Rayleigh is a picturesque market town and civil parish in the District of Rochford in Essex, England, located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea. It lies to the east of central London and had a population of 30,196 in 2001, having expanded rapidly in the 1960s. Over the years many postcard makers have made Rayleigh their focus, capturing the huge changes that have occurred over the last century. In Rayleigh: The Postcard Collection, local historians Mike & Sharon Davies take readers on a tour through the town's history, illustrated with over 150 postcards from the last century.