Harleston Museum

About the museum

Harleston Museum opened on 3 July 1982 to give the town’s local history collection a permanent home. It is housed in King George’s Hall on Broad Street and is run by the Harleston and District Historical Society with local volunteers. It is a very small museum, but its displays are carefully made and change from year to year.

Recent displays have covered the medieval hall houses of the town, with a scale model showing how such a house was altered over the centuries, the history of local doctors and healthcare, the Waveney Valley railway, which reached Harleston in 1855, and the manufacture of clay tobacco pipes. A clock made locally around 1830–50 by Samuel Carman is also on show, and a permanent section deals with Harleston’s links to the Mayflower voyage of 1620.

The museum takes part in Heritage Open Days in September and welcomes donations of objects with a local connection.

Highlights

• Permanent Mayflower display
• Harleston Railway and the Waveney Valley Line
• Local clock made around 1830–50
• Scale model of a hall house
• Changing local history displays

Permanent exhibitions

• Mayflower Moments – A permanent section on Harleston’s links to the Mayflower voyage and the Pilgrim Fathers.
• Harleston Railway – The history of the Waveney Valley Line, which opened to Harleston in 1855.
• Clay Pipes – A display on the history of clay tobacco pipe making.

Founded

1982

Operated by

Harleston and District Historical Society

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission is free and donations are welcome (according to the Visit Harleston directory).

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

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Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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