European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 08, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse Lavenham England you re Lucky if your neighbor s House happens to support your own second floor. What makes Suffolk Hamlet of Lavenham is a photos by Gus Schuetzler by j. King Cruger travel writer Akk no mistake about it. Laven Ham. England. Is different. It is l said to be the finest example of a medieval Village in Britain most of Lavenham. A particularly sleepy Hamlet tucked away in the Southwest Corner of Suffolk was built Between 1450 and 1500. What makes it unusual is that it has whole streets of half timbered houses still standing. Some May be standing like a Bunch of drunks some leaning this Way and others that but standing they English villages that still boast half Lim Breed houses can Home up with Only an occasional one that sags and Titita crazily Here and there. But Lavenham. Roughly 75 Miles Northeast of London in the area Between Newmarket and Ipswich has Lens of them and wandering the streets of the East an Glian Village is indeed a treat. The sir of Lavenham s timbered Faux pcs begins towards the end of the 1300s. Weavers from Flanders came to England to set up their looms and Lau Nham soon became a wealthy weaving Lima. Tin trappings of wealth Soun were seen in the lorm of j substantial Guildhall the Hall of Corpus Christi built in 1529, can still be seen on the South Side of the Market place some Wool Halls and in prob me Homes belonging to the merchant princes. All have Rich ornamentation wonderfully carved out of Oak. Over the centuries the Oak has weathered to the hardness of Iron the wars of the roses came and went without noticeably affecting Lavenham As did All subsequent Domestic disturbances. Lavenham wove on and it was business As usual. The weavers wealth went into keeping up with the Joneses except that Here about the Joneses were named Bolton. Shilling or Prentice some of the wealthy clothiers who built the big houses of the time. The Wool Trade reached its Zenith during the 16th Century. Shortly thereafter Many of trip clothiers deserted Lavenham when the Industry declined. It re Vived again for a time in the 17th Century. Subsequently the Industrial revolution and the rail Way both came to Lavenham. But largely untouched it. Both finally pretty much went away the rail Road steaming Oft for the last time in 1965. During world War ii Many . Servicemen served in the area and a Wall plaque on the Kite of Lavenham s old school is dedicated to the men of the 487th bomb group h who sacrificed Belr lives in world War ii. That the ideals of democracy might reminders from the Days of the bombers also exist in the Swan hotel where the beams in the bar Are covered with old decaying patches and insignia from u a. And British forces uniforms. The Swan is one of the most picturesque and charming hotels you la run into anywhere. Some of it dates Back nearly 600 years and a part of the hotel consists of one of leva Nham s old Wool Halls now converted to lounge and bedrooms. The rambling gabled Swan makes a great place for a break in sightseeing with Tea taken before a blazing fire or a meal in the High beamed room that once served As a stable for pos horses. Now the Post horses Are gone but in Lavenham it s easy to imagine you Are Back in those Long ago Days when the Only horsepower in town was four footed Page 12 the stars and stripes strolling the streets of Sui
