St Edmundsbury Cathedral

Welcome to St Edmundsbury Cathedral, the Mother Church of the Anglican Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. For over 1,000 years the site of Suffolk 's Cathedral has been one of worship and pilgrimage.

Established as a Benedictine foundation in 1020 by King Canute, the Abbey at Bury St Edmunds housed the body of Edmund, King of the East Angles, who was martyred in 869. Edmund was a patron saint of England, until St George replaced him.

At the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII in the 16th century, the Abbey was dismantled and fell into ruin. The current day Cathedral, St Mary's Church, the Abbeygate and Norman Tower are all that remain of the mighty complex of church buildings that once stood alongside Angel Hill.

The Parish Church of St James has grown and developed over the centuries, becoming the Cathedral of the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich in 1914. Recently, the Millennium Project has seen the completion of the building with the addition of a 150 ft (45m) Gothic lantern tower, new cloisters and chapels, built using traditional materials and methods.

The Treasury, housing church plate and the Bury Cross, is open to visitors daily and can be accessed from the Cathedral via a flight of stairs.