Type Guildhall Structural system Jettied timber framing Construction started 1529 | Town or city Lavenham Phone +44 1787 247646 Renovated 1911 | |
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Former names The Hall of the Guild of Corpus Christi Client The Guild of Corpus Christi Address Market Place, Lavenham, Sudbury CO10 9QZ, UK Similar Little Hall Museum, Melford Hall, St Peter and St Paul's Ch, Kentwell Hall, Bridge Cottage | ||
Lavenham guildhall suffolk
Lavenham Guildhall is a Grade I listed 16th-century timber-framed building in Lavenham, Suffolk, England.
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History
By the late 15th century, Lavenham was at the centre of the East Anglian wool trade and had become one of the richest towns in England. To reflect this prosperity, four guilds were established in the town by the local merchant families. The most important of these was the wool guild, which founded the Guildhall of Corpus Christi in 1529. Given the dominance of the cloth and wool trade, the guildhall soon came to function as Lavenham's principal meeting place and centre of business, situated on the town's thriving market place.
With the decline of the wool trade and Lavenham's prosperity, the guildhall's role changed. By 1689, and until 1787, the guildhall was in use as the Bridewell, and was then used as the workhouse.
It was restored by Sir William Quilter around 1911 and in 1946 given to the people of Lavenham. In 1951 it became the property of the National Trust for England and is today open to the public.