‘Silk Capital’ of the UK, producing much Coggeshall The Dedham Vale High Street Towns of the Stour Valley: 6 7 of the country’s high-quality silk, with has a rich textiles heritage dating is an Area of Outstanding Natural an astonishing four operational silk from 1140 when monks developed fine Beauty with wool villages throughout mills. The Town has a huge range of Places to visit wool skills that gave rise to the the Valley including , Stoke by places to stay, eat and shop, as well as a prosperous cloth industry. A picturesque Nayland, Dedham, and East 1 Clare community theatre and boat trips on the is the smallest town in , 2 or ‘Melford’ to locals, is an Town with 200 listed buildings. A Bergholt. They have preserved River Stour. Explore Sudbury with a breath-taking example of elaborate architecture of remarkable quality, with nestled on the River Stour. An historic attractive Wool Town with a sweeping variety of tranquil walks along the market-town with great appeal to village green showcasing the turrets of decorative architecture is Paycocke’s hundreds of pretty cottages, timber riverside and Sudbury Water Meadows. House and Garden, showing the status framed buildings and fine ‘wool’ visitors, including a magnificent ‘wool’ . It boasts the longest high of a Tudor wool merchant’s home. Gifts church, a tranquil priory, a castle set in Stoke by Nayland, St Mary's Church marketplace. The magnificent parish 5 vdHadleigh a country park and a fine Ancient House Hall Street, Long Melford from the family built the grand ‘wool’ church welcomes hundreds of was the centre of Viking King medieval ‘wool’ church. On the Museum. The prosperity from cloth gave visitors from around the world. The Guthrum’s Kingdom, home to a rise to charming architecture, today marketplace there is a distinctively village has over 300 listed buildings, pioneering aviator and to ‘the Artist and pretty blue and white painted Clock notably Lavenham Guildhall, Little Hall, Plantsman’ of Benton End who schooled Tower and there is plenty of choice of The Swan Hotel, Lavenham Priory, De famous artists. The wealth from wool independent shops, boutiques, places to Vere House and boasts a wonderful built architecture of real character such stay and eat. Coggeshall Museum tells churches that dominate the landscape in selection of independent boutique as the Guildhall, St Mary’s church and the stories of the wool, silk, velvet and size and magnificence. Sometimes shops, galleries, and exceptional places Deanery Tower, amongst 250 listed lace industries. Take a wander on the referred to as Constable Country, you to eat and stay. buildings, the oldest medieval bridge in Paycocke’s Tudor Coggeshall Walk to can find some of Constable’s works street in - three miles long with the county still in use for traffic. a great mix of independent shops and discover more. exhibited in the Valley, at Nayland and Sudbury Hadleigh hosts eclectic independent Dedham churches, also the church at 4 boutiques, an opportunity for visitors to Coggeshall High Street is an ancient Market Town in the shops and places to eat, its own indulge in a discerning shopping has the heaviest set of heart of the Stour Valley and is the chocolatier since 1974 and some traders bells in England, weighing 4.25 tons! experience. There are several birthplace of Thomas Gainsborough who established for over one hundred years. contemporary art galleries, and a good Highlights include special places cared often painted views of the Valley. Discover more with the Town Guides or for by the National Trust, The Munnings choice of places to eat and stay. Attractions include a ‘wool’ church and self-guided walks exploring the riverside Explore the two splendid heritage Art Museum, an arts and crafts centre, cultural venue, a heritage centre and and old railway. RSPB wildlife garden and a variety of homes of Melford Hall and Kentwell timber framed buildings of the wool and Hall, a country park, water meadows shops, boutiques and places to eat. Hadleigh Deanery Tower silk trade – there are an impressive 242 and riverside walks. The Heritage listed buildings in Sudbury, many aluding Centre unveils a roman and medieval Did you know? to the prosperity on the Town’s past, and a spectacular ‘wool’ church industrious past and present. Today, with medieval stained glass windows Speciality cloth - towns were renowned for their own cloth – Lavenham for its blue Sudbury is