Caring for the Heritage of our town centre

The October article in the Bury Free Press details how we continue to protect aspects of heritage in our town centre.

The Bury Society has proved its commitment to look after the town’s heritage over the last 52 years. We make the larger organisations aware of local views on the special heritage of our town centre. Many of our principal retail outlets are housed in buildings of significant heritage importance and form part of the ‘look’ of our town centre. A recent example is in the retention of the Victorian façade of the former Post Office, seamlessly blending the old and the new.

Everyone who regularly visits the town centre must be impatient to see the removal of all the scaffolding and boarding from the front of the Greggs premises in Abbeygate Street. However, the length of time the building has been hidden from view indicates the care and attention being paid to the restoration of this fine example of a Georgian shop frontage; a hint to the grandeur of the ‘Bond Street’ of Suffolk in the late 1700s.

This restoration work was due, in no small part, to the efforts of the Bury Society, supported by the Bury St Edmunds tour guides and Suffolk News in highlighting the parlous state of the building.  The Greggs in Abbeygate Street made national headlines last year when we called for urgent action to halt the deterioration of the façade, accelerated by the peeling paint and leaking gutters. This was once a showcase town centre building whose history could be traced back to Tudor times and beyond. Now Emmerson Critchley is finishing the repair and restoration of the building, once dubbed ‘Britain’s poshest Greggs’.

Greggs is just one example of how the Bury Society’s work behind the scenes often goes unnoticed. We are continuously receiving emails, letters and calls pointing out where our influence as a society may help preserve, improve or enhance our town. These requests are considered by the executive committee and trustees of the society.

Over the years we have helped with funding improvements to allow buildings of note to continue to serve the community. The list is long but includes the Unitarian Meeting House (1991), the Railway Mission (2005), Theatre Royal (2007), Quaker Meeting House (2008), the Railway Station (2018), Guildhall (2018) and recently a grant to the Southgate Community Centre, to enhance security following a burglary. Everything we do at the society, and every project in which we become involved, must be for the benefit of the community.

Recently, a national newspaper has voted Bury St Edmunds as the most desirable market town in the country to live or visit. We always want to be among the top towns in the country and our town centre is part of that draw. Whether it be through the most visible of the Bury Society’s activities via our Bury in Bloom, or the less visible in commenting on planning matters and town expansion, the society is the voice of the local people.

All these efforts stimulate tourism and economic growth, but we can only continue to wield such an influential voice as long as we have a substantial membership. It is not simply a question of numbers, but also important to have a membership of all ages and from all parts of the expanding town, particularly from the relatively recent housing developments such as Moreton Hall, Marham Park and others. If you want to add your voice and do more to help your town and its heritage, you should consider joining us.

For more detail of our activities and the benefits of membership, see our website www.burysociety.com  or find us on social media.


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