Our last day in East Anglia (our previous days – Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday) took us to the village of Lavenham in Suffolk, noted for it’s half-timbered mediaeval houses, and it’s 15th century church.

Having parked at the far end of the village we first visited the church.

  

We then wandered down the main street and were soon amongst the mediaeval timber buildings.

National Trust own Lavenham Guildhall (Guildhall of Corpus Christi) the home of a former religious guild and which dominates the market square.

Inside is a small museum telling the story of Lavenham. How, through exporting cloth it was once one of the wealthiest places in the country. How it then almost disappeared off the map. It was however the poverty of the village that ensured the old buildings survived since the were too costly to pull down, repair or update.

  

There is also a lovely little garden at the back of the Guildhall.

We left the Guildhall and headed back to the Market Square.

Just off the Market Square is Little Hall House and Garden museum.

  

However it is the timber-frame buildings, more than 300 of them, that are the abiding memory of any visit to Lavenham. Wander down any street and you are in a historic time capsule. Just about every building tells a story. Truly fantastic.

Sarah outside just one of the many mediaeval timber framed buildings of Lavenham

This is Jane Taylor‘s (author of ‘Twinkle, twinkle, little star’) old house

  

Lavenham is a historians delight! It is also well worth a visit by anybody with any interest in our historical past.

Then, for us, it was time for home having enjoyed a memorable few days in East Anglia  …