Castle Hill Farm/Railway Station

The railway arrived in Rayleigh on 1st October 1889.

Before then this site was part of Castle Hill Farm which extended up to the High Street and included Rayleigh Mount and the site of the Rayleigh Castle and Tower Windmill.

The major route into town prior to the railway was along the “King’s Highway” (London Road and London Hill) to Holy Trinity Church.

It was the arrival of the railway which directly led to the dramatic change of Rayleigh from a quiet tranquil village (Population circa 35000 in 2009). Crown Lane first appeared on maps in 1777 as a minor footpath and only became Crown Hill in the early 1920s.

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