Norfolk, UK
Weighing more than 250 kilograms, a giant more than two metre tall stainless steel sculpture of a monk has taken up residence amid the ruins of a Benedictine abbey in Bury St Edmunds, UK.
The placement of the sculpture marks the start of the abbey church’s celebrations marking more than 1,000 years since it’s founding by King Canute. The celebrations, which had originally been planned for 2020 but had been postponed due to the pandemic, will include numerous special activities and events over the coming year including pilgrimages, thanksgiving services, exhibitions, trails, concerts and more.
A giant monk in the crypt of the Abbey of St Edmund has helped launch a year of events to mark the abbey’s 1000th anniversary celebrations. PICTURE: Phil Morley.
Until the Dissolution of the Monasteries on the orders of King Henry VIII in 1539, the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds was one of the richest in the country. Its origins date back to 903 when the remains of a martyred Anglo-Saxon king were moved to the site.
St Edmund was a king in an area known today as East Anglia, and fought a series of battles against pagan Viking invaders in 869. Edmund was captured, and when he refused to renounce his faith, he was tied to a tree, shot with arrows and beheaded. His head was thrown into the forest. Later when his followers discovered his body, they heard cries leading them to the head, which was being protected by wolves. A series of miracles followed, leading to his removal to a site, which became known as Bury St Edmunds, attracting countless pilgrims.
The giant monk sculpture has been placed in the crypt within the abbey ruins, where St Edmund’s shrine would have stood. No-one knows what happened to the king’s remains, or where they were hidden, before Henry VIII’s commissioners arrived. Although the monastery was dissolved, the church was taken over by the town, and in 1914 it became a cathedral. However, the medieval design was only finally completed in 2000, when its tower was eventually built.
The sculpture took blacksmith Kevin Baldwin six weeks to make, much of it using only a hammer.
“’Tis is certainly the most unusual project I have worked on,” he said. “But it means a great deal to me because I am from Bury St Edmunds and generations of my family are from the town, and I love the history. It was quite tricky to create the look of a flowing monk’s robe in steel so I used a pattern for the robe, much as a dressmaker would use for a costume. It was then a case of using traditional methods to create the monk, the same methods that would have been used 1000 years ago.”
After a short preview exhibition, to launch the abbey’s 1000th anniversary celebrations, the monk was removed and won’t be seen again until the opening of the abbey’s 1000th anniversary sculpture exhibition in May, 2022.
The ruins of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds. PICTURE: Andy Abbott.
While celebrations and events will be taking place until end November 2022, May is set to be a focal point. A group of walkers will be making a special pilgrimage from St Benet’s Norfolk to Bury St Edmunds, reflecting Abbey origins. On the orders of King Canute, Ulvius, the first Abbot of St Edmund came from St Benet’s accompanied by 20 monks, believed to be 13 from St Benet’s and seven from Ely. Another pilgrimage group will walk from Ely to Bury St Edmunds.
Also in May, 100 Benedictine monks and nuns from communities across Britain will gather in Bury St Edmunds for the first time in 500 years together with 400 other people including Rowan Williams, a former Archbishop of Canterbury. A procession in the ancient ruined church will be followed by services including Ecumenical Vespers with monastic chanting in the adjacent cathedral.
