Leigh Heritage group was formed in March 2014, developing from a local volunteer group within the Leigh on Mendip Community Activity group (LOMCA) that advised people on how to access the internet and undertake research.
The Leigh Heritage group provided the focus for research information already collected and increasingly engaged with local parishioners who were interested in family history and the history and heritage of Leigh on Mendip.
Initially much of the research undertaken was based on individual family genealogy research but later in the year the focus shifted toward village research and those who lived there in the past.
Several extensive photographic exhibitions were put on in the Memorial Hall during the summer bank holidays (August 2014, 2016 and 2019) and this led the long-term project researching the village history and St Giles church.
Leigh Heritage group has been a key player in the development of the searchable archive based on the parish records (baptism, marriage and burial) which date back for burial to 1566.
Considerable work has been done to map the historical churchyard memorials that remain to support families and researchers coming to Leigh on Mendip in relation to genealogy interests. Linking memorials with family information is seen as a key long-term project to extend the knowledge of the history and heritage of the village.
Please note that the actual searchable archive is only available (on a free basis) in the community room (Tower room) in St Giles church. For further details please email the Leigh on Mendip Heritage Group via info@lomhg.org.uk.
The Friends of Leigh Church and the Leigh Heritage group has been researching the heritage of St Giles church and has produced a series of poster exhibitions displayed in the Tower room/café area. Two weekend events were also held in 2019.
The first was a Heritage Exhibition linked to a Flower Festival with the theme ‘Our Wonderful World’ in St Giles church over the August Bank Holiday weekend, 24-26 August 2019. The Heritage theme adopted is ‘Our Wonderful Church’ and the exhibit was available in the nearby Memorial Hall.
In September 2019 a further Heritage display took place over two days and featured the church and associated churchyard. A new 50-page booklet is available for visitors to St Giles Church, Leigh on Mendip ‘A Review of the heritage and history of the church, April 2020’.
The success of a Heritage Lottery Fund Grants for Places of Worship bid (HLF GPoW) in September 2016 to repair and conserve the nave roof and engage the community in the churches heritage, shifted the focus of the Leigh Heritage group towards research on the church/churchyard and the development of a village trail, looking at both listed and other non-listed buildings of interest.
A village heritage trail was added to two village Open Garden events in spring 2017 and 2018 and a permanent stand-alone trail was completed in spring 2019, with Trail leaflets available in St Giles church. In November 2019 guided walks were held in the village as part of the 25th National Lottery Birthday Celebration (over the weekend 23/24 November) with detailed descriptions available for each of the properties on the trail.
A separate trail around 13 historical Mendip churches was also developed. This is known as the ‘East Mendips Churches Heritage Trail’ and provides a summary on each church. Most of these churches are routinely open to visitors, but for three normally closed, a telephone numbers is provided to ring in advance for access. The Trail leaflet is available in St Giles church, as well as the other churches involved and local tourism offices.