Chipping Ongar, St Martin
St Martin, Chipping Ongar: the church from the south-west with Ongar Castle under construction in the background, c. 1086
Illustration by Daniel Secker
The quiet medieval town of Chipping Ongar was the chief seat of the great Norman baron, Count Eustace of Boulogne. Eustace may have been responsible for the motte and bailey castle which once dominated the town. The castle is on private land, but the church is usually open. The brick quoins of the church were once thought to be re-used Roman material, but luminescence dating has shown beyond doubt that they are early medieval (Bailiff et al 2010). The luminescence date also suggested the church was earlier than previously thought. It might have been commissioned by Ingelric, an important German priest who was granted Ongar by the Conqueror but died before Domesday
A comprehensive survey of the church, includeing detailed elevation drawings, has been made by this writer (Secker forthcoming)
Despite the prolific use of brick in its construction, the church may well have been rendered and whitewashed. This was certainly the case at Holy Trinity, Bradwell Juxta Coggeshall (Rodwell 1998, 82). The early use of brick, and re-used tile fragments in the fabric raised the possibility the roof was tiled too.
References
Bailiff, I. K. Blain, S. Graves, C. P. Gurling, T. and Semple, S. 2010, Use and recycling of brick in medieval and Tudor English buildings: insights from the application of luminescence dating and new avenues for further research, Archaeological Journal 167, 165-96
Rodwell, W. J. 1998 Holy trinity Church, Bradwell-Juxta-Coggeshall. a survey of the fabric and appraisal of the Norman brickwork, Essex Archaeology and History 29, 59-114
Secker, forthcoming, St Martin, Chipping Ongar, the Romanesque church, scheduled to appear in Essex Archaeology and History
Illustration by Daniel Secker
The quiet medieval town of Chipping Ongar was the chief seat of the great Norman baron, Count Eustace of Boulogne. Eustace may have been responsible for the motte and bailey castle which once dominated the town. The castle is on private land, but the church is usually open. The brick quoins of the church were once thought to be re-used Roman material, but luminescence dating has shown beyond doubt that they are early medieval (Bailiff et al 2010). The luminescence date also suggested the church was earlier than previously thought. It might have been commissioned by Ingelric, an important German priest who was granted Ongar by the Conqueror but died before Domesday
A comprehensive survey of the church, includeing detailed elevation drawings, has been made by this writer (Secker forthcoming)
Despite the prolific use of brick in its construction, the church may well have been rendered and whitewashed. This was certainly the case at Holy Trinity, Bradwell Juxta Coggeshall (Rodwell 1998, 82). The early use of brick, and re-used tile fragments in the fabric raised the possibility the roof was tiled too.
References
Bailiff, I. K. Blain, S. Graves, C. P. Gurling, T. and Semple, S. 2010, Use and recycling of brick in medieval and Tudor English buildings: insights from the application of luminescence dating and new avenues for further research, Archaeological Journal 167, 165-96
Rodwell, W. J. 1998 Holy trinity Church, Bradwell-Juxta-Coggeshall. a survey of the fabric and appraisal of the Norman brickwork, Essex Archaeology and History 29, 59-114
Secker, forthcoming, St Martin, Chipping Ongar, the Romanesque church, scheduled to appear in Essex Archaeology and History