History of Harleston
A Georgian market town where you can sit in the sun and watch the world go by people have shopped and traded in Harleston for centuries, especially since Market Day was set up in 1369, and it’s still going strong every Wednesday. Today it is that rare thing, the market town of your imagination, surrounded by beautiful countryside.
The Thoroughfare is lined with tempting independent shops, wonderful pubs and cafés, with wide pavements where you can sit with your coffee and take a moment to enjoy the scene. With about 200 medieval buildings Harleston would look much like Lavenham, if it wasn’t for the heady prosperity of the 1700s, which led to the beautiful Georgian era facades that make it so pretty now. The self-indulgent Georgians would have thought it entirely right that today’s travellers can enjoy magnificent hospitability in sumptuous inns and in a fabulous guest house with a hammam spa.
You’ll find grand history, as local legend says the town’s name comes from Harold’s Stone, for the stone in the Thoroughfare by the landmark Clocktower, where King Harold is thought to have stood, to allocate land. A few centuries later the course of history teetered on a knife edge in 1570 thanks to the Midsummer Fair Plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I, which luckily came to nothing. There’s also a significant USA connection, as explained along the Mayflower Trail, all about two Harleston men Samuel and Edward Fuller who set sail on the Mayflower in 1620, ready to build a new world in America. Edward’s son, christened in Redenhall close by, went on to have nine children leading to thousands of descendants living in America today, all with a personal link to this lovely market town in the winding Waveney Valley. Discover more at the Harleston Museum next to King George’s Hall in Broad Street.
Visit glorious Harleston and indulge yourself just like the Georgians did.
Explore the tabs below to discover more of our history
The Mayflower
Aboard the Mayflower were only 102 individuals, among them was the Fuller family of Harleston. The passengers of the Mayflower later became known as the ‘Pilgrims’.
The Pilgrims set out their rules of governance in the ‘Compact’. Among the 41 signatures of the Compact, two were from Harleston, Edward and Samuel Fuller. The Compact later became the foundation for the American Constitution.
Click here to read more from the Harleston Historical Society
Friendly Invasion
During the Second World War, over 350,000 American servicemen and women of the Eighth Air Force were stationed in East Anglia. This became known as the ‘Friendly Invasion’.
American Servicemen introduced Harleston locals to Coca-Cola, chewing gum and peanut butter for the first time.
Many pubs still standing today were popular with the USAAF, including The Swan and The Magpie (now JD Youngs)
Click here to read more from the Visit East of England Website
Click here to access the FREE Harleston Friendly Invasion Walking Tour
Rail History
Dating back to 1855, the former Harleston Station on the Waveney Valley Line, was authorised by the Waveney Valley Railway Act on 3 July 1851. The line opened in stages, firstly from Tivetshall to Harleston on 1 December 1855, then to Bungay on 2 November 1860, and finally to Beccles. When the line was completed it was incorporated into the Great Eastern Railway.
The line then became part of the LNER on 1 January 1923.
The line ran regular passenger and freight services daily, except for Sundays. This was a condition placed on the railway by landowners in the Starston area of Norfolk who had to give their consent before the line could be built.
During World War I however, troop trains were known to operate each day. By October 1915, trains had reached their peak of 8 trains per day, but the demands of World War I reduced this to 6 trains per day in 1917. During world war two there was a large increase in traffic, this was due to the airfields and military establishments built along the line.
By 1953, when passenger services closed, services had remained unchanged for 36 years. The Bungay to Harleston section of the route now forms part of the main A143 road and was opened on 9 November 1983. Other sections of the route are now tracks and footpaths.
War Memorial
The War Memorial in Harleston stands within a small peaceful garden and honours the local men who lost their lives in both World Wars. It also bears a plaque commemorating a soldier from an even earlier conflict. Its dignified setting and understated design offer a moment of reflection for visitors.
The Clocktower
An Italianate clock tower that overlooks the Market Place, Harleston. It is a significant landmark structure in the town dating from 1873 by H. H. Collins. Built on the site of the former parish church of St John, thought to have dated to the 15th century.
The Church
Harleston’s church was built in the 1870s to replace a ruinous medieval church on the market place. That had been built as a chapel of ease to mighty Redenhall, and the modern church still has the feel of a chapel, built by diocesan architect Richard Phipson, most famous for the interior of Norwich St Peter Mancroft and the complete rebuilding of Ipswich St Mary le Tower.