proudly recognised as the Clare Castle Country Park , Coggeshall for its fine whites, and Hadleigh for its indigo blue. featuring a beautiful hare design. over 130 listed buildings show ‘Broadcloth’ to ‘bays and says’ – earlier and later types of cloth. Production SUDBURY, THE MILL credit Andy Longhurst breath-taking timber frames, beautiful vcvcLavenham followed a ‘boom and bust’ cycle, with industry decline from the 17th century. carvings, and ornamental pargeting. As 3 was once the 14th richest town in The influences were many including changes in fashion and world markets, wars, well as Clare’s heritage attractions you England, prospering from its Lavenham new railways and the industrial revolution bringing cheaper cloth from can find a contemporary art gallery Blue broadcloth, and today is one of the elsewhere. As demand for cloth fluctuated there were times of great poverty. specialising in marine art, a nine-hole country’s best preserved medieval wool Many parishes had to ‘adapt to survive’, reverting to agriculture, industrialising, golf course with fishing lake, a bustling towns, although technically a village. or innovating cloth for new markets. community of independent shops, with Rich in hidden secrets, the village can ‘Wool Towns’ is a slight misnomer - we really should say ‘Cloth Towns’. As fashions plenty of choice of places to eat and be explored by foot: meander the sought finer cloth, a better quality wool than locally available was imported, stay. A Walkers are Welcome Town, narrow streets and lanes lined with made into cloth and then exported. So it was the cloth and not the wool that explore with many guided and stunning timber framed buildings, brought wealth to the Stour Valley. self-guided walks. leading up to the impressive

Visitor Information for the Stour Valley Wool Towns of The Stour Valley The Stour Valley is a nationally significant area for cloth heritage, positioned on the Use visitor information providers to help you make the most of your stay. border between and Suffolk – an area sometimes referred to as the Wool Towns Check out the below links or simply ask wherever you go - you will find a warm - and under an hour by train from London. With its quintessentially English medieval Wool Towns of welcome from people with local knowledge who are passionate about their market towns and villages steeped in rich heritage and culture, and an Area of communities and heritage. Outstanding Natural Beauty, discovering the Wool Towns is an inspiration for all. the Stour Valley Clare Suffolk Wool Towns www.visit-clare.co.uk www.wooltowns.co.uk AN EXTRA SPECIAL PLACE - VISIT THE WOOL TOWNS TO DISCOVER... Coggeshall River Stour Festival www.lovecoggeshall.co.uk www.riverstourfestival.com The centre of Viking King Guthrum’s Kingdom. The smallest Town in Suffolk. Dedham Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding The longest high street in England. The ‘Silk Capital’ of the UK. www.dedhamartandcraftcentre.co.uk Natural Beauty The 14th richest Tudor town. A distinctive painted clock tower. Flatford www.dedhamvalestourvalley.org The heaviest set of church bells in England, weighing 4.25 tons! www.nationaltrust.org.uk Visit Sufolk Medieval stained glass church windows featuring beautiful symbolic hares. Hadleigh www.visitsuffolk.com The oldest medieval bridge in the county that is still in use for traffic. www.visithadleighsuffolk.co.uk Visit Essex ‘Constable Country’ is the birthplace and home of the world famous landscape painter, Lavenham www.visitessex.com often painted the landscape and his artwork can be found in the Valley www.lovelavenham.co.uk Babergh & Mid Suffolk The birthplace of Thomas Gainsborough, who also painted landscapes of the valley. www.lavenham.onesuffolk.net/hub/ www.babergh.gov.uk/business/ visitor-information tourism/visitor-information-points Long Melford River Stour Trust Visiting the Stour Valley www.lavenham.onesuffolk.net/hub/ www.riverstourtrust.org visitor-information Please consider travelling sustainably where possible. There are good links to the Stour Valley on the Gainsborough train Sudbury line (off the main London to Norwich line) between Marks www.sudburytowncouncil.co.uk Tey and Sudbury. Local bus services, operate from www.seeanddosudbury.co.uk and Sudbury to many Stour Valley destinations. For up to date local public transport timetables, contact traveline on: www.traveline.info or 0871 200 22 33.

