It might be turning 1,000 years old this year, but the abbey ruin in Bury St Edmunds has welcomed 27 new residents.
Ceramic artist Deborah Pipe has created 27 ‘mini monks,’ which have been temporarily installed in the 12th-century dovecote.
These figures depict what life would have been like for the abbey’s monks, and children have already been enjoying taking part in the ‘I-Spy’ trail, with a handy leaflet with some facts about the monks and abbey of St Edmund to help them along.
“I was trying to illustrate different aspects of living as a medieval monk,” Deborah explained. “They all tell their own tale.
“So, there’s a baker baking bread and someone keeping bees for honey. Then there are grapes for wine, because just across the river, there used to be vineyards.
“There’s a man collecting taxes and rent, which was essential for keeping the abbey going.
“The kids really like the pig’s tail and bottom. The story behind that is that the normal monks, or servants, barely ever got to eat meat, but the Abbot was frequently entertaining his posh visitors, and he got to eat all the good things.”
Last year, she approached Melanie Lesser, Chair of Bury St Edmunds and Beyond, who thought the idea sounded like a great way to celebrate the abbey.
Melanie has been kept busy securing funding for the project, and applying for permission to temporarily install the monks on the Grade I listed dovecote.
Melanie said: “There has been a lot of teamwork, but we have really enjoyed working on this. People’s reactions have been so lovely.”
The monks have been carefully inserted into spaces in the dovecote by stonemason Jonathan Presley as part of the abbey's 1,000 anniversary celebrations, and will remain there until St Edmund’s Day on November 20.
Melanie concluded: “We are really delighted with Deborah’s mini monks as they give families a fun way of learning about the lives and different roles of the medieval monks in our historic abbey.”
Bury St Edmunds town councillor and deputy mayor Patrick Chung said: "We are very supportive of Melanie and Deborah's project in the abbey ruins."
He said that the monks had already proved a hit with families and children.
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