Lexden
Encyclopedia
Lexden is a suburb of Colchester
, Essex
, England
. It was formerly a village, and has previously been called Lessendon, Lassendene and Læxadyne. Lexden is mentioned in the Domesday Book
.
Lexden is approximately one mile west of central Colchester. It is home to a public house, the Crown; and St Leonard's Church (Church of England
). The Leonard in question is Saint Leonard of Noblac, the patron saint of prisoners.
Lexden's original name, Læxadyne, is Old English for "Leaxa's valley". It is referred to as the "Hundred of LASSENDENE" in the Domesday Book.
It is now cut into two halves by a modern bypass, Spring Lane. Within the space of a few hundred yards there are two 400 year old watermills, (both now private residences), a 100 year old iron bridge over the river Colne, two local nature reserves and several interesting walks.
Colchester, the remains of the earthen ramparts can be seen at Bluebottle Grove, Lexden Park and alongside Straight Road. A number of burial mounds or tumuli remain, notably Lexden Tumulus in Fitzwalter Road which is reputed to be the burial place of Cunobelinus
or Cymbeline
, the king of the Catuvellauni
. The Lexden Medallion was found when the tumulus was excavated in 1924 and is now in the Colchester Castle
Museum. Another tumulus is The Mount in Marlowe Way, in which some fragments of Roman pottery and tiles have been found.
The parish church was founded early in the 12th Century and a number of houses of medieval origins survive in Lexden Road (the A1124). Parts of The Sun Inn date from 1542 but it has recently become a private house.
In 1648, Lexden was the headquarters of Lord-General Thomas Fairfax
during the Siege of Colchester
, and his army camped on Lexden Heath. A Parliamentarian fort was built on Great Broom Heath (now called Hilly Fields) which overlooks the town. During the Great Plague
of 1665 to 1666, the burial ground for Colchester was near The Mount
.
During the 18th Century a number of large houses were built including Lexden Park on the corner of Church Road, and the Manor House was rebuilt. The main road became a turnpike
in 1707 and a cottage used as a toll house
survives. Lexden Heath was a large area of common land
used for grazing, horse races and military camps; it was inclosed by Act of Parliament in 1821. This enlarged the estate of the lord of the manor, the Reverend John Rawstorn Papillon, who was an acquaintance of Jane Austen
and whose niece married Jane's brother Henry. Straight Road was created at this time to make a way across the new inclosures to the hamlet of Shrub End, which became a separate parish in 1845.
The small and decrepit medieval church of St Leonard was demolished in 1820 and a new church was built slightly to the south, designed in the Early English style by M. G. Thompson. A larger chancel was added in 1892. A Methodist chapel was built in Straight Road in 1859 and a mission hall (now Lexden Evangelical Church) in 1885.
A National Day and Sunday School was built in Spring Lane in 1817 and enlarged several times until replaced by Lexden Council School (now Lexden Primary) in 1925. Lexden Park House became the Endsleigh private school in 1955 and then the Endsleigh Annex of the Colchester Institute until 1990. The house itself was converted to apartments and the gardens became a local nature reserve. The Avenue of Remembrance was built in 1929 to relieve traffic on the London Road and as a memorial to the fallen of Colchester in World War I
.
Providing secondary education, the Philip Morant School and College
and Colchester Royal Grammar School
are nearby.
The Lexden area also contains providers of pre-school education, among them Lexden Montessori, a follower of the Montessori method
.
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was formerly a village, and has previously been called Lessendon, Lassendene and Læxadyne. Lexden is mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
.
Lexden is approximately one mile west of central Colchester. It is home to a public house, the Crown; and St Leonard's Church (Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
). The Leonard in question is Saint Leonard of Noblac, the patron saint of prisoners.
Lexden's original name, Læxadyne, is Old English for "Leaxa's valley". It is referred to as the "Hundred of LASSENDENE" in the Domesday Book.
It is now cut into two halves by a modern bypass, Spring Lane. Within the space of a few hundred yards there are two 400 year old watermills, (both now private residences), a 100 year old iron bridge over the river Colne, two local nature reserves and several interesting walks.
History
The site on which Lexden now stands was crossed by the fortifications of iron ageIron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
Colchester, the remains of the earthen ramparts can be seen at Bluebottle Grove, Lexden Park and alongside Straight Road. A number of burial mounds or tumuli remain, notably Lexden Tumulus in Fitzwalter Road which is reputed to be the burial place of Cunobelinus
Cunobelinus
Cunobeline or Cunobelinus was a historical king in pre-Roman Britain, known from passing mentions by classical historians Suetonius and Dio Cassius, and from his many inscribed coins...
or Cymbeline
Cymbeline
Cymbeline , also known as Cymbeline, King of Britain or The Tragedy of Cymbeline, is a play by William Shakespeare, based on legends concerning the early Celtic British King Cunobelinus. Although listed as a tragedy in the First Folio, modern critics often classify Cymbeline as a romance...
