The Guildhall is one of Hadleigh’s four Grade 1 listed buildings – each designated as being of exceptional national,
architectural or historical importance; two of the others are the adjacent Deanery Tower and St Mary’s Church.
Remarkably, each of these three (around the churchyard) is still being used for its original medieval purpose.
Today the term Hadleigh Guildhall denotes the set of historic publicly owned buildings on the southern side of St Mary’s churchyard; sometimes referred to as Hadleigh Town Hall. Originally (mid C15th-late C16th) the term The Guildhall referred only to the building built specifically for use by the town’s medieval guilds; today this is the building that contains the Old Town Hall on its first floor & the Guild Room on the ground floor.
N.B. Reference abbreviations are explained at the end of the Timeline. Italicised text is a direct quote from the original doument.
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Source |
This Timeline was created by The Hadleigh Society History Group in 2023
Reference abbreviations & References
MoH=Manor of Hadleigh; MoL= Manor of Layham; HA=Hadleigh Archive; SA/I= Suffolk Archives, Ipswich; SA/B= Suffolk Archives, Bury St Edmunds; CCA=Canterbury Cathedral Archives; CMP = Conservation Management Project of 2023; EADT = East Anglian Daily Times; ERO = Essex Record Office; SPAB = Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings; HMFC = Hadleigh Market Feoffment Charity; HTC = Hadleigh Town Council; HUDC= Hadleigh Urban District Council:
RCHM = Royal Commission on the Historical Monument.; SLHC = Suffolk Local History Council; WEA = Workers’ Educational Association.
JW Booklet = Walker, J. (2004) A Guide to the Architecture & Layout of Hadleigh Guildhall. Hadleigh Market Feoffment Charity
M Mc = McIntosh, M.K. (2013) Poor relief & Community in Hadleigh Suffolk 1547-1600. Univ of Hertfordshire Press: Great Britain
Pigot, H. (1870) Hadleigh: The Town, the church & the great Men who were born or connected with the Parish. Tymms: Lowestoft
RK HCF = Kennell, R.(2005) The Hadleigh Corset Factory of P & S. Friends of Hadleigh Guildhall
RW CI&V = Whitehand, R. (2014) Chief Inhabitants & Vestries. Historical Suffolk Publishing: Felixstowe
SA Chr = Andrews, S. (2022) Hadleigh market & its associated buildings: a chronology. (unpublished document)
SA & TS = Andrews, S. & Springall, T. (2005) Hadleigh & the Alabaster Family: A Story of a Suffolk Town during the Tudor & Stuart periods. Andrews: Bildeston
WAB M/S = Jones, W.A.B. (1974) Hadleigh Suffolk: A Viking Royal Town, Medieval Wool Centre, Jacobean Borough & Archbishop’s Peculiar. HA Library Collection
WAB = Jones, W.A.B. (1977) Hadleigh through the ages. East Anglian Magazine Ltd: Ipswich
Verifiable additions or necessary amendments may be made known to history@hadsoc.org.uk