Before the introduction of county councils, Suffolk had been divided into eastern and western divisions, each with their own quarter sessions.
This area had been established by Edward the Confessor in 1044 and was a separate jurisdiction under the control of the abbot of Bury St Edmunds Abbey until the dissolution of the monasteries.
The council initially adopted the attributed arms of Edward the Confessor: a cross patonce between five martlets.
The motto adopted was For King, Law and People, referring to the association of Magna Carta with Bury.
[2] Shortly before its abolition the West Suffolk County Council commissioned Elisabeth Frink to sculpt a statue of St Edmund to commemorate the end of 970 years of independent administration of the area.