Archeological Finds

A stone axe and a flint arrow head are evidence of human activity in the parish for several thousand years.

There have been very few archeological findings for the period between this Neolithic age and the Roman occupation, when there are an abundance of pottery, coins, military uniform pieces and a silver bracelet, as well as a brick & tile kiln.
Both Leigh and Bransford parishes have a Domesday book entry, whilst the remains of a Motte & Bailey castle shows evidence of the lawlessness which followed later.

During the Civil wars in the 1600s, both Leigh and Bransford were strategically important, because they commanded crossings over the River Teme. Leigh Court was a Royalist stronghold, facing a Commonwealth household at Cotheridge, across the Teme.

The history of the Parish after the Civil War is similar to that of many rural parishes.

Change was slow until the start of the Industrial Revolution, in the late 1700s, when the countryside had to feed the growing populations of the new industrial towns.

In the early 1800s also came increasing local specialisation in growing hops and fruit. These crops dominated farming in the area until the 1970s, when entry into the European Common market changed the face of both local & UK agriculture.The coming of the railway in the 1870s meant that fresh produce could be sent easily to the large towns. It also meant that thousands of seasonal workers could come from the Black Country and South Wales for hop & fruit picking. Indeed, the arrival of the hop-pickers was an eagerly awaited event, when the parish population more than doubled. Extra police were drafted in an a whole range of special facilities were laid on