Leigh Heritage Centre & Plumbs Cottage

About the museum

The Leigh Society was formed in 1972 and set about protecting the old fishing town of Leigh-on-Sea. The old smithy in the High Street had been bought by the local council and left to decay. In 1979 the Society took a lease on it, made it safe within a few weeks and cleared about seven tons of scrap metal from the building. Its conservation work won an Essex County Council amenity award in 1980, and in 1981 the Society put forward a plan to turn the smithy into a heritage centre and local history museum.

The neighbouring Plumbs Cottage dates from the mid-1850s. It was also bought by the council and neglected, until the Society was offered a lease in the mid-1990s on condition that it restored the building. Funding came from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Cory Environmental Trust, the borough council and local donations. When building work began the structure turned out to be rotten and collapsed, so the project became a full rebuild. The cottage was completed inside and out in May 2007, and descendants of the last family to live there attended the opening.

Today the centre is run by volunteers and shows a photographic display of the history of Leigh. The cottage is furnished to recreate the home of a busy fishing family of the 1850s.

Highlights

• Photographic displays on the history of Leigh-on-Sea in the old smithy
• Plumbs Cottage, furnished as a mid-1850s fisherman’s cottage
• Free entry to the centre and the cottage
• Local history books, leaflets and souvenirs from the Leigh Society

Permanent exhibitions

• Leigh Heritage Centre – Photographs and material on the history of Leigh-on-Sea, shown in the old smithy in the centre of Old Leigh.
• Plumbs Cottage – A rebuilt fisherman’s cottage of the mid-1850s, fitted out to show how a busy fishing household lived.

Founded

2007

Operated by

Leigh Heritage Centre Ltd (Leigh Society)

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Entry to the Heritage Centre and Plumbs Cottage is free; donations are welcome.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

No accessibility details are published; visitors can phone ahead to ask.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

The Heritage Centre stocks books, leaflets, booklets and souvenir magnets about Leigh (Leigh Society sales counter).

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.