The Abbot's Palace

The Abbot's Palace. . The abbot was a powerful and influential man. To reflect his importance he had a large and luxurious residence, and this ruined building known as the Queen's Chamber is all that remains., In 1044, King Edward the Confessor gave the monks the right to elect the abbot. Most abbots were monks who had spent their lives at Bury. The abbot was a leading figure in the kingdom-he sat in the House of Lords, held great control over the town and much of Suffolk, and wore a mitre, which gave him the same status as a bishop. He was not under the authority of any other churchman in England and answered directly to the head of the Catholic Church-the pope., Right: Eleanor of Castile and her husband Edward I were in Sicily when they learned they were king and queen. They prayed to St Edmund for their safe journey back to England. On their return, they came here to give thanks, staying in the Abbot's Palace., Royal Visitors , Drawn by the shrine of the martyred King Edmund, kings and queens occasionally came to stay in the abbot's palatial lodgings. Royal visits brought prestige but at great financial cost. When Henry VI visited in 1433, the abbot employed 80 masons and workers to refurbish his house in the king's honour. The king stayed for several months -- all at the abbey's expense., Below: The Abbot's Palace before and after demolition: The top view from 1720 shows (from left) the Great Hall, kitchen, Abbot's Hall and Queen's Chamber. The bottom is the same view from 1803. , Richard Yates, History and Antiquities of the Abbey of St Edmund's Cry, 1843.