Great Leighs the nearby Leez Priory, and Great Leigh's church. At The Castle, various references can be read on the walls that tell more of the history. Local folklore also tells that the inn is haunted by the troubled spirit of a witch burned at the stake and buried beneath a stone at the nearby crossroads. In December 2009, a £730,000 project to renovate the Village Hall was completed. It was aided by money associated with a new housing development within the village, extensive fund raising and help from funding bodies and Essex County Council. The incumbent priest during the First World
In Which We Serve Which We Sink"". On Christmas Eve 1942 in New York, the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures honoured the film as the Best English Language Film of the Year citing Bernard Miles and John Mills for their performances. The film was nominated in the 1943 Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay (losing out to "Casablanca" and "Princess O'Rourke" respectively). However, Coward was presented with an Academy Honorary Award for "his outstanding production achievement." "In Which We Serve" also won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film (beating "Casablanca") and the Argentine Film Critics