Rayleigh
This
historic market town, is the main centre of population in the
District, has retained much of its traditional character. The Town
Centre has been the scene for a wide range of recent enhancements,
leaving an attractive and safe shopping area, with a mixture of
large food and retail outlets, and smaller individual stores.
Parking is plentiful, and the town is conveniently reached by bus
or train. At the time of the Domesday Book (1086), the manor of
Rayleigh belonged to Sweyne of Essex, the son of Robert FitzWimarc.
He was one of the greatest landowners in Essex and the Domesday
Book tells us that he had built his castle at Rayleigh.
This is one of the very few castles mentioned in the Book and
therefore one of the earliest Norman castles in the country.
Rayleigh was the centre of an "Honour", or a large group of
dependent estates. This remained in the Sweyne family until 1163,
when Henry of Essex, another man of great wealth and standing, was
accused of cowardice and defeated in trial by combat. The Honour
was consequently forfeited to the king. It continued to be of
importance and an indication of royal interest is the fact that the
king had a horse-stud in the park. The present market, held on
Wednesday mornings, dates back to before 1181, when it was
inscribed in the Exchequer Records of Henry II.
The Grant of Arms belonging to the Town Council (originally
commissioned for the former Rayleigh Urban District Council)
reflects much of Rayleigh's history. The Wyvern, because during the
time of the Norman Conquest, Rayleigh Castle was the seat of the
Hereditary King's Standard Bearer and it is generally believed that
during this period the English Standard consisted of a Wyvern borne
aloft on a pole; the Seax, or sword, in recognition of the Arms of
Essex County Council which consists of three seaxes on a red
shield; the deer because the name "Rayleigh" probably derives from
Anglo-Saxon and means "Roe deer in a glade or clearing"; and the
Tudor rose because it was a well known and popular badge of King
Henry VIII, who had a hunting park and lodge in the town.