Redenhall with Harleston

Redenhall with Harleston is a town and civil parish in the South Norfolk District of the English county of Norfolk, comprising the villages of Redenhall and Harleston. It covers an area of 13.73 km2, and had a population of 4,058 in 1,841 households at the 2001 census. Many Georgian residences 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.

The right to hold an eight day 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.

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. The Elizabethan play Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay features this in one of its scenes.

Redenhall and Harleston railway stations previously linked the villages with Tivetshall St Margaret and Beccles on the Waveney Valley Line. Redenhall Station closed in 1866, and Harleston in 1953.

Archbishop Sancroft High School is located in Harleston, and is the main secondary school for the parish and surrounding area.

Notable people

 * Henry Ward, recipient of the Victoria Cross