Lavenham was a key centre to the wool trade in Suffolk up until the late 16th century. Today, owing to its steep decline around the end of the 16th century, it remains one of England's best preserved medieval villages. The remarkable preservation of the buildings in Lavenham offers a valuable insight into what medieval England looked like. This is as close as we can get to seeing, and being in, the world in which 'Gynns' lived 400+ years ago.
What is known about Gynns in Lavenham is scant. Dr Taylor makes no reference to Lavenham and, so far, a connection to other Gynn families has not been found. It seems that there were not many of them. According to Dr Taylor, "The Kirtling, Soham and Lavenham families have 'nowt' to do with us. Nor are the Kirtling or Newmarket Richard Gynns descended from the Richards of Ely. The Ely Gynn or Genn family are our cousins though". However, Gynns were a widespread family and they were known to share in each others life events, such as baptisms, funerals and weddings. The possibility of family gatherings can't be ruled out but it is not known whether Gynns from Lavenham participated.
The earliest, or closest, possible reference of the name is recorded as:
"An Edward GENNE married Elizabeth Jenoson on 1 Sep 1605 at Lavenham, Suffolk and may have had up to four children".
He may have been "Edw. Gen, son of Wm. Gen and An, C, 22 Nov 1578 at Soham, Cambridgeshire" but we don't know for sure.
Edward and Elizabeth indeed show as having four children: Elizabeth, 1607 (m. John Hovie, 3 children); Thomas, 1609 (did not marry in Lavenham); Edward, 1611 (m. 1632, 8 children) and John, 1617 (m. unk., 1 child).
The next reference is to: "Martha GINN was born before 1680. She was married to John LONG on 6 Nov 1696 in Lavenham, Suffolk". We don't know the names of Martha's parents.
This leaves a gap of about 75 years from Edward Genne's marriage. Note the variance in the name spelling in the Parish register: Genn, Genne, Gin, Gine, Gynn, Gynne, Gynne. (as transcribed by John F. Cook) (See notes).
A reference to a "Mary Gynn or Gynn" follows. She appears to have been born born in Lavenham c1737, and she married Ambrose Reeve at Lavenham in 1765".
Another 60 year, or so, gap.
The next reference is to "James Gynn who married Elizabeth Game in 1802. James was born about 1777, died in 1854 and was buried on 2 Jun 1854, all in Lavenham". Children were: James and John.
Yet another 65 year gap and, again, who were his parents?
The son, James GINN was born in 1803 in Lavenham, Suffolk. He was baptised on 17 Sep 1803, died in 1876 and was buried on 15 Jan 1876, all in Lavenham. He was a Cord Spinner \ Rope Maker".
Many other questions remain:
- When 'George Gynn, Merchant-tailor' needed fabric for his garments would Lavenham wool merchants, the most important of which were the 'Springs', been amongst his suppliers?
- And, what did the 'Gynns' of Lavenham actually do?
- With the same, or similar, names and possibly doing business in different parts of the clothing trade, would these men have been known to each other?
- How might they have known about each other?
- Did they have a business or a family relationship?
- Is there a connection between this 'George' and Gynn in Lavenham or, for that matter, Gynney of Norfolk?
Nonetheless, the Lavenham 'Gynn' family may prove to be quite important in the interplay between the different Gynn families, as well as individuals, in the clothing trade during the 16th to early 17th century. They are located in a key region that supplies wool and 'George Gynn, Merchant-tailor' may well have been a buyer of their wool products for use in his garments. Unfortunately they arrived a bit late in Lavenham for the heyday of the wool trade had mostly passed by then.
It is reasonable to assume that 'Gynns' living in Lavenham would have known about the 'Spring family' of which one Thomas Spring of Lavenham was known as 'The Rich Clothier'. (1)
"So againe I find that Spring who dwelled there (Lavenham), long since in the trade of a clothier, hath built a good part of the Steeple, as the armes upon the top of the Steeple, round about in places, all engraven in free stone, do sufficiently showe, so like-wise upon sundry windowes in glasse, and upon the outtside of the south side of the chancell his armes all in free stone, and in another chappell curiously carved in wood, doo sufficiently shew, they were so great benefactors to the building of this church that I cannot but here sett downe what I find of them". (3)
Thomas Spring of Lavenham had a son, Robert Spring of Lavenham who married Emme, daughter of Parris of Linton, Cambs.
