This photograph shows the mediaeval market place and the Georgian Corn Exchange. Most of the mediaeval buildings have been faced with brick and have tiled roofs. During the Georgian period, the town centre became more and more crowded. Bury has continued to function as a centre for the agriculture of the region with corn and cattle markets. The town is now once again a centre for tourists.

During the middle ages, Bury St Edmunds became a very popular and commercially successful centre for pilgrims. A large abbey cathedral dedicated to St Edmund, who died locally, was built along with a walled monastery. As the popularity of the shrine of St Edmunds increased so did the need to provide goods and services for the many pilgrims. A large community developed to service the needs of the Abbey.

The successive Abbots planned and developed a new town outside the walls to house the workers and the pilgrims. This was also a prosperous centre for the woollen and agricultural trades of the region and quickly established itself as a market town. After the dissolution of the Abbey, the town plan and the markets continued to flourish.