Leigh-on-Sea Heritage Centre, Museum

August 22, 2012

The Leigh Society was founded in 1972, so this year is our 40th anniversary. The Society restored the Smithy in the Old Town to form the Heritage Centre which has been open ever since as a museum of Leigh.

The Society has grown from strength to strength and manages the Heritage Centre and the restored Plumbs Cottage

The Heritage Centre is a registered charity

The aims of the society are -

to promote high standards of planning and architecture in the Leigh Conservation Areas and to secure the preservation of feature of historic and public interest.

to provide and maintain a museum in the Old Leigh Conservation Area for the advancement of the education of the public and for the exhibition to the public of objects, documents, photographs and any other item whatsoever connected with the history of the town of Leigh-on-Sea. Also to secure the preservation, protection, development and improvement of features of public architectural and historical interest in the Conservation Areas of Leigh and to promote high standards of planning and architecture in or affecting those areas.

The Heritage Centre stands in the Centre of the Old Town in the old Smithy. Along with many other buildings in the Old Town the Smithy was purchased by the Council many years ago with a view to a development which never took place and it was allowed to fall into disrepair until the Leigh Society formed and decided to rescue the building.

Over the centuries the building had been owned by several people and used for a variety of uses.

After the formation of the Leigh Society in 1973, meetings were held in the front rooms of local residents including David Atkinson, later MP for Bournemouth East, John Pettit in his antique shop on Leigh Hill, Cllr Grace Robson and others.

Grace bought a folding office and kept all our files in her front room on New Road.

In 1979, Southend Council was approached for a lease on any suitable building, and that was how Ron Foyster, former Council Engineer for Canvey Island and chairman at that time, decided that the condemned Smithy building in Leigh Old Town, two old cottages numbered 13A, could be saved. We had eight weeks to make it safe and get the demolition order withdrawn. It was clear to the Society that this building was important both as a potential museum, and for its pivotal position in the High Street.

Ron obtained some Acrow props to hold up the dangerous sagging building that was stuffed to the ceiling with scrap metal from the engineering shed on Strand Wharf, and a working party was set up and removed about seven tons of metal from the building.

A scheme of temporary support was agreed, and the building made safe at the end of 1979 by a local builder. The Leigh Society won first prize in the 1980 Essex County Council Amenity Societies Scheme for conservation work.

In 1980-1 the Society promoted fund raising schemes for the restoration. Approaches were made to the Department of the Environment, the Manpower Services Commission, Southend Borough Council and various charitable trusts. In 1981 the Society submitted a detailed estimate, based on plans drawn by the Moss Prime Coombs architectural practice for a Heritage Centre to the MSC under their Community Enterprise Programme.

Why not go on the Leigh society trail:
www.maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=208854400204940402724.0004b1c7fe2c1d6a4e11b&msa=0&ll=51.535739,0.647635&spn=0.022503,0.066047