Heritage Centre Opening Times
Wednesday and Sunday 11am – 4pm Experience some peace and tranquillity in our beautiful enclosed gardens and courtyard and enjoy some tea and a scone from our Pear Tree Café
Please check website for our special events.
www.burystedmundsguildhall.org.uk
Also available for private hire for weddings and special events.
Licenced for ceremonies, Licenced bar for private hire events.
Volunteer With Us We are always looking for volunteers to join our team. Our volunteers help run the reception desk, keep the garden looking beautiful, make our costumes, help run events and dress up as our costumed interpreters, so whatever your skills, there is a role for you. If you are interested in volunteering at the Guildhall or want more information come in for a chat or email [email protected]
What is the Guildhall?
Dating back to before 1279, the Bury St Edmunds Guildhall is the oldest continuously-used civic building in Britain and its World War Two Royal Observer Corp control room is the only surviving room of its kind in the world. The Guildhall was originally just one long hall with open rafters, a rough floor and slit windows. It was the home of the Guild of Merchants until they were dissolved (for encouraging riots) and became the Candlemas Guild. Once the Abbey had been dissolved and the Guilds banned, the Guildhall changed into the home of the Feoffees. The way we see it today was the result of a ‘Georgian upgrade’, an improvement scheme in the 1760’s and 1770’s.
The Front Porch and Evidence Room
Jankyn Smyth, who’s portrait hangs above the fire in the Banqueting Hall, was determined the Abbot would not steal his bequest to the town, he left property to named members of the Guild. The front porch was built with an ‘Evidence Room’ over the entrance in which there is a safe. This part of the building dates from 13th Century. The result of a Dendrology study tells us that the wood from the front door appears to have been cut down in the Baltic in the winter during the 1400’s
The Court Room
Court hearings were held in The Guildhall for hundreds of years. The Court handled minor crimes and misdemeanours. More serious crimes were tried by visiting judges at the Shire Hall. These were the Quarter Sessions and annual Court of Assizes which could pass sentences of death or transportation. They could also fine defendants over £200 or imprison them for more than six months. Some Guildhall courts had their origins in Anglo Saxon legal statutes. We know that in 1194, the Abbot complained that legal cases should be heard in the 'Portmanmoot' at the Toll House, rather than in the Guildhall. This tells us that cases were being heard here for almost eight hundred years until the Magistrates Court finally moved from this building in 1967. Courts of Petty Sessions were the most frequent court held here. It was the lowest tier in the judicial system. From the early 18th Century, fewer crimes carried the death penalty, so the Courts of Petty. Sessions took on some of the more minor cases.
The Banqueting Hall
The Great and the Good gaze down from the walls, including two portraits of Jankyn Smyth. As founder of the Feoffees, Jankyn Smyth's name is synonymous with the Feoffment. These trustees still honour his legacy and the benefactors who followed his lead. In his will of 1473, Smyth bequeathed a substantial fortune to pay the Abbey’s heavy tax burden for the town in perpetuity. The money was entrusted to twenty four Feoffees drawn from the Candlemas Guild.
The ROC Room
The World War Two Royal Observer Corps Control Room is the only surviving room of its kind in the world. The room was set up in 1939 to monitor all aircraft movements and became crucial in protecting Suffolk by relaying vital messages to the RAF. The Observer Corps were named Royal Observer Corps in recognition of their role in the 1940 Battle of Britain. The Corps employed the latest communication technology but were entirely dependent on the eyes (and ears) of the volunteer Observers at their posts with binoculars. The Guildhall became an Observer Centre because of its proximity to the telephone exchange building at the corner of Whiting Street and College Lane. In this room we have machines designed to simulate what the RAF volunteers would have experienced. There is also a fifteen minute film giving the history of the Royal Observer Corps.
Family Activities
We run a variety of activities and workshops for children of all ages. These have included Story Time Sessions, Slime Workshops, Christmas Elf Workshops and much, much more. When we are not running a specific workshop we have on-going activities such as ‘Find All the Hidden Aircraft's in the Garden’ to win a model plane. We welcome visitors to bring a picnic to have in our gardens. Visit our website for the family friendly activities we are currently running.
Tours
The Guildhall’s striking architecture and vast range of fascinating rooms, each reflecting a different era and telling a different story, are the perfect setting for events and workshops. We run regular tours of the building, explaining its detailed and interesting history. Private tours for groups are available to book.
Talks Our Sunday Talks cover subjects in and outside of the Guildhall, past talks have included Henry VIII’s European Queens, Past and Present Use of Herbs and Reported Crimes in Bury St Edmunds. Find a list of our upcoming talks on our website.
Events and Workshops We have hosted music concert, theatrical performances, art exhibitions, medieval cookery workshops and are part of the Christmas Fare. We often have visiting experts who run workshops such as artists.
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