Beautiful medieval building in this pretty Suffolk village, one of the oldest villages in England. It is truly stunning and the Guildhall is a must. It is very interesting and was previously a workhouse and jail. There were some pitiful stories about people in the workhouse which gave a true feel for this place. Loads to see and very informative. There is a beautiful church in lavenham which we visited afterwards.

It won’t take particularly long to tour the guildhall but it’s well worth a visit. To be honest, the history of the workhouse and the prison is pretty disturbing. Thank goodness we live in more enlightened times.

We were met inside, by a very enthusiastic National Trust Volunteer called Tom. His enthusiasm was contagious. Is knowledge of the Guildhall was incredible, laced with humour. Thoroughly enjoyed our visit and learnt so much. Thank you Tom.

The Guildhall was more interesting than I had expected. The room guide was excellent. We often find that NT room guides start regaling you with information whether you want it or not but this guide asked if we would like him to tell us about the property or would we rather explore on our own which we appreciated. We were keen to hear what he had to say and he was very interesting and spoke well.

The National Trust generally sets a high standard and the Guildhall is no exception. The building has a very long and varied history (ranging from a religious guild through workhouse, prison, cottages, chapel, shop to R&R facility for US aircrew) and the way the building is presented brings all this to life. As usual with NT, there’s a good cafe with friendly and helpful staff (surprisingly, there was only a small retail offer). We also did the £5 each walking tour of Lavenham (with Paula) which was excellent and highly informative. We were surprised to be the only two doing it. It starts in the Guildhall and covers most of the key buildings. We arrived at 10 am and didn’t depart until after 4 pm (and benefited from free parking in the Market Place (which we were told is about to change!).

This was a really informative visit and I learned a lot about the history of Lavenham and of the East Anglian weaving trade. The guildhall is maintained by the National Trust and the staff and volunteers were helpful (providing me with a video guide to the hall for the areas not wheelchair accessible) and knowledgeable. The exhibits give a great insight into the rise and fall of the fortunes of Lavenham and of the wool trade generally. The tearoom was also a great spot for a National Trust scone and cream and a time to unwind.

Our trip to The Guildhall today was excellent. The buildings are utterly beautiful and we were exceptionally lucky to arrive on a day that Tom was a guide: architectural and religious history, time-line, belief in witches, and other subjects relating mainly to the Tudor period in Lavenham, he brought completely to life - the sort of chap one could listen to and learn from all day long! Thank you, Tom! It was also lovely to sit in the garden with a coffee and some Blueberry Bakewell tart! We both thoroughly enjoyed our visit and learned a lot. The Guildhall is well worth a visit.

Had a really lovely visit to the Guildhall today. We were lucky enough to have a talk from guide Tom who was a wealth of information, and taught us so much about the building and history of the area whilst making it very entertaining. The cafe and garden were very nice.

The Guildhall sits on the market square towards the center of Lavenham. It's an impressive timbered structure and is pleasing to view from the outside. The interior has served as many things during its long life, but is currently a museum about Lavenham and in that regard tells a good story about the ups and downs of being a prosperous wool town centuries ago. The Guildhall is run by the National Trust and the hours seemed geared to the many day-trippers to Lavenham, which is itself a charming town filled with similar buildings. Note that it tends to close around 4:00, so time yourself accordingly. The exhibits are interesting, including a time when the guildhall was used as a prison/workhouse and some material from WWII (as there were several air force bases nearby). While this is a very good attraction, we actually preferred the smaller building to its left, the Little Hall Lavenham, which has similar limited hours, but its own interesting history and lots of curious art objects. Both are easy to include on a trip to Lavenham, either for a day trip or, as we did, if you are staying in Lavenham for a few days.