Harleston is a town 16 miles (26 km) from Norwich,[1] in the civil parish of Redenhall with Harleston, in the South Norfolk district, in the county of Norfolk, England. In 2018 it had an estimated population of 5067.[2] Harleston is on the Norfolk/Suffolk border, close to the River Waveney.[3] Harleston has 2 markets every Wednesday.[4]

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Harleston
Harleston Location within Norfolk
Area	1.45 km2 (0.56 sq mi)
Population	5,067 (2018 estimate)
• Density	3,494/km2 (9,050/sq mi)
Civil parish	Redenhall with Harleston
District	South Norfolk
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	HARLESTON
Postcode district	IP20
Dialling code	01379
Website	http://www.harleston-norfolk.org.uk/home
List of places UK England Norfolk 52.402384°N 1.2995895°E / 52.402384; 1.2995895

Harleston is an electoral ward comprising the civil parishes of Needham, Redenhall with Harleston, and Wortwell. At the last election, in May 2019, two Conservative councillors were elected to South Norfolk Council.

History

The name "Harleston" possibly means "Heoruwulf"[5] or "Harolds Stone".[6] Harleston was recorded in the Domesday Book as Heroluestuna.[7] Harleston was a chapelry in Reddenhall parish.[8]

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 by Henry III in 1259.[9]

Many Georgian residences and much earlier buildings, with Georgian frontages, line the streets of Harleston. Although there is no record of a royal charter, Harleston has been a market town since at least 1369 and still holds a Wednesday market.[10][11]

One of the plots to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I was to be launched on Midsummer Day 1570 at the Harleston Fair by proclamations and the sound of trumpets and drums.[12] The Elizabethan play Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay features this in one of its scenes.[13]

Amenities

Harleston has a state-funded all-through school called Harleston Sancroft Academy,[14] a football club called Harleston Town which plays at Wilderness Lane,[15] a library on Swan Lane,[16] a museum called Harleston Museum,[17] a police station[18] on 12 Swan Lane[19] and a church called St John the Baptist.[20]

Harleston railway station closed in 1953.[21] The nearest station is now Diss, which is ten miles to the west.[22]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harleston.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Harleston.