The Framlingham History Society (in full: “Framlingham & District Local History & Preservation Society”) is a volunteer-run charity (number 274201). It aims to encourage and foster interest in the social history of the town and the surrounding district.

It holds monthly talks by local historians during the Winter months, and visits to local places of historic interest in the summer.

Newsletters are published twice a year with both news and scholarly articles on local history topics.

In association with the society, a sister charity runs the Lanman Museum dedicated to local history. This has a large collection of objects and works of art related to Framlingham and the surrounding area.

The origins of the Society date back to 1953, when Mr Harold Lanman, a long established dealer of antiques in Framlingham, held an exhibition of old photographs and artefacts in the Assembly Rooms. As a result of that exhibition, the first constitution was drawn up in 1956, and the Society came into being. Apart from local history aspects, there was always the intention of assessing the effect of proposed developments in the town.

The aims of the Society were to not only encourage and foster interest in the social history of the town and the surrounding district, but also to provide accommodation for all objects given, presented, bequeathed or loaned to the Society.

Prominent figures in those early days were the Reverend Martin Bulstrode, Commander Sitwell, Gerald Leedam, John Self, Percy Stannard, Henry Turner, and of course Harold Lanman. The museum opened in premises on the Market Hill in 1957, before later moving to Double Street. A separate charity – The Lanman Trust – was set up for the museum in 1978, followed by a move to the old Court House building in Bridge Street. It was also renamed The Lanman Museum, but sadly Harold died a few weeks before the official opening. The museum continues as a separate trust, and is now housed in the castle, where the wide range of exhibits are viewed by the large number of people who visit each year.

The website for the Lanman Museum can be found here.

The Society has successfully held a winter programme of evening lectures in The United Free Church Hall for many years, and these well attended events continue. Visits are also arranged to places of interest in the summer months. It has also made donations to various projects, including a plaque to commemorate Sir Henry Thompson, the surgeon to Queen Victoria, who was born in Framlingham. In 2009, the Historical Archive project was adopted by the Society.

The production of a Newsletter commenced in 1968, and the current Fram Journal is sent to members in the spring and autumn annually. This covers a wide range of local history matters, with the Millennium issue running to 40 pages.

The Society also maintains an extensive Historical Archive of photographs of Framlingham, which can be found here, and a modern archive of photographs from 2011 here.