Harpley, Norfolk

Harpley's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for harp clearing with 'harp' referring to a sieve used in salt working. There was once a neolithic barrow in Harpley which has mostly been lost to the plough. The Roman Peddars Way once passed through Harpley alongside the barrow. In the Domesday Book, Harpley is recorded as a settlement of 43 households in the hundred of Freebridge. In 1086, the village was divided between the estates of Odo of Bayeux and William de Warenne.