Lavenham Guildhall a magnificent medieval timber framed building in the Suffolk village of Lavenham, Sudbury, Suffolk

The Guildhall was founded in medieval times and was a meeting place for a Catholic guild. Religious guilds were for wealthy cloth and wool merchants and "Lavenham Blew" cloth was famous at the time and mostly exported bringing in huge revenue for the Crown. These rich merchants built the Guildhall and houses which can be seen throughout the village nowadays. The colour 'blew' or blue came from a plant called woad where the leaves produce the blue dye. The Guildhall was also used as a prison at the end of the 1700's, and also a workhouse.