Lavenham
Set within the gentle Suffolk countryside, Lavenham, a timeless hamlet of timbered Tudor houses, is like walking back over 500 years in time.
Lavenham is arguably England ’s finest most complete medieval village, a delightful picture postcard collection of bold wood-beamed Tudor cottages dating from between 1450 and 1500 that have survived, albeit crookedly in some places, intact and unspoilt for over 500 years. The village conforms to medieval town planning with a central cobbled market cross which in centuries past was hub of the local Suffolk wool trade, surrounded by former weaver’s cottages, pubs where traders would convene and the old Guildhall, Lavenham’s civic centre.
Around 300 of Lavenham’s buildings are listed and preserved, these include The Guildhall of Corpus Christi, built in the 1520s, it served as a town hall, almshouse and even a prison, it is now a local history museum, outlining the towns association with the wool trade. Also the Little Hall from the 1390s, built of herringbone style timber, once a family home is now open to visitors and the Crooked House Gallery (you’ll spot it easily enough!) houses exhibitions from local artists in this 14th Century Gallery. The many pretty pastel coloured Tudor houses that line Water Street, will also have you reaching for the camera.
Another interesting building in Lavenham is the Swan Hotel yet another timber fronted property that served as the main drinking den of US soldiers and Airmen stationed in the region during WWII. The bar is little changed and still includes the names of the men who drank here then, signed on its walls.
Of the many associations with Lavenham the most famous is that of John Constable, the great English Landscape Painter based in the nearby Stour Valley. A young Constable was taught at the Grammar School here in Lavenham in 1647.
