This picture shows the Abbey cathedral of St Edmundsbury and part of the centre of Bury St Edmunds. The modern cathedral is built at the front of the mediaeval cathedral and is very much smaller than the earlier building.

The original Cathedral was part of a monastery devoted to St Edmund. It became an important centre for pilgrims. To house the workers needed to provide the facilities for the pilgrims the Abbots built a new town outside the walls of the monastery. This can be easily seen in the pattern of the streets which are shaped into square rectangular blocks of a "grid iron" pattern, running parallel to the west wall of the Abbey gardens. Two great towers were built into this wall and can also be seen. Behind the ruins can be seen the remains of the pillars of the nave leading to the choir at the east end at the right bottom of the picture.

The collapse of the building followed the dissolution of the monasteries. Much of the Limestone and flint used in the original construction was reused by the builders of other churches and buildings.