Little Hall,
Market Place, Lavenham,
Suffolk CO10 9QZ.
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Email
info@suffolksociety.com
Patron
Lord Tollemache
President
Lord Marlesford DL
Chairman
Richard Toft LLM
Director
Richard Ward
Dip. T.P., MRTPI |
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Suffolk
Building Preservation Trust
A registered charity no. 265212. Company no. 1089324
Chair:
Sue Tamlyn |
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Our two
main properties |
| Little Hall, Lavenham |
Pakenham Water Mill |
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| A
late 14th Century Hall House on the main square, it mirrors the history
of Lavenham over the centuries. First built in the 1390s as a
family house and workplace, it was enlarged, improved and modernised in
the mid 1550s, and greatly extended later. By the 1700s it was
giving homes to six families. It was restored in the
1920s/30s.
In 1975, Surrey County
Council offered the Trust Little Hall, a late C14 hall house containing
the Gayer-Anderson collection of pictures and artifacts, together with
two cottages. Before selling the cottages, the Trust was able to restore
Little Hall. It was opened to the public in 1978 and now operates as a
museum. |
The
Mill was built in the late 18th Century, replacing a previous Tudor
water mill. Restoration was completed in the early 1980s, and won
a prestigious Europa Nostra award in 1985. Recently a contiguous
building has been purchased for development into a study centre.
Near
Ixworth, it has been restored as a working mill and will soon
incorporate the farm house next door. It is run by an
enthusiastic millers who produce and sell whole meal flour.
Recently a contiguous building has been purchased to create a study
centre
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Opening times
From
Easter to the end of October, furnished and friendly Little Hall, with
its beautiful garden, delights all visitors. Wednesday, Thursday,
Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 2.00 - 5.30 p.m., and Bank
Holidays, 11.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Admission charge - adults �2.00;
child with family free, unaccompanied child 50p. Pre-booked tours
at any mutually convenient time - please phone, write or fax at least
one week ahead to arrange a booking, or phone David Harris at Little
Hall, 01787 247179 |
Opening times
From Good Friday until the end of September on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Bank Holidays, 2-5.30p.m.
Schools,
clubs - for example art clubs - and coach parties welcome all year
round by prior arrangement. Telephone Roger Gillingham, the
Honorary Curator at 01359 270570. |
| Our
role
Historic
buildings are often best conserved by opening them to the public.
The Suffolk Preservation Society set up the Suffolk Building
Preservation Trust to encourage the protection of the historic built
environment in 1973. The objects are to "further the preservation in
appropriate settings for the benefit of the nation, buildings or other
structures, or land, of special beauty or special historic or
architectural interest". The Trust's first project was the
purchase, restoration and sale of five C16 cottages, Grade II listed in
the conservation area of Rickinghall, in 1973.
The
Suffolk Preservation Society, with the aid of a substantial anonymous
donation, bought Pakenham Watermill in 1978. Following its restoration,
it was opened to the public, and transferred to the Trust. The mill
earned a Europa Nostra Diploma in 1985. The farmhouse adjacent to
the mill was acquired in 2000, and this has greatly enhanced the
opportunity to develop the complex. The Trust is in the process of
applying for a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to this end.
A
further purchase, restoration and sale of historic cottages in Sudbury,
was completed in 1985. In 1997 SBPT inherited a C 17 timber framed
cottage, pottery, wheelwright's workshop and four acres of 1 and from a
couple, followers of William Morris. The property was restored and is
now let to tenants.
With
the Trust owning three properties, it decided to concentrate its
efforts on managing them. The Suffolk Architectural ' Heritage Trust
was set up in 1997 as a revolving fund to acquire, restore and sell
listed properties.
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