Leigh, Worcestershire

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Leigh
Leigh - house at the village centre - geograph.org.uk - 840243.jpg
Leigh - house at the village centre
Worcestershire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Leigh
Location within Worcestershire
OS grid reference SO783534
Civil parish
  • Leigh
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town WORCESTER
Postcode district WR6
Police West Mercia
Fire Hereford and Worcester
Ambulance West Midlands
UK Parliament
  • West Worcestershire
List of places
UK
England
Worcestershire
52°10′44″N2°19′05″W / 52.1789°N 2.318°W / 52.1789; -2.318

Leigh is a village and civil parish (with a parish council shared with Bransford) in the Malvern Hills district of the county of Worcestershire, England.

Contents

With just a few hundred inhabitants the parish lies on the A4103, the main Worcester to Hereford road, about 5 miles out of Worcester, whilst Malvern is also about 5 miles away. The parish includes Leigh, Brockamin, Leigh Sinton, Sandlin & Smith End Green. The local pronunciation is that the name rhymes with "lie".

Due largely to the significant reduction of the hop industry in the area, [ citation needed ]Leigh, like many local villages, declined in the late 20th century; it lost its pub, its police station and its railway station (with the closure of the Bromyard branch line in the 1960s).

History

Leigh Castle Tump Leigh Castle Tump - geograph.org.uk - 54984.jpg
Leigh Castle Tump

Leigh's Norman church (St. Edburga's) was built in 1100 by Benedictine monks from Pershore Abbey.[ citation needed ] It is listed by English heritage as a Grade I listed building.

Leigh Court Barn is the largest and one of the oldest cruck framed barns in Britain.

A mile to the south at Castle Green are the earthwork and buried remains of a medieval motte and bailey castle.

Enclosures of common lands caused riots at Leigh in 1778, where anti-enclosure rioters attacked the physical enclosure:

with their faces blackened and being otherwise disguised, and armed with guns and other offensive weapons; … in the most daring manner did cut down, burn, and entirely destroy all the posts, gates and rails. [1]

Following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 Leigh Parish ceased to be responsible for maintaining the poor in its parish. This responsibility was transferred to Martley Poor Law Union. [2]

The area is reputedly haunted by the ghost of a robber named Edmund Colles, who is said to appear in a coach drawn by four fire-breathing horses. [3]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bransford</span> Human settlement in England

Bransford is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills district of the county of Worcestershire, England. It is situated close to the River Teme and the village of Leigh. It is on the primary route between Worcester and Hereford, the A4103 that runs through the centre of the village. According to the 2021 census, Bransford has a population of 527. The parish shares its parish council with Leigh.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leigh Sinton</span> Hamlet in Worcestershire, England

Leigh Sinton is a hamlet in the Malvern Hills district of the county of Worcestershire, England. It is at the south end of the civil parish of Leigh. The village lies on the A4103 Worcester to Hereford road, about 5 miles out of Worcester, whilst Malvern is also about 5 miles away. It has a village pub, a small corner shop and a Chinese takeaway. The local pronunciation of Leigh is rhyming with "lie".

Leigh and Bransford are two separate civil parishes in the district of Malvern Hills of the county of Worcestershire, England, with a single parish council. Situated about 5 miles (8.0 km) from Worcester and 5 miles (8.0 km) from Malvern, in addition to the villages of Leigh Sinton, Leigh and Bransford, the combined parishes also include the hamlets of Brockamin, Sandin, and Smith End.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmund Colles</span> Member of the Parliament of England

Edmund Colles (1528–1606) was an English landowner, administrator and legislator from Worcestershire who, although sympathetic to Catholicism, held public office throughout the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

References

  1. ↑ MacDonald, Alec (1969) [1943], Worcestershire in English History (Reprint ed.), London: SR Publishers, p. 136, ISBN   978-0854095759
  2. ↑ Worcestershire Family History Guidebook, Vanessa Morgan, 2011, p68 The History Press, Stroud, Gloucestershire.
  3. ↑ Ash, Russell (1973). Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain. Reader's Digest Association Limited. p. 321. ISBN   9780340165973.


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