The Gatehouse website record for St Anns, Great Leighs

In the civil parish of Great and Little Leighs. In the historic county of Essex (Modern Authority of Essex, 1974 county of Essex).

King writes of 'Leigh' mentioned by Harvey and of 'St Ann's, near Great Leighs' mentioned by Moore nothing known of possible castles. I consider these to be reference to the same possible castle site. There is a pub called St Annes Castle at Great Leighs marked site of St Ann's Hermitage on 1881 OS map at the ref given. A pub by the name St Anns seems to have been on the site since the mid C17, but the 'castle' part of the name seems first recorded on the 1st edn OS map. A castle field placename is also recorded from an 1839 Tithe map. There is also a Rochester Farm at TL726168, which is not a known Roman site, other than being on the Roman road to Braintree. So, perhaps, a misidentification of a now lost Roman fort. However, this is a high status landscape with a priory site (now occupied by a C16 castellated house called Leez Priory. The priory of Augustinian Canons was founded before 1200) and it is, in my view, entirely possibly that a castle existed here, on a river crossing of a major road, founded before 1200. Gubbion's Hall (TL736177) may represent a later successor on a new site.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TL727171

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 5964 [pub only] 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.
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