St. Edmundsbury Cathedral originally began as the St. James in 1503. After the death of Edmund, the King of the East Angles, in 869, the construction of a Norman abbey started to house the remains of the king. Within the abbey, several churches were built including the St. James. While most of the Benedictine Abbey did not survive, the St. James Church grew over the centuries. It wasn’t until 1914 when the St. James became the Cathedral church of the Diocese of Saint Edmundsbury and Ipswich. The completion and enlargement of the cathedral was done by Stephen Dykes Bower from 1943 and 1988. Bower intended to transfuse early sixteenth work with modern gothic design. Over the years, the St. Edmundsbury Cathedral has been subject to several renovations including a new tower, chapels, and cloisters. As St. Edmundsbury Cathedral is the oldest and most revered of Suffolk churches, it serves as the Parish church of St James and to the Mother Church of Suffolk.
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