Moyse's Hall

Moyse's Hall is a building in the Suffolk town of Bury St Edmunds. It is a Grade I listed building[1] and is thought to have been originally built circa 1180.[2][3] Now a museum, it has been used for many purposes, including as the town's jail, police station, hostel, parcels office and as a workhouse.[4]

Moyse’s Hall
LocationBury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Coordinates52.2463°N 0.7130°E / 52.2463; 0.7130
Builtca. 1180
Architectural style(s)Norman architecture
Listed Building – Grade I
Designated7 August 1952
Reference no.1076931
Moyse's Hall is located in Suffolk
Moyse's Hall
Location of Moyse’s Hall in Suffolk

History

The early usage of Moyse's Hall is often said to have been as a synagogue or 'Jew's house' but this is a matter of contention.[5][6] The origin of the name is unclear and a topic of debate, with its earliest known usage to be in 1328.[3][5] Some suggesting that it was once owned by a Jew named after a corruption of Moses, although no records show a contemporary Jew with this name or similar in Bury St Edmunds.[6] Others point to concurrent gentile families in the area bearing the name of Moys, Moises, Mose and Moyse.[5]

There is limited evidence to suggest that the building was in use as an inn and tavern from 1300 up to 1600.[2]

The building has undergone several restorations including one in 1858, funded in part by the town municipality, 36 years before the building came into the care of the town.[7] A tower clock was installed in the 1860.[8] A refurbishment extending the museum into run down buildings at the rear was carried out in 2000-2002.

Museum

On 31 May 1899 Lord John Hervey opened the building as Moyse's Hall Museum.

The museum is home to the Gershom-Parkington clock collection,[8] and artefacts concerning the Red Barn Murder, as well as important finds such as an aestel found in Drinkstone.[9] Works by artists such as Mary Beale, Sybil Andrews and Angelica Kauffman are also in the collection.

See also

References
  1. Historic England. "Moyse's Hall, Bury St Edmunds (1076931)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  2. "St Edmundsbury Borough Council - Moyse's Hall Museum, Bury St Edmunds - The History of the Building". www.stedmundsburychronicle.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  3. Samuel, Edgar. "Was Moyse's Hall, Bury St. Edmunds, a Jew's House?". Transactions & Miscellanies (Jewish Historical Society of England). 25: 43–47 – via JSTOR.
  4. "Devil that haunted Moyses Hall". Bury Free Press. 27 May 1949. p. 10.
  5. Haes, Frank. "MOYSE HALL, BURY ST. EDMUNDS. WHENCE ITS NAME—WHAT IT WAS—WHAT IT WAS NOT". Transactions (Jewish Historical Society of England). 3: 18–24 – via JSTOR.
  6. "Moyse's Hall". The Jewish Chronicle. 27 March 1896. pp. 23–24. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  7. Bevan, Beckford (6 March 1894). "Moyse's Hall". Bury and Norwich Post. p. 7.
  8. Morrison, Rhoda (26 October 2018). "Gershom-Parkington clock collection gives staff at Moyse's Hall Museum in Bury St Edmunds an extra challenge as the clocks go back". Suffolk News. Retrieved 9 February 2023. 
  9. "Treasure finds in England top 1,000 for first time". BBC News. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
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Moyse's Hall Museum

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