Leigh , historically spelled Lyghe, is a village and a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

located in the

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter main line railway into London. Sevenoaks is from Charing Cross, the traditio ...

district of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England. It is located six miles (10 km) south of

town and three miles (5 km) west of

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated population ...

. There is a large village green; nearby is Hall Place, once Leigh Hall, occasionally open to the public, built in 1876. The parish church (13th century) is dedicated to St Mary.

History

The name of the village derives from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

''leah'', meaning a forest glade or clearing. Leigh is thought to have grown from a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

, evidence of which dates back to the late 11th century. Much of the land around the village was acquired in the 14th century by

Sir John de Pulteney Sir John de Pulteney (sometimes spelled Poultney; died 8 June 1349) was a major English entrepreneur and property owner, who served four times as Mayor of London. Background A biography of Sir John, written by Charles Lethbridge Kingsford, tha ...

, owner of nearby

Penshurst Place Penshurst Place is a historic building near Penhurst, Kent, south east of London, England. It is the ancestral home of the Sidney family, and was the birthplace of the great Elizabethan poet, courtier and soldier, Sir Philip Sidney. The ori ...

. In 1533, the estate passed to the

Sidney family Sidney may refer to: People * Sidney (surname), English surname * Sidney (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Sidney (footballer, born 1972), full name Sidney da Silva Souza, Brazilian football defensive midfielder * S ...

who retained ownership of most of this land until the early 20th century. The village grew substantially in the 19th century when the Baily and Morley families built many of the distinctive buildings present today, including Hall Place, East and Old Lodges, The Square, Forge Square and School Master's House. The Tonbridge to Redhill railway was built in 1842 to the south of the village, bringing further growth in population.

Government

Leigh is administered by Sevenoaks District Council and

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council h ...

. It falls within the UK parliamentary constituency of

Tonbridge and Malling Tonbridge and Malling is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. Tonbridge is the largest settlement but the authority is based in the modern development of Kings Hill. Geography Tonbridge and Malling Borough cover ...

. The parish of Leigh also includes the hamlet of Charcott as well as the

Old Powder Mills The Old Powder Mills was a former research centre of GSK in Kent. History In 1949 the site became a pharmaceutical manufacturing factory, when Menley & James bought the site, who were owned by Smith, Kline & French. In 1952 the site became w ...

and Moorden.

Community facilities

The ''Fleur De Lis'' is the only public house in the village itself, although the ''Plough Inn'' is located to the east of the village on Powder Mill Lane. The ''Fleur De Lis'' was originally built as cottages by Thomas Baily in 1855, but was bought by a local brewery, Bartrum and Company, in 1870.

Transport

Leigh railway station Leigh railway station is on the Redhill to Tonbridge Line and serves Leigh in Kent, England. It is measured from via . Train services are operated by Southern. History The station was opened as "Leigh Halt" in 1911; was renamed "Lyghe Halt ...

is on the Redhill to Tonbridge line and is located to the south of the village centre. It opened as "Leigh Halt" in 1911 but has been named "Leigh" since 1969. The former

Penshurst Airfield Penshurst Airfield was an airfield in operation between 1916–36 and 1940–46. Initially a military airfield, after the First World War it was used as an alternate destination to Croydon Airport, with some civil flying taking place. The airfi ...

was located within the parish, to the south of Charcott. It operated mainly as a military airfield in 1916–1936 and 1940–1946. The remaining buildings were removed in 1991.

Local places of interest

* St Mary's Church, Leigh

Notable people

* Amy Catherine Walton (1849–1939), writer of noted Christian literature for children, moved to Leigh with her priest husband, Octavius Frank Walton, in 1906. He retired in 1918, but they soon moved back.

History

Government

Community facilities

Transport

Local places of interest

Notable people

See also

References

External links