They had a daughter, Elizabeth Spring who married John Gynney of Norfolk, esquier (aka John Jenny of Cressingham Magna) (2)
Elizabeth Spring, daughter of Robert Spring of Lenham, brother of John of Coxfield, died in 1588. (2)
Another daughter, Dorothy, married William Humberston Esq. (3)
'Fayres' and markets may have attracted people from a wide area and it is possible they met at one of these events. But, most people did not travel more than about six miles to journey to the fairs. However, merchants may have travelled over much greater distances to acquire or to ply their wares.
Were there such things as 'family gatherings' in the 16th century? Certainly, weddings and probably funerals involved family and community but from how wide an area did these people journey for the event?
These connections seem, at least, to be possible. As mentioned in the introduction: Michael Taylor has stated: "One of the things that recurs time and again in the early Gynn history is their marriage to family members, close and far. These connections enabled them to found branches of the family in what were for the time quite distant places and eventually there was a network of cousins over several counties". (4)
Lavenham, in the day, was a small village with never more than about 2,000 inhabitants and most everybody would have known each other. Also, everyone there would have been connected in some way to the wool industry.
There are no 'Gynns' in the Lavenham area showing as yeomen farmers. It is more likely that the 'Gynns' worked as servants to the wealthier families or in sheep farming of wool or the manufacture of wool products. They may also have been involved with the shipping of the wool products to markets or even in the trade of the goods themselves.
That these 'Gynn' cousins may have become known to each other seems quite salient to the discussion of medieval 'Gynn' history. Lavenham is quite near to Hertfordshire as well as London and not too distant from Norfolk. And Lavenham, with the many facets of the wool industry present there may have been a hub where this co-mingling may well have taken place.
What is the story of Lavenham?
"It is the story of Lavenham’s prosperity and its decline. In 1348, the Black Death hit England and in many areas nearly half the population died! As a consequence of this depopulation, farming began to switch from the labour intensive arable farming to sheep farming which required far fewer labourers. Soon wool was being produced and sold in huge quantities both in England and to European markets. In Lavenham there began to flourish a dyeing, spinning and weaving industry. In particular, Lavenham became noted for its quality blue cloth.
Before the fleece could be turned into yarn or thread, it had to be dyed blue using wode. “Lavenham Blue” cloth became in great demand all over England and Europe with fortunes being made in the early Tudor period. Apparently, the spinning was often done by young unmarried women who had time to turn the fleece strands into yarn and hence, today, we still use the word “spinster” as the title for a young, unmarried women.
With their newly acquired wealth, clothiers built the beautiful timber framed cottages that we see today. At its height, about 30 clothiers lived in Lavenham, employing dozens of labourers spinning, dyeing and weaving". (5)
The Lavenham 'Blew' Wool
An example of the Lavenham Blue wool in a scarf (National Trust)
Underpinning a major part of Suffolk's wool industry was the distinctive Lavenham blue dyed wool fabric. Over about a two hundred year time period, this was the key to prosperity and it made fortunes for the local wool merchants, both in England and on the Continent.
"In the Lavenham of medieval times, the processed woad plant which produces a deep blue dye was imported from Toulouse in France and was used to dye raw wool." (6)
The woad plant had been used earlier to dye the skin much like a tattoo or henna.
"Dyed in the wool. This refers to the preliminary dying stage of wool ie where wool is not going to a dyers to be dyed. Dyed in the wool refers to those wools that are dyed before they are carded. Cloth used to be dyed with woad (that creates the famous blue wool that made Oxford and the de Vere family famous)". (7)
It is likely the de Vere family were behind the selection of this dye to colour Suffolk wool.
