Ruins of Abbey Church of St Edmund
RUINS OF ABBEY CHURCH OF ST EDMUND, ABBEY PRECINCTS
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1375540
- Date first listed:
- 07-Aug-1952
- List Entry Name:
- Ruins of Abbey Church of St Edmund
- Statutory Address:
- RUINS OF ABBEY CHURCH OF ST EDMUND, ABBEY PRECINCTS
Location
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Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2004-07-23
- Reference:
- IOE01/12829/01
- Rights:
- © Mr Richard Storey. Source: Historic England Archive
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1375540
- Date first listed:
- 07-Aug-1952
- Date of most recent amendment:
- 30-Oct-1997
- List Entry Name:
- Ruins of Abbey Church of St Edmund
- Statutory Address 1:
- RUINS OF ABBEY CHURCH OF ST EDMUND, ABBEY PRECINCTS
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- RUINS OF ABBEY CHURCH OF ST EDMUND, ABBEY PRECINCTS
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Suffolk
- District:
- West Suffolk (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Bury St. Edmunds
- National Grid Reference:
- TL8575364100
Details
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
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 466441
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Suffolk, (1974), 139
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 09-Jun-2026 at 08:45:22.
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