LEIGH ON SEA

LEIGH ON SEA WEB SITE

BELFAIRS WOOD & WILD LIFE PARK

ART TRAIL

LEIGH ON SEA REGATTA

SAILING

From at least the Saxon period, a hilltop clearing amidst the woodland that covered much of the surrounding areas of Essex gave rise to human settlement and then came to be known as Leigh (alternatively given as 'Ley', 'Lee', or 'Lea', where shown on archaic maps). The place was of only very minor economic importance at the time of the Norman Conquest; a cursory reference to it is given in the Doomsday Book survey of 1086, noted as Legra. This is a Norman-French literation of an Old English word meaning meadow or clearing, also a place-name element found in the nearby towns and villages of Hadleigh, Rayleigh, Hockley, and Thundersley. Although it was only a marginal community of homesteads at that time, the fact that five fishermen were recorded allows present-day Leigh to claim nearly a thousand years of activity as a centre of the fishing industry.

 

With the advent of the railway line from London to Southend during the mid-19th century, much of 'the old town' was demolished to accommodate its passage, and new housing and streets began to be built upon the ridge of hills above the settlement. (The current railway station is situated near the western end of Old Leigh's cockle sheds and boat marina, replacing in 1936 the original station, which was situated opposite Bell Wharf.)

Rochford Lofts Community

The award winning Grade 2 Listed Boiler House Conversion.

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