Life

Travel: An ancient murder mystery shines a spotlight on Suffolk

One thousand years since the Abbey of St Edmund was founded, Ed Elliot visited Bury St Edmunds as it edges closer to uncovering the body of England’s first patron saint

Bury St Edmunds' abbey was one of the largest in Europe until it was desecrated following the dissolution of the monasteries during the reign of Henry VIII. Picture by Rebecca Austin/PA
Bury St Edmunds' abbey was one of the largest in Europe until it was desecrated following the dissolution of the monasteries during the reign of Henry VIII. Picture by Rebecca Austin/PA Bury St Edmunds' abbey was one of the largest in Europe until it was desecrated following the dissolution of the monasteries during the reign of Henry VIII. Picture by Rebecca Austin/PA

“IT’S believed the body may lie beneath the old tennis courts,” states John Saunders. “The truth of where he is or whether he will ever be recovered is difficult.”

John may be a former police officer, but this is far from a routine missing person case. Weaving between medieval ruins and flowerbeds in the tranquil Abbey Gardens of Bury St Edmunds, we are on the trail of the man who gave his name to the town following his brutal murder more than a thousand years ago.

Edmund, England’s first patron saint and king of East Anglia, was martyred in 869AD at the hands of Danish invaders for refusing to renounce his Christianity.

John has led tours of his hometown for the past three years and paints a grisly picture. “He was tied to a tree, peppered with arrows to the extent he apparently looked like a porcupine, and then beheaded,” he says. “If we found him, it would eclipse Richard III, totally.”

This year marks 10 centuries since King Canute founded the now-desecrated abbey as a shrine to Edmund, and I am on a weekend pilgrimage to Suffolk as part of the anniversary.

While Richard III, the last Plantagenet monarch, was remarkably discovered more than 500 years after his death under a Leicester car park in 2012, mystery surrounds the final resting place of Anglo-Saxon King Edmund.

His skeleton was guarded by Benedictine monks until the vast abbey – among the largest in Europe – was ransacked in 1539 on the orders of Henry VIII during the dissolution of the monasteries.

I am told an unremarkable expanse of grass in front of us could hold the key to the riddle. Surrounded by temporary metal fencing, it is a former monks’ graveyard which, until early this year, was covered by the crumbling tennis courts John refers to.

Ironically, Edmund is also the patron saint of pandemics. A series of celebratory events to commemorate the abbey’s landmark occasion – dubbed ‘Abbey 1,000’ and scheduled to start on St Edmund’s Day on November 20 – have been postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

John’s multicoloured face covering is a constant reminder of the chaos caused by Covid-19. But Bury is determined to recover, emphasised by numerous signs declaring it ‘back open for business’.

I find one such message located in the charming heart of the town outside the grade II listed Angel Hotel.

Splendidly covered in green Virginia creeper, the former coaching inn was a favourite haunt of author Charles Dickens and is my luxurious home for a two-night stay.

I discover Dickens’ description of Bury – published in his 1836 debut novel The Pickwick Papers – has stood the test of time. “The coach rattled through the well-paved streets of a handsome little town, of thriving and cleanly appearance, and stopped before a large inn situated in a wide open street, nearly facing the old abbey,” he wrote. “And this,” said Mr. Pickwick, looking up, “is the Angel! We alight here.”

Adjacent to the historic hotel is The Athenaeum, where the likes of Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray and Oscar Wilde gave readings, while opposite is the imposing abbey gate. Complete with modern portcullis, it leads to manicured gardens and is one of two remaining gate towers, albeit having been completely rebuilt following a destructive rebellion from disgruntled townspeople in 1320.

St Edmundsbury Cathedral looms large over Angel Hill and dominates the view from my bedroom window. A little further down the road is the Greene King brewery, while at St Mary’s Church I see the modest tomb of Mary Tudor, Henry VIII’s younger sister.

Arrivals from overseas may have led to Edmund’s demise, but they have also created one of the region’s premier culinary attractions. French restaurant Maison Bleue is a stone’s throw from Bury’s 12th-century Norman Tower, the other remaining abbey gate.

It has repeatedly been named among Britain’s top 10 fine dining establishments in TripAdvisor’s travellers’ choice awards. Based on my memorable evening visit, understandably so.

The following day I visit Moyse’s Hall Museum to further my knowledge of the compact market town formerly known as Beodricsworth.

A short walk from the Angel takes me to the Pillar of Salt – erected in 1935 and thought to be the country’s first internally-illuminated road sign – past the masked shoppers of Abbeygate Street, and outside The Nutshell, Britain’s smallest pub with a bar measuring just 15 feet by seven.

The exact location of Edmund may well prove elusive. Nevertheless, the quaint town that proudly bears his name is back open for business and has a wealth of history to unearth.

FACT FILE

:: Stay at The Angel Hotel (theangel.co.uk; 01284 714 007) from £139 per night for bed and breakfast for two.

:: Maison Bleue restaurant, ph 0128 4760 623 (maisonbleue.co.uk)

:: Guided tours of Bury St Edmunds cost £7 per person. Call 01284 764667 or see visit-burystedmunds.co.uk/directory/bury-st-edmunds-tours