"The hall [of Lavenham manor] was at one time the centre of an important industrial place, for Lavenham was famous for the manufacture of blue cloth, though even more so for the making of yarn from wool and says and calimancoes till the fashion arose among the ladies for wearing Spanish leather for their shoes". (8)
Although not precisely defined, "[a]s an heraldic colour, the word azure means "blue", and reflects the name for the colour in the language of the French-speaking Anglo-Norman nobles following the Norman Conquest" ... and ... "[s]ometimes, the different tinctures are said to be connected with special meanings or virtues". (9)
"The village was awarded its market charter in 1257 and it was from this period until about 1530 that its ‘golden years’ occurred, based on its prominent role in the wool trade (in particular the production of sought-after blue broad cloth – ‘Lavenham Blue’) and its location between London and the key ports like Kings Lynn.
It was during this period that its several guildhall were constructed and it was recorded as one of the richest parts of England with some of its most prominent families becoming extremely wealthy, like the De Vere family headed by the Earl of Oxford, and the Spring and Branch families who used their wealth to raise themselves to the nobility." (10)
"The Royal Household Cavalry regiment also known as the Blues, [was] founded and led by Aubrey de Vere, 20th earl of Oxford". (11)
The history of Lavenham
"Lavenham is noted as one of England’s best preserved medieval villages with more than three hundred listed buildings to discover and marvel at.
Its medieval wealth was achieved with hard work, organisation and success of the wool and cloth trade. It is a fascinating place to explore today, walking along streets which reveal an intriguing story of great wealth to poverty and back again.
The Saxon Manors of Overhall and Netherhall were granted to Alberic De Vere in 11c by William the Conqueror and thus became a manorial village. It was granted its first market charter in 1257 by Henry III. At this early date Lavenham was already making woollen cloth and the new charter enabled it to trade with other areas. Merchant clothiers were drawn to the area to organise the workers during the 15c and the quality and reputation of Lavenham ‘blew’ broadcloth was soon known far and wide. By 1524 Lavenham was ranked as 14th richest in the country despite its small size. It paid more tax than even the big cities of the time such as Lincoln and York.
Old records now refer to Lavenham as a town and its wealth was flaunted with the construction of magnificent buildings such as the lavish perpendicular gothic style church of St Peter and St Paul with its 141 foot tower. The main streets of Lavenham were lined with fine timber framed ‘open hall’ houses.
During the reign of Henry VIII, trade sanctions and heavy taxes due to the Imperial campaigns in France led to a loss of the country’s export markets. In addition, Dutch refugees in nearby Colchester began weaving lighter, cheaper and more fashionable cloths. The Italian clothiers introduced cottons and silks. Soon the manufacture of these finer cloths was taken up by the larger towns and the woollen cloth trade in Lavenham began to fail. It did continue for a time with the preparation of the woollen yarn for the new manufacturers. 400 years of cloth making had come to an end.
What followed was a 200 year period of impoverishment. Many of the former Merchant’s houses were divided up to provide small homes for large families. The Guildhall building was used as a workhouse. By a twist of fortune it was the extreme poverty and neglect that preserved the Lavenham we can enjoy today. The Market Place and the five streets and one lane leading from it, together with Water Street, High Street and Church Street, is still very much on the same scale as it would have been in the 15th century.
There was a period of revival in the early 19th century when the railway (dismantled 1964) breathed new life into the area, opening it up for trading in coconut matting and horse hair manufacturing". (12)
"At the time of the Domesday Book, [Lavenham] had a manor, a mill, woodland for 100 pigs, 2 dozen cattle and 200 sheep. The village grew with the profitable wool industry. It made and exported large quantities of broadcloth, Lavenham Blues. At its heyday, about 1530, it was the 14th wealthiest town in England.
In the good years the wealthy cloth merchants, clothiers, invested in lavish timbered buildings. From then on it was all down hill. There was competition from skilled crafts people abroad and at home. Colchester made finer and cheaper cloth. Later the industrial revolution moved the woolen industry to Yorkshire. As the wealth declined, there was little money to spend on Georgianisation or Victorianisation. The village was unfashionably medieval, the timbered buildings remained lived in but unchanged.
