3 Best Sights in Lavenham, East Anglia

Set apart from the village on a hill, this grand 15th-century church was built between 1480 and 1520 by cloth merchant Thomas Spring. The height of its tower (141 feet) was meant to surpass those of the neighboring churches—and perhaps to impress rival towns. The rest of the church is perfectly proportioned, with intricately carved wood.

Also known as the Guildhall of Corpus Christi, this higgledy-piggledy timber-frame building dating from 1529 dominates Market Place, an almost flawlessly preserved medieval square. Upstairs, exhibitions cover the lives of the historical figures who worked in the local agriculture, the wool trade, and Lavenham's old prison, although just looking around the building itself is worth the admission charge.

This timber-frame wool merchant's house (brightly painted on the outside, in the local custom) contains a display showing the building's progress from its creation in the 14th century to its subsequent "modernization" in the 17th century. It also has a beautiful garden at the back.