A lovely morning sunshine inspired us to get in the car and take off to explore. On the cruise on the Nile we had struck up conversation with Phil and Jan (both in education). They were inveterate travellers who expressed an ambition to follow our example of stepping into the wide world and seeing as much as possible. They told us of a place called Lavenham, which they described as a "lovely old village" and which we discovered was not too far from here.And it lived up to its description.
The village was originally a significant town of timber framed houses and home to a thriving cloth industry dating back to the 16th Century. So we had to adjust our historical clock away from the "4000 years ago of Egypt" to a mere 500 years!!
IN the 17th Century the bubble of economic success had burst and Lavenham became a backwater with its inhabitants unable to afford to rebuild their houses. It was not until some three centuries later with the coming of the railway that Lavenham became relatively affluent once more.
The Guildhall of Corpus Christi dates from around 1530 is one of the finest surviving examples of timber framed buidlings in England and is substantially preserved by the National Trust.It houses a museum which shows the history of both the cloth trade and the agricultural activity of the town.
The main street is full of well maintained original buidlings including the spectacular Crooked House which is now an art gallery. A very interesting place to visit- and Carol found a butcher's shop with excellent meat!!!
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