examines the ways in which antiquaries and archaeologists have approached the study of the abbey since the Dissolution, and reveals what recent archaeological fieldwork has told us about the development of the monastic site.

23 January 2021
Dr Abby Antrobus, The Relationship between the Abbey and the Town – This talk will examine how, focused on the shrine of St Edmund, the abbey and town developed from their Anglo-Saxon origins into the Norman period. It will consider the archaeological evidence for the growth of the built environment as wealth was generated and expansion took place, in this period of cultural change.

27 February 2021
Professor Sarah Foot, Patrons and Benefactors of St Edmund’s Abbey, c. 900-1086 – The origins of the first community of St Edmund remain obscure, but probably date back to the late ninth century. From the earliest surviving written records, we know that the leading families of Suffolk and Norfolk took a close interest in promotion of the saint’s cult and support of the abbey. This paper discusses those patrons and benefactors, explores Cnut’s re-foundation of Bury in 1020, and considers why William the Conqueror also chose to patronise Bury St Edmunds.

27 March 2021
Professor Mark Bailey, The Abbey of Bury St Edmunds and the History of Suffolk – The abbey possessed vast landed estates and extensive judicial powers throughout Suffolk, and the ways in which it exploited its properties and its rights had a profound influence upon Suffolk life in the Middle Ages: and, indeed, the consequences of some of those decisions are still evident in the modern landscape. This talk considers the abbey’s external relationship with the people of medieval Suffolk, including its stormy relationship with the town itself.

The talks will be streamed from www.facebook.com/stedscathedral