Leigh-on-Sea

Welcome

Leigh-on-Sea can be found on the South Coast of the British Isles approximately 35 miles from London, in the County of Essex.

Leigh can be reached by car by leaving Junction 29 of the M25 onto the A127 towards Southend. This site profiles Leigh’s character by touching on its history, the arts, its people and local industry such as fishing and tourism.

The menu system I hope will direct you, the virtual visitor, quickly and easily to the main areas of interest. The search facility should also help if you have a specific interest.

For the fact finders amongst you, source material includes the census, local authors and press, so accuracy should be reasonable or at least based on a consensus view. If you wish to contribute to the site please do email the webmaster. Thank you so much for visiting!

The Landscape

Leigh is a coastal town built on the Thames Estuary off the North Sea. From sandy beaches and marshland, a trip up “The Cliffs” brings you to a picturesque town full of restaurants, pubs, and small niche shops. Spreading out from the town centre are many residential properties broken up by trees & parks.

Leigh Statistics

As of 2001: 9,015 people live in Leigh, with 5,606 people at working age. Leigh is within the Borough of Southend, which has a population of 158,800 people and 74,300 households. In 2004, unemployment was at 2.9%. There are approximately 468 km of highways and 13 km of sea defences.

Why Visit Leigh?

A beautiful National Nature Reserve, six parks, and one golf course are reason enough to visit Leigh. When you add a 15th-century church, the sadly now closed Grand Hotel (once visited by Laurel and Hardy), a family beach, a warm summer’s day, and a cold beer in Old Leigh... it’s even easier to stay!