Lavenham is a delightful village in Suffolk. We spent three nights there. It is considered to be Britain's best preserved medieval village with it's crooked half timbered houses. These buildings date back to the 15th and 16th centuries when Lavenham was very prosperous thanks to the wool trade. During the 16th century Lavenham's wool and cloth industry was badly affected by Dutch refugees who produced cheaper cloth than Lavenham's. Cheaper imports from Europe also aided Lavenham's decline. By 1600 it had lost it's reputation as a major trading town. This sudden and dramatic change to the town's fortune is the principal reason for so many medieval and Tudor buildings remaining unmodified as there wasn't the wealth required to update and modernise them.
So well maintained! Thanks for the info..