The brief was to establish a team of volunteers, led by Co-ordinator Stephen Poulter, to carry out research into Harleston during the period between the accession of James I in 1603 through to the eve of the English Civil War in 1640. The group were tasked with finding as much information as possible about six pairs of individuals who lived or worked in the Parish of Redenhall cum Harleston during that period.

This material, along with more general background facts about the social, economic and political circumstances in which these individuals would have operated, were collected into Information Packs on each pair of historical figures (links below) and given to local performers for the living history re-enactments around the town.

Publications
A selection of short biographies produced from original research carried out by members of the Harleston 1600s Historical Research Project Group:
Residents of Early 17th Century Harleston

Character Packs
Each character pack includes information about specific individuals and background information about everyday life, community infrastructure and hierarchies, religious beliefs, and local politics in this period:
William Greygoose & Thomas Pecke, 1603
Nicholas & Joan Cooke, 1611
Bridget & John Allen, 1615
Thomas & Ann Fuller, 1621
Richard Bucke & Elizabeth Chapman and the Plague, 1626
Alice & Richard Frere, 1635

History Research Group Members
Julie Craven, Pat Douglas, Margaret Griffiths, Robert Halliday, Gordon Lascelles, Janine Lascelles, Stephen Poulter, David Seddon and Jill Tan.

Acknowledgements
All written content for this site has been written by the volunteers working on the Mayflower 400 Historical Research Project as a result of the grant given to the Project by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), made possible with money raised by National Lottery players. The copyright for their work remains with the original authors. Dr. Kate Jewell provided her expertise by running a fascinating workshop on 17th century Wills and Inventories as well as transcribing a range of original deeds and manuscripts to assist the research efforts.

Useful Links
Norfolk Record Office
www.archives.norfolk.gov.uk

Norfolk Heritage Centre at the Norfolk Millennium Library
www.norfolk.gov.uk/libraries-local-history-and-archives/researching-family-and-local-history/norfolk-heritage-centre

Suffolk Record Office
www.suffolkarchives.co.uk

Gressenhall Workhouse & Farm
www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk/gressenhall-farm-and-workhouse

Norfolk Heritage Explorer
www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk