Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/445

BURY ST. EDMUXD'S. 435 BURY ST. EDMUND'S. the parochial clergy sanctioning and abetting it. After ruction of a large part of the buildings and the pillage of their rich and valuable contents, the riot was quelled by the soldiery, many of the rioters were captured and imprisoned, and 19 were sentenced to death. Bury was the rendezvous of the forces of the Duke of Northumberland, when the Lady Jane C4rey was pro- claimed queen. Tho site and estates of the abbey were chiilly given by Henry VIII. to the Eyre family, but part of them were granted to Sir Nicholas Bacon. They have passed through many hands in succession, and now belong to the Marquis of Bristol. The town of Bury St. Edmund's is pleasantly situated on the V. bank of the river Larke. Destructive fires having occurred in 1608 and 1G44, the houses are mostly of modem date, well and uniformly built. Tho streets i'jus and regular, well paved and lighted with gag, and the water supply is abundant. The surround- ing district is dry and healthy, and contains much Agrt/eablo scenery. The spinning of woollen yarn was lunr.ciiy carried on here, and the old Wool Hall still remains, though no longer used as such. The principal holiness of the place is the corn trade and pursuits con- vith agriculture, Bury being a grand market for agricultural produce of all kinds. The public build- ings are : the shirehall, a modern edifice in which the ire held, built on the site of the old church rf St. Margaret ; the guildhall, a handsome building with au ancient porch, in which the borough courts are hold, and county business transacted : it contains some carious old portraits, including one of Admiral Hervey, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and the left wing is appro- priated to the West Suffolk library ; the county gaol, an extensive building on Southgate Green, with accommo- ihtimi for 140 prisoners, built about 1805 at a cost of 30,000, and surrounded by a lofty wall ; the bride- well, an ancient edifice in the Norman style, with round windows, formerly occupied as a synagogue, but now ueed as the police-station ; the athenaeum, a spacious edifice, erected about 1853, containing a noble hall, library of 5,000 volumes, reading-room, museum, &c., the ground-floor, comprising the news-room and billiard- room, is occupied by the Gentlemen's Club ; the Suffolk liwpital, a plain but commodious structure, recently enlarged by adding to the wings ; the theatre, erected in IS 19 ; a, concert-room, which was originally the theatre ; handsome subcription-rooms, mechanics' insti- tute, library, &c. The Botanic Garden, established in a great acquisition to the town, and is entered by that magnificent ruin, the Abbey Gate, which has been judiciously repaired. Bury is a borough by prescription, but a charter of incorporation was granted by James I., about 1606, the provisions of which were afterwards extended. The elective franchise was exercised on one occasion by the burgesses in the reign of Edward I., but nut subsequently until the 4th of James I., since which time the borough has regularly sent two represen- tatives to parliament. Under the Municipal Corporations Act it is divided into three wards, and is governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors. The limits of the municipal and parliamentary borough are co-exten- sive, and comprise, according to the census of 1861, 2,847 houses, inhabited by a population of 13,316 against 13,900 in 1851, thus showing a falling off in the decennial period of 584. It has a revenue of about 2,670. Quarter sessions for the borough and the spring assizes are held at Bury, which is also the head of a County Court dis- trict, a polling place, the election town for the west- ern division of Suffolk, and the headquarters of the West Suffolk Militia. The borough comprises the two pars. of St. Mary and St. James. The living of St. Mary's '8 a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Ely, in the patron, of trustees. The church, which was erected about 1430, is a large and beautiful structure of freestone, in the per- pendicular style, with a low tower of more ancient date. It has a fine porch on the north side, and an exquisitely carved roof of genuine Suffolk oak, but which is erroneously said to have been brought from Nor- mandy. In the chancel is a monument to Mary, daughter of Henry VII., queen to Louis XII. of France, and afterwards married to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. She died in 1533, and was interred in the Abbey church. Here are also a monument to John Reeves, last Abbot of Bury, who died in 1540, and two fine altar-tombs, one to Sir William Carew, who died in 1501, and the other to Sir Robert Drury, privy council- lor to Henry VIII. This fine church has been tastefully restored, at the cost of 7,000, under the direction of the late architect Cottingham. The living of St. James's is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Ely, in the patron, of H. Wilson, Esq. Tho church is a spacious and handsome building of freestone, also in the perpendicular style, erected partly by Abbot Sampson, and completed in tho reign and partly at the expense of King Edward VI. It was thoroughly repaired in 1820, when a new gal- lery was added. It contains a monument to Chief Baron Reynolds, who died in 1736, and has 2,000 sittings, of which 250 are free. The two churches stand in one very spacious and pleasant churchyard, adorned with lime-tree avenues, from which there is a good view of the town. There are several build- ings besides the churches in this churchyard, among which are tho venerable church gate, Clopton's Hos- pital, the old residence of Lydgate, the poet, &e. Besides the parish churches there are two district churches. That of St. John is an elegant structure, built by subscription in 1841 ; it contains 850 sittings, of which half are free. The living is a perpet. cur., val. 113, in the patron, of the bishop. The other, only just finished, is dedicated to St. Peter. Towards its construction the munificent sum of 3,000 was sent by an unknown benefactor. There are two chapels belonging to the Independents, two to the Baptists, and one each to the Wesleyans, Unitarians, Roman Catholics, and tho Society of Friends. The Roman Catholic chapel is a building of considerable preten- sions, dedicated to St. Edmund, and erected in 1837 from designs by C. Day. Bury has a free grammar school, founded by Edward VI., which has attained a high standing, and at which several men of eminence have received their education ; as Archbishop San- croft, Lord Keeper North, Richard Cumberland (the dramatist), Sir Samuel Romilly, and Dr. Blomfield, late Bishop of London. Several exhibitions at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge are connected with the school, and its revenue from endowment is above 1,500 per annum. Tho charitable endow- ments of the town are valuable, amounting to nearly 4,000 per annum. Of those the principal is the Guildhall Feoffment, a fund belonging to the corpora- tion, and applicable to various purposes. Several free schools, on a large scale, for boys and girls have been founded and are partly supported out of this fund, the annual produce of which exceeds 2,000. There are also National, industrial, and infant schools. Clopton's Asylum, for six widowers and six widows, has a revenue from endowment of about 700 per annum. The Suffolk General Hospital was founded in 1825. The building was originally built for an ordnance dep6t. Bury contains nearly a hundred almshouses, established ana endowed by various persons, which are managed by trustees. Of the magnificent abbey, which was twelve years in building, and was of great extent, the remains are few. The church was 505 feet in length, 212 feet broad through the transepts, and had a west front of 240 feet. It had twelve chapels attached to it. The abbey walla enclosed, besides this church and tho monastery, three other churches, the palace of the abbot, tho chapter- house, cloisters, offices, &c. The walls were embattled, and the entrance was by four grand gates. The western or abbey gate is still standing, and in good preservation. It is about 60 feet high, and is an interesting specimen of the decorated Gothic style. It was built in 1327, after the great riot already mentioned. Close to St. James's church is the church gate, a massive quad- rangular structure 80 feet in height, and a very fine example of Saxon architecture. It was restored and strengthened by Cottingham. Numerous churches,