Lavenham Walk

Today I did another of my shorter walks; another of the Suffolk Thread Trails - this time in Lavenham. You can read the brochure for it here.

This was my route, pretty much as per the brochure, but I did wander a bit more along Water Lane.

Here are some of my photos.

I parked in the public Car Park off Church Street by the Cock Inn. It was a chilly day with only watery sunshine at times and I was glad of my hat, coat and gloves,

The walk starts by visiting Tenter Piece, originally an area of ground with wooden frames upon which cloth would be stretched on 'tenterhooks' to dry and be shaped. There's not a lot to see there now but some sheltered accommodation.

I descended Church Street towards the Swan Hotel past several timber-framed houses.

The A1141 was closed some way ahead.

In the marketplace you will find the resplendent 16th Century Guildhall...

...and Toll Cottage.

There was a queue in the marketplace as people waited for the fresh fish van to set up shop.

The Little Hall, built in the 1390s for the Causton family of clothiers is one of the oldest timber-framed buildings in the town. It's a domestic mediaeval hall house and is (ordinarily) open to the  public, but not at the moment, of course.

Going down Barn Street from the marketplace, I passed Molet House, which used to be 4 times its current size.

Further down the hill is the old Grammar School, which John Constable attended.

The most impressive street of buildings is Water Street.

De Vere House is the fictional birthplace of  Harry Potter, featuring in featured in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One, as the house where the young wizard's parents were killed by Lord Voldemort.

I returned to the marketplace via Lady Lane

They were still queuing for their Friday fish.

There are some impressive buildings on the High Street too.

Now it was onto the Lavenham Walk along the old railway line and then back via  the parallel footpath.

The walk doubles back from the bridge on Bridge Street Road.

You get great views of the church.

Passing Lavenham Hall...

I came to the churchyard.

The impressive Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, was open so I went in. It was built in a single, lengthy campaign from the 1480s to the 1520s, and was bankrolled by the wealthy cloth merchant families, particularly the Springs and the De Veres.

Then it was just across the road to the Cock Inn and Car Park to finish the walk.

Well that was a pleasant morning of sightseeing and a gentle countryside walk. In all, it took me about 1 1/2 hours

You can see more details of the route here on MapMyWalk and more of my photos here on Flickr.