LEIGHS (LITTLE), a parish in Chelmsford district, Essex; on the river Ter, 5 miles SW of Braintree r. sta tion, and 7 NNE of Chelmsford. Post town, Great Leighs, under Chelmsford. Acres, 1,080. Real property, £2,156. Pop., 171. Houses, 33. The property is diVided among a few. A priory of Black canons was founded here in the time of Henry III., by Ralph de Geinon; was given, at the dissolution, to Sir Richard Rich; was converted by him into a splendid mansion; passed to the Duke of Buckingham; belongs now to Guy s hospital; and has left extensiVe and interesting remains. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester. Value, £400. * Patron, the Rev. JohnGreen. The church is a small building, with a wooden spire.

(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))