About the Moyse's Hall Museum

Moyse's Hall is a rare surviving example of Norman domestic architecture. Built in the 12th century it preserves many original features. In its long history it has seen many changes and served many purposes, including doing time as a gaol, a police station, a tavern, and now - since 1899 - a museum.

Moyse’s Hall provides the main location for the display of St Edmundsbury Borough Council’s rich collections. These range from the medieval history of the town and its great monastery through a wide range of social history and fine art collections, including the Gershom Parkington collection of clocks and watches and the collection associated with the notorious murder of Maria Marten in the Red Barn.

A changing program of exhibitions and events ensures that there is always something new to see.

The First English Village: West Stow

West Stow, five miles north of Bury St Edmunds, was settled by the Anglo–Saxons around 420 AD, making it one of the very earliest English villages.

Using the surviving pits and postholes, together with finds excavated during the 1970s, archaeologists have been able to reconstruct several of the buildings, exploring the building techniques and the lifestyle of the people who can truly be described as ‘the first English’ . Today the village is open to exploration by the public, while a nearby gallery houses the rich array of treasures excavated not only from the village itself, but from the neighbouring Anglo-Saxon burial grounds.

Newly created displays of archaeology in the Visitor Centre lead us through a vast span of human history in Suffolk - from Prehistoric to Viking times - while a new Collections Study Building caters for the needs of the specialist interested in other areas of the collections and an open storage area gives visitors a glimpse behind the scenes.