Spotlight on: The Little Hall in Lavenham
By Carl Scott
Suffolk is, in many respects, a bit of a curiosity shop. Abounding with uniquely quirky things to see and do, it has a camel park, a living museum, and a UFO trail all inside of its 1,500 square miles. In addition to these unusual destinations is the Little Hall in Lavenham. No doubt better known as the setting for Godric’s Hollow in the Harry Potter franchise, Lavenham is a beautifully preserved village that proudly bears traces of its mediaeval past in the form of half-timbered wonky cottages and cobbled streets.
One of the standout attractions of the village is Little Hall. Built in the late 14th Century, the house belongs to the village’s main square and is very much a living document that tells the story of Lavenham over the centuries. First built as a family house and workplace for the Causton family of clothiers in the 1390s, Little Hall became the slightly less little hall when it was enlarged and modernised during the mid 1550s. Later on, it underwent an even more significant enlargement to make its original name entirely misleading. Indeed, to give some idea of how big Little Hall was in the 1700s, it helps to consider how it was home to six families.
Lovingly restored in the 1920s and 1930s, Little Hall was later used as an outpost of Kingston College of Art in the 1960s and 1970s before it was entrusted to the Suffolk Building Preservation Trust in 1975. Wasting no time in opening it up to the public, the Preservation Trust opened the doors of Little Hall in 1978 to allow visitors to feast their eyes on a collection of art and artefacts lovingly curated by the Gayer-Anderson brothers.
Providing visitors with the rare opportunity to study the development of a Tudor house, Little Hall is a fantastic destination to visit in Suffolk, whether you’re a proud history buff or simply enjoy a quiet afternoon in a quintessential English village. With a walled garden to relax in, as well as plenty of knowledgeable guides on hand to tell you the tales of this magnificent building, we can’t really recommend this museum enough.
Easily accessible from our Barns and Barges for rent in Suffolk, why not team up a visit to Little Hall in Lavenham with a dog-friendly staycation?
