And believe me there is no place which epito- mises all this more than Greensted Church in Ongar. Talk about timeless this distinctive pocket sized Essex church is the oldest wooden building in the world. Honest!
Okay, so there is just a tiny part of it left which actually goes back that far - a 1968 archaeologi- cal dig found impressions of two simple build- ings under the chancel floor dating from the sixth or seventh centuries.
The oldest remaining timber just one oak log - has been scientifically dated at 1060 AD - just six years before William the Conqueror hit these shores.
Essex is steeped in history so it's no surprise that it's home to this little gem, which still functions as a church with services every Sunday.
It's tucked away off the beaten track in a love- ly setting, which could have come from a film set, and attracts visitors from across the county and further afield.
Inside it's a dolls house of a church - compact, charming, pretty and very 'country'. Just inside the door you are not only offered a guide on its history but a chance to buy home-made jams and honey and the inevitable postcards. WI meets diocese.
The church is dedicated to St Andrew, but it was originally named after St Edmund, the orig- inal patron saint of England, who was martyred nearby. He was crowned king of England at Bures in Suffolk on Christmas Day 855 AD, but the Normans replaced him with George (perhaps that's why he's not so popular). They tied Edmund to a tree and filled him with arrows before they beheaded him.
Now for a short history lesson
about the church -
the name Greensted suggests the Saxons who first
settled there found a clearing
(stede) in the enormous forest of
which only Epping and Hainault
forests remain. Saxons wor-
shipped pagan gods in the woods
rejecting early attempts by
Romans, Augustine and Melitus to
convert them to Christianity. St
Cedd, a Saxon trained in the celtic
monastery at Lindisfarne, had
more success. He based himself in
a deserted Roman fort at Bradwell
and his cathedral, St Peter's on the
Wall, can still be seen.
The first actual church was built from split oak logs, which were later dated at 1060 AD. The nave was wmdowless and lit by lamps placed on the floor.
After 1066, William and his Normans put their stamp on English churches. In Greensted they shored up the walls with flint.
More changes were made during Henry VII's reign when the chancel was rebuilt in brick and the thatched roofs replaced with tiles. It also grew to its current size. Philip Ray became rector in 1837, and immediately recognised the importance of the by then neglected church. He commissioned local carpenter, James Barlow, to carry out restoration work and recorded details of the Saxon joinery. Some purists thought the Rev Ray's revamp went too far, and the vicar stepped in to evict martyrs who had been offered sanctuary in Greensted. The story of the trade union martyrs and their transportation to Australia is well known.
Their subsequent return to the UK after a public outcry is not so public. They settled in Greensted but when their 'leases' were up Rev Ray wanted them out and they ended up in Canada.
The Victorian restoration also saw the instalation of all the stained glass windows - including two depicting saints George and Edmund, on either side of the altar.
Various additions to the interior have been made since, like the font designed by Sir Hugh Casson. It certainly all makes for an absorbing visit. And back to the churchyard and those graves.
The oldest, shaped like a shield, rests against the south side of the church. Is it a crusader's? The Rev Ray rests in railinged splendour. Does he ponder the fate of the Tolpuddle martyrs? And then Edward Edwards a local innkeeper lies near the gate. He apparently died in 1842 while work- ing with a scythe in a nearby field when he was the worse for drink.
The graveyard is now closed for new burials, but the past is there for us. Go and soak up the atmosphere.
* The church is open all year, dawn to dusk. Follow the A 128 Ongar road through Brentwood, Pilgrims Hatch and Kelvedon to the mini round- about at Chipping Ongar turn toward Ongar town centre and take a left at the Two Brewers pub into Greensted Road and look for signs to the church.