The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and
Instruction, No. 335, by Various

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Title: The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, No. 335
Vol. 12, No. 335, October 11, 1828

Author: Various

Release Date: May 26, 2004 [EBook #12438]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.

VOL. 12, No. 335.] SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1828. [PRICE 2d.

* * * * *

LAVENHAM CHURCH.

[Illustration]

Lavenham, or _Lanham_, a small town north of Sudbury, was once eminent for
its manufactures, when there were eight or nine cloth-halls in the place,
inhabited by rich clothiers. The De Veres, Earls of Oxford, whose names
are blazoned in our history, held the manor from the reign of Henry I.
till that of Elizabeth, and one of the noble family obtained a charter
from Edward III. authorizing his tenants at this place to pass toll-free
throughout all England, which grant was confirmed by Elizabeth. But the
manufacturing celebrity of Lavenham has dwindled to spinning woollen yarn,
and making calimancoes and hempen cloth; the opulent clothiers have
shuffled off their mortal coil, and proved that "the web of our life is of
a mingled yarn, good and ill together."

The church of Lavenham is, however, a venerable wreck of antiquity, and is
accounted the most beautiful fabric of the kind in Suffolk. It is chiefly
built of freestone, the rest being of curious flintwork; its total length
is 150 feet, and its breadth 68. From concurrent antiquarian authorities
we learn that the church was built by the De Veres, in conjunction with
the Springs, wealthy clothiers at Lavenham. This is attested by the
different quarterings of their respective arms on the building. The porch
is an elegant piece of architecture, very highly enriched with the
shields, garters, &c. of many of the most noble families in the kingdom,
among which are the letters I.O., probably intended for the initials of
Joh