East Harling is a village in the civil parish of Harling in the Breckland district of the English county of Norfolk.

East Harling is located east of Thetford and south-west of Norwich on the banks of the River Thet.

History East Harling's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the eastern part of the settlement of 'Herela's' people.

In the Domesday Book, East Harling and West Harling are recorded together as a settlement of 91 households in the hundred of Guiltcross. In 1086, the villages were divided between the estates of King William I, Count Alan of Brittany, St. Edmunds' Abbey, William d'Ecouis and Robert de Verly.

Harling Old Hall was built in 1490 on the site of an existing building called Herling's Hall and was demolished in the Nineteenth Century.

From 1808 to 1814, East Harling hosted a station in the shutter telegraph chain connecting the Admiralty in London to the fleet in Great Yarmouth.

In 1931 the civil parish had a population of 900. On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged with West Harling to form "Harling".

In 1992, a German field gun was found buried during excavations around a residential building. It is likely that the gun was given as a prize to the village after the First World War and was buried in the Second World War.

On 13 December 1943, a B-17 Flying Fortress of the 96th Bomb Group crashed near the village trying to return to RAF Snetterton Heath after a bombing raid on Hamburg. Before crashing, the aircraft dumped its bombload in a field which shattered many windows in the village. Furthermore, during the Second World War, several pillboxes were built to defend against a possible German invasion.

Geography According to the 2021 census, East Harling has a population of 2,489 people which shows an increase from the 2,142 people recorded in the 2011 census.

In 1931 the civil parish had a population of 900. This was the last time separate population statistics were collected for the village as the parish was merged with West Harling in 1935.

Church of St Peter and St Paul

East Harling's parish church is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and was built in its current state on the site of an earlier church during the 15th century from the fortune of Anne Harling, an orphan of the Hundred Years War. The church is Grade I listed and has a hammerbeam roof which rises to a height of 45 feet above the floor. The building contains many other medieval survivals such as the panels of the chancel screen, an older screen surrounding the Lady Chapel with intricate carvings in its spandrels, choir stalls in the chancel, remains of a mural and the octagonal font. There are also a number of tombs. The most noteworthy feature of the church, however, is the magnificent east window which was donated to the church by Lady Anne Herling and her second husband, Sir Robert Wingfield, in around 1460. The glass was removed and hidden in the since demolished East Harling Hall, for fear of destruction by Puritan iconoclasts. The glass was restored in 1736 under the direction of Thomas Wright and has stood in its current position since, excepting during the Second World War.

Transport Harling Road railway station opened in 1845 as a stop on the Norwich and Brandon Railway, the station remains open to this day on the Breckland Line between Cambridge and Norwich.

Governance East Harling is part of the electoral ward of Harling & Heathlands for local elections and is part of the district of Breckland.

The village's national constituency is South West Norfolk which has been represented by Labour's Terry Jermy MP since 2024.

