A TIMELINE OF BURY ST EDMUNDS HISTORY
By Tim Lambert
630 A monastery is founded on the site of Bury St Edmunds
869 King Edmund is martyred
1100 Bury St Edmunds is a flourishing town
1150 Bury St Edmunds has a population of about 4,000. The main industry in the town is making wool.
1180 Moyses Hall is built
1214 The barons swear an oath in Bury St Edmunds Abbey to force the king to accept Magna Carta
1235 Bury St Edmunds gains two annual fairs
1465 Bury St Edmunds abbey burns down
1539 Bury St Edmunds abbey is closed
1550 Kind Edward founds a grammar school at Bury St Edmunds
1589 Plague strikes Bury St Edmunds
1606 Bury St Edmunds is given a charter (a document granting the townspeople certain rights).
1608 Bury St Edmunds is badly damaged by a fire
1637 Bury St Edmunds is struck by plague again. The population of Bury is about 5,000 making it a large town.
1693 Cupola House is built
1700 Bury St Edmunds has declined in importance and is becoming a market town rather than a manufacturing centre.
1780 Market Cross is built in Bury St Edmunds
1801 Bury St Edmunds has a population of about 7,665, a respectable size
1811 A body of men is formed to pave, clean and light the streets
1819 Theatre Royal is built
1834 Bury St Edmunds gains gas light
1837 The Church of St Edmund is built
1846 Bury St Edmunds is connected to Ipswich by rail
1899 The Borough Museum opens
1900 Bury St Edmunds has a population of 16,000
1914 St James Church is made Bury St Edmunds Cathedral
1916 A zeppelin raid kills 7 people
1952 Bury Water Tower is built
1964 A new Police Station is built
1972 Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery opens
1974 A new District Hospital opens
1975 A new Sports Centre is built
1987 A new Fire Station is built
1993 Manor House Museum opens
2001 An Internet Bench opens