Country Lanes, an Ancient Village and a Dazzling City

I have always had a fondness for the less-travelled road, and earlier this year the less-travelled road took me and my husband to the coast of Norfolk. It was our first trip to East Anglia. I can’t imagine why we had never visited that part of the country before (but I’m pretty sure that if it had a strong connection with Jane Austen, I would have rushed to visit much sooner).

I imagine she never had cause to travel all the way across Norfolk to the delightfully named Cley Next the Sea, with its beautiful Flemish gables and Georgian façades, and its iconic 18^th century windmill.

(Windmill, Cley Next the Sea. Photo © Joana Starnes)

Nor are there any links between her and Felbrigg or Blickling Hall.

The drawing room, Felbrigg Hall. Photo © Joana Starnes

Blickling Hall. Photo © Joana Starnes

Even so, I found glimpses of Pemberley in both, and the library at Blickling Hall is exquisite. It contains over 12500 books (the largest book collection cared for by the National Trust). I’d volunteer in the library in a heartbeat if I lived nearby (and if they’d have me).

The library, Blickling Hall. Photos © Joana Starnes

There are many more stately homes in the east of England (some of the most notable are listed here: www.visiteastofengland.com/post/visit-top-stately-homes-in-the-east-of-england ). Sadly, we were in the area just for five days, and we could not visit them all. But I could not go home without stopping in Lavenham.

There is something quite magical about this beautiful village and its history – not least the fact that, despite all odds, it survived to the present day, and is now known as one of the best-kept medieval villages in the UK.

The manor of Lavenham predates the Norman Conquest. The Lavenham Market and the yearly fair were established by royal charter as far back as 1257. But Lavenham’s meteoric rise in fortune occurred a couple of hundred years later. It was due to a boom period in the wool trade during the second half of the 15^th century and the first few decades of the 16^th century. In 1524, Lavenham was the 14^th wealthiest town in England. This vast accumulation of wealth led to a flourishing community and the swift construction of most of the timber-framed buildings we see in Lavenham today.

But the town’s fortunes were reversed just as dramatically. In the latter part of the 16^th century, the woolen broadcloth produced in Lavenham was no longer in high demand. Many of the export markets were lost due to the international climate. Dutch refugees settled in Colchester and brought with them new techniques that led to the production of a lighter, cheaper and more fashionable type of cloth. Italian clothiers introduced finer merchandise such as silks and cottons. By the end of the century, Lavenham lost its reputation as a major trading town. Thus, its inhabitants were left without the means to modernise the timber-framed buildings and replace them with ones designed and built after the latest fashion.

Slow decline followed and endured for the best part of two hundred years. Many of the large timber-framed buildings – once the prized possessions of wealthy merchants – were divided into small homes for impoverished families. The Guildhall of Corpus Christi became a workhouse, having already served as a bridewell (house of correction) for a long while.

The threat of mass demolition was kept at bay by the arrival of the railway, which brought a period of revival, but by the early 1900s most of the timber-framed buildings had been declared unsafe and unfit for habitation. Perhaps a great many of them would have been pulled down, were it not for the determined efforts of Francis Lingard Ranson and the other founders of the Lavenham Preservation Committee. After years of trying, they finally succeeded in obtaining national recognition for the architectural and historical importance of their beloved village.

I’ll post some more photos on Facebook, both from Lavenham and Norfolk and from the few days in Rome with my daughter, earlier this month. I wrote a little about that on my website the other day (A Tiny Taste of the Grand Tour), but there’s still plenty of room for speculation. What if Mr Bennet met Mr Darcy’s father on their Grand Tour when they were young? What if that encounter led to a lasting friendship? Did Mr Darcy get the chance to travel on the Continent before he came of age? Did Colonel Fitzwilliam travel with him and maybe rescued him from scrapes, or was Mr Darcy’s favourite cousin chiefly responsible for getting him into trouble?

I can’t help thinking that the ancient ruins of the Palatine Hill and Forum Romanum must have held great interest for the young men who had not travelled across the Continent merely to enjoy themselves, drink, gamble and sow their wild oats. Studying the ancient Latin and Greek literature, philosophy and history formed the largest part of a young gentleman’s education. Having travelled hundreds of miles to get there, it must have been quite an experience to finally lay eyes on scenes and monuments previously seen only in sketches and engravings.

Left: Temple of Castor and Pollux; Right: Forum Romanum. Photos © Joana Starnes

Thanks for travelling with me today. All the best and see you again soon.

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Photos © Joana Starnes

Sources:

National Trust – Lavenham Guildhall guidebook 2018 (reprinted 2022, 2024)

Online Sources:

https://www.visiteastofengland.com/post/visit-top-stately-homes-in-the-east-of-england

https://unlockingthearchive.co.uk/blickling-estate/

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/history/art-collections/great-books-in-our-collections

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/suffolk/lavenham-guildhall/history-of-lavenham-village

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/suffolk/lavenham-guildhall/history-of-lavenham-guildhall

https://www.lovelavenham.co.uk/history-lavenham/