Swan Inn (Lavenham)
The Swan Inn is one of the most photographed corners of the hugely picturesque little Suffolk town of Lavenham.
Unmistakeable with its blue sign containing a white swan, it is a timber framed building on the corner of the High Street (which leads from St. Peter and St. Paul Church towards the Market Place) and Water Street.
Now used as a hotel, and very popular with transatlantic visitors, the Swan was built about 1400.
The Swan now incorporates the Wool Hall, an equally picturesque building on the corner of Water Street and Lady Street.
The Wool Hall, built in 1464, was originally the guild hall of the Guild of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After the suppression of the religious guilds in the time of Henry VIII, it was used for the buying and selling of woven cloth and spun yarn.
After being mostly demolished in 1911, an outcry led to its restoration, and in 1963 it was incorporated into the Swan.