Bury St Edmunds Guildhall

The stories of 1000 years of Bury St Edmunds heritage are woven into the very fabric of the Guildhall – the oldest continuously used civic building in Britain. Monks, monarchs, merchants and miscreants have all played their part in this fascinating tapestry of time.

The earliest written reference to the Guildhall dates back to 1279, when the Bury Chronicle records a visit to the building by Lords John of Cobham and Walter de Heliun. In addition, the street upon which it was built appears to have been known as Guildhall Street as far back as the 1290s. However, the evidence of the building itself would suggest that it was already over a century old by the time of John of Cobham and Walter de Heliun’s visit.