Editing Hadleigh, Suffolk (section)

==History==
[[Guthrum]], King of the Danes, is said to be buried in the grounds of St Mary's Church in the town.<ref>D. Dumville and M. Lapidge (eds) ''Annals of St. Neots'' Cambridge 1984</ref> He was defeated by King [[Alfred the Great|Alfred]] at the [[battle of Edington]] in 878.<ref name=onesuffolk/>

The first documented lord of the manor was [[ealdorman]] [[Byrhtnoth]], who was killed at the [[Battle of Maldon]] in 991. Hadleigh received its [[Market town|market charter]] in 1252 and had a grammar school by 1275. The manor of Hadleigh, along with those of Lawling in Essex and [[Monks Eleigh]] in Suffolk, were among those given to the [[Canterbury Cathedral|Priory Church of Canterbury Cathedral]]. It made Hadleigh an "archiepiscopal [[Royal Peculiar|peculiar]]" – under the direct control of the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]].<ref name=times>{{cite web|url=https://www.eadt.co.uk/book-medieval-hadleigh-the-chief-manor-and-the-town-by-margaret-woods-1-5801683|title=What was Hadleigh like 700 years ago?|first=Steve|last=Russell|website=East Anglian Daily Times|access-date=16 December 2018}}</ref>

Hadleigh was a moderately-sized town, with a reckoned population of about 1,100 or 1,200 in 1306. At that time there were 118 "unfree tenants", who had to pay rent and provide labour services, and 75 "free tenants" who had had fewer obligations and dues. The manor had {{convert|2000|acre}}. The manor was a working farm, with crops and some animals, and had quite an important dairy. Hadleigh Hall was the site of the medieval manor house, in {{convert|4|acre}}.<ref name=times/>

It has been suggested by Woods (2018) that [[Wat Tyler]] and his wife were Hadleigh tenants about 20 years before he was one of the leaders of the 1381 [[Peasants' Revolt]]. Records show a Wat Tyler taking over a freeholding in Coram Street in 1358–59 and it is possible he worked as a tiler.<ref name=times/><ref>{{cite book |first=Margaret|last=Woods |title=Medieval Hadleigh: The chief manor and the town |publisher=Lasse Press |date= 1 December 2018 |isbn= 9781999775247}}</ref>

In 1438, administration was passed from manorial control to trustees. The market was eventually sold to [[Babergh District|Babergh District Council]] in the late 20th century.<ref name=onesuffolk>{{cite web |url=http://hadleigh.onesuffolk.net/ |title=Welcome to the Hadleigh Town Council website |location=GB |publisher=Hadleigh.onesuffolk.net |date=22 September 2013 |access-date=17 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430200051/http://hadleigh.onesuffolk.net/ |archive-date=30 April 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Hadleigh was one of the East Anglian towns that derived its prosperity from its [[wool]] and cloth industries. It has a 15th-century timber-framed [[Guildhall]] and many fine examples of timber and brick [[listed buildings]], some with highly detailed 17th century plasterwork or "[[pargeting]]". Most of these buildings can be found in the High Street, Angel Street, Benton Street and George Street.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

[[File:Hadleigh Guildhall - geograph.org.uk - 2576908.jpg|thumb|left|The Market House]]
[[File:Town Hall, Hadleigh (geograph 5606335).jpg|thumb|left|[[Hadleigh Town Hall|The New Town Hall]]]]
The Guildhall buildings are, in fact, formed of three separate structures, all of which lie to the south of the churchyard: the Market House, the Guilds Halls and the New Town Hall (Grand Hall). They are located on land that belonged originally to the [[Manorialism|manor]] of [[Toppesfield|Toppesfield Hall]]. In 1252, king [[Henry III of England]] granted a weekly market and an annual fair to Gilbert de Kirkeby, his wife Lauretta and their heirs. By 1438, the Lord of the Manor was William de Clopton, who granted these rights, to fifteen trustees, with an initial annual payment of 6s 8d. In 1438, the Hadleigh Market [[Feoffment]] was formed, to manage the market and buildings. The oldest part of the complex, the Market House, fronts the churchyard. Later the Guilds Halls were built and the final addition was the [[Hadleigh Town Hall|New Town Hall]]. Abutting the Market House to the west was the 'Long Hall newly built' (1438), which appears to have been the home of the Grammar School, the earliest record of which is dated 7 May 1382. Its last use was as [[almshouse]]s and accommodation for the Dean's servants; but it was seriously damaged in a storm in 1884 and was demolished.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hadleightownhall.co.uk/portal/web/687/content/downloads/pottedhistory.doc |title=The Hadleigh Guildhall & Town Hall Complex – A Potted History |publisher=Hadleigh Market Feoffment Charity |year=2009}}</ref>

