Pictures of Chipping Ongar

About Chipping Ongar

Just outside this attractive small town, standing in the hedgerow is a newly refurbished old wayside milestone, it proclaims London to be 22 miles away, Epping 6 miles, and the Ongar, 1 mile. This is an old town, the word 'Ongar' comes from Anglo-Saxon times, its meaning is 'Grazing Land' and in Medieval times, after being granted its Charter in the 12th-century, what was once a tiny village became an important market town. A weekly market is still held here, and you can also see the remains of a castle built around the same time as the town was granted its charter.

The town has a sweeping, wide main street where the visitor quickly notes several handsome buildings. Of particular interest is the church of St.Martin of Tours, it stands behind old walls in the midst of a peaceful tree lined churchyard where there are graves of local people from centuries long gone. The church is noted for its reused Roman bricks.

There are pleasant shops and a couple of welcoming inns. At nearby Greensted you can see an historic Saxon church, it is said to be the oldest wooden church in the world and dates from the 11th-century.

Chipping Ongar is a pleasing town, it is within easy driving distance of Waltham Abbey and is surrounded by several places of interest.