'Magnificent' medieval abbey to be saved by grant

A £9.8m project to conserve a medieval ruin and tell its story can finally get off the ground.

The crumbling remnants of a medieval abbey are to be protected thanks to lottery funding. St Edmundsbury Cathedral wants to conserve its neighbouring 11th Century ruins and add a circular trail linking both religious buildings to Bury St Edmunds town centre in Suffolk. The £9.8m project - which has received £7.1m - includes a visitor centre and community space with dozens of activities, to boost volunteering and wellbeing, the cathedral said.

"The ruins are still magnificent and huge but in real danger. They were falling down really badly, even more than the damage that was wrought on them at the Reformation," said the Very Reverend Joe Hawes, Dean of St Edmundsbury. "The story isn't well enough understood about St Edmund, the abbey and the days of power and the Reformation," he told BBC Suffolk.

Referring to the abbey's history, he said the Magna Carta - the first charter of rights - was "hammered out" at the shrine of St Edmund at Christmas 1214, before it was presented to King John. "I'm interested in using the story of the past to ask the questions of today, and I think that's a way in which the spirit of the abbey can live again for a contemporary audience," added Hawes. The project, known as The Abbey of St Edmund, Reborn, is in partnership with West Suffolk Council and English Heritage.

It includes biodiversity enhancements along the rare chalk stream Rivers Lark and Linnet, which run through the estate. Hawes said it would spend the next few months going out to tender, with work due to start in the spring and completion expected in 2028 or the beginning of 2029. Do you have a story suggestion for Suffolk?

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