Hazeleigh

Hazeleigh is a village and civil parish on the Dengie peninsula in the English county of Essex. It lies 2.6 miles south-west of Maldon.

Hazeleigh
Hazeleigh Location within Essex
OS grid reference	TL825035
District	Maldon
Shire county	Essex
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Chelmsford
Postcode district	CM3
Dialling code	01245 & 01621
Police	Essex
Fire	Essex
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	Witham

Hazeleigh's Parish Council

Hazeleigh and the neighbouring village of Woodham Mortimer share a joint Parish Council which meets monthly at Woodham Mortimer Village Hall.

Hazeleigh's churches

Hazeleigh's original timber-framed Church, St. Nicholas's, was located in an isolated part of the village, next to the Old Hall, however, by 1900 it had fallen into disuse. Due to its size and lack of windows it was known locally as "the meanest church in England". It was pulled down around 1922, although the last service had been held several years earlier, in 1906. One of the reasons why it fell into disuse was that an iron church was built in a more populous part of the village by the late-Victorian vicar, Rev. William Stuart (brother of Robert Stuart and father of William Horwood Stuart, both diplomats). This iron church was later demolished as well, currently, the parish of Hazeleigh is now incorporated into that of Woodham Mortimer.

List of rectors

Rev. George Raynor, B.A. (1869-1889)
Rev. William Stuart, M.A. (1889-1896)
Rev. Gilbert Henry Raynor, M.A. (1896-1921)
Rev. Nathaniel Gentry (1708-1709 - Church Register)

External links

• Photo of St. Nicholas's Church before demolition
• History of Hazeleigh including the story of Hazeleigh Church Archived 7 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
• Information of Hazeleigh and contact for the Parish Council

References

The collection of short stories The Night Chicago Died, ISBN 978-1-4389-0011-7, contains a story entitled The Meanest Church in England which references Hazeleigh.