Rayleigh’s origins pre date Saxon Times but it was the Saxons who gave the town its name. Rayleigh means a clearing of deer. Ray refers to Roe, a small female deer and Leigh refers to a small clearing.
The town is listed in the domesday book of 1086. By 1222 the forests around Rayleigh were royal hunting grounds. King Henry III was a recorded visitor. During Henry VIII’s reign (1509-1547) deer were taken from Rayleigh to replenish herds in Greenwich Park.
