HADLEIGH, a parish in the hundred of ROCHFORD,
county of ESSEX, 2 miles (W. by N.) from Leigh containing
329 inhabitants. The living is a discharged
rectory, in the archdeaconry of Essex, and diocese of
London, rated in the king's books at £11, 14.-7., and
in the patronage of the Rector and Fellows of -Lincoln
College, Oxford. The church, dedicated to St. James, is
an ancient structure;. the eastern end is semicircular,
and in the Norman style. In the reign of Henry II., a
castle was built here by Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent:
the remains, which are  picturesquely situated on the
brow of a steep hill, consist chiefly of two dilapidated
circular towers.