Leysdown-on-Sea is a village on the east coast of the

Isle of Sheppey The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale. ''Sheppey'' is deriv ...

in the borough of Swale in

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. In 2020 it had an estimated population of 936. The

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

is Leysdown and includes the settlements of Bay View, Shellness and Harty. In 2011 it had a population of 1,256.

History

It is noted 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

'' as being called "Legesdun" and the name is thought to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon words ''Leswe'' (pasture) and ''Dun'' (hill). A very small hamlet up to late Victorian times, it was developed a little after the arrival of the

Sheppey Light Railway The Sheppey Light Railway was a railway on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England, which ran from Leysdown to Queenborough, where it connected with the South Eastern and Chatham Railway's Sheerness Line. It was engineered by Holman Fred Stephen ...

in 1903, though grand plans for the establishment of a large resort with hotels never materialised. The railway was closed in the 1950s. On 2 May 1909, John Moore-Brabazon became the first resident British citizen to make a recognised powered heavier-than-air flight in the UK flying from the Aero Club's ground at Leysdown in his Voisin

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

''Bird of Passage''.

Geography

Leysdown is located a mile to the SSE of

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

and three miles to the ESE of

Eastchurch Eastchurch is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Sheppey, in the English county of Kent, two miles east of Minster. The village website claims the area has "a history steeped in stories of piracy and smugglers". Aviation history Eastch ...

. To the SSE lies the hamlet of Shellness and to the southwest is an area of marshland known as the Leysdown marshes. The island is located partly in

The Swale The Swale is a tidal channel of the Thames estuary that separates the Isle of Sheppey from the rest of Kent. On its banks is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches from Sittingbourne to Whitstable in Kent. It is a ...

and partly in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

with a shingle beach and mudflats extending out to sea. It is recommended in the 2009 Good Beach Guide.

Economy

There are several large farms surrounding the village, with a mixture of pasture and arable land, but the local economy is primarily driven by tourism in the summer months, with many visitors coming from London. Leysdown has one of the largest concentrations of holiday parks in Kent, with many caravan and chalet parks. During the winter months the shops, clubs and pubs stay open, with the population of Leysdown, Warden and Bay View providing custom. In the past few years a boot fair has become a regular fixture on Sundays and there is also a market on Saturdays. Briefly, in the early 20th century a significant part of the economy came from the embryonic aviation industry, with the UK's first aircraft factory built in Leysdown in 1909 by the

Short Brothers Short Brothers plc, usually referred to as Shorts or Short, is an aerospace company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shorts was founded in 1908 in London, and was the first company in the world to make production aeroplanes. It was particu ...

. By the following year, however, operations had moved to nearby Eastchurch.

Amusements

Leysdown is well known for its family amusement arcades adjacent to the sea. There are 6 arcades, each with its own 18-only section with high jackpots. Some arcades give tickets from their many machines which can be exchanged for small trinkets, toys and other prizes.

Landmarks

The Spinney is an area of open space in the middle of Leysdown, with children's play area and benches. It takes its name from the woodland that was there until the 1960s. Leysdown is also known for one of the UK's few official

naturist Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms a ...

beaches, sited beyond the town along the un-made road.

Transport

The B2231 is the only road into Leysdown, with regular bus services from

Chalkwell Chalkwell is a suburb of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It faces the Thames Estuary and is in traditional terms still part of Westcliff-on-Sea. History The Crow Stone (l ...

providing public transport links to the rest of the Island and the mainland. There was formerly a bus station in Leysdown but it was demolished in the early 1990s. The

formerly provided a rail link to the rest of the Island but was dismantled in the 1950s.

Education

The nearest primary school is St Clements Primary School situated on Leysdown Road, Warden, while the nearest secondary school is Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey (formerly the Oasis Academy). Leysdown has its own primary school

Churches

On the outskirts of Leysdown is the graveyard of St Clement's Church, which was demolished in the 1980s. All Saints' ( Anglican) church in

and Sheppey Evangelical Church, part of the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion are close to Leysdown.

In popular culture

Leysdown was used as a filming location for the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

black comedy '' The End of the F***ing World''. It was also the location for the

Orbital Orbital may refer to: Sciences Chemistry and physics * Atomic orbital * Molecular orbital * Hybrid orbital Astronomy and space flight * Orbit ** Earth orbit Medicine and physiology * Orbit (anatomy), also known as the ''orbital bone'' * Orbito ...

and Sleaford Mods video for 'Dirty Rat'.

References

External links

Parish Council
{{authority control Villages in Kent Populated coastal places in Kent Seaside resorts in England Beaches of Kent Isle of Sheppey Nude beaches