East Leake (/liːk/) is a large village and civil parish in the Rushcliffe district of Nottinghamshire, England, although its closest town and postal address is Loughborough in Leicestershire.

Near the centre of the village is the historic St. Mary's Church,[2] dating back to the 11th century, which Sheepwash Brook flows past, and an old ford, which provided access to the pinfold.

The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning wet land, since the village lies on the Kingston Brook, a tributary of the River Soar.

[8] Roman activity in the area is evidenced by a hoard of coins dating back to the reign of Commodus found at the Rushcliffe Halt railway station in the north of the village.

[9] The village was founded by Anglo-Saxon settlers at some point during the sixth[10] or seventh centuries[11] and was given the name Lecche, which meant wet or moist land, in reference to the meadows by the Kingston Brook.

[12][11] Viking activity in the area began during the ninth century and the village was part of the territory ceded to the Danes by Alfred the Great, which later formed the Danelaw.

[15] The Treaty of Leake, an agreement of peace between King Edward II and his cousin Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, was signed in the village in 1318.

Upon his death, Bley left money to every resident of the village and was buried on the grounds of St Mary's Church, where his tomb still stands.

[12][18] Commercial and industrial activity grew in the village during the nineteenth century, with basket weaving and lace-making providing income for residents.

[22] 41.5% of the village's households are classified as being deprived in at least one of the four census metrics of education, employment, health or housing, compared to an England and Wales figure of 51.7%.

The village is served by a Post Office branch,[33] a Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service station,[34] a GP surgery[35] and a library.

[48] The Anglican church, St Mary's, is within the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, and originates from the Norman period and is Grade I listed,[49] indicating that it is of "exceptional" historic, architectural or cultural interest.