Photographs of Essex Churches

Click on an image to see the full picture

Essex has many interesting churches (it has over 450 churches so some of them have to be interesting!). Some date as far back as 650, others were built after the Reformation. Many have been added to or renovated. I've taken pictures of some but by no means all.
The oldest Christian church in England still in regular use is the Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall, Bradwell-on-Sea. The oldest wooden church is in Greensted near Chipping Ongar and dates from the mid-11th century. St Marys at Buttsbury has lost its village but is still a beautiful, peaceful little church. St John the baptist, Little Maplestead is one of the few round churches in England and is definitely worth a short visit.
Coggeshall has two churches, one is the size of a small catherdral, the other is a small chapel left over from a former monastery. Tilty and Blackmore are two other churches linked to former monasteries.
Ugley was first recorded in 1041 as Uggele. It appears in the Domesday Book as Ugghelea. The name probably means "woodland clearing of a man named Ugga." The church has a 13th-century nave and a Tudor brick tower. It was locked when I went to look at it.
The Church of St Michaels at Woodham Walter, near Malden, is relatively new. It is believed to be the first church consecrated after the Elizabethan Settlement in 1559.