Lavenham 2020 Day 1

We left Nottingham, cold and wet, and travelled to Suffolk in just a few hours. On the way, we passed through some charming little villages, and as we arrived at The Swan Lavenham, the weather was glorious. The hotel is an impressive 15th-century building, and we spent the rest of the morning taking in the brightly coloured streets. We came across a beautiful church, St. Peter and St. Paul, which was built by donations from wealthy wool merchants. The interior of the church was just as spectacular, with a dramatic stained glass window. 

   

Afterwards, we returned to our hotel and enjoyed a delightful afternoon tea of dainty sandwiches and delicious cakes. 

 

We finished our afternoon by strolling around the medieval town and looking at the half-timbered crooked cottages. Because the town got wealthy rapidly, the houses were built with timber that was very fresh (green wood), which caused them to warp later on. By the time this happened, the cloth merchants had begun to lose their wealth because of the Dutch refugees making cheaper and lighter cloth. Hence, the buildings were never rectified. 

We walked to the old Grammar school, which was opened in 1647-1887, and was the school that John Constable attended. We then went to The Little Hall, which is a museum, but sadly it was closed due to Covid. It was first built in 1390 and then modified in the 1550s onwards. 

We nevertheless continued to The De Vere house which is a grand house full of history as one of the wealthiest families once lived here. Also, this was the residence that The Harry Potter films depicted as Harry’s birthplace and where Voldemort murdered Lilly and James Potter. That in itself made it a must-see for us. 

We struggled to find anywhere to eat without a booking, so we had the most incredible room service of fish and chips. Our day was lovely, and it really is a photogenic place to wander around.