A late 14th Century Hall House on the main square, Little Hall mirrors the history of Lavenham over the centuries. First built in the 1390s as a family house and workplace for clothiers, through the years of the town’s rising prosperity it was extended and improved. Following the subsequent centuries of decline, by the 19th century it was divided into tenements, accommodating 6 separate families.
In 1924 twin brothers Thomas and Robert Gayer-Anderson bought it, restored it and made it their home. They bequeathed it to Surrey County Council as a hostel for students of Kingston College of Art, leaving it furnished from their extensive collection. From 1962 Reginald Brill welcomed groups of students but after Kingston became a London Borough Surrey followed the terms of the will in passing it to the Suffolk Building Preservation Trust, now Historic Suffolk.
Since 1978 Little Hall with its collection of art and artefacts has been opened to the public, from April to October, and at other times for booked groups.