on Boreham Road, near Great Leighs Church. It once had a lion's head over the outlet. On 1 April 1949 the parish was abolished and merged with Little Leighs to form "Great and Little Leighs", part also went to Little Waltham. Racecourse In 2008, Great Leighs became home to the first new racecourse in 80 years, when the nearby Essex County Showground was converted into a state-of-the-art horse-racing venue. Great Leighs Racecourse held its first race meeting on 20 April 2008 and staged its first meeting fully open to the public from 28 to 29 May 2008. However, the course had its temporary licence revoked on 16 January 2009 and did not see racing again until 11 January 2015. References External links Great and Little Leighs Parish Council Leighs Village Hall Churches at the Leighs and Lt. Waltham The War Memorials at the Churches of Gt. & Lt. Leighs and Lt. Waltham Great Leighs War Memorial, including video clip from the BBC series "Britain's Great War" Great Leighs St Mary on Essex Churches Villages in Essex Former civil parishes in Essex