Leigh, Kent

The name of the village derives from the Old English leah, meaning a forest glade or clearing.{{Cite web|url = http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/county/Kent|title = Key to English Place Names|date = |accessdate = 3 September 2014|website = |publisher = University of Nottingham - Institute for Name Studies|last = |first = |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161012021207/http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/county/Kent|archive-date = 12 October 2016|url-status = dead}}

Leigh is thought to have grown from a hamlet, evidence of which dates back to the late 11th century. Much of the land around the village was acquired in the 14th century by Sir John de Pulteney, owner of nearby Penshurst Place. In 1533, the estate passed to the Sidney family who retained ownership of most of this land until the early 20th century.{{Cite web|url = http://www.leighkent.org.uk/Core/Leigh-Parish-Council/Pages/A_Brief_History_of_Leigh_1.aspx|title = A Brief History of Leigh|date = |accessdate = 3 September 2014|website = Leigh Parish Council website|publisher = Leigh Parish Council|last = |first = }}

The village grew substantially in the 19th century when the Baily and Morley families built many of the distinctive buildings present today, including Hall Place, East and Old Lodges, The Square, Forge Square and School Master's House. The Tonbridge to Redhill railway was built in 1842 to the south of the village, bringing further growth in population.

Leigh is administered by Sevenoaks District Council and Kent County Council. It falls within the UK parliamentary constituency of Tonbridge.{{cite web|title= Location of Tonbridge |url= https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/4364/location |website=parliament.uk |date=July 2024 |access-date=10 March 2025 }}

The parish of Leigh also includes the hamlet of Charcott as well as the Old Powder Mills and Moorden.

File:Fleur De Lis, Leigh - geograph.org.uk - 1537647.jpg

The Fleur De Lis is the only public house in the village itself, although the Plough Inn is located to the east of the village on Powder Mill Lane. The Fleur De Lis was originally built as cottages by Thomas Baily in 1855, but was bought by a local brewery, Bartrum and Company, in 1870.{{Cite web |url=http://www.leighhistorical.org.uk/around-the-parish/high-street/fleur-de-lis/ |title=Fleur De Lis |date= 10 June 2014|accessdate=25 November 2014 |website= Leigh & District Historical Society |publisher= |last= |first=}}

Leigh railway station is on the Redhill to Tonbridge line and is located to the south of the village centre. It opened as "Leigh Halt" in 1911 but has been named "Leigh" since 1969.{{Butt-Stations}}

The former Penshurst Airfield was located within the parish, to the south of Charcott. It operated mainly as a military airfield in 1916–1936 and 1940–1946. The remaining buildings were removed in 1991.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

• St Mary's Church, Leigh

• Amy Catherine Walton (1849–1939), writer of Christian literature for children, moved to Leigh with her priest husband, Octavius Frank Walton, in 1906. He retired in 1918, but they soon moved back.{{cn|date=July 2020}}

• October 1926 Air Union Blériot 155 crash, which was within Leigh parish

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Leigh, Kent}}

• [http://www.leighkent.org.uk/ Leigh Parish Council website]
• [http://www.stmarysleigh.org.uk/ St Mary's church]
• [http://www.leighhistorical.org.uk Leigh & District Historical Society]
• [http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/31716.aspx Leigh barrier]

{{Geographic location

|Centre = Leigh

|North = Sevenoaks Weald

|Northeast = Hildenborough

|East = Tonbridge

|Southeast = Haysden Water

|South = Bidborough

|Southwest = Penshurst

|West = Charcott
Chiddingstone Causeway

|Northwest = Bough Beech Reservoir
Ide Hill

}}

{{Sevenoaks}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Villages in Kent

Category:Civil parishes in Kent