Long Melford
Some think that this is Suffolk's most picturesque town with its one long street ending in the 14-acre village green, a relic of the days of common rights. There are timber and wattle houses of the 16th and i 7th centuries, among those of the Queen Anne and Georgian periods and, nearby, on a much grander scale, are two great Elizabethan houses, Melford Hall and Kentwell Hall.
Holy Trinity Church, a fine specimen of Perpendicular architecture, is one of Suffolk's most beautiful churches - almost, in fact, a cathedral.
Before the Norman Conquest English wool had been in great demand on the Continent but by the time of Edward III, English merchants were in the invidious position of having to buy cloth from Flemish weavers, knowing very well that it was made from their own wool. This state of affairs so infuriated the king that he imposed restrictions on the export of fleece. The effect of this act was to discourage many farmers from producing wool but East Anglia, Suffolk in particular, continued to cultivate its 'Golden Fleece'. To overcome the royal embargo, merchants invited the skilful Flemish weavers to settle in this area and so was born the great age of the Suffolk wool industry. Our glorious churches and noble civic buildings remain as witnesses of the time of Suffolk's greatest prosperity.