Abbey of St Edmund Heritage Project

The Bury St Edmunds Society has awarded a grant of £10,000 to the ambitious Abbey of St Edmund heritage project, making it the first organisation in the town to provide financial support.

Bury St Edmunds Society steps in with early support for the Abbey of St Edmund Heritage Project

Made possible by National Lottery players, The Abbey of St Edmund project will conserve and protect the Abbey ruins, build a new visitor centre, expand and improve the footpaths around the site, and provide exciting interpretation and activities for all ages and interests.

The Abbey of St Edmund project is a partnership project between St Edmundsbury Cathedral, West Suffolk Council and English Heritage (the project partners) who have come together as members of The Abbey of St Edmund Heritage Partnership (comprising 29 organisations and individuals who care about the Abbey) to develop and deliver this project. They hope it will be a magnet for cultural tourists and an important gathering place for local residents.

Joe Hawes, the Dean of St Edmundsbury said,

“Whilst the project is supported with a development grant of £729,553 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and a possible future delivery grant of £6.7m, we are going to need to raise around £2.5million ourselves as well. 

“Much of this will come from national grant-giving bodies, but we will also need considerable support from our local community. It is therefore hugely important to us that Bury Society has stepped in at this moment in time, and we are so grateful to them for demonstrating such early faith in this project.”

Martyn Taylor, chairman of the Bury St Edmunds Society, said,

“The Society’s aim is to ensure that as the town grows, it remains a beautiful place in which to live, work or visit; embracing positive changes which enhance the town whilst ensuring a balance with its precious heritage. We hope that, in making this early statement of support for this vital project, we will encourage other local organisations and businesses to do the same.”

With no regular funding from the Government, and limited funding from the Church Commissioners, our cathedrals survive or fall by their ability to find creative ways and partnerships to generate the income needed to fund, not just operational costs, but also the huge costs of repair and maintenance.

Only ten of our cathedrals, plus the two Royal Peculiars of Westminster Abbey and St George’s Chapel, Windsor, charge an entrance fee.

Despite that, all our cathedrals are free to enter for worship, for prayer and to light a candle, and no-one would ever be turned away.