Henry III licensed the market in 1257. The Market Cross, bought from the legacy of a wealthy clothier, William Jacob, in 1502 still remains. A scheduled monument, its base is original but the date carved on the shaft is 1725. The Guild of Corpus Christi (Lavenham Guildhall) built pride of the village, the two story, timbered Guildhall in Lady Street around 1530.". (13)
"By the time of Richard II, the de Vere family had become the next in line to the throne, and their retainers and the rich wool merchants whom lived in the village all benefited from the influence and wealth this brought. Around this time, we also saw the Peasants Revolt, in which Lavenham became briefly involved, and its suppression saw Flemish workers imported to replace the former wool workers whom had revolted.
The next injection of money followed a successful Agincourt campaign by many of the families living in Lavenham (de Vere, Compton, Copinger, Pinchbecke for example) who returned made rich by the ransoms of French knights and nobles captured during the period 1415-1422. This began a stage of further development and expansion in the village.
The village then became embroiled in the War of the Roses and its fortunes briefly waned before being resurrected on Henry VII’s victory at the Battles of Bosworth, Stoke and Blackheath, on each occasion with armies led by John de Vere and his vanguard of veterans from Lavenham (Esturmy, Gilling, Compton, Copinger, Pinchbecke, Beaumont, de Stratton for example). But first Lavenham had to go through a period where its support for the Red Rose of Lancaster had to be concealed, wearing Swans in secret (the Swan in Lavenham depicts the symbol of Margaret of Anjou), placing the symbols of the blue boar above doors where they could be said to be for Richard of Gloucester but were actually for John de Vere, or calling the symbols of harpies (another symbol of Lancaster and the de Vere family) “Angels”.
When John de Vere was responsible for the defeat of the Kingmaker at Barnet in 1471, he fled to Scotland, then to become a pirate, made a fruitless attempt at invasion at St Osyth, one that John Paston in his letters openly scorns, but in an earlier letter also indicates that de Vere had called on his retainers in Lavenham to rise against Edward IV. John de Vere then took St Michaels Mount in 1472 -1473 (with Compton, Beaumont and Copinger at his side), held it for six months in the English Alamo before surrendering on the murder of his mother by Richard of Gloucester and John Howard duke of Norfolk.
He was sent to Hammes Castle, imprisoned, escaped, joined Henry Tewdor in Brittany, invaded with him in 1485 and then led his armies to three successive victories that established the Tudor dynasty. Lavenham raised companies to join de Vere in Brittany and at Bosworth and later raised several hundred to join John de Vere as he marched on London in 1509 to put Henry VIII on the throne.
Following Bosworth, the village exploded with new development. John de Vere was reinstated with his former titles in 1486 (as commemorated in the emblems above the door of De Vere House), a church was built in honour of Henry VII and his new wife by six wealthy families in the village (including the Springs, Boltons, Comptons and de Vere), Henry VII visited the village in 1489. Lavenham Guildhall was erected by 1520, one of five Guildhalls, the others dedicated to Peter and Paul, the Wool Hall, St Marys and Corpus Christi (on the High Street, Prentice Street, Lady or Esturmyn Street and behind De Vere House).
St Peter and St Paul, Lavenham
The Church of St Peter and Paul had existed as a wooden Anglo Saxon structure, then a Norman church was first built in c1340 with donations from the Spring family, the eastern vestry built in c1440, then the tower was dedicated by 1500 with the existing Church completed in 1525. We see record of an early wedding in 1500 between a Compton d’Ewes of the village and an Alice Munning of De Vere House “in the new Church”.
"In 1502, the Jacob family built and dedicated our Market Cross. Then on Henry VII’s death in 1509 a year of services were dedicated to Henry in the Church.
