Martyn Taylor - Böcker

At the heart of the historic Suffolk market town of Bury St Edmunds is the ruined eleventh-century abbey. The magnificent abbey church, once one of the richest and most powerful Benedictine monasteries in England and among the largest in Europe, was built over several generations. The chosen material was flint encased with limestone, the bonding agent being lime mortar. Chalk, the necessary requirement for this, had to be mined deeply and therefore Bury has chalk mines to the east, west and in a central part of town. Centuries later, catastrophic consequences occurred when thirty houses that had been built above the chalk mines were affected by property blight and had to be demolished.With the closure of the abbey following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, there were stories of medieval ghostly figures traversing the town via secret tunnels, unable to rest. Some of their Anglo-Saxon ancestors were discovered in a cemetery when building works were underway on the edge of town.In Going Underground: Bury St Edmunds, local author Martyn Taylor offers a fascinating insight into this Suffolk town’s heritage lying hidden beneath its surface. Different chapters focus on tunnels, burial sites, chalk mines, cellars, municipal works, military defences, parch marks and much more. Illustrated throughout, this book will reveal subterranean surprises from ancient cellars to Victorian sewers. Take an intriguing look underground and discover how much history lies beneath your feet in Bury St Edmunds.

Originally called Bedricesworth, pilgrims came to worship at the shrine containing the martyred King Edmund, thus lending his name to the town. The enormous Benedictine Abbey of St Edmundsbury, alas now in ruins, was one of the largest in the country, extending its influence over much of Suffolk. Its existence contributed to the affluence of the town - so much so that even kings held their Parliament here! The town's affinity with Magna Carta is something it is proud of. Bury received its first charter from James I in 1606, enabling it to prosper even further with a growth envied by other towns. The twentieth century saw the creation of the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. The parish church of St James became Suffolk's Cathedral; its millennium tower is magnificent inside and out. Today tourists come to enjoy the wealth of history and heritage.

During the 1,000-year history of Bury St Edmunds, the town has acquired a mix of unexpected, weird and wonderful examples of buildings and the people associated with them. The old adage of looking up when going round any town is as true to Bury St Edmunds as with anywhere; for it is ‘up’ where many interesting gems of architecture, embellishments and ornamentations will be found.While buildings are obviously a link to the past and the people connected with them, retelling some of their stories brings history to life. Secret Bury St Edmunds goes behind the façades of the familiar to discover the lesser-known stories of Bury St Edmunds’ fascinating past, brought to life through revealing images of the past and the present.

There are many books written on Bury St Edmunds, some academic, others having a more simplistic approach. This book tells the story of the town through the letters of the alphabet, setting out to explore and inform the reader of some of the facts and stories behind familiar and unfamiliar areas of the town. Fully illustrated with colour photographs throughout, local tour guide and author Martyn Taylor reveals the history of Bury St Edmunds, from Angel Hill to Zulu Lane and everywhere in between.

Bury St Edmunds History Tour is a unique guide to the illustrious past of one of Suffolk’s finest historic gems. Originally called Bedricesworth, the name was eventually changed due to the popularity of the pilgrimage site of ninth-century East Anglian king, Edmund the Martyr. Local author Martyn Taylor guides us through the streets of this everpopular tourist destination, showing how its famous landmarks used to look and how they’ve changed over the years, as well as exploring its lesser-known sights and hidden corners. With the help of a handy location map, readers are invited to follow a timeline of events and discover for themselves the changing face of Bury St Edmunds.

Farming has always been synonymous with this part of England. The Benedictine abbey owned and controlled the town for over 500 years and the employment of the townspeople was centred around provisioning this huge religious house. As time went by, Bury went on to thrive as a wool town until the eighteenth century saw a downturn in the wool trade with resulting unemployment. The mid-nineteenth century saw a slow move towards industrialisation in the town though trades had always flourished. New industries arrived, such as the Greene King brewery, Bobys Engineering, the Cornish and Lloyd Foundry and then, of course, the sugar beet factory.Bury St Edmunds at Work explores the life of this Suffolk town and its people, from pre-industrial beginnings through to the present day. In a fascinating series of contemporary photographs and illustrations it looks at the impact that the Industrial Revolution had on the town, the consequences of rapid urbanisation, the changes in the industrial landscape during the Victorian era, the impact of war, and the post-war population explosion with the arrival of the London overspill in the 1960s, which also brought new jobs and new hopes. This book shows how the town has evolved to become not only an important tourist destination but a very desirable place to live and work.

From the Middle Ages, when this historic market town grew as a thriving centre of the wool industry, to its current status as a popular tourist destination and cultural and retail hub for West Suffolk, Bury St Edmunds has a proud and distinctive identity. This extraordinary history is embodied in the many fine buildings that have shaped the town.Bury St Edmunds in 50 Buildings explores the history of this rich and vibrant community through a selection of its greatest architectural treasures. From the remains of its famous abbey to the new Gothic Revival cathedral tower, built as part of the Millennium Project between 2000 and 2005, this study celebrates Bury St Edmunds’ architectural heritage in a new and accessible way. Local author and historian Martyn Taylor guides readers on a tour of the town’s historic buildings and modern architectural marvels.

Bury St Edmunds is a proud and traditional medieval market town that has managed to preserve its identity in the face of post-war modernisation, and today attracts thousands of visitors who enjoy its unique charms. St John’s Street was saved by concerned residents in 1971 and is still full of distinctive independent shops today. However, it hasn’t all been good news: the demise of the cattle market and associated flea market was a major blow to the town and an ultra-modern development, The Arc, now stands there instead; the town has lost every greengrocer and almost every butcher and baker, while over forty pubs have closed and with them the traditional games and sports that we participated in before the advent of the modern technological age. Lost Bury St Edmunds is a fully illustrated book that sheds light on the town’s past and will appeal to both visitors and residents who have the fondest of memories of what was once there.