In 1894 Hadleigh became an [[Urban district (England and Wales)|urban district]] which became part of the administrative county of [[West Suffolk (county)|West Suffolk]] in 1889, the district contained the parish of Hadleigh.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10107829|title=Relationships and changes Hadleigh UD through time|publisher=[[A Vision of Britain through Time]]|accessdate=5 September 2024}}</ref> On 1 April 1974 the district and parish were abolished and became part of Babergh district in the [[non-metropolitan county]] of Suffolk.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1972/2039/schedule/part/35/made|title=The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972|publisher=[[legislation.gov.uk]]|accessdate=5 September 2024}}</ref> A [[successor parish]] was formed covering the same area as the former district and its parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1973/1110/made|title=The Local Government (Successor Parishes) Order 1973|publisher=legislation.gov.uk|accessdate=5 September 2024}}</ref>

The parish has a total of 246 listed buildings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/england/suffolk/hadleigh |title=Listed Buildings in Hadleigh, Suffolk, England |publisher=britishlistedbuildings.co.uk |access-date=30 March 2013}}</ref> Of these, [[Grade I listed buildings in Babergh|four are Grade I]]: the grouping of St Mary's Church, the Deanery Tower, the Guildhall, and the Coffee Tavern in the High Street. [[Grade II* listed buildings in Babergh|Twenty-seven are II*]]. Hugh Pigot, curate of Hadleigh, identifies four 'remarkable' houses in his 1866 history of the town:<ref>Hugh Pigot (1866) ''A Guide to the Town, Church, and Chief Objects of Interest in Hadleigh''. H. Hardacre, Hadleigh.</ref> Sun Court; a house in the High St;<ref>{{NHLE|desc=46 and 48 High St|num=1036757|access-date=5 October 2021}}</ref> a house in George Street; and Place Farm (demolished). The house in George Street has since been identified as a hall house, known as Thorpes in the 1600s, and dated to 1380–1420.<ref name=HE1036788>{{NHLE|desc=48 George Street|num=1036788|access-date=5 October 2021}}</ref> It was restored by Mr and Mrs Baines and given a Noel Turner Award by the Hadleigh Society in 2012.<ref>Hadleigh Society newsletter, May 2019. http://www.hadsoc.org.uk/newsletter/HSN201905.pdf</ref>

[[File:Hadleigh 03.jpg|thumb|[[Pargeting]] at 81, High Street]]
The [[Georgian architecture|Georgian]] East House, on George Street, is designated a [[Grade II* listed building]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-277656-east-house-hadleigh-suffolk |title=East House, Hadleigh |publisher=britishlistedbuildings.co.uk |access-date=30 March 2013}}</ref> In March 2013, plans by Babergh District Council to redevelop the site and build houses on the land behind were withdrawn after strong local protest. The property was once used for community activities and the [[Kray twins]] were billeted at the property during the Second World War.<ref>{{cite news |first=Steven |last=Russell |date=28 April 2008 |title=Hard men with a soft spot for Suffolk |work=[[East Anglian Daily Times]] |url=https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/hard-men-with-a-soft-spot-for-suffolk-7541614 |access-date=7 August 2021}}</ref> Opponents of the plan had argued that the adjacent land had been used as a [[village green]] for the previous 20 years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.suffolkfreepress.co.uk/community/community-news/proposals-for-east-house-scrapped-1-4913214 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421093228/http://www.suffolkfreepress.co.uk/community/community-news/proposals-for-east-house-scrapped-1-4913214 |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 April 2013 |title=Proposals for East House scrapped |publisher=Johnston Publishing Ltd. |date=19 March 2013 |access-date=30 March 2013 }}</ref> In 2018, the building was renovated into two private homes: East House and West Lodge by period property restorers Richard Abel and Ruth McCabe-Abel. The couple were awarded the Noel Turner Award by the Hadleigh Society in 2019 for their sympathetic restoration of East House and West Lodge.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hadsoc.org.uk/newsletter/hsn202005.htm#_Toc40965317|title=The Hadleigh Society May 2020|access-date=6 September 2020}}</ref>

Originating in the 14th century, the Grade II* listed Toppesfield Bridge, over the River Brett, is the oldest in the county still carrying vehicles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.transporttrust.com/heritage-sites/heritage-detail/toppesfield-bridge-hadleigh|title=Heritage Locations|website=www.transporttrust.com|access-date=1 March 2018}}</ref> It was widened in 1812.<ref>''Hadleigh Official Town Guide 2014'', Local Authority Publishing Co. Ltd, p.10.</ref> Hadleigh also had its own [[Corn Exchange, Hadleigh|Corn Exchange]], completed in 1813.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Corn Exchange|num=1351724|access-date=5 August 2023}}</ref>

Hadleigh was formerly the home of Babergh District Council. In November 2017, the council vacated its offices on Cork Lane.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.babergh.gov.uk/communities/former-council-offices-in-hadleigh/|title=Former Council Offices in Hadleigh" Babergh Mid Suffolk|website=www.babergh.gov.uk}}</ref>