Post Office Directory of 1865 & Commercial Traders
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BURY ST. EDMUND'S, the capital of West Suffolk, is a borough, shire
town, polling place, railway station, market and assize town, in the hundred,
union, and rural deanery of Thingoe, archdeaconry of Sudbury, and diocese of
Ely, situated on the river Lark, communicating with Lynn, and being connected by
railway with Cambridge, Ipswich, Norwich, Sudbury, and Loudon. It is 94 ½ miles
from London via Ipswich, and 86 ¾ via Cambridge, 43 south-west from Norwich, 9
north-west from Lavenham, 14 east from Newmarket, 13 south from Brandon, 11
south from Thetford, 6 south-west from Ixworth, 14 ¾ north-east from Stowmarket,
26 ½ north-east from Ipswich, 17 ¾ from Needham Market, and 16 north from
Sudbury.
Bury is supposed to have been the Villa Faustina of the Romans, and became a
considerable town of the East Anglians. It derived its chief fame and
importance, however, from becoming the burial place of St. Edmund the Martyr,
King of the East Angles.
The parishes are two, St. Mary's and St. James's. At the Shire Hall are held the
spring assizes for Suffolk, and the quarter sessions for the county, and also
for the borough, and petty sessions every Wednesday, at 12. This is the place of
election for West Suffolk, and a polling place. It is a borough, returning two
members to Parliament, and has a municipal corporation, with separate
jurisdiction. The corporation was remodelled by the Municipal Corporations Act,
and consists of a mayor and the usual functionaries. The market days are
Wednesdays and Saturdays: at the former the dealings in corn and cattle are
large; the latter is chiefly for provisions. The fairs are on Easter Tuesday,
October 2, and December 1. The October fair is the great fair, and much resorted
to. The December fair is a great cattle fair. Bury is a grand market for
agricultural produce of all kinds.
The town is well built, and is lighted with gas, and there are some good public
buildings and private dwellings. There are four churches.
St. James's church was not finished till the reign of Edward VI., who gave £200
towards its completion: it was thoroughly repaired in 1820, when a new gallery
was added: it has about 2,000 sittings, of which 250 are free. The benefice is a
donative, endowed with a stipend, and is in the patronage of Henry Wilson, Esq.,
of Stowlangtoft Hall, Suffolk, and held by the Rev. Frank Robert Chapman, M.A.,
of Exeter College, Oxford.
The church of the Virgin Mary was commenced in 1424:
in the chancel is a monument in memory of Mary, daughter of King Henry VII.,
first married to Louis XII., King of France, and afterwards to Charles Brandon,
Duke of Suffolk; she died at Westhorpe, in 1533, and was buried in the abbey
church here: the church has been thoroughly repaired, at a cost of between
£6,000 and £7,000: the repairs were made under the superintendence of the late
Mr. Cottingham, architect, Mr. Nash, of London, Mr. Farrow, of Diss, and the
chancel by Mr. Durkin, of this town: it has 2,000 sittings, of which 500 are
free. The benefice is a donative, endowed with a stipend, in the patronage of
three trustees, viz., the Rev. C. J. P. Eyre, rector of Marylebone, the Rev.
Hugh Stowell, and the Rev. E. Clayton, of Cambridge; the Rev. John Richardson,
M.A., of Trinity College, Dublin, is the present incumbent.
St. John's church is an elegant structure, built by subscription, at a cost of
£6,000, and consecrated October 21st, 1841; it bas 850 sittings, half of which
are free. The living is a perpetual curacy, endowed by the Marquis of Bristol
and Earl Jermyn with £100 per annum out of land at Little Saxham; the Bishop of
Ely is patron, and the Rev. Robert Rashdall, M.A., of Corpus Christi College,
Cambridge, incumbent.
St. Peter's is a new church: a sum of £3,000 was presented by an unknown friend
towards its construction, and the site upon which it is erected was given by the
Marquis of Bristol.
A Roman Catholic chapel, dedicated to St. Edmund, was erected here in 1837, from
designs by C. Day.
The Grammar school, in Northgate-street, was founded by King Edward VI.,and is
well endowed.
The Norman tower of the Abbey, erected in the reign of William the Conqueror,
and now forming the grand entrance of the churchyard of the two churches, St.
