Members enjoy a host of events

Our November Bury Free Press article has Samuel Saloway-Cooke (Events Secretary for the Bury St Edmunds Society CIO) writing about events for our members

In addition to our work ensuring Bury St Edmunds remains a beautiful place in which to live, work and visit, the Bury Society also offers a full programme of trips, talks and events for our members.

Some of our events have become regular features of the Bury St Edmunds social calendar. Our annual Winter Lunch and our Spring and Autumn Coffee Mornings give members a chance to socialise, meet the Bury Society Trustees, learn more about our campaigns and stay up to date about recent planning developments around the town.

In addition to these regular events, we organise two coach trips for members each year: full-day excursions to explore nearby towns and enjoy behind-the-scenes tours. In June, our trip included a tour of the state-of-the-art Textile Conservation Studio, where the National Trust conserves and repairs their collection of more than 150,000 textile items takes place, from furnishings and tapestries, to clothing and embroidery. In September, our trip to historic Saffron Walden included a private talk at the Fry Art Gallery on artists Eric Ravilious, Edward Bawden, John Aldridge, and other Great Bardfield Artists.

We also organise talks on the history, culture and natural landscape of Bury St Edmunds and the surrounding area. Last year, we invited author Richard Hawking to speak about the life and writing of local journalist and farmer Adrian Bell, in a talk that was introduced by Bell’s son, former BBC correspondent and independent MP Martin Bell.

Our next talk will be on Akenfield author Ronald Blythe, a poetic and prolific chronicler of East Anglian rural and spiritual life, nature and literature, who died last year. The talk, which will examine Ronald Blythe’s life and writing, will be given by his long-term friend and biographer Ian Collins, and will take place on Friday, 29 November 2024, at 3:30pm, at the Quaker Meeting House, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 1SJ. We still have tickets available, at only £6 each: visit www.burysociety.com/blythe to find our more and to book your space.

To learn more about our events programme, and to help us ensure that the town continues to grow and prosper while maintaining its important heritage, please consider becoming a member of the Bury Society. Membership also includes the excellent Bury Society Review magazine, featuring the latest planning updates, local events and articles about the history and culture of the town, published three times a year. For more details, and to learn how to join, visit www.burysociety.com.