The Suffolk Historic Buildings Group state this is one of the most important buildings in Clare. Sometimes known just as the Bear, and earlier as New Hall, this is a 16th century double gabled house built on the site of the bailey barn and woodyard, and much altered early in the 19th century when it was re-fronted.

Historically it has been listed as a family & commercial hotel & posting house.

It was originally a trading house, probably for woollen goods. A claim has been made that it was once the town's Woolhall, but neither the deeds of the house nor other records confirm this, so at best the claim must be reckoned to be an unsubstantiated tradition. It used to be called Newhall, under which name the establishment is known to have existed in 1547…