As the greatest catastrophe in recorded history in England, the Black Death in the 14th century caused precipitous demographic decline resulting in a profound effect on the social, economic, legal and belief structures leading to the transition from a feudal to a modern society.

Mark Bailey is Professor of Late Medieval History at the University of East Anglia. He was previously a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College at the University of Cambridge and a Visiting Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. Mark played rugby for Wasps and England between 1984 and 1990, captained Suffolk at cricket (1989-91), and was President of Cambridge University RUFC for eight years.

After a buffet lunch in the Village Hall there will be a guided tour of Lavenham Church with the church warden, Graham Pattrick. The Church is directly opposite the Village Hall.

The programme is;

10.30 to 11am: Meet at Lavenham Village Hall for tea/coffee and biscuits. The Village Hall has a large on-site car park. Users of the Village Hall are entitled to 3 hours free parking via a machine in the Village Hall. The charge for a further 2 hours is £1.

11am: Talk by Professor Mark Bailey on ‘The Black Death in Medieval East Anglia’.

12.30pm:  Buffet lunch in the Village Hall.

1.30: Guided tour of Lavenham Church with the church warden, Graham Pattrick.