Leigh, Worcestershire

Leigh

Leigh - house at the village centre
Leigh
 Leigh shown within Worcestershire
OS grid referenceSO783534
Civil parishLeigh and Bransford
DistrictMalvern Hills
Shire countyWorcestershire
RegionWest Midlands
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town WORCESTER
Postcode district WR6
Police West Mercia
Fire Hereford and Worcester
Ambulance West Midlands
EU Parliament West Midlands
UK ParliamentWest Worcestershire
List of places
UK
England
Worcestershire

Coordinates: 52°10′44″N 2°19′05″W / 52.1789°N 2.318°W / 52.1789; -2.318

Leigh is a village in the civil parish of Leigh and Bransford in the Malvern Hills District in the county of Worcestershire, England. 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. It comprises the village of Bransford, and the hamlets of Brockamin, Leigh Sinton, Sandlin & Smith End Green.

Due largely to the significant reduction of the hop industry in the area, 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's Norman church (St. Edburga's) was built in 1100 by Benedictine monks from Pershore Abbey. 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.

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.[1]

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.[2]

References

  1. Worcestershire Family History Guidebook, Vanessa Morgan, 2011, p68 The History Press, Stroud, Gloucestershire.
  2. Ash, Russell (1973). Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain. Reader's Digest Association Limited. p. 321. ISBN 9780340165973.
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