Lavenham

During one of my excursions in Suffolk, I had the fortune of visiting the quaint medieval town of Lavenham. Seeing the less-than-square architecture of the ancient beam buildings was quite a treat, and at first glance you may not guess that Lavenham was one of the wealthiest towns of its time due to a burgeoning wool trade. However, there can be no doubting the former wealth of Lavenham upon viewing its colossal parish church, the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. Of all the “wool” churches, Lavenham’s is surely the most impressive. It absolutely dwarfs any other structure in the villiage. It is hard to imagine that this sleepy town could have produced a church with the highest village church tower in all of England, rising 141ft (43m) into the sky.

Another beautiful building that lies at the heart of Lavenham is the Guildhall. Touring the exhibits in the Guildhall was a great way to recapture some of the hustle and bustle of years past. As a curious note posted on a plaque at the entrance, the Warner Bros. crew had apparently just left the town after filming parts of the new Harry Potter movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The Lavenham marketplace will be transformed into Godrick’s Hollow and the Guildhall will provide the frontage for Harry’s parent’s house. Location spotters for Warner Brothers visited Lavenham in January, and must have been instantly charmed by the villiage, as was I.