John de Vere under Henry VII and Henry VIII became one of three magnates whom between them ruled England. On every occasion asked, John de Vere was able to call up more men at arms to defend his King than any other magnate in the country. Henry VII and Henry VIII both recognised him publicly as their most loyal subject and “the premier person in the realm after the King”. Over 95% of judges, magistrates and sheriffs in East Anglia and Essex were appointed by John de Vere for example, who divided his time between his Halls in Wivenhoe, Lavenham and London, each becoming the power bases from which he effectively controlled one third of the country.
Lavenham Carnival and Joust 2013
On his death in 1513, commemorated in 2013 by the village with a joust in his honour (since John de Vere had held briefly the title of world champion jouster and his lance and great helm are still to be found on display in Florence), the village continued to grow in wealth, its Guildhall was built (with its commemoration to John de Vere’s grandfather whom had fought at Agincourt) until 1525 when in a strike (called a revolt) over 5000 gathered in Lavenham market to protest at low wages, prompting those seeking wool for cloth to look for alternative markets; ending the wool monopoly of the East of England. Only in 2013 have more people gathered in Lavenham’s Market Place.
As the wool trade declined so did the de Vere family fortune but for different reasons: John de Vere’s son and grandson gradually lost the influence their forbear had over East Anglia and then Edward de Vere, the 17th earl, began to sell off his land and estates to pay for the production of plays by The Chamberlain’s Men. His son, Henry, would claim to be “the poorest peer in the realm” on becoming the 18th earl of Oxford". (11)
History of the Wool Trade by Ben Johnson
"Realising the importance of these taxes to his royal coffers Edward III actually went to war with France, partly to help protect the wool trade with Flanders. The burghers from the rich Flemish cloth-towns had appealed to him for help against their French overlord. Although called the Hundred Year War, the conflict would actually last 116 years, from 1337 to 1453".
"During this period the taxes that had been levied began to damage the wool trade, which ultimately resulted in more cloth being produced in England. Flemish weavers fleeing the horrors of war and French rule were encouraged to set up home in England, with many settling in Norfolk and Suffolk. Others moved to the West Country, the Cotswolds, the Yorkshire Dales and Cumberland where weaving began to flourish in the villages and towns".
"Lavenham in Suffolk is widely acknowledged as the best example of a medieval wool town in England. In Tudor times, Lavenham was said to be the fourteenth wealthiest town in England, despite its small size. Its fine timber-framed buildings and beautiful church were built on the success of the wool trade". (14)
"Why Lavenham in particular should then have rapidly become a major weaving centre is unclear. There were many sheep flocks in the region to provide raw materials. Socio-economically Suffolk tended to have far more freemen than other counties, providing a flexible and perhaps entrepreneurial workforce. What certainly helped was an influx of skilled weavers from Flanders, which had been the great market for our wool – it may simply have been that Suffolk was easy for the Flemish workers to access, positioned directly across the North Sea". (15)
But the development of the wool industry was not without its controversy.
"The coming of the Tudors at first helped Lavenham: Lord of the Manor John de Vere had been imprisoned for his Lancastrian links. He spent time with the future Henry VII in France, was one of Henry’s most senior soldiers at Bosworth, and was rewarded for his support by the first Tudor monarch. The close cooperation of the de Veres and the thriving merchants in Lavenham is shown by the joint funding of the magnificent St Peter and St Paul Church there by John de Vere and leading clothiers the Springs. This structure was probably modelled on the church at nearby Long Melford, but with a taller tower (tallest in Suffolk) to flaunt the wool-wealth of Lavenham". (16)
John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford, lived in a hugely tumultuous time during the Wars of the Roses. His father and older brother had been executed for high treason. He himself was tried and condemned for high treason. He flip-flopped in his allegiance between the Lancastrians and the Yorkists and his lands and manors had been taken away and then later restored when he plead allegiance to the new king, Henry VII, the first Tudor King. He was an accomplished military leader and won great praise for his leadership in battles to solidify the new king's hold on power. He, however, did not have any children and therefore his title and lands were inherited by his nephew. (17)
The young earl was considered a wastrel: in 1523 the king ordered him to moderate his hunting, to eat and drink less, to give up late nights, and to be less extravagant in his dress. He died at the age of twenty-six. He left no issue and was succeeded by his second cousin, John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford. (18)
In spite of all this, the de Vere family became fabulously wealthy on their profits from the wool industry in East Anglia. They also maintained their close relationships to the tudor monarchy.
