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The aim of this page is to draw comparisons between the events taking place in Hadleigh and in the rest of the Country (and in a few cases the rest of the world) at various significant points in the town's history.

The Hadleigh dates and facts are all drawn from "Hadleigh Through the Ages" by W.A.B. Jones and those for Timeline Events from various documentary sources. These latter events have been chosen at the whim of the author of this page and we apologise in advance if they are not the most significant events of the year. This page is just a bit of fun !

Year	Hadleigh Events	Timeline Events
870	The Danes conquer Eastern England.	First use in England of calibrated candles to measure the time.
878	Guthrum makes Hadleigh a Royal Town.	Arab conquest of Sicily.
890	Death & burial of Guthrum in Hadleigh.	England divided into shires with Courts safeguarding the rights of the inhabitants.
991	Hadleigh bequeathed by Byrhtnoth of Essex to Canterbury.	Byrhtnoth of Essex defeated by the Danes at Maldon.
1066	Norman conquest.	Appearance of a comet (later to be named Halley's Comet).
1250	Building of first stone church & beginning of the wool trade.	Hats come into fashion, and goose quills are used for writing.
1252	Grant of a weekly fair to the Lord of Toppesfield.	The Inquisition begins to use instruments of torture.
1349	The Black Death.	The Black Death kills one third of the population of England.
1350	Building of the second stone church.	Salisbury Cathedral is completed.
1438	Market rights transferred to trustees (the origin of the Hadleigh Market Feoffment).	Beginning of nine year truce between England & Scotland.
1450	Church rebuilt and Guildhall transferred to Market Feoffment.	Jack Cade's rebellion in England.
1495	Deanery Tower Built.	Da Vinci paints "The Last Supper".
1497	George Street almshouses endowed by William Pykenham.	Vasco De Gama rounds The Cape Of Good Hope.
1547	Confiscation of the treasures of the church and guilds.	First predictions of Nostradamus. Poor rate levied in London.
1555	Benton Street almshouses endowed by the Raven family. Burning of Rowland Taylor.	Tobacco brought for the first time to Spain from America.
1618	Charter Of Incorporation and grant of Arms.	Sir Walter Raleigh returns to England & is executed
1665	The plague.	Bernini completes the High Alter in St Peter's Rome
1685	Parish library in the church.	French Huguenots begin silk manufacture in England.
1686	Surrender of the Charter of Incorporation.	Catholics readmitted to the English Army.
1831	Deanery house rebuilt (completed 1833).	London Bridge opens. British population is 13.9 million.
1832	URC Church Built.	Britain occupies The Falkland Islands.
1839	Gas Lighting introduced..	First bicycle made (in Scotland).
1843	Hadleigh bridge rebuilt.	SS Great Britain launched at Bristol.
1847	Railway opened.	The Factory Act restricts the working day for children aged 13 to 18 to 10 hours.
1851	New Town Hall built.	JMW Turner dies. GB Population now 20.8 million.
1856	Town Cemetery opened.	"Big Ben" cast at Whitechapel Bell Foundry.
1861	Gas Works built.	Daily weather forecasts begin in Britain. First horse-drawn trams in London.
1871	Church interior restored.	Bank Holidays introduced in England & Wales.
1901	Council School built in Station Road.	Queen Victoria dies.
1920	First bus service to Ipswich.	League Of Nations founded. GB introduces "Unemployment Insurance".
1926	Piped water reaches Hadleigh.	General Strike called in Britain.
1932	Passenger rail services end.	Basic English proposed as international language.
1964	Industrial estate opened.	Mods & Rockers disturb the peace in seaside resorts.
1965	Freight services end and railway tracks removed.	W S Churchill dies. Post Office Tower opens.
1974	Hadleigh Town Council instituted.	Watergate scandal rocks US political system.