Leigh, Wiltshire

Leigh is a village and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southeast of Ashton Keynes and 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west of Cricklade. It is on the edge of the Cotswold Water Park and near to the county border with Gloucestershire. The parish includes the hamlet of Waterhay.

Leigh

All Saints Church, Leigh
Leigh
Location within Wiltshire
Population362 (in 2011)[1]
OS grid referenceSU062921
Civil parish
  • Leigh
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSwindon
Postcode districtSN6
Dialling code01285
PoliceWiltshire
FireDorset and Wiltshire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
Websiteleigh-village.co.uk

The village lies on a minor road just north of the B4040 Malmesbury–Cricklade road. The infant River Thames forms part of the northern boundary of the parish; near the river is Upper Waterhay Meadow, a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. Other boundaries are a short section of the Swill Brook which meets the Thames in the northwest; its tributary the Derry Brook in the west; and the Bournlake stream in the east.[2]

History

Farmland at Leigh was part of Ashton Keynes manor, which was held by Cranborne Abbey in 1086;[3] ownership was transferred to Tewkesbury Abbey in 1102. The manor passed to the crown on the dissolution of Tewkesbury in 1539, and in 1548 Edward VI granted the land to William Sharington as a separate manor. The estate was sold in lots by Edward Craggs-Eliot in 1803.[2]

Leigh was a chapelry of Ashton Keynes parish until 1884 when it was made a separate parish.[2] The parish was enlarged in 1984 when farmland south of the Malmesbury road was transferred from Cricklade parish.[2]

The population of the parish peaked in the 19th century, with 326 recorded at the 1871 census. Numbers fell to 264 by 1911, then gradually recovered to earlier levels with 362 recorded in 2011.[1]

A National School was built at Swan Lane in 1894, to accommodate 84 children. Pupils of all ages attended until 1973, when those aged 11 and over transferred to the secondary school at Purton. Leigh school closed in 2004 owing to low pupil numbers.[4]

RAF Blakehill Farm operated from 1944 to 1952 in Cricklade parish, close to Leigh.

Church
Main article: All Saints Church, Leigh

The first All Saints Church dated from the 13th century and was at Waterhay, north of the village.[5] In 1896 parts of it were rebuilt by Charles Ponting at a site closer to the village and less prone to flooding.[6] The chancel of the old church still stands; both it and the newer church are Grade II* listed.[7][8]

gollark: ```What will happen about exams?In England and Wales, all exams in May and June have been cancelled, including GCSEs, A-levels and primary school national curriculum tests known as Sats.Mr Williamson told the Commons on Wednesday: "I can confirm we will not go ahead with assessments or exams and that we will not be publishing performance tables for this academic year."We will work with the sector and [the exams watchdog] Ofqual to ensure children get the qualifications that they need."```- from the BBC
gollark: Not really.
gollark: The wording is a bit ambiguous so in theory they might be planning to do them later, but it seems like they're being cancelled.
gollark: Well, they've closed schools and are cancelling GCSEs.
gollark: Ah, I see.

References
  1. "Wiltshire Community History - Census". Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  2. Bainbridge, Virginia, ed. (2011). "Victoria County History: Wiltshire: Vol 18 pp171-185: Historic Parishes - Leigh". British History Online. University of London. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  3. Ashton Keynes in the Domesday Book
  4. "Leigh C.E. Primary School". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  5. "All Saints Church, Waterhay, Leigh". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  6. "Church of All Saints, Swan Lane, Leigh". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  7. Historic England. "Leigh All Saints Old Chancel (1023137)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  8. Historic England. "Church of All Saints, Leigh (1356042)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  • "Leigh". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 22 February 2015.

Media related to Leigh, Wiltshire at Wikimedia Commons



This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.