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Rayleigh Leasing

Did You Know?

Rayleigh is a market town and civil parish in the Rochford District in Essex, England; it is located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea, 32 miles east of central London.

The word "Rayleigh" is said to derive from two Anglo-Saxon words, "Roe", a deer, and "leigh" a clearing. The Rayleigh Windmill is over 200 years old and is a museum and popular venue for weddings. 

Rayleigh owes its origins to the flints on Hambro Hill, which attracted its first human residents as long ago as the Stone Age. In Saxon times the focus moved to the area covered by the modern High Street, but it was not until Rayleigh Castle was built under the Normans that the town really came to life.

Rayleigh Mount is the site of a Norman motte and bailey castle – the only castle in Essex to be mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book. Given to the National Trust in 1923 by Edward Francis, it's a scheduled ancient monument so its archaeology is specially protected.

As one of the Castles mentioned in the Domesday Book after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, like most early Norman castles, Rayleigh was built using timber on top of a motte (earth mound). Standing between the Rivers Crouch and Thames, the castle was the first line of defence against invading armies marching on London.

The castle was built by the lord of the manor of Rayleigh, named Sweyne. As the fourth largest landowner in Essex, Sweyne was a vastly rich and powerful man, responsible for maintaining law and order, ensuring the King's taxes were collected.

Rayleigh started small but soon grew to show off the power and influence of its owners. Sweyne’s grandson Henry de Essex had a huge defensive moat (ditch) and rampart (earth bank) added around the motte, creating a three-quarter-acre inner bailey (courtyard) that contained most of the castle buildings, housing soldiers and horses.

After the disgrace of Sweyne's grandson, Henry de Essex, Rayleigh eventually fell out of use and was abandoned by the 17th century, when it became a farm located conveniently beside the village. 

Compared to London, it is definitely cheaper living in Rayleigh, and there are so many restaurants and food options to choose from with the majority being very reasonably priced