Ardleigh

Ardleigh /ˈɑːrdli/ is a village and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex, England. It is situated approximately 4 miles (6 km) northeast from the centre of Colchester and 26 miles (42 km) northeast from the county town of Chelmsford. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 2,758.

Ardleigh
The Street, Ardleigh, with the parish church of St Mary The Virgin and the post office in the background.
Ardleigh Location within Essex
Population	2,758 (Parish, 2021)[1]
OS grid reference	TM052295
• London	55 mi (89 km) NE
Civil parish	Ardleigh
District	Tendring
Shire county	Essex
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	COLCHESTER
Postcode district	CO7
Dialling code	01206
Police	Essex
Fire	Essex
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	Harwich and North Essex
List of places UK England Essex 51.9269°N 0.9831°E / 51.9269; 0.9831

History

Ardleigh appears in Domesday Book of 1086, when it is described as a holding of Geoffrey de Mandeville.

The area includes a number of smallholdings founded after the First World War by the Land Settlement Association.^[2] Though the Great Eastern Main Line passes close to the village, the railway station closed in November 1967.

Transport and geography

The closest railway station is Manningtree, 3 miles (5 km) northeast. The village is on the A137 road, a route from Colchester to Ipswich, Suffolk. Ardleigh Reservoir is less than 1 mile (1.6 km) to the southwest. The parish includes Crockleford Heath.^[3]

Governance

Ardleigh is in the district of Tendring and the parliamentary constituency of Harwich and North Essex. The village has its own Parish Council.^[4] It is part of the electoral ward called Ardleigh and Little Bromley.^[3]