As we were travelling to Essex recently, we decided to visit a couple of the churches that Dixe Wills mentioned in his book. These were St Andrews, Greensted-juxta-Ongar and St Mary’s Mundon.
St Andrew’s, Greensted
This is the oldest wooden church in the world, its nave walls containing some logs that were hewn before the Battle of Hastings. Still regularly used and cared for, it really is worth a visit. There is a wikipedia page which explains about it. Here are the photos I took:
St Andrew’s Greensted – a general view from the South East.
St Andrew’s Greensted – a general view from the South East.
St Andrew’s Greensted – Exterior of nave North side
St Andrew’s Greensted – Exterior of nave North side
St Andrew’s Greensted – Exterior of nave wall North side
St Andrew’s Greensted – Exterior of nave wall North side
St Andrew’s Greensted – Exterior of nave wall North Western end
St Andrew’s Greensted – Exterior of nave wall North Western end
St Andrew’s Greensted – a general view of the South side.
St Andrew’s Greensted – a general view of the South side.
St Andrew’s Greensted – Nave roof boss
St Andrew’s Greensted – Nave roof boss
St Andrew’s Greensted – Nave roof brace
St Andrew’s Greensted – Nave roof brace
St Andrew’s Greensted – Nave roof brace
St Andrew’s Greensted – Nave roof brace
St Andrew’s Greensted – Interior of nave wall North side.
St Andrew’s Greensted – Interior of nave wall North side.
St Andrew’s Greensted – Exterior of nave wall South side, showing logs
St Andrew’s Greensted – Exterior of nave wall South side, showing logs
St Andrew’s Greensted – a general view of the South side.
St Andrew’s Greensted – a general view of the South side.
The porch and Crusader’s tomb
The porch and Crusader’s tomb
St Mary’s, Mundon
St Mary’s is no longer used as a church, being managed by the Friends of Friendless Churches. It’s a little tricky to find (we were on the point of abandoning the quest when I spotted a sign at the bottom of a fence post). It also has its own wikipedia page. We also went across the field at the Eastern end of the church towards the water (part of the old moat) where we found a mass of butterflies and a good view of the dead oaks.
Mundon – The moat bank with a resting tortoiseshell butterfly.
Mundon – The moat bank with a resting tortoiseshell butterfly.
Mundon – dead oaks
Mundon – dead oaks
Mundon – The moat bank with a tortoiseshell butterfly (zoomed in version)
Mundon – The moat bank with a tortoiseshell butterfly (zoomed in version)
Mundon – The moat bank with a tortoiseshell butterfly
Mundon – The moat bank with a tortoiseshell butterfly
Mundon – a gate with no fences, presumably seasonal use.
Mundon – a gate with no fences, presumably seasonal use.
St Mary’s Mundon – Steeple base interior
St Mary’s Mundon – Steeple base interior
St Mary’s Mundon – Wall painting, showing a king and a devil(?)
St Mary’s Mundon – Wall painting, showing a king and a devil(?)
St Mary’s Mundon – Interior looking West
St Mary’s Mundon – Interior looking West
St Mary’s Mundon – East end interior
St Mary’s Mundon – East end interior
St Mary’s Mundon – interior
St Mary’s Mundon – interior
St Mary’s Mundon – Steeple base interior
St Mary’s Mundon – Steeple base interior
St Mary’s Mundon – Interior
St Mary’s Mundon – Interior
St Mary’s Mundon – Interior
St Mary’s Mundon – Interior
St Mary’s Mundon – North side
St Mary’s Mundon – North side
St Mary’s Mundon – Porch carving. Sorry about the flare, it was a very sunny day and I couldn’t see what I was taking!
St Mary’s Mundon – Porch carving. Sorry about the flare, it was a very sunny day and I couldn’t see what I was taking!
