Bury St Edmunds

Bury St. Edmunds , town (1991 pop. 30,563), Suffolk, E central England. It is the market and processing center for the surrounding rich farm region. The town also has engineering works, a brewery, timber yards, and a beet-sugar factory. In 903 the remains of King Edmund were interred here in a monastery, founded c.630, which later became a famous shrine and Benedictine abbey founded by Canute . In 1214, English barons struggling against King John took an oath in the abbey to compel him to accept their demands. The result was the Magna Carta (1215). Among the buildings of historical interest in the town are a Norman gate, ruins of St. James Cathedral, and a 15th-century church. Moyses Hall, a Norman residence, has been made into a museum.

Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, small market town possessing the third oldest working theatre in England, the two older ones being the Theatre Royal, Bristol, and the Georgian Theatre, Richmond, Yorkshire. The first theatre in the town opened in the 1730s and was remodelled in the 1770s. By the end of the century it formed part of the Norwich circuit, though it was licensed for only nine weeks in the year. In 1819 it was replaced by a new theatre in Westgate Street seating 780, which closed in 1843. Two years later it opened again, taking its present name of Theatre Royal though it does not appear to have had a royal patent. By the 1870s it was in constant use throughout the year but in 1925 it closed and was used as a barrel store. In 1961 a Trust was formed to restore the theatre as close as possible to its original form, and it reopened in 1965. It now seats 352, and no seat is more than 39 ft. from the stage in the horseshoe-shaped auditorium. It is a touring theatre presenting professional and amateur drama, dance, ballet, opera, pantomime, poetry, children's entertainment, and all kinds of music. It is the only working theatre in the country owned by the National Trust, which purchased it in 1975.