Edward de Vere became the 17th Earl of Oxford and was the earl during the early life of George Gynn but he spent no time at his manor in Lavenham.
"Edward de Vere was a poet and playwrite, the subject of the film Anonymous, banned from Court over an argument about a tennis match, we learn from the Court records that he would sell his properties to multiple recipients then claim them back because title was in doubt (but never return the amounts paid). He would then hear the inevitable appeal himself as Lord High Chamberlain. Between 1595 and 1602 we hear that De Vere House was sold to eighteen different people at the same time yet on appeal was returned to Edward de Vere and so remained in the de Vere family through to 1703 (Mary de Vere paid hearth tax on the house in 1688). One of those whom lost out and had taken Edward to court was William Shakespeare.
By 1568 Lavenham was ranked just twenty eighth wealthiest in Suffolk and our wool trade had collapsed completely, supplanted by Dutch/Flemish wool makers working out of Colchester and making lighter wool and a greater variety of dye colours". (19)
He was succeeded by his son, Henry de Vere but he also appears to have had no interest in the wool of Suffolk but by his time, the industry that had made the de Veres very wealthy was already in steep decline.
De Vere House
The last house in Lavenham to be owned by the Earls of Oxford, also known as the De Vere Hunting Lodge, was one of three properties within the centre of Lavenham, attached to Lavenham Hall. (20)
"The manor remained in the De Veres Earls of Oxford from the time of the Norman Conquest to the death of Edward the 17th Earl of Oxford in 1604 when it was sold, not to Paul D'Ewes as Page states but to Sir Thomas Skinner. This last de Vere who was lord of Lavenham was a noted spendthrift and his extravagance seems to have brought about the sale of the manor". (21)
Dyed in the Wool on Tenterhooks in Lavenham
The Guildhall itself was the meeting place for one of the 5 religious Guilds in Lavenham. Members of these Guilds were often the same Lavenham clothiers who had grown wealthy through the flourishing cloth trade.
As well as being a centre for the cloth industry in medieval times, the village of Lavenham was also home to one of five catholic religious guilds. (22)
"Despite its bustling past, Lavenham has remained small, with few of the distractions of modern growth. The population of the town has never exceeded 2000, even in the medieval period, when it was among the 20 wealthiest towns in England". (23)
"Lavenham's prosperity was due to its specialised production of woad-dyed broadcloth known as Lavenham Blues. The cloth was exported far and wide and its rich merchants funded many buildings you see today.
In the 16th-century this picturesque village was the 14th wealthiest town
in Britain, paying more tax than populous cities such as York and Lincoln,
thanks to the quality of its renowned blue woollen cloth, which was in great
demand.
However, by 1525 the bubble had burst. The demise of the cloth trade, for
which Lavenham was famed, meant that the merchants had left looking for their
next new venture". (24)
"The wool trade more than any other industry shaped medieval Europe and resulted in huge wealth especially for Flemish and English merchants. A massive strike by English wool workers in 1525 centred around Lavenham would bring the monopoly England held over the wool trade to an abrupt end coupled with our loss of control of the Channel after the defeat of the English Armada in 1589 that left the Dutch holding sea power in the Channel right through until 1688.
In 1598 the Treaty with the Ottoman Empire was signed that suddenly gave England access to the silk markets of China and Iran and this was the next blow to the English wool trade.
Trade in silk, lace and linen gradually edged wool out throughout the 17th Century. The heyday when wool merchants were the oil barons of their time was gone.