Walking in the Wool Towns of the Stour Valley For detailed maps of the area, use Ordnance Survey Explorer Map No’s. 196 (Sudbury, Hadleigh and the Dedham Vale), There is an abundance of opportunities to explore the valley by foot with a range of 210 (Newmarket and Haverhill), 211 ( and guided and self-guided walks. It is possible to explore the Wool Towns and countryside Stowmarket) and 195 (Braintree and Saffron Walden) in-between using a good network of quiet country lanes and public footpaths linking them up. Consider staying a while longer to relax and enjoy the area, exploring at a Dedham Vale AONB and Stour Valley Project Email: [email protected] slower pace, discovering special places. In addition to the Visitor Information above, Tel: 01394 445225 Web: www.dedhamvalestourvalley.org see the below to help you find the perfect walking routes: Guided Walks: Hadleigh Town Guides, Sudbury Town Guides, Lavenham (Town Guides and National Trust), Clare Walkers (programme of self guided, weekly health walks and volunteer-led walks) Leaflet produced March 2020. Improving the Stour Valley for Visitors is a business development project to support high Discover Suffolk: www.discoversuffolk.org.uk/walking quality visitor products and services, funded by: Essex Walks: www.essexwalks.com National Trust: www.nationaltrust.org.uk The European Agricultural Stour Valley Path and other walks in the area: www.dedhamvalestourvalley.org Fund for Rural Development: Suffolk Threads Trails: Walks only - www.visitsuffolk.com/blog/suffolk-threads-trails.aspx Europe investing in rural areas Complete publication - www.dedhamvalestourvalley.org Front cover image: Lavenham Guildhall by John Millar Explore the Stour Valley with a series of guides Suffolk Walking Festival: www.suffolkwalkingfestival.co.uk photograph courtesy of © National Trust Images. With additional support from: Things to see and do in the Wool Towns of The Stour Valley

Melford Hall Long Melford Country Park Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Lavenham Guildhall National Trust Borely Road, Long Melford, CO10 9HH Long Melford, Sudbury, CO10 9AA National Trust The perfect place for a picnic and wander A beautiful moated Tudor House filled with Stour Valley and surrounding Wool Towns Long Melford, Sudbury, CO10 9AA Market Place, Lavenham, Sudbury, CO10 9QZ An eclectic home that tells stories of around this 8 hectare site, along the wonderful architecture, artwork and riverside getting in touch with nature. tapestries. Kentwell stands in over 30 acres One of the most spectacular timber framed Stour Valley Path medieval monks, the Hyde Parker Family, www.longmelfordopenspaces.org.uk buildings of medieval England at the heart of and much more. of stunning gardens, woodlands and parkland and is home to a flock of Rare Breed Norfolk village life. Trainline www.nationaltrust.org.uk/melford-hall www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lavenham-guildhall 01787 379228 Horn Sheep. Kentwell runs family events 01787 247646 throughout the year including Children’s Wool Towns Weekends and Historical Re-creations. www.kentwell.co.uk Visitor information available Long Melford Heritage Centre Nethergate Brewery 01787 310207 Little Hall Market Place, Lavenham, CO10 9QZ - Chemist’s Lane, Long Melford, CO10 9JQ Rodbridge Corner, Long Melford, CO10 9HJ Wool Towns to visit - information on reverse This volunteer-run centre celebrates the A “Stour Valley Brewery”, offering tours as One of the oldest timber framed buildings in history of Long Melford and unveils a Roman well as a shop and tap room for sampling the Lavenham. A museum run by volunteers - its Parking available – on street, on site or car park very nearby and medieval past. freshly brewed and their own locally St Mary's Church history mirrors the changing fortunes of www.facebook.com/pg/LongMelfordHeritageCentre produced beers and ales. Church Street, Stoke by Nayland, CO6 4QU Lavenham. It holds the Gayer-Anderson collection 07792 357039 www.nethergate.co.uk Its tower dominates the landscape of