abbey of Bury Saint Edmunds
Suffolk, England , founded c.637 by Sigebert, King of the East Angles. Relics of the martyred King Edmund were enshrined there in 903 . Early in the 11th century the secular canons were replaced by Benedictines , who built a magnificent church and extensive monastery buildings. Only a few ruins remain, including Norman and Decorated gateways. Abbot Samson (died 1211 ) founded a hospital and free school and aided the townspeople in obtaining a charter. Two 15th-century monks of this congregation were the bibliographer John Boston and John Lydgate, a poet.