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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
or Cymbeline, the king of the Catuvellauni">Cymbeline">ymbeline/nowiki> (d. ''c''. AD 40), king in ...
or Cymbeline, the king of the Catuvellauni. The Lexden Medallion was found when the tumulus was excavated in 1924 and is now in the Colchester Castle Museum. Another tumulus is The Mount in Marlowe Way, in which some fragments of Roman pottery and tiles have been found.
The parish church was founded early in the 12th century and a number of houses of medieval origins survive in Lexden Road (the A1124). Parts of The Sun Inn date from 1542 but it has recently become a private house.
In 1648, Lexden was the headquarters of Lord-General
Thomas Fairfax
Sir Thomas Fairfax (17 January 1612 – 12 November 1671) was an English army officer and politician who commanded the New Model Army from 1645 to 1650 during the English Civil War. Because of his dark hair, he was known as "Black Tom" to his l ...
during the
Siege of Colchester
The siege of Colchester occurred in the summer of 1648 when the Second English Civil War reignited in several areas of Britain. Colchester found itself in the thick of the unrest when a Cavalier, Royalist army on its way through East Angli ...
, and his army camped on Lexden Heath. A Parliamentarian fort was built on Great Broom Heath (now called
Hilly Fields) which overlooks the town.
During the 18th century a number of large houses were built including Lexden Park on the corner of Church Road, and the Manor House was rebuilt. The main road became a
turnpike in 1707 and a cottage used as a
toll house
A tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a toll road, canal, or toll bridge.
History
Many tollhouses were built by turnpike trusts in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th and ...
survives. Lexden Heath was a large area of
common land
Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel.
A person ...
used for grazing, horse races and military camps; it was
inclosed by Act of Parliament in 1821. This enlarged the estate of the lord of the manor, the Reverend John Rawstorn Papillon, who was an acquaintance of
Jane Austen
Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...
and whose niece married Jane's brother Henry. Straight Road was created at this time to make a way across the new inclosures to the hamlet of Shrub End, which became a separate parish in 1845.
The small and decrepit medieval church of St Leonard was demolished in 1820 and a new church was built slightly to the south, designed in the
Early English style by M. G. Thompson. A larger chancel was added in 1892. A
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
chapel was built in Straight Road in 1859 and a mission hall (now Lexden Evangelical Church) in 1885.
A National Day and Sunday School was built in Spring Lane in 1817 and enlarged several times until replaced by Lexden Council School (now Lexden Primary) in 1925. Lexden Park House became the Endsleigh private school in 1955 and then the Endsleigh Annex of the Colchester Institute until 1990. The house itself was converted to apartments and the gardens became a local nature reserve. The Avenue of Remembrance was built in 1933 to relieve traffic on the London Road and as a memorial to the fallen of Colchester in
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.
Charles Henry Harrod
Charles Henry Harrod (16 April 1799, Lexden, Colchester – 31 March 1885, Chiswick Urban District)N. Hansen, ‘Harrod, Charles Henry (1799–1885)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200accessed 11 Aug 2014/ ...
, a businessman involved in retail trade who founded the highly successful Harrods store in London, was born in Lexden.
In 1891 the parish had a population of 3562. On 26 March 1897 the parish was abolished to form Colchester. Lexden is mentioned in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
.
Education
In Lexden, there is one private school, Holmwood House School, which was founded in 1922 and has around three hundred pupils from reception to year eight. St Teresa's Catholic Primary School is an academy school with around two hundred and twenty pupils from reception to year six. Lexden Primary School and Home Farm Primary School are state schools for all children from nursery to year six, Lexden also having a special unit for the hearing impaired. There is also a school for children with special needs, Lexden Springs School.
Providing secondary education, the
Colchester Royal Grammar School
Colchester Royal Grammar School (CRGS) is a state-funded grammar school in Colchester, Essex. It was founded in 1128 and was later granted two royal charters - by Henry VIII in 1539 and by Elizabeth I in 1584.Trevor J. Hearn, ''Vitae Corona F ...
,
Colchester County High School for Girls
Colchester County High School for Girls is a selective girls' grammar school with Academy (English school), academy status in Colchester, Essex. The school consistently scores highly in the league tables for the UK. It was joint first in the cou ...
,
Philip Morant School and College
Philip Morant School and College (originally known as Norman Way School) is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status located within the Prettygate suburb of Colchester, Essex. The school is named after
Philip Morant, a local 18th- ...
and
St Mary's School, Colchester
St Mary's School is a private day school for girls in Colchester, Essex, England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers ...
are nearby.
Sports and recreation
Lexden has a
King George's Field in memorial to
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
George was born during the reign of his pa ...
.
Electoral ward
The suburb was covered by the Lexden ward and elected 2 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 ...
. The ward was previously represented by 3 councillors from 1976 to 2002.
The ward was abolished at the
2016 election and parts were amalgamated with the enlarged Prettygate ward and the new Lexden & Braiswick ward.
References
External links
{{authority control
Populated places in Essex
Former civil parishes in Essex
Colchester