Hadleigh, Essex
| Hadleigh | |
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 Aerial view of Hadleigh town centre in snow, February 1991 |
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 Hadleigh
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| Hadleigh shown within Essex | |
| Population | 18,300 |
| OS grid reference | TQ810870 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | (SOUTH) BENFLEET |
| Postcode district | SS7 |
| Dialling code | 01702 |
| Police | Essex |
| Fire | Essex |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
Hadleigh is a town in southeast Essex, England, on the A13 between Thundersley, Benfleet and Leigh-on-Sea with a population of about 18,300. It has a squared bypass to the north (the A127 'Southend Arterial Road').
Hadleigh is known for its castle, and the country park to the south of the town centre. This gives its name to the local government district of Castle Point, with its extensive views overlooking the Thames Estuary. Most of the facing stones were stripped from the castle in the 16th century – the only bits still visible today being high inside the surviving towers and a small section of the 'gate house' – so most of what remains today is the rubble infill that was packed between the outer facing stones. Despite this the skeletal remains are pleasing to the eye and have been considered a romantic ruin for a few hundred years. John Constable painted Hadleigh Castle in 1829. The painting now belongs to the Yale Center for British Art, and is on permanent display in its museum on the Yale campus.
Based on the previous census, writing in 1848, Samuel Lewis, summarised the facts of its history and economy as follows:
In the 19th century, Hadleigh was the home of the cunning man James Murrell. He died in the town in December 1860.
The town has never had a railway station and almost all of its architecture is late 19th and 20th century – only three buildings are listed but one of these is the church, which is Grade I listed.
The Castle ruins are set at the top of a hill overlooking the Thames Estuary, and the Canary Wharf development nearly 30 miles to the west can be seen when visibility is adequate. Another building of note is St. James the Less Church which was believed to be Norman but is now known to be Saxon because of its general dimensions, window alignments, Saxon Romanesque arches, pagan Saxon 'pudding stone' inclusions and the pagan Saxon 'fairy wheel' motif carved into the wall by the north door. The church remains picturesque and its neighbouring street layout resembles St Clement Danes in that it stands in the middle of a bustling high street, however has a considerably larger churchyard.
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Wikipedia