James and St. Mary, to the former of which it serves as the bell tower, is
considered one of the purest and most perfect specimens of Norman architecture
in Europe, and has undergone a complete repair, under the superintendence of Mr.
Cottingham, at an estimated cost of £3,000, contributed by the parish and by
public subscription.
King Edward IV. founded a college of priests in College street, and the building
is now occupied as a workhouse.
There were formerly several hospitals in the town, the principal of which are
God's House, at Southgate, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist: St. Nicholas's
Hospital, at Eastgate, near the roads leading to Ixworth and Fornham, founded by
one of the abbots of Bury; the extensive remains of the hospital and chapel form
the principal part of a house: St. Saviour's Hospital, founded by Abbot Sampson,
belongs to St. John's College, Cambridge. Without Risby Gate stood an hospital
dedicated to St. Peter, founded by Abbot Anselm in the reign of Henry I. In the
wall forming the eastern boundary of the Abbey precinct are some arches,
commonly known by the name of "The Abbot's Bridge," which seem intended to form
an occasional foot-bridge, by means of planks laid from buttress to buttress,
through which there are passages, the greatest distance being about 24 feet.
There are many other vestiges of ancient structures, of considerable interest
from their antiquity and historical association.
The Shire Hall is a modem erection, in the Churchyard, and comprises two
convenient courts for the trial of civil and criminal causes.
The Guildhall is used as a county court, and the transaction of the general
business of the borough; it is vested in the trustees of the Guildhall
feoffment, by whom it is kept in repair, and by whose liberality one wing is
devoted to the use of the West Suffolk library, founded 1st November, 1846, and
contains 7,000 volumes; it has an ancient porch, and some portraits of local
worthies.
The County Gaol, which serves also for the borough and the liberty of St.
Edmund, is an extensive building at Southgate: it was erected in 1803 at an
expense of £30,000, and is calculated to contain 143 prisoners, with a separate
bed for each.
The Police Station is a fine specimen of a Norman house: the age of its erection
is obvious, from its general appearance and circular windows.
The Theatre, a neat structure, in Westgate-street, was opened for dramatic
performances, October, 1819.
The Corn Exchange, erected in 1802, at a cost of near £5,000, is a handsome
structure in the Ionic style; Mr. Lot Jackaman, of this town, was the builder.
The Athenaeum, a large and neat edifice, on the south side of Angel-hill, was
established in 1853, by uniting under one comprehensive head three important
institutions of the town —the Young Men's Institute (fons et origo of the
society), the Museum, and the Archaeological Institute: its present locale, was
purchased by the Athenaeum from the shareholders of the Assembly Rooms for the
sum of £2,500, the original cost of the building having been £5,000: it
comprises a reading-room, library of upwards of 5,000 volumes, museum (with fine
ornithological, archaeological, and geological collections), class-rooms, and
one of the finest lecture halls in the provinces: a portion of the building,
consisting of a news-room and billiard-room on the ground-floor, is occupied by
the Gentlemen's Club: the objects of the Athenaeum are the promotion of useful
knowledge among its members, and their intellectual and moral improvement, by
giving them access to a library, lectures, conversazioni, and concerts, to a
museum of natural history and antiquities, to the researches of archaeology, and
to the advantages of class instruction, and affording them other opportunities
of literary, artistic, and scientific instruction: under its noble president,
the Hon. and Rev. Lord Arthur Hervey, M.A., P.S.A., the Athenaeum has risen to a
position which, in point of usefulness and intellectual recreation to the town
and neighbourhood, the numerous advantages to its immediate members, and
commodiousness of structure, yields to no other institution in the country.
The town and neighbourhood are noted for salubrity; and it is worthy of mention
that Mr. John Darkin has met with such success in the cultivation of grapes here
as to be able to produce from them wines of a class to merit the commendation of
connoisseurs. Epernay, Frontignac, Oporto, and other foreign grapes are grown by
him in the open air to a perfection in size and sweetness which would appear
incredible to those foreigners who look on England as a land of fogs, where the
sun never shines.
The Botanic Garden, the entrance to which is under that magnificent remain, the
Abbey Gate, is an important acquisition to this branch of scientific study: it
was established in 1820: it comprises an area of seven acres; Mr. Robert Pettit
is the lessee.
The Suffolk General Hospital, originally an armoury, is a plain but commodious
structure, in an open and healthful situation: established, 1826; enlarged,
1846; rebuilt, 1864, at a cost of £13,000.
