Heritage Open Days: Little Hall

Step inside Little Hall whose history mirrors the changing fortunes of Lavenham.

Built in the 1390s for a family of clothiers it was ‘modernised’ in Tudor times. Picture the austerity of the house 600 years ago and contrast the starkness of the Middle Ages with the beautiful furnishings and artefacts in the house today including the exotic Persian panels and the spectacular upstairs chamber with its striking crown-post.

The Gayer-Anderson twins were soldiers with a shared interest in art and collecting, and talented artists in drawing, painting and sculpture. They restored the house and made it their home, filling it with an eclectic mix of antiques, pictures, books, china and decorative art. Many of their personal possessions remain in Little Hall while their antiquities were donated to museums worldwide. Robert Gayer-Anderson became an Egyptologist of distinction, given the title ‘Pasha’. View his brother’s bronze replica of the British Museum’s famous Gayer-Anderson cat.

Hear from our friendly, informative guides. Walk round the beautiful garden combining a knot-garden planted along Tudor lines with a traditional English walled garden.

Come into a museum that has the atmosphere of a home. Little Hall is an essential part of your visit to Lavenham.