, the king of the Catuvellauni
Catuvellauni
The Catuvellauni were a tribe or state of south-eastern Britain before the Roman conquest.The fortunes of the Catuvellauni and their kings before the conquest can be traced through numismatic evidence and scattered references in classical histories. They are mentioned by Dio Cassius, who implies...
. The Lexden Medallion was found when the tumulus was excavated in 1924 and is now in the Colchester Castle
Colchester Castle
Colchester Castle in Colchester, Essex is an example of a largely complete Norman castle. It is a Grade I listed building.-Construction:At one and a half times the size of the Tower of London's White Tower, Colchester's keep is the largest ever built in Britain and the largest surviving example in...
Museum. Another tumulus is The Mount in Marlowe Way, in which some fragments of Roman pottery and tiles have been found.
The parish church was founded early in the 12th Century and a number of houses of medieval origins survive in Lexden Road (the A1124). Parts of The Sun Inn date from 1542 but it has recently become a private house.
In 1648, Lexden was the headquarters of Lord-General Thomas Fairfax
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron was a general and parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War...
during the Siege of Colchester
Siege of Colchester
The siege of Colchester occurred in the summer of 1648 when the English Civil War reignited in several areas of Britain. Colchester found itself in the thick of the unrest when a Royalist army on its way through East Anglia to raise support for the King, was attacked by Lord-General Thomas Fairfax...
, and his army camped on Lexden Heath. A Parliamentarian fort was built on Great Broom Heath (now called Hilly Fields) which overlooks the town. During the Great Plague
Great Plague of London
The Great Plague was a massive outbreak of disease in the Kingdom of England that killed an estimated 100,000 people, 20% of London's population. The disease is identified as bubonic plague, an infection by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, transmitted through a flea vector...
of 1665 to 1666, the burial ground for Colchester was near The Mount
.
During the 18th Century a number of large houses were built including Lexden Park on the corner of Church Road, and the Manor House was rebuilt. The main road became a turnpike
Turnpike trust
Turnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal highways in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries...
in 1707 and a cottage used as a toll house
Toll house
A tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a toll road or canal. Many tollhouses were built by turnpike trusts in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th and early 19th centuries...
survives. Lexden Heath was a large area of common land
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
used for grazing, horse races and military camps; it was inclosed by Act of Parliament in 1821. This enlarged the estate of the lord of the manor, the Reverend John Rawstorn Papillon, who was an acquaintance of Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
and whose niece married Jane's brother Henry. Straight Road was created at this time to make a way across the new inclosures to the hamlet of Shrub End, which became a separate parish in 1845.
The small and decrepit medieval church of St Leonard was demolished in 1820 and a new church was built slightly to the south, designed in the Early English style by M. G. Thompson. A larger chancel was added in 1892. A Methodist chapel was built in Straight Road in 1859 and a mission hall (now Lexden Evangelical Church) in 1885.
A National Day and Sunday School was built in Spring Lane in 1817 and enlarged several times until replaced by Lexden Council School (now Lexden Primary) in 1925. Lexden Park House became the Endsleigh private school in 1955 and then the Endsleigh Annex of the Colchester Institute until 1990. The house itself was converted to apartments and the gardens became a local nature reserve. The Avenue of Remembrance was built in 1929 to relieve traffic on the London Road and as a memorial to the fallen of Colchester in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Education
In Lexden, there is one private school: Holmwood House School, which has around three hundred pupils from Reception to year eight. The current headmaster is Alexander Mitchell. Lexden Primary School and Home Farm Primary School are state schools for all children from nursery to year six, Lexden also having a special unit for the hearing impaired. There is also a school for children with special needs, Lexden Springs School.Providing secondary education, the Philip Morant School and College
Philip Morant School and College
Philip Morant School and College is a comprehensive secondary school and college located within the Prettygate suburb of Colchester, Essex. Philip Morant is a foundation school and a technology college. The name Philip Morant was chosen a few months later, after the 18th Century local historian...
and Colchester Royal Grammar School
Colchester Royal Grammar School
Colchester Royal Grammar School is a grammar school in Colchester, Essex, founded in AD 1206 and granted two Royal Charters by Henry VIII and by Elizabeth I .-Admissions:...
are nearby.
The Lexden area also contains providers of pre-school education, among them Lexden Montessori, a follower of the Montessori method
Montessori method
Montessori education is an educational approach developed by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori. Montessori education is practiced in an estimated 20,000 schools worldwide, serving children from birth to eighteen years old.-Overview:...
.
Sports and recreation
Lexden has a King George's Field in memorial to King George VGeorge V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....