Bury St Edmunds

The elegant Suffolk town is starring on the big screen and celebrating a major anniversary

- Sally Coffey

Suffolk, that east coast county tucked in between Norfolk and Essex, is chock-a-block with pretty towns and villages, but few can boast quite as much history and heritage as Bury St Edmunds.

Unlike nearby villages such as Lavenham, which kept their medieval facades (due to a lack of money rather than a deliberate act of preservation), Bury was given an elegant makeover in Georgian times, lending it a rather sophisticated air.

It was to this newly grandiose town that Charles Dickens first came in 1835, staying at the Angel Hotel, which still stands on Angel Hill opposite the cathedral and Abbey Gardens, though it has been extended since Dickens’ time.

Dickens returned to the hotel at least twice, staying here in both 1859 and 1861 when he was on a literary tour promoting his latest works in the Athenaeum next door. Avid Dickens fans can stay in the Charles Dickens Suite (room 215), as long as they are prepared to forgo certain modern comforts.

Unlike the hotel’s other rooms, which have been given a contemporary uplift with cool artworks, luxury bathrooms and colourful textiles, Dickens’ room has been kept much as it was when he visited. There is vintage olive-green wallpaper, and a slightly creaky step leads down to the small four-poster bed. Capacious it is not.