The de Vere family were both the Guildmasters of the Woolmakers Guild of England (1420-1525) and the Lord High Admiral (1330-1570) responsible for customs and for England’s merchant fleet at the height of the wool trade; our home village of Lavenham was the 14th richest place in England, the de Vere family became the 13th richest in Europe, all from wool making. Oxford Blue is named after the de Vere family and Lavenham has its own dye known as Lavenham Blue". (25)
Lavenham and the Cloth Trade
The Clothier, Clothmaker, Clothman, Merchant – are all terms used for the man who grew rich on profits of the ‘putting out’ system of manufacture of the cloth industry in the 14th, 15th and the first half of the 16th century. The clothier was able to employ and organise a team of out-workers, often working in their own homes or sometimes his own premises. The richest in Lavenham at this time being Thomas Spring 2 and Thomas Spring 3.
The Clothier came from many different backgrounds; he may have been a successful worker in one of the many stages of cloth working such as a weaver, dyer, fuller etc; or he may have formerly been a woolman, the ‘middle man’ negotiating the purchase of fleece between the Clothier and the supplier. He could have also begun his commercial life as a general merchant, acquiring experience, expertise, good trade contacts and in particular a trusted reputation, which could be put to good use in the marketing and sale of the cloth. Some clothiers were people of enormous landed wealth, using their land for fulling mills, dying apparatus and warehouses as well as general farming.
With the development of the export trade of finished cloth to overseas markets, the industry required more organisation. (26)
So, while Lavenham has a rich history as a village at the foundation of the British textile industry, sadly it appears this predates the known presence of any 'Gynns' in the village. The earliest record of a 'Gynn' in Lavenham, from the parish register for Lavenham church, is Elizabeth Gynne, daughter of Edward Gynne, christened 1 Nov 1607 in Lavenham. (IGI) So, this Edward is the first 'Gynne' to be resident there. In fact, while there are earlier references to Alicia and Agneta Genne in Denham, Hoxne, Suffolk in 1327 as well as to a Thomas, son of Thomas 'Gen' christened in Barrow (27), near Bury in 1543, this is the earliest record of a 'Gynn' in Suffolk. The register also shows his name was originally 'Genne' and he married Elizabeth Jenoson on 1 Sep 1605 at Lavenham.
This Edward, being the earliest known 'Gynn' in Suffolk, may be the progenitor of other Suffolk 'Gynn' families. And, while there is no direct link between 'George Gynn, Merchant-tailor' and the Lavenham Gynns, in such close proximity both in name as well as in trade, they may have been known to each other.
There is no record of where he came from but a likely candidate may be an Edward 'Gen', born in Soham, Cambridgeshire (24 miles northwest of Lavenham) on 22 Nov 1578. There is also the Thomas 'Gen' mentioned above and Edward may be related to this man but again, there is no record to connect these men.
The name eventually became 'Gynn' and they were present in Lavenham up to the middle of the 19th century. In the early 19th century, a couple of 'Gynns' occupations are mentioned, such as a James Gynn who was a Cord Spinner/Rope Maker, a John Gynn who was a Hair Dresser and around mid century, a Susannah Gynn who was a Silk Weaver. (28)
Although, our George, merchant tailor of London lived at a time when the Suffolk wool trade was already in decline, he may have been a customer to these Lavenham wool merchants. Is it possible that his selection of 'azure' as the tincture in his shield may have been a homage or tribute to this connection?
And, as mentioned elsewhere, Elizabeth, the daughter of Robert Spring, married John Gynney of Norfolk. (Date unknown but around mid 16th century) This Robert was the son of Thomas Spring who was also known as "The Rich Clothier". This man may have been the man our George used as a model to craft his own social position. Another daughter, Dorothy, married William Humberston Esq.
It would come as no surprise if 'George Gynn' in his role as merchant tailor knew these people when a 'William Gynne' of Stevenage was witness to the will of Thomas Humberstone, a husbandman, also of Stevenage, in 1560. Another Humberstone, namely Frauncys, was a haberdasher and citizen of London. (29)
There are 'Gynn's in Suffolk to this day, mostly around Sudbury where many continued their involvement in the Sudbury Freemen Society well into the 19th century. Coincidentally, one "Gynn, George, of Lavenham, tailor, son of Thomas, senior, bricklayer and Capital Burgess [was] admitted April 28th, 1831, by birth". So, he had inherited his free status from his father. Freemen such as the distinctively named Zorobabel Gynn, like all Freemen, once having attained his freedom, was entitled to pass it on. And, Sudbury Town Hall, an imposing structure, was built by a Thomas Gynn at a cost of £2,500 and completed in June 1830.
