History of Hadleigh area

Hadleigh is one of England's finest market towns, once listed as among 51 towns "so precious that ultimate responsibility for them should be a national concern".

Now home to about 8000 people, Hadleigh is an unusual mix of old and new.  Packed with historic buildings, it has also embraced the modern world.

600 years ago it was an important wool centre.  In the 9th Century Hadleigh was a royal town for Danish King Guthrum, who is said to be buried here.  Seven centuries later Dr Rowland Taylor became Hadleigh's martyr when he was burned at the stake.

The town's rich ecclesiastical history is evident in the grandeur of the Church of St Mary, one of the largest in East Anglia still with 14th Century features.  The neighbouring Deanery Tower has fine Tudor brickwork and is flanked by the 15th Century Guildhall.

Much of the towns' remarkable history remains, not least in the three-quarter mile long High Street lined with merchants' houses dating from the 15th Century.  Just off the High Street is Toppesfield Bridge, the one massive medieval bridge still being used in Suffolk.

Yet Hadleigh is not just stunning architecture, rich history, beautiful streets and lanes, but the fact that all this is there and still being used.  Hadleigh is not a museum; it is a thriving, growing town proud of its history and happy to grow and adapt as time moves on.