Discover Lavenham's Hidden Secrets

Lavenham Guildhall

Often described as the quintessential Suffolk, if not English village, Lavenham is perfect for exploring on foot with its hidden lanes, medieval architecture and strong sense of community.

Stepping out from the Guildhall and its five hundred years of history, we can conjure up a picture of medieval life in the market square. Close your eyes for a moment and imagine jugglers and musicians, fire breathers and market traders selling all manner of things, everyone would be crowded in the square... the sights, smells, sounds and revelry of a medieval feast day.

Your next steps take you round corners, down hills and steep lanes, all the way encountering stories and secrets of wealth and hardship, power and poverty contributing to the history of the village we see today. There's even a moment or two of Hollywood glamour. The Guildhall frontage and the door of the De Vere House were both cleverly used in the CGI sequences as Harry Potter's parent's house in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.

See if you can find the mythical creatures carved on the outside of The Swan Hotel, those on the High Street and others on various buildings around the village.

The joy of Lavenham is that most roads lead you back to the Market Square so if you won't get too lost!