Harleston is a town in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Redenhall with Harleston Redenhall with Harleston is a civil parish in the South Norfolk, South Norfolk district of the English county of Norfolk, comprising the town of Harleston, Norfolk, Harleston and the neighbouring village of Redenhall. It covers an area of , and ...

, in the

South Norfolk South Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. The largest town is Wymondham, and the district also includes the towns of Costessey, Diss, Harleston, Hingham, Loddon and Long Stratton. The council was based in Long S ...

district, in the county of

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, England. It is from

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

. In 2018, it had an estimated population of 5,067. Harleston is on the Norfolk/

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

border, close to the

River Waveney The River Waveney is a river which forms the boundary between Suffolk and Norfolk, England, for much of its length within The Broads. The earliest attestation of the name is from 1275, ''Wahenhe'', from ''*wagen + ea'', meaning the river by a q ...

. Harleston has two markets every Wednesday. Harleston is an

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

comprising the civil parishes of Needham, Redenhall with Harleston, and

Wortwell Wortwell is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk and adjoining the county of Suffolk. It is located on both the River Waveney (which forms the county boundary) and the A143 road, some 20 km east of Diss and 30 ...

. At the last election, in May 2019, two Conservative councillors were elected to South Norfolk Council.

History

The name "Harleston" possibly means Heoruwulf's or Harold's stone. Harleston was recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

as ''Heroluestuna''. Harleston was a chapelry in Redenhall parish. The right to hold an eight-day fair during the period of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist was granted to

Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk Roger Bigod (c. 1209–1270) was 4th Earl of Norfolk and Marshal of England. Origins He was the eldest son and heir of Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk (1182-1225) by his wife Maud, a daughter of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1147-1219 ...

by Henry III in 1259. Many Georgian residences and much earlier building, with Georgian frontages, line the streets of Harleston. Although there is no record of a royal charter, Harleston has been a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

since at least 1369 and still holds a Wednesday market. One of the plots to assassinate

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

was to be launched on

Midsummer Day Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer, taking place on or near the date of the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere; the longest day of the year. The name "midsummer" mainly refers to summer solstice festivals of European or ...

1570 at the Harleston Fair by proclamations and the sound of trumpets and drums. The

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

play ''

Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay ''Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay'', originally entitled ''The Honorable Historie of Frier Bacon and Frier Bongay'', is an Elizabethan era stage play, a comedy written by Robert Greene. Widely regarded as Greene's best and most significant play, ...

'' features this in one of its scenes.

Amenities

Harleston has a state-funded

all-through school An all-through school (also known as an integrated school) educates young people throughout multiple educational stages, generally throughout childhood and adolescence. Definition The term "all-through" can be legitimately applied to establis ...

called

Harleston Sancroft Academy The Harleston Sancroft Academy is a Church of England all-through school located in Harleston, Norfolk, England. It was formed on 1 September 2022 from Archbishop Sancroft High School and Harleston Primary Academy. History The school was fi ...

, a football club called Harleston Town which plays at Wilderness Lane, a library on Swan Lane, a museum called Harleston Museum, a police station at 12 Swan Lane and a church called St John the Baptist. The

Corn Exchange A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in the United States these buildings were called grain exchanges. Such trade was common in towns ...

, completed in 1849, has been partitioned to create a series of shop units.

Harleston railway station Harleston was a railway station in Harleston, Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The ...

closed in 1953. The nearest station is now , which is ten miles to the west.

References

{{Norfolk Towns in Norfolk South Norfolk