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Great Leighs
Great Leighs photos
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Great Leighs maps
Historic maps of Great Leighs and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Great Leighs maps
Great Leighs area books
Displaying 1 of 18 books about Great Leighs and the local area. View all books for this area
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Memories of Great Leighs
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Essex memories
First World War Memories of Girls Working on The Land
I have a small book of the memories of my mother and aunt who worked on Lord Rayleigh's farm during the First World War. Does anyone else have relatives who worked there? Would anyone like to read these? I would love to have a photo of the farm. Mary
LITTLE WALTHAM
I lived three miles from Little Waltham from 1956 till I moved out about 1965. I lived in a cottage near Domsey Lane and we had no buses, only to the village, so when we went out to Chelmsford we had to catch the last bus to the village and then we had a three mile walk in the dark to get home and it was scary as there were no lights. When I moved out, my mother moved down to the village to live. My memories of the village are Amos the bakers, he used to deliver lovely bread and cakes to us. The surgery with Dr Bassett,and the little wooden shop run by the sisters. I think they were called the Phylls.They used to sell sweets and general stores. Also the butchers at the top of the street. There was also a man who had a huge Great Dane, near us. I was scared of it. I loved the footpath that went to the church where horses were... Read more
Ennos Ancestors
Hi,
I have been researching my wife's family history. She was an Ennos, and I have found that there were a number of families with the name Ennos in Little Waltham during the 1800's. Are any of them still around? I'd love to make contact.
Ancestors were Ernest Ennos, William Ennos, James Ennos.
Thanks
John
Little Waltham
I used to live in Little Waltham when I was eight until 19. We lived in a thatched cottage without electric, and no central heating, only an open fire and kitchen range. The windows used have patterns on them in the winter. In 1962 it was a bad winter, we had to dig the snow so the grocery van could get through as we lived about three miles from the village and bus route. We had to walk so we could go into town, also we had to walk more than a mile to get the bus to school. Eventually my mother and father moved into the village, I also until I left home at nineteen. There was a long footpath where they kept a couple of horses I was frightened to go through, there was a large wolfhound there as well.
Rayne in 1950/1960
I was born in Rayne and in the 1950s.I have fond memories of being able to play various sports in the road at School Road with my brother Peter and friend Richard Dodd, gaining a few more players as word got around! We used to mark the Tennis Court on the road with chalk and played many games, sometimes having to vacate to allow the occasional vehicle to pass. Chief Inspector Baker of Braintree was often passing by in his Ford 10 car with a wry smile on his face. Cricket was also played with an old drum for the stumps, for the game to be disturbed by a vehicle was a bit more involved as the drum had to be moved as well as us! Hopscotch was also marked with chalk and enjoyed by many. I would dare anyone to play on School Road as it is now with speeding traffic. At that time Rayne played football on Drapers field alongside Mill Road in the North Essex League which involved villages from... Read more
Ghosts at The Mill
I lived in the mill from 1978 to 1982 with my parents, brother and sister. I was only five when I left but I have memories of seeing a lady and man both dressed in very old fashioned clothes around the mill pond. and nobody ever saw them except me. I'm sure they were looking after me and making sure I didn't fall in the water.
It was a very creepy house and I remember our dog Polly would go mad in the hall at night. When we left the mill my mum went back one day and saw some builders inside doing the house up, my mum asked to look around but they told her to hurry as they don't stay in the dark, my mum asked why and they said because they heard children screaming and a huge bang as if someone had fallen down the stairs in the hall... They went outside thinking some children might be in the drive but there was nobody around. I'm... Read more
Living at The Mill
My father bought the mill in the 1960s and we moved in 1976 to South Africa. During the years living at the mill we all have plenty of memories spent living there. The most memorable was the first time we encounted the ghost of the mill. My mother called my two brothers and sister and myself into the hallway and demanded to know who had been playing the grand piano in the main lounge. We were not allowed in there so she was not impressed that we had broken the rules. We all looked at each other in amazement. Suddenly we heard the piano music again. Mother armed with a brass poker stick in hand went with all of us into the main lounge, to our surprise no one was in there. It was a bit creepy at first but after a while we all got used to hearing the music. It was a woman who used to play on the grand piano and it was beautiful soothing music that... Read more
