Thaxted Guildhall: Well-Preserved 15th Century Listed Building

Thaxted Guildhall was built by the Guild of Cutlers six hundred years ago, and is still in active use today.

In 1390, long before the church was finished, the cutlers chose a site near to Hall Gate, where three roads met, and started work on their Guildhall.

This magnificent building houses a permanent display of old photographs and objects relating to the history of Thaxted and a small museum.

The building is an impressive survival of a market feature, once common throughout the country.

It's origins are not, as widely thought, as a Guildhall and the building is more likely to have started life as a moote or mote hall, in other words a civic meeting place. 

The building has an open-paved ground floor which would have been used as a market and meeting place.

The design made extensive use of jettied timber framing.

On the ground floor the building was arcaded to allow markets to be held; the first floor, which jutted out over the pavement on three sides, featured four small gothic windows on each side and the attic floor, which featured two small bay windows on each side.

A large oak post was erected in the centre of the market area on the ground floor area to support the structure above.

Inside, the principal room was the meeting hall on the first floor at the front of the building; at the back of the building was a staircase on the left and a sealed off area known as the "old cage" on the right.

The cage was probably used as a village lock-up as evidenced by its original doorway on the ground floor and the barred window grates on the first floor.

After falling into a state of disrepair one of the towns existing charities, Yardleys, took over the Guildhall at the end of the 17th century, carrying out a major restoration and equipping it for use as a school.

Thaxted Grammar School operated in the Guildhall until 1878, providing free education for 30 boys, adding education for 20 girls after 1830.

In those days, children started school at 8 years and finished at 14, and learned reading, writing and arithmetic - samples of their excellent handwriting are on display in the Guildhall.

This magnificent building houses a permanent display of old photographs and objects relating to the history of Thaxted and a small museum.

The building is an impressive survival of a market feature, once common throughout the country.

Thaxted Guildhall is open to the public from 2pm to 6pm over Easter on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday.

After Easter it is open on Sundays and Bank Holidays to the end of September. It is also open all weekend when there is a special exhibition. 

Thaxted is a beautiful small town in open countryside halfway between Saffron Walden and Great Dunmow.

The compact nature of the historic centre with its timber framed buildings, its steeply pitched roofs and chimneys contrasts with the surrounding agricultural mosaic of brown, yellow and green.

The church and windmill with its white sails dominate the town and surrounding area. 

The magnificent church of cathedral proportions and the guildhall fronting a large market place are ample evidence of the town's prosperity and standing.

Today, Thaxted is one of Britain's most attractive and well preserved small towns.

Its superb medieval buildings and quaint streets, many of which still bear ancient descriptive names such as Fishmarket Street, Town Street, Orange Street, Weaverhead Lane, The Tanyard and Stoney Lane, are unique.

Thaxted is also home to the annual Morris Weekend which sees the gathering of Morris dancers from across the country gathering to dance through the town culminating in the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance in the churchyard.

Someone who recently visited said: “Charming old town with an impressive building or view at every turn. Had cycled past a while ago and knew we just had to stop here sometime. Glad we did.”

Another person added: “What a beautiful village this is. I first saw it as a child and recently went back there to show my wife a real Essex village.

”The church is in beautiful condition as is the windmill. Just walking around the little streets gives views of stunning old buildings. Well worth a visit if you are in the area.”

If you’d like to visit the Guildhall, the address is: Town St, Thaxted, Dunmow CM6 2LA.

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