Dedham of art and artefacts. Refreshments available 01787 377087 Vale, and can be seen for miles around. www.littlehall.org.uk Unique in Suffolk, it has 15th century carved 01787 247019 Shopping available oak doors in the south porch. https://naylandchurches.wordpress.com/stoke-by-nayland/ 01206 262150 Dyehousefield Wood Crown copyright. All rights reserved. © Suffolk County Council. Licence LA100023395 To Bury St Edmunds and The Lavenham Walk Bury Road, Lavenham, CO10 9QG This beautiful and tranquil woodland, managed by Boxted Lavenham Woodland Project. The Lavenham Walk and nature reserve were established along a ClareTo Newmarket Ancient House Museum disused railway line, that continues all the way to 26 High Street, Clare, CO10 8NY Long Melford A Museum featuring local history and 01787 247728 genealogy in a 14th-century timbered 3 building of national importance. LAVENHAM www.clare-ancient-house-museum.co.uk 01787 277249Great Wratting A1141 St Mary’s Church (& adjacent Deanery Tower ) Cavendish The Deanery, Church Street, Hadleigh, IP7 5DT Clare Park Lake GolfKedington Course A large medieval church, with probably the earliest surviving Clare Ancient House Museum spire in Suffolk, set beside the grand Deanery Tower. 26 High Street, Clare, CO10 8NY 1 2 www.stmaryshadleigh.co.uk/index.php/st-mary-s A picturesque lakeside golf course with CLARE LONG 07704 778325 fishingHA lake, and a ‘Tee Room’, open to all. MELFORD www.clare-ancient-house-museum.co.ukVERHILL 01787 277249 B1115 To Great RSPB Wolves Wood Sturmer 4 Waldingfield Off the A1071, Hadleigh, IP7 6BG SUDBURY An ancient woodland where a wide range of birds can be seen and Clare Castle Country Park 5 heard, including nightingales nesting in the hedgerows and great Malting Lane, Clare, CO10 8NW spotted woodpeckers foraging high in the trees. Clare Castle Country Park is a beautiful HADLEIGH www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/wolves-wood quiet area to relax, play, get close to nature 01206 391153 and learn about Clare’s fascinating history Steeple A107 Boxford and heritage. Bumpstead Great 1 www.clarecastlecountrypark.co.uk Cornard 01787 277902 Bulmer To Ipswich Flatford Great Eastern National Trust St Peter’s Sudbury Main Line , Flatford, East Bergholt, CO7 6UL St Peter’s, Market Hill, Sudbury, CO10 2EA Tw instead Stoke-by-Nayland Discover the views that John Constable to Ipswich A medieval church being developed into an Higham painted and learn more about the people who enriching cultural and social venue, running lived at Flatford by visiting Bridge Cottage. a broad range of events. East Events and activities run all year round. www.stpetersudbury.co.uk Lamarsh Bergholt www.nationaltrust.org.uk/flatford 07597 020427 Stratford 01206 298260 Nayland Bures St Mary Cattawade

Sudbury Water Meadows Boxted 7 The Field Studies Council Melford Road, Sudbury, CO10 1JT To Braintree Dedham Flatford FSC , East Bergholt, CO7 6UL Beautiful scenery and riverside trails. The Great The FSC Centre of Constable Country, is an tranquil landscape includes the River Stour, Wormingford MANNINGTREE education centre set in the internationally wildlife, mill cottages and a weir. Horkesley Langham important heritage buildings of Flatford Mill. www.sudburycommonlandscharity.org Gainsborough line It provides a wide range of residential and 07971 665870 to Marks Tey short courses on natural history and art. www.field-studies-council.org/locations/flatfordmill 01206 297110 Paycocke’s House and Garden, Earls Colne To Colchester National Trust RSPB Flatford Wildlife Garden 25 West Street, Coggeshall, Colchester, CO6 1NS Great Eastern Main Line A stunning Tudor Woollen Merchant’s family house to Colchester and London Flatford Rd, East Bergholt, CO7 6UL whose walls have more than a few stories to tell. A family-friendly wildlife garden designed to www.nationaltrust.org.uk/paycockes-house-and-garden pass on ideas that visitors can incorporate into 01376 561305 their own gardens to help wildlife thrive. www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/flat- Marks