Halesworth is a market town situated in rural North East Suffolk, approximately 30 miles North of Ipswich and 20 miles South of Lowestoft. It is built surrounding the Town River, a tributary of the river Blyth, which runs inland from Southwold and Walberswick.
The population of the town is circa 5000 with the surrounding villages pushing the number to nearer 12,000.
It is thought that at the time of the Norman Conquest ‘Halesuworda’ was a rural estate combined with two smaller manors with only craft workshops and a church. During the 13th Century there was a population explosion and economic prosperity with the settlement probably developing into a small town with a planned market area and all the tenements/building plots laid out in a regular pattern. Archaeological evidence suggests that lead working, spinning, weaving and brewing were carried out in the town. By the 17th Century Halesworth was one of the fastest growing towns in East Anglia. In the 18th Century it had developed into a town of small businesses supplying the local urban market and the needs of the surrounding countryside. With the river improvement scheme completed, this enabled keels and wherries to sail from Southwold to Halesworth Quay.
Halesworth & District Museum is located at the railway station where you can discover more about the history of this rural market town. You can learn about the railway station pre 1880 and see displays including local geology, archeology and local industries in the 19th century. There is also a reference collection which can be inspected by prior arrangement.
Halesworth & District Museum
The Railway Station, Station Road, Halesworth, IP19 8BZ
Email: office@halesworthmuseum.org.uk
Website: www.halesworthmuseum.org.uk