Leigh, Wiltshire

Farmland at Leigh was part of Ashton Keynes manor, which was held by Cranborne Abbey (Dorset) in 1086; ownership was transferred to Tewkesbury Abbey in 1102. The manor passed to the crown on the dissolution of Tewkesbury in 1539, and in 1548 Edward VI granted the land to William Sharington as a separate manor. The estate was sold in lots by Edward Craggs-Eliot in 1803. The Archers Farm estate was acquired by the Maskelyne family, who sold it to Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool. The Jenkinson family retained an interest in Leigh until 1913. The parish was enlarged in 1984 when farmland south of the Malmesbury road was transferred from Cricklade parish. RAF Blakehill Farm operated from 1944 to 1952 in Cricklade parish, close to Leigh. ==Church==

The first All Saints Church dated from the 13th century and was at Waterhay, north of the village. In 1896 parts of it were rebuilt by Charles Ponting at a site closer to the village and less prone to flooding. The chancel of the old church still stands; both it and the newer church are Grade II* listed. ==References==