Tey ford-wildlife-garden 6 01206 391153 Grange Barn, Coggeshall National Trust Grange Hill, Coggeshall, Colchester, Essex, CO6 1RE To Braintree One of Europe’s oldest timber-framed buildings, Grange Barn stands as a lasting reminder of the once-powerful Coggeshall . Textiles - Just beyond the Stour Valley www.nationaltrust.org.uk/grange-barn 01376 562226 Munnings Art Museum The Warner Textile Archive and The St James’s Church Castle Hill, Dedham, CO7 6AZ Braintree Textiles Fair St Peter Ad Vencula church High Street, Nayland, Colchester CO6 4JE Former home of Sir Alfred Munnings www.warnertextilearchive.co.uk Coggeshall Museum 4 Church Green, Coggeshall, Colchester, CO6 1UD A village centre church c1400. Altarpiece is a painting (1878-1959), past president of the Royal The Village Hall, Stoneham Street, Coggeshall, CO6 1UH of "Christ Blessing the Elements of Bread and Wine" Academy. The museum presents the largest The Braintree Museum One of the largest churches in Essex built the www.braintreemuseum.co.uk Part of the Textile Trail curated by The main part being built in the 15th-century, with by John Constable R.A. The only religious picture by single collection of paintings and drawings by Warner Textile Archive. The museum has a working support from the Paycockes, a successful wool the artist remaining in the place for which it was this prolific East Anglian artist. The Museum of Norwich wool loom and a fine collection of Coggeshall lace. merchant family. commissioned. Events and art workshops throughout the year. www.coggeshallmuseum.org.uk www.achurchnearyou.com/church/1967 www.munningsmuseum.org.uk at the Bridewell www.st-peter-ad-vincula.org.uk www.norwichlanes.co.uk/culture/the-museum-of-norwich-at-the-bridewell [email protected] 01376 561234 01206 262453 01206 322127

The National Trust Soaring ‘wool’ churches Visit the Wool Towns of the Stour Strong faith and great prosperity built exceptionally large and magnificent churches with lavish The National Trust protects and cares for special places in the Stour Valley which are intrinsically architecture, such as spectacular flintwork, intricate carvings and beautiful stained glass. linked to the woollen cloth industry, celebrating and telling stories of the people and heritage. Valley at any time of year, Come rain or shine, there are activities for all including events, demonstrations by the Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers, and guided or self-guided walks to discover the area. stay a while and you will discover… Marketplaces Ancient wool and cloth markets, today still thriving with artisan food and local produce. To find out more: www.nationaltrust.org.uk – look out for these special ‘woolly’ highlights on your 600 years of colourful history revealed visit to the Stour Valley: The woollen cloth industry flourished and there are many fascinating stories to tell. Wool craft Lavenham Traditional weaving, spinning and dyeing is kept alive today demonstrating the fine art of wool Guildhall and ‘Discover Lavenham’s The richest Medieval and Tudor towns skills, once practiced in many homes and workhouses throughout the Valley. Hidden Secrets’ guided walk At its peak (1550s) the cloth industry made the Stour Valley one of the wealthiest places in all Coggeshall of England. An outstandingly beautiful river valley Paycocke’s House and Garden, The textile industry was concentrated along the River Stour and its tributaries. Once, riverside mills Grange Barn and Tudor walk A legacy of crooked timber framed buildings processed the wool and working barges, known locally as Stour Lighters, navigated the Stour. The Flatford Some of the finest historic guildhalls, merchants houses and weavers cottages often with intricate décor beauty of this valley has been celebrated for centuries by artists. Flotfordmelle, or Flatford Mill both inside and out in the form of wood carvings and ‘pargeting’ a highly skilled decorative plastering. and rambles around Flatford Flatford Bridge and Bridge Cottage, Copyright National Trust, Image by Justin Minns