Lavenham

Lavenham, is a village in the south-west corner of Suffolk. It is one of the finest examples of a medieval wool town. Most of the houses were built between 1450 and 1500 and are in a remarkable state of preservation. Walking through Lavenham is like walking through a movie set: the half-timbered houses and pastel coloured cottages lean against one another in street after street.

Understand
Several of the buildings, including the Guildhall, are open to the public and contain displays of life in a mediaeval English wool town.

Lavenham was the 14th wealthiest settlement in England in 1524, with 33 cloth making businesses and was richer than Lincoln and York, when the church was being rebuilt (1486-1515) and the Guildhall of Corpus Christi completed (1529). Lavenham's position as a manufacturing town of national importance is hard to imagine when you see the quiet, rural charm of the village today.
 * Disover Lavenham website

By car
From London, follow M11 exit 8 A120 to Braintree, A131 to Halstead and Sudbury, then B1115 to Lavenham. From North, Take A134 from Bury St Edmunds then A1141 to Lavenham.

By train
The village no longer has a railway station (the station being closed for passengers in 1961). The nearest train station is

By bus
Chambers Buses 753 run hourly from Colchester train station or Bury St Edmunds Bus Station - Mondays to Saturdays.

By bicycle
The village in on National Cycle Route 13 (London to Fakenham) running through Bury St Edmunds to the N (where it connects to National Cycle Route 51 and to Colchester to the S where it connects with National Cycle Route 1.

Get around
The village is small enough to see on foot.

See
Most of the village can be seen in a 10- to 15-minute walk, but visiting the Guild Hall needs longer.



Drink

 * Giffords Hall is a vineyard at Hartest, 5 miles west of Lavenham; tours available.
 * Giffords Hall is a vineyard at Hartest, 5 miles west of Lavenham; tours available.
 * Giffords Hall is a vineyard at Hartest, 5 miles west of Lavenham; tours available.
 * Giffords Hall is a vineyard at Hartest, 5 miles west of Lavenham; tours available.

Sleep

 * The centre of the village has several high end self-catering houses for rental, normally for several day or longer stays.
 * Great House Hotel is open Feb-Dec, see Eat. Assistance dogs only.

Connect
As of Sep 2022, Lavenham has 4G from EE, O2 and Vodafone, with a patchy signal along its approach roads; nothing from Three. 5G has not reached this area.

Go next

 * Long Melford
 * Sudbury
 * Hadleigh
 * Bury St Edmunds
 * Ipswich
 * Stowmarket
 * Colchester
 * Braintree