War memorial East Harling's war memorial takes the form of a stone obelisk featuring a sword of sacrifice upon a Celtic cross at the junction between Cheese Hill, Market Street and White Hart Street. The committee to erect a war memorial was headed by Colonel E. Mornement who had raised £227 by June 1919, the memorial was unveiled in May 1920 by Walter Keppel, 9th Earl of Albemarle and John Bowers, Bishop of Thetford. The memorial lists the following names for the First World War: +RankNameUnitDate of deathBurial/CommemorationLt.P. C. Richards MC9th Bn., South African Army12 Feb. 1917Barkly West CemeteryCSMHenry R. Pattinson1/4th Bn., Norfolk Regiment19 Apr. 1917Jerusalem MemorialSgt.H. J. Smith MM1st Bn., Norfolk Regt.27 Jul. 1916Thiepval MemorialLCpl.Walter E. Endley1/4th Bn., Norfolk Regt.8 Oct. 1915Helles MemorialLCpl.Stephen A. Miller1/4th Bn., Norfolk Regt.16 Aug. 1915Helles MemorialPte.Herbert Secker2nd Bn., Bedfordshire Regiment12 Oct. 1916Thiepval MemorialPte.John Osborne7th (British Columbia) Bn., CEF10 Nov. 1917Menin GatePte.Horace B. Howlett8th (Winnipeg Rifles) Bn., CEF24 Apr. 1915Menin GatePte.Joseph J. Hunt10th Bn., East Yorkshire Regiment25 Aug. 1918St. Omer CemeteryPte.Robert Frost1st Bn., Essex Regiment14 Apr. 1917Arras MemorialPte.Ernest W. Germany1st Bn., Essex Regt.14 Apr. 1917Arras MemorialPte.R. J. Richards1st Bn., Essex Regt.12 Oct. 1916Dartmoor CemeteryPte.Oliver Bullman2nd Bn., Essex Regt.10 Oct. 1917Cement House CemeteryPte.Edgar Bateman13th Bn., Essex Regt.28 Apr. 1917Arras MemorialPte.Harry V. Barnard17th Bn., Royal Fusiliers9 Jun. 1918Doullens CemeteryPte.William R. Brown2nd Bn., Grenadier Guards15 Sep. 1914La Ferte MemorialPte.Sidney B. Sparkes4th Bn., Grenadier Gds.9 Oct. 1916Etaples Military CemeteryPte.Thomas Smith2nd Bn., Loyal Regiment1 Aug. 1918Raperie CemeteryPte.Clemence HarbourMachine Gun Corps18 Dec. 1918East Harling CemeteryPte.H. William Barnard1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment24 Aug. 1914La Ferte MemorialPte.John T. Bean1st Bn., Norfolk Regt.31 May 1915Perth CemeteryPte.John Shaw2nd Bn., Norfolk Regt.22 Apr. 1916Basra MemorialPte.George Z. Barnard1/4th Bn., Norfolk Regt.19 Apr. 1917Jerusalem MemorialPte.Fearnley Askey8th Bn., Norfolk Regt.17 Feb. 1917Regina Trench CemeteryPte.Frederick G. Elvin8th Bn., Norfolk Regt.22 May 1917Arras MemorialPte.William I. Pinner9th Bn., Norfolk Regt.15 Sep. 1916Thiepval MemorialPte.Derek St. C. Everett1/5th Bn., Northumberland Fusiliers31 Oct. 1916Dernancourt CemeteryPte.Herbert E. Alderton1st Bn., Queen's Own Regiment10 May 1918Manor Park CemeteryPte.John H. Tyler8th Bn., Queen's Own Regt.21 Mar. 1918Pozieres MemorialPte.George T. Tyler10th Bn., South Wales Borderers18 Sep. 1918Gouzeaucourt CemeteryRfn.Arthur H. Bloomfield9th Bn., Royal Irish Rifles7 Jun. 1917Lone Tree CemeteryRfn.Frederick F. Beales12th Bn., King's Royal Rifle Corps7 Nov. 1918Sheerness CemeteryRfn.James R. Osborne18th (London Irish) Bn., London Regt7 Apr. 1918Bouzincourt CemeteryRfn.Charles H. Glover4th (Auckland) Bn., NZEF2 Oct. 1916Caterpillar Valley CemeteryRfn.Harry E. Buck4th (Otago) Bn., NZEF12 Sep. 1918Metz-en-Couture CemeterySn.George B. BeanSS Cufic15 Nov. 1918East Harling Cemetery And, the following for the Second World War: +RankNameUnitDate of deathBurialSLt.Barry P. Grigson825 Sqn., att. HMS Kestrel2 Jul. 1940Rozenburg CemeterySgt.Cyril W. KerridgeRoyal Air Force Reserve16 Apr. 1941Runnymede MemorialCpl.William G. Osborne4th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regiment12 Apr. 1944Chungkai War CemeteryLACCharles W. HallRoyal Air Force Reserve3 Jan. 1942Tower Hamlets Cemetery2ACKenneth E. FrostNo. 2795 Sqn., RAF Regiment22 Oct. 1944Kranji War MemorialGnr.Derek J. Bloomfield7th (Heavy) Regt., Royal Artillery5 Nov. 1944Florence War CemeteryPte.Harold A. Walker4th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regiment7 Sep. 1939East Harling CemeteryPte.John Cross6th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regt.21 Sep. 1944Kranji War MemorialPte.Russell Barnard5th Bn., Sherwood Foresters4 Sep. 1944Montecchio Cemetery And: Walter F. Lake and Edward C. Wix. The memorial also lists John Shingfield of the London Heavy Rescue Service who was killed during The Blitz at Baldwins Gardens on 16 October 1940.

References

External links

Archived version of village website