Greenstead-juxta-Ongar
Greenstead-juxta-Ongar is a tiny village in Essex, near Chipping Ongar and on the edge of Epping Forest.
The village is visited by thousands for its church. St. Andrew’s is unique, being a wooden Saxon church.
The nave was constructed of split logs, which have been dated to the 8th century. It is the oldest wooden church in the world.
The body of St. Edmund, the King of East Anglia, rested here on its way to burial at Bury St. Edmunds.
Edmund had been killed by the Danish invaders, and is the subject of a legend describing his severed head being guarded by a wolf.
The Tolpuddle Martyrs, early trade unionists, were transported to Australia, but when quietly brought back to England were settled on a farm at Greenstead-juxta-Ongar.