Home & Away with Robert Walshe
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Weekend Hotspot – The Swan at Lavenham from Pride of Britain Hotels
Lavenham is one of the finest examples in England of a mediaeval town, with surviving ancient buildings - all 300 of them listed as being of architectural and historical interest. It is said that in Tudor times, Lavenham was the fourteenth richest town in England. With fine timbered buildings and a beautiful church built on the success of the
wool trade, the Lavenham of today is a fascinating place to explore. The town started to prosper in the 14th century when Edward III encouraged the English weaving industry but, in the late 16th century a lighter, cheaper and more fashionable cloth was woven by Dutch refugees in Colchester causing the woolen trade in Lavenham to fail. The majority of buildings in Lavenham date from the 15th century and due to the weaving industries decline, many were never altered, so the size of the town is still very
n The Gallery Restaurant Swan in Lavenham.
much as it must have been back then. The timber-framed Guild Hall was built in the late 15th-century by the Guild of Corpus Christi, one of three guilds founded in Lavenham to regulate the wool trade. This whole part of Suffolk is well known for its historic houses and pretty villages. Lavenham’s Church of St Peter and St Paul is probably the last of the great Suffolk ‘wool churches’ to have been completed by 1530 just before the reformation. Lavenham is also blessed with a couple of great pubs, good places to eat and fascinating shops to browse around. The Swan Hotel is an example of this fine medieval
For our best deals call 0044 28 9038 1111 or visit www.mooneyhotelgroup.com architecture with several period features throughout. The old bar was once the main haunt of the local American airmen who were stationed nearby in World War II. The Swan’s bedrooms named after local Suffolk villages are original in style. Some offering split level accommodation with oak beams and panelling whilst others four poster beds n The Swan at La with separate relaxavenham. tion areas. Local folklore suggests that a housekeeper who once lived there when the hotel was a ters, and it is said that the coaching Inn fell pregnant poor woman was found hangout of wedlock. ing in this room by one of the The baby’s father was Inn’s workers. We ate in the happy to marry the lady Gallery Restaurant, a modern under the circumstances and reconstruction of a medieval promised to look after them galleried hall. both. However, on the wedThe food was enjoyable, ding day the gentleman had and the wine, expertly chosen second thoughts and left the by the sommelier. The Swan pregnant lady standing at the at Lavenham is a member altar. It is said that after that of Pride of Britain Hotels – a she became inconsolable consortium of 49 privatelyand very depressed. What is owned independent British now room 15 in the hotel was hotels. A night’s B&B costs once the housekeeping quar- from £195 per room (two
sharing). www. prideofbritainhotels.com The nearest airport to Lavenham is London Stansted with numerous airlines operating here from airports across the island of Ireland. Robert Walshe is a travel broadcaster with Q Radio Network and Travel Editor for River Media newspaper titles across the island of Ireland. www.robertwalshe.com