In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Great Leighs like this:
LEIGHS (GREAT), a village and a parish in Chelmsford district, Essex. The village stands on the river Ter, 6¼ miles NE by N of Chelmsford r. station; and has a post office under Chelmsford. The parish contains also the hamlet of Chatley, and comprises 3,125 acres. Rated property, £3,353. Pop., 909. Houses, 189. The property is much subdivided. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester. Value, £878.* Patron, Lincoln College, Oxford. The church is very ancient, in tolerable condition; and has a Norman door and window, and a round tower of stone and flint. There are an Independent chapel, a national school, a British school, and charities £30.
Great Leighs through time
A Vision of Britain through Time includes a large library of local statistics for administrative units. For the best overall sense of how the area containing Great Leighs has changed, please see our redistricted information for the modern district of Chelmsford. More detailed statistical data are available under Units and statistics, which includes both administrative units covering Great Leighs and units named after it.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Great Leighs, in Chelmsford and Essex | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/6781
Date accessed: 24th May 2013
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