Lavenham Wool Hall

Last updated
Lavenham Wool Hall
Lavenham - Old Wool Hall.jpg
Suffolk UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Former namesThe Hall of the Guild of the Blessed Virgin
General information
Type Guildhall
Town or city Lavenham
Coordinates 52°06′27″N0°47′47″E / 52.107519°N 0.796385°E / 52.107519; 0.796385
Completed1464
ClientThe Guild of the Blessed Virgin
Technical details
Structural system Jettied timber framing

Lavenham Wool Hall, also known as the Swan Hotel, is a timber framed building on Lady Street in Lavenham, Suffolk, England. Dating from the fifteenth or sixteenth centuries, it has been protected since 1958 as a listed building (Grade I). [1] [2]

Contents

History

The building started life as a guildhall. It belonged to the Guild of the Blessed Virgin, one of the four medieval guilds in Lavenham. It was converted into a Wool Hall in the late seventeenth century. [2]

It was restored by Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll around 1911 who then transferred it to Mrs Culver and it became the Railway Women's Convalescent Home. After the home closed, it was acquired by Trust Houses and incorporated into the Swan Hotel in 1963. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

Hadleigh, Suffolk Human settlement in England

Hadleigh is an ancient market town and civil parish in South Suffolk, East Anglia, situated, next to the River Brett, between the larger towns of Sudbury and Ipswich. It had a population of 8,253 at the 2011 census. The headquarters of Babergh District Council were located in the town until 2017.

Thaxted Human settlement in England

Thaxted is a town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of north-west Essex, England. The town is in the valley of the River Chelmer, not far from its source in the nearby village of Debden, and is 97 metres above sea level. The town is 15 miles (24 km) north from the county town of Chelmsford, and 5.5 miles (9 km) east from the M11 motorway. The parish contains the hamlets of Cutlers Green, Bardfield End Green, Sibleys Green, Monk Street, and Richmond's Green. Much of its status as a "town" rests on its prominent late medieval guildhall, a place where guilds of skilled tradesmen regulated their trading practices, and its English Perpendicular parish church.

Wool church

A wool church is an English church financed primarily by donations from rich merchants and farmers who had benefitted from the medieval wool trade, hoping to ensure a place in heaven due to their largesse.

Clare, Suffolk Human settlement in England

Clare is a market town on the north bank of the River Stour in Suffolk, England. Clare is in southwest Suffolk, 14 miles (23 km) from Bury St Edmunds and 9 miles (14 km) from Sudbury. Clare won Village of the Year in 2010 and Anglia in Bloom award for Best Large Village 2011 for its floral displays in 2011. In March 2015, The Sunday Times and Zoopla placed Clare amongst the top 50 UK rural locations, having "period properties and rich history without the chocolate-box perfection – and the coach trips".

Halesworth Town and civil parish in Suffolk, England

Halesworth is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in north-eastern Suffolk, England. The population stood at 4,726 in the 2011 Census. It lies 15 miles (24 km) south-west of Lowestoft, on a tributary of the River Blyth, nine miles upstream from Southwold. The town is served by Halesworth railway station on the Ipswich–Lowestoft East Suffolk Line. It is twinned with Bouchain in France and Eitorf in Germany. Nearby villages include Cratfield, Wissett, Chediston, Walpole, Blyford, Linstead Parva, Wenhaston, Thorington, Spexhall, Bramfield and Holton.

Guildhall Building used for meetings of guild members

A guildhall is either a town hall, or a building historically used by guilds for meetings and other purposes, in which sense it can also be spelled as "guild hall" and may also be called a "guild house". It is also the official or colloquial name for many of these specific buildings, many of which are now museums.

Lavenham Human settlement in England

Lavenham is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is noted for its Guildhall, Little Hall, 15th-century church, half-timbered medieval cottages and circular walks. In the medieval period it was among the twenty wealthiest settlements in England. Today, it is a popular day-trip destination for people from across the country along with another historic wool town in the area, Long Melford.

Long Melford Village in Suffolk, England

Long Melford, colloquially and historically also referred to as Melford, is a large village and civil parish in the Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is on Suffolk's border with Essex, which is marked by the River Stour, just 3 miles (4.8 km) from Sudbury, approximately 16 miles (26 km) from Colchester and 14 miles (23 km) from Bury St Edmunds. It is one of Suffolk's "wool towns" and is a former market town. The parish also includes the hamlets of Bridge Street and Cuckoo Tye.

Alpheton Human settlement in England

Alpheton is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district of Suffolk, England. Located on the A134 road about six miles north of Sudbury, in 2005 it had a population of 260, reducing to 256 at the 2011 Census. According to Eilert Ekwall the meaning of the village name is the homestead of Aelfled.

Bildeston Human settlement in England

Bildeston is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district of Suffolk, England. Located around 5 miles (8 km) north of Hadleigh, in 2005 it had a population of 960, increasing to 1,054 at the 2011 Census.

Cockfield, Suffolk Human settlement in England

Cockfield is a village and civil parish located approximately 3+12 miles (5.6 km) from Lavenham in Suffolk, England. The village consists of a central point and several outlying hamlets: Buttons Green, Colchester Green, Cross Green, Great Green, Oldhall Green, Smithwood Green and Windsor Green. Surrounded mostly by fields used for farming, and with few roads, its population was 839 in 2001, increasing to 868 at the 2011 Census.

Brent Eleigh Human settlement in England

Brent Eleigh is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district of Suffolk, England. Located between Hadleigh and Lavenham, in 2005 it had a population of 180 reducing to 174 at the 2011 Census.

Merchant Adventurers Hall


The Merchant Adventurers' Hall is a medieval guildhall in the city of York, England. It is a Grade I listed building.

Close studding

Close studding is a form of timber work used in timber-framed buildings in which vertical timbers (studs) are set close together, dividing the wall into narrow panels. Rather than being a structural feature, the primary aim of close studding is to produce an impressive front.

Guildhall, Chester Church in Cheshire, England

The Guildhall, formerly Holy Trinity Church, is a redundant church in Watergate in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. The church closed in 1960, became known as the Guildhall, and was converted to be used for secular purposes.

The Long Melford–Bury St Edmunds branch line was a railway between Long Melford on the Stour Valley Railway and Bury St Edmunds on the Ipswich to Ely Line. The line opened on 9 August 1865 and closed to passengers on 10 April 1961 and freight on 19 April 1965.

St Peter and St Pauls Church, Lavenham Church in Lavenham, England

St Peter and St Paul's Church, Lavenham is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in Lavenham, Suffolk. It is a notable wool church and regarded as one of the finest examples of Late Perpendicular Gothic architecture in England.

Lavenham Guildhall

Lavenham Guildhall is a timber-framed municipal building in Lavenham, Suffolk, England. It is Grade I listed.

Wool town Towns and villages associated with the medieval English wool industry

A Wool town is a name given to towns and villages, particularly in Suffolk and north Essex, that were the centre of the woven cloth industry in the Middle Ages.

Bury St Edmunds Guildhall Grade I listed building in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, United Kingdom

Bury St Edmunds Guildhall is a municipal building in the Guildhall Street, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. It is a Grade I listed building.

References

  1. The Buildings of England , Suffolk. Nikolaus Pevsner, Yale University Press ISBN   978-0300096484
  2. 1 2 "Swan Hotel". British Listed Buildings.
  3. "Railway Women's Convalescent Home" . Retrieved 25 August 2020.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to The Old Wool Hall at Wikimedia Commons