Hazeleigh's original timber-framed Church, St. Nicholas's, was located in an isolated part of the village, next to the Old Hall, however, by 1900 it had fallen into disuse. Due to its size and lack of windows it was known locally as "the meanest church in England". It was pulled down around 1922, although the last service had been held several years earlier, in 1906. One of the reasons why it fell into disuse was that an iron church was built in a more populous part of the village by the late-Victorian vicar, Rev. William Stuart (brother of Robert Stuart and father of William Horwood Stuart, both diplomats). This iron church was later demolished as well.
In 1921 the ecclesiastical parishes of Woodham Mortimer and Hazeleigh were united into a single ecclesiastical parish called "Woodham Mortimer with Hazeleigh".[3][4] They remain separate civil parishes, although they share a parish council.[5]
↑ "2021 Census Parish Profiles". NOMIS. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 31 March 2025. (To get individual parish data, use the query function on table PP002.)
↑ "Agendas". Woodham Mortimer and Hazeleigh Parish Council. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
The collection of short storiesThe Night Chicago Died, ISBN978-1-4389-0011-7, contains a story entitled The Meanest Church in England which references Hazeleigh.
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