A weekly newspaper is published every Tuesday evening, the "Bury and Norwich
Post," and another on Friday evening, called the " Bury Free Press."
The Guildhall Feoffment Schools.—By a scheme of the Court of Chancery, three
schools, known is " The Guildhall Feoffment Schools," were erected in 1843, at
an expense of £1,650: they are governed by the 28 trustees of the Guildhall
Feoffment, and are supported by the funds (derived from rentals, &c.) of that
charity: the schools were founded for the benefit of the children of persons
resident, or, if dead, who did reside, within the borough of Bury St. Edmund's,
and by an improved scheme, dated 1865, orphans, residing with relatives or
guardians, are also admissible.
The Guildhall Commercial School, in Collegc street, provides an education in the
usual English subjects, Latin, modern languages, and mathematics, for 150 boys,
who pay a capitation fee of £1 per annum: the head muster (Mr. John Jackson)
receives a salary of £150 per annum, in addition to the capitation fees, and has
three assistant masters.
The Poor Girls' School, Well-street, educates 150 girls in reading, writing,
arithmetic, and other useful instruction: the mistress has a salary of £40 per
annum, a penny weekly from each scholar, and a good residence: an assistant
mistress is also provided by the trustees, with allowances for monitors,
rewards, stationery, coals, &c.
The Poor Boys' School, a handsome and commodious building, in Bridewell-lane,
affords instruction in reading, writing, and arithmetic to 300 boys: the master
receives £100 per annum, and a penny weekly from each boy, and the sum of £50 is
allowed yearly for monitors, rewards, and other necessaries: the master has also
a residence adjoining the school.
The following places are within the jurisdiction of the Bury St. Edmund's county
court viz.:— Ampton, Ashfield, Badwell Ash, Bardwell, Barrow, Great Barton,
Beyton, Bradfield, Combus, Bradfield St. Clare, Bradfield St. George, Brockley,
Chedburgh, Chevington, Clumney Mills, Cockfield, Culford, Denham, Depden,
Flempton, Fornhall All Saints, Fornhnm St. Geneveve, Fornham St. Martin,
Hargravc, Hawstead, Hengrave, Hessett, Horningsheath, Hunston, Ickworth, Ingham,
Ixworth, Ixworth Thorpe, Lackford, Langham, Lawshall, Little Livermere,
Livermere Magna, Norton, Nowton, Pakenham, Reed, Risby, Rougham, Rushbrooke,
Great Saxham, Little Saxham, Stanningfield, Stanton All Saints, Stanton St.
John, West Stow, Stowlangtoft, Thurston, Timworth, Troston, Walsham-le-Willows,
Wattisfield, Westley, Great Wheltnetham, Little Wheltnetham, Whepstead,
Wordwell.
The population in 1861 was as follows:—The parish of St. Mary, 6,604; St. James,
6,714: and the area of the parishes is 2,934 acres.
Parish Clerks.—St.Mary's, William Crack; St.James's, George Stearn.
Official Establishments, Local Institutions, &c
POST AND MONEY ORDER OFFICE AND POST OFFICE SAVINGS BANK.
Postmaster, William Dawson. DAY MAIL.—Letters for London, Colchester, Ipswich,
Ncedham, Stowmarket, & Norwich, without extra charge till 11.10 a.m.; registered
at 4d. till 10.40 a.m. & at 8d. till 11.10 a.m
NIGHT MAIL.—Letters for Ipswich, Needham, & Stowmarket without extra charge till
8.30 p.m. with extra 1d. stamp till 8.40. p.m.; for London & all other parts,
without extra charge till 8.30 p.m. with extra 1d. stamp till 9.10p.m.;
registered at 4d. till 8 p.m. & at 8d. till 8.30 p.m
Delivery of letters in the town commences at 7 a.m. from the 15th of February to
the 14th of November, the rest of the year at 7.30 a.m. Day mail letters
delivered at 2 p.m.; except on Sundays
MONEY ORDERS paid & granted from 9 till 6; Saturdays from 9 till 8
MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT.
Joseph Alfred Hardcastle, esq. Writtle, Essex; Oxford & Cambridge clubs SW, & 27
Pall Mall, London SW Edward Greene, esq. 12 Westgate street, Bury St. Edmund's
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