Wool church

The Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, Suffolk, is widely regarded as one of the finest wool churches in East Anglia. Built largely from 1467–1497 with funding from local cloth merchants,[2] primarily John Clopton, the structure contains magnificent stained glass from the fifteenth century, the Clopton family chantry chapel and the soaring Lady Chapel, which extends at Holy Trinity's east end.[3] The Flushwork employed by the builders of Holy Trinity is some of the finest in England. The church stands as testimony to the wool business and its dizzying success in medieval times.[4]

Roof of St. Edmund's Church, Southwold, Suffolk

Another grand Suffolk church is St. Edmunds in Southwold which retains medieval chancel screens.[5]

St. Agnes' Church at Cawston, Norfolk is also well known as a "wool church." Its fifteenth century nave and western tower were financed by Michael de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, who had grown rich from the wool business.[6] As is typical of a 'wool church,' St. Agnes's scale is far grander than was required by a modest medieval village. And the Earl of Suffolk spared no expense in embellishing the interior: the de la Pole crest is carved above the entrance; French stone was used for the tower and nave; the roof, although the typical wooden East Anglian style, is an elaborate hammerbeam confection with elaborate angels curving off the beam ends, and a trio of angels on outstretched wings hovering over each clerestory window.[7]

Clearly in East Anglian medieval times, sheep furnished the currency for architectural atonement.

At St. Mary's Church at Worstead, Norfolk, the village which gave its name to the cloth, the village church built by local weavers in the fourteenth-century towers over the small community, its tower jutting strikingly above the landscape. In other East Anglian communities, the wealth from wool poured in: Wymondham, Diss, North Walsham, East Harling, Attleborough, Aylsham. The churches basked in the refracted glory of wool wealth. Even in Norwich, which boasts more medieval churches than anywhere in Europe, it was wool money[8] that got the stone lifted, the glass stained and the panels carved. Norfolk wool was best suited to heavier cloth, and so Norwich and Norfolk eventually gained almost a complete monopoly on worstead. Those profits fueled an extraordinary ecclesiastical building boom.

St. Peter and St. Paul, Lavenham, Suffolk

At Lavenham, Suffolk, the striking Perpendicular church is one of England's largest parish churches. With its monumental flint and limestone tower, the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, largely rebuilt in the fifteenth century in the prevailing style, dominates the small weaving village. It was financed largely by donations from two families; the Springs and the de Veres.[9]

St Clement's Church, Ipswich was largely funded by the wool trade passing through the port. The tower was built by donations from wealthy wool merchants.[10]