Lexden is a suburb of
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''.
Colchester occupies the ...
and former
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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
, in the county of
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, England. It was formerly a village, and has previously been called Lessendon, Lassendene and Læxadyne. In 2011 the ward had a population of 5,549.
Lexden is approximately one mile west of central Colchester. It is home to a public house, the Crown; and
St Leonard's Church (
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
). The Leonard in question is
Saint Leonard of Noblac
Leonard of Noblac (also Leonard of Limoges or Leonard of Noblet; also known as Lienard, Linhart, Lenart, Leonhard, Léonard, Leonardo, Annard; died 559) is a Franks, Frankish saint closely associated with the town and abbey of Saint-Léonard-de- ...
, the patron saint of prisoners.
Lexden's original name, Læxadyne, is
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
for "Leaxa's valley". It is referred to as the "Hundred of LASSENDENE" in the Domesday Book.
It is now cut into two halves by a modern bypass, Cymbeline Way, constructed in 1933. Within the space of a few hundred yards there are two 400-year-old watermills, (both now private residences), a 100-year-old iron bridge over the River Colne, two local nature reserves and several walks.
The area is covered by the Lexden ward and elects two councillors to sit on
Colchester Borough Council
Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the fi ...
.
History
The site on which Lexden now stands was crossed by the fortifications of
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
Colchester, the remains of the earthen ramparts can be seen at Bluebottle Grove,
Lexden Park
Lexden Park is an 8.1 hectare Local Nature Reserve in Lexden, a suburb of Colchester in Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridg ...
and alongside Straight Road. A number of burial mounds or
tumuli
A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...
remain, notably Lexden Tumulus in Fitzwalter Road which is reputed to be the burial place of
Cunobelinus
Cunobeline or Cunobelin (Common Brittonic: *''Cunobelinos'', "Dog-Strong"), also known by his name's Latin form , was a king in pre-Roman Britain from about to about Malcolm Todd (2004)"Cunobelinus (d. ''c''. AD 40), king in ...
or
ymbeline/nowiki> (d. ''c''. AD 40), king in ...
or Cymbeline, the king of the Catuvellauni">Cymbeline">ymbeline/nowiki> (d. ''c''. AD 40), king in ...