Hadleigh
Hadleigh is a market town of 8300 people (2011) on the River Brett in Suffolk, England. 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 the immediately surrounding area.
Understand
Hadleigh was a wool town, and like Lavenham, Long Melford and Kersey, it was also a cloth making town. It has 246 listed buildings.
Get in
Hadleigh is on the B1070 (from the A12 north of Colchester) and was on the A1071 (in between Sudbury and Ipswich), though it's now been bypassed. Hadleigh is on the Regional Cycle Route 48.
By bus
Beestons 91 buses run between Ipswich and Sudbury.
By rail
Hadleigh no longer has a railway station; the nearest are in Ipswich, Sudbury and Manningtree.
Get around
The town is small enough to see on foot.
See
- 🌍 Benton End House. A Grade II* listed building on Benton Street, was a large medieval farmhouse. From 1940 it was the home of Sir Cedric Morris, artist and plantsman, who formed the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing there. Students included Lucian Freud and Maggi Hambling.
- 🌍 Hadleigh Library, 29 High Street, IP7 5AG, ☏ +44 1473 823778. tourist information also in the library.
- 🌍 Hadleigh Town Hall, The Guildhall, IP7 5DN, ☏ +44 1473 822544.
- 🌍 St Mary's Church, Church Street, IP7 5DT, ☏ +44 7704 778325. free.
Do
- 🌍 Hadleigh Railway Walk, Station Road (parking on Station Road).
- 🌍 Wolves Wood, Wolves Wood, A1071, IP7 (east of the town, on the A1071).
- 🌍 Broom Hill (west of the town).
- 🌍 Hadleigh Pool & Leisure (Kingfisher Leisure Centre), Stonehouse Road, IP7 5BH, ☏ +44 1473 823470, hadleighreception@acleisure.com. M-F 6:30AM-9:30PM, Sa 6:30AM-4:30PM, Su 8AM-4:30PM, bank holidays 6:30AM-2:30PM.
- 🌍 Hadleigh Skatepark, 117 Pykenham Way, IP7 5ER.
- 🌍 Hadleigh Show, ☏ +44 7584 568055, secretary@hadleighshow.co.uk. Annual show in May. It was first held in 1840 and is also known as 'the May Show'. It is one of the oldest one-day agricultural shows in East Anglia. Organised by the Hadleigh Farmers' Agricultural Association.
Buy
- 🌍 Hadleigh Co-op, 72 High Street, IP7 5EF. M-Sa 7AM-10PM, Su 10AM-4PM.
- 🌍 Morrisons, Boswell Lane, IP7 6LB. M-Sa 7AM-10PM, Su 10AM-4PM.
- 🌍 Hadleigh Market, Market Place, IP7 5DL. every Friday 9AM-2PM.
Eat
- 🌍 Royal Bengal Tandoori, 51 High Street, IP7 5AB, ☏ +01473 823 744.
Drink
- 🌍 The George at Hadleigh, 52 High Street, IP7 5AL, ☏ +01473 822151. Su-Th noon-11PM, F Sa 0AM-noon; food: M-F noon-2PM and 5:30-9PM.
Sleep
- 🌍 The Gables B&B Hadleigh, 108-110 High Street, IP7 5EL, ☏ +44 1473 828126. 4-bedroom B&B. Also runs a 3-bedroom self-catering house, Mulberry Cottage. £85-145 per night.
Connect
As of Sep 2022, Hadleigh and the highway from Ipswich have 5G from EE, but no signal from other UK carriers.
Go next
- 5 miles southeast to East Bergholt
- 10 miles east to Ipswich
- 12 miles west to Sudbury
- 10 miles northwest to Lavenham