Leigh, Worcestershire
Leigh | |
Leigh - house at the village centre |
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Leigh |
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OS grid reference | SO783534 |
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Civil parish | Leigh and Bransford |
District | Malvern Hills |
Shire county | Worcestershire |
Region | West Midlands |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | WORCESTER |
Postcode district | WR6 |
Police | West Mercia |
Fire | Hereford and Worcester |
Ambulance | West Midlands |
EU Parliament | West Midlands |
UK Parliament | West Worcestershire |
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Coordinates: 52°10′44″N 2°19′05″W / 52.1789°N 2.318°W
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'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
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leigh, Worcestershire. |
- Leigh & Bransford parish web site
- Bransford web site
- St. Edburga's Church history
- Church porch sketch