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Rayleigh Weir Stadium
Rayleigh Weir Stadium was a speedway, greyhound racing and stock car stadium in Weir between Rayleigh and Thundersley in England. It is not to be confused with the Rayleigh Greyhound Sports Stadium that existed in O’Tooles Meadow on Down Hall Road. Origins In 1947 the area chosen for a new stadium was a small village called Weir between the small market town of Rayleigh and the district of Thundersley which was largely rural. It would be situated just six miles from Southend on the south side of the Southend Arterial Road, this particular stretch of road is of historical importance to the motoring world as it was the first road to be built in Britain specifically for motor vehicles which opened on 25 March 1925. The new stadium could be accessed via Claydons Lane or Rat Lane. The 1947 application by Francis McGreavey to the Benfleet Union was originally refused but later granted on appeal. McGreavey had made his fortune from building Morrison and Anderson shelters. The dir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rayleigh, Essex
Rayleigh is a market town and civil parish in Essex, England; it is located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea, east of central London. It had a population of 32,150 at the census in 2011. Toponymy The name ''Rayleigh'' is Old English in origin deriving from ''rǣge'' ('female roe-deer or she-goat') and ''lēah'' ('clearing'). Therefore, the name means overall 'wood or clearing of the wild she-goats or roe-deer". History Prehistoric and Roman times There has been a scattering of stray finds around the town from Prehistoric and Roman times, including some Roman roof and hypocaust tiles found within the fabric of Rayleigh Church. This suggests that there was a Roman habitation site within the area. However, there is little evidence of any density of population here during this period. Saxon era One significant archaeological find was in the early 2000s at the western edge of Rayleigh, at the site of the former Park School in Rawreth Lane. An early Saxon cemetery site was d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |