Great Leighs
Encyclopedia
Great Leighs is a village in Essex
, England
, half way between Chelmsford
and Braintree
. In 2008 Great Leighs became home to the first new racecourse in 80 years, when the nearby Essex County Showground was converted into a state-of-the-art horse-racing venue. Great Leighs Racecourse
held its first race meeting on 20 April 2008 and staged its first meeting fully open to the public from 28-29 May 2008.
Great Leighs is also the location of the oldest Inn
in England. St. Anne's Castle, situated on the junction of Main Road and Boreham Road, is also reputed to be haunted.
Another Pub - the Dog & Partridge - is located at the other end of the village, on the main road.
The full history of Saint Anne's Castle' has been lost in the midst of time. However, it is mentioned in the Domesday Book
of 1086 and lays claim to be the oldest licensed premises in England, as it served ale to the pilgrims travelling to Thomas Becket
's tomb in the 12th Century. Certainly, it has been an ale house since way back in the Middle Ages although at some point it was, rather ironically, an hermitage. The rather uninspiring exterior is the result of a fire over a hundred years ago which destroyed the original thatched roof which was replaced with tiles. Inside, however, closer inspection reveals timbers dating back hundreds of years. Down in the cellars there are remains of tunnels, which reputedly linked the inn with the nearby Leez Priory, and Gt. Leigh's church. When you visit Saint Anne's Castle, you will be able to read various references on the walls, telling you more of the history, and hear tales of the ghost: reputedly the troubled spirit of a witch who was burned at the stake and buried beneath a stone at the nearby crossroads.
The incumbent priest during the First World War, Andrew Clark
, kept a voluminous diary of the war detailing activities, opinions and rumours in the village and its environs. An edited version of the diary was published in 1985 under the title Echoes of the Great War.
There is a Spring by the side of the road (Cole Hill) near Great Leighs Church.
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, half way between Chelmsford
Chelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
and Braintree
Braintree, Essex
Braintree is a town of about 42,000 people and the principal settlement of the Braintree district of Essex in the East of England. It is northeast of Chelmsford and west of Colchester on the River Blackwater, A120 road and a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line.Braintree has grown contiguous...
. In 2008 Great Leighs became home to the first new racecourse in 80 years, when the nearby Essex County Showground was converted into a state-of-the-art horse-racing venue. Great Leighs Racecourse
Great Leighs Racecourse
Great Leighs Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Great Leighs near Chelmsford, Essex, England. When it opened in April 2008 it was the first completely new racecourse in the UK since Taunton opened in 1927...
held its first race meeting on 20 April 2008 and staged its first meeting fully open to the public from 28-29 May 2008.
Great Leighs is also the location of the oldest Inn
INN
InterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
in England. St. Anne's Castle, situated on the junction of Main Road and Boreham Road, is also reputed to be haunted.
Another Pub - the Dog & Partridge - is located at the other end of the village, on the main road.
The full history of Saint Anne's Castle' has been lost in the midst of time. However, it is mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 and lays claim to be the oldest licensed premises in England, as it served ale to the pilgrims travelling to Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
's tomb in the 12th Century. Certainly, it has been an ale house since way back in the Middle Ages although at some point it was, rather ironically, an hermitage. The rather uninspiring exterior is the result of a fire over a hundred years ago which destroyed the original thatched roof which was replaced with tiles. Inside, however, closer inspection reveals timbers dating back hundreds of years. Down in the cellars there are remains of tunnels, which reputedly linked the inn with the nearby Leez Priory, and Gt. Leigh's church. When you visit Saint Anne's Castle, you will be able to read various references on the walls, telling you more of the history, and hear tales of the ghost: reputedly the troubled spirit of a witch who was burned at the stake and buried beneath a stone at the nearby crossroads.
The incumbent priest during the First World War, Andrew Clark
Andrew Clark (priest)
Reverend Dr Andrew Clark was a Church of England minister best known for his lengthy diary of the First World War.Born in Dollarfield, near Dollar, Scotland, Clark studied Greats at Balliol College, Oxford...
, kept a voluminous diary of the war detailing activities, opinions and rumours in the village and its environs. An edited version of the diary was published in 1985 under the title Echoes of the Great War.
There is a Spring by the side of the road (Cole Hill) near Great Leighs Church.