What Lavenham looks like today
Lavenham, "the best preserved medieval village in the country".
The secret of the Lavenham Blue
Lavenham: Of Wool, Dead Cats and Crooked Houses
St Peter and St Paul, Lavenham by Simon Knott
Footnotes
(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Spring_of_Lavenham
(2) https://www.stirnet.com/genie/data/british/ij/jenney1.php)
(3) The visitation of Suffolke; https://archive.org/details/visitationofsuff01harv/page/166/mode/2up?q=spring
(4) Henry Gynn of Fyfield d. 1615; http://ginn-hertfordshire.blogspot.com/2012/07/henry-ginn-of-fyfield-d-1615.html
(5) https://www.seeingthepast.com/blog/lavenham
(6) https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lavenham-guildhall/features/lavenham-blew-cloth
(7) https://www.deverehouse.co.uk/?page_id=162
(8) The Manors of Suffolk : notes on their history and devolution by Copinger,
Walter Arthur, 1905; https://archive.org/details/manorsofsuffolkn01copiuoft/page/126/mode/2up
(pg 127)
(9) (Wikipedia; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azure_(heraldry))
(10) https://exploring-london.com/2016/05/27/daytripper-lavenham-suffolk/
(11) https://www.deverehouse.co.uk/?page_id=174
(12) https://www.lovelavenham.co.uk/history-lavenham/potted-history-lavenham-suffolk/
(13) https://www.discoverbritainstowns.co.uk/culture/cathedral/lavenham-suffolk-timbered/
(14) https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Wool-Trade/
(15) https://information-britain.co.uk/history/town/Lavenham6/
(16) Ibid
(17) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_de_Vere,_13th_Earl_of_Oxford
(18) Ibid
(19) https://www.deverehouse.co.uk/?page_id=174
(20) https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lavenham-guildhall/features/explore-the-historic-village-of-lavenham
(21) The Manors of Suffolk: The hundreds of Babergh and Blackbourn by Walter Arthur
Copinger, 1905; (pg 118); https://archive.org/details/manorsofsuffolkn01copiuoft/page/118/mode/2up
(22) https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lavenham-guildhall/features/dyed-in-the-wool-on-tenterhooks-in-lavenham
(23) Lavenham, Suffolk, History, tourist information, and nearby accommodation
BY DAVID ROSS, EDITOR; https://www.britainexpress.com/villages/lavenham.htm
(24) https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lavenham-guildhall/features/history-of-lavenham-guildhall
(25) https://www.deverehouse.co.uk/?page_id=195
(26) http://www.littlehall.org.uk/lavenham-the-cloth-trade/
(27) Barrow is about eight miles west of Bury St Edmunds and seven miles east of Newmarket, a town which is in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire and there are several 'Gynn' families residing here. Nearby are also villages of Ashley, Burrough Green, Cheveley, Exning, Moulton and Stradishall, towns that have been mentioned elsewhere in 'Gynn' history.
(28) Ray Longs Cosford Database - Lavenham; https://pubwiki.co.uk/cosford/lavenham/index.shtml; https://pubwiki.co.uk/cosford/lavenham/fowndx4.shtml; https://pubwiki.co.uk/cosford/lavenham/fowndx5.shtml; https://pubwiki.co.uk/Suffolk/cosford/lavenham/d98.shtml and https://pubwiki.co.uk/cosford/lavenham/d108.shtml.
(29) The Herts Genealogist and Antiquary, Volume 2,
edited by William Brigg; https://books.google.ca/books?id=5dIKAAAAYAAJ (pg 1 and 2)