In Search of Leiston Gibbet, Friday Market Heath and St Andrews Green

This walk follows an investigation to seek out the location of the Leiston Gibbet and an area of heathland that was known in the 1600's as Friday Market Heath. The only reference to these places comes from an old book from 1910 entitled 'The Chronicles of Theberton' which details the route past the gibbet. This walk attempts to retrace this route by navigating along the heathland and footpaths around the River Hundred which marks the boundary between the hundreds of Blything and Plomestead. Extensive research which has been undertaken and documented in the feature of this walk with some revealing insights to long forgotten places.

Technical sheet

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.78 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: Yes
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 15 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 11 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 21 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 5 m
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Photos

Possible location of Friday Market Heath
Possible location of Leiston Gibbet
View southwards across Knodishall Common
In Search of Leiston Gibbet, Friday Market Heath and St Andrews Green

Description of the walk

Start: Victory Road Recreation Park, Leiston. (IP16 4XD) Grid ref. TM 443 624

(S/E) From the park at Victory Road, head South out of Leiston on Haylings Road. Just past a road on the left named Fridays Orchard is a footpath. Take this left and then go through the gap in the hedge on the right to Haylings Pond.

(1) Take a diagonal across the grass and back onto the footpath at the far edge. This leads out onto Goldings Lane. Cross the road and through the gap in the head and over the field. A track then leads into Aldringham.

(2) At the road head diagonally right to take Mill Lane left, a residential cul-de-sac. At the end, a footpath leads between the houses and down to the brook. Cross the footbridge and take the footpath that bears right. Continue through the woodland. Eventually, by the school on the right, the path will fork.

(3) Take the right fork which leads out onto the Snape road (B1069). Turn right, the pub is a hundred yards down the road towards Leiston. St Andrews road is on the opposite side of the road. This track leads through to Aldringham road from where a return to the pub can be made left along the Leiston Road (B1069).

(4) From the pub take Post Office Road right and then take the footpath left onto the heath by the side of a house. This leads onto a gravel track. Keep to this until there is a hedge with a path that follows the brook. This meets up with another path that joins from a footbridge.

(5) Turn left and follow this footpath through the gorse and then out alongside a hedge. This comes to a junction with a bridleway and is the point at which it is thought Leiston Gibbet was located. Beyond the path cuts across a field to the track to Friston - ignore this and take a right turn and follow the bridleway. Keep to this path until another path leads around the perimeter of the field and returns at the heath where one emerged. Return along the footpath.

(5) Keep straight over the footbridge and up to a road. Follow the road round to the right then cut across more heathland in front of the houses left and up to another road. Turn left and then take a right into a little cul-de-sac. At the end a footpath leads off on the right. This leads down to the main road into Leiston (B1069). Take a short walk back towards Leiston until there is a footpath on the left.

(6) Take this through to where it meets a road by the yard where a fairground lorries are parked up. Turn right and follow the path out onto Victory Road to return to the starting point. (S/E)

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 16 m - Victory Road Recreation Park, Leiston
  2. 1 : km 0.39 - alt. 18 m - Haylings Pond
  3. 2 : km 1.55 - alt. 8 m - Aldringham
  4. 3 : km 2.83 - alt. 10 m - Fork - Right
  5. 4 : km 4.08 - alt. 6 m - The Butcher's Arms Pub - Post Office Road
  6. 5 : km 4.46 - alt. 8 m - Path junction
  7. 6 : km 7.8 - alt. 17 m - Footbridge
  8. S/E : km 8.78 - alt. 16 m - Victory Road Recreation Park, Leiston

Practical information

Terrain: A simple walk using existing footpaths, lanes and tracks all of which are well defined.

Refreshments : Butchers Arms, Knodishall at waypoint (5)

Find more information on Griffmonster-walks website here.

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