Lavenham Guildhall

By the late 14th century, Lavenham was at the centre of the East Anglian woollen cloth trade. Its specialised production of woad-dyed broadcloth, known as Lavenham Blue, had made it one of the richest towns in England. This wealth was the catalyst for four guilds being established in the town by the local merchant families: the most important of these was the Guild of Corpus Christi formed in 1529. The guild established their guildhall at around that time; the design made extensive use of jettied timber framing and featured a gabled porch projecting from the centre of the building on the north-west elevation. and also as a British Restaurant during the Second World War and, in 1946, Sir…