Great Leighs Great Leighs Great Leighs is a village in the City of Chelmsford district of Essex, England, halfway between Chelmsford itself and Braintree. It is part of the parish of Great and Little Leighs. Great Leighs is the location of arguably the oldest Inn in England. The Castle was called the St. Anne's Castle until its temporary closure for refurbishment at Easter 2015. It was on the junction of Main Road and Boreham Road. Another Pub, the Dog & Partridge, is at the other end of the village, on Main Road. The full history of The Castle has been lost. However,
Great Leighs War, Andrew Clark, kept a voluminous diary of the war detailing activities, opinions and rumours in the village and nearby. An edited version of the diary was published in 1985 under the title "Echoes of the Great War". In the 2014 BBC series "Britain's Great War", Jeremy Paxman visits St Mary's Church, Great Leighs, and he describes the early loss of Captain Alan Tritton and brothers Privates Richard (Dick) and Arthur Fitch. He speaks with their niece, Valerie Frost. There is a spring by the side of the road at Cole Hill on Boreham Road, near Great Leighs Church. It