Greensted Church

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Greensted Church, in the small village of Greensted, near Chipping Ongar in Essex, England, has been claimed to be the oldest wooden church in the world, and probably the oldest wooden building in Europe still standing, albeit only in part, since few sections of its original wooden structure remain. The oak walls are often classified as remnants of a palisade church or, more loosely, as a kind of early stave church, dated either to the mid-9th or mid-11th century.

Chipping OngarChipping Ongar () is a market town in the parish of Ongar, in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It is located 6 miles (10 km) east of Epping, 7 miles (11 km) south-east of Harlow and 7 miles (11 km) north-west of Brentwood. At the 2021 census the built up area as defined by the Office for National Statistics (which excludes Shelley) had a population of 3,967.

GreenstedGreensted is a small village in the civil parish of Ongar, in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It was formerly a separate civil parish, but was merged into Ongar in 1965. It remains an ecclesiastical parish under the name Greensted-juxta-Ongar. The small settlement of Greensted itself is on Greensted Road, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west of Chipping Ongar; a little further west is Greensted Green.

Palisade churchA palisade church is a church building that is constructed with palisade walls, standing split logs of timber, rammed directly into the ground, set in gravel or resting on a sill. The palisade walls form an integral part of the load-bearing system. ConstructionThis type of construction is often believed to predate a construction method with posts set directly into the earth, sometimes called a post church, and the later stave construction method, or stave church.

Stave churchA stave church is a medieval wooden Christianchurch building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts are called stafr in Old Norse (stav in modern Norwegian). Two related church building types also named for their structural elements, the post church and palisade church, are often called 'stave churches'.

ChancelIn church architecture, the chancel (also known as the sanctuary or presbyterium) is the space around the altar, including the choir, at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. OverviewThe chancel is generally the area used by the clergy and choir during worship, while the congregation is in the nave. Direct access may be provided by a priest's door, usually on the south side of the church.

Church serviceA church service (or a worship service) is a formalized period of Christian communal worship, often held in a church building. Most Christian denominations hold church services on the Lord's Day (offering Sunday morning and Sunday evening services); a number of traditions have mid-week services, while some traditions worship on a Saturday.

CeddCedd (Latin: Cedda, Ceddus; c. 620 – 26 October 664) was an Anglo-Saxon monk and bishop from the Kingdom of Northumbria. He was an evangelist of the Middle Angles and East Saxons in England and a significant participant in the Synod of Whitby, a meeting which resolved important differences within the Church in England. He is venerated in Anglicanism, the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.

DendrochronologyDendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed in a tree. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmospheric conditions during different periods in history from the wood of old trees. Dendrochronology derives from the Ancient Greek dendron (), meaning "tree", khronos (), meaning "time", and (), "the study of".

ArchaeologyStudy of human activity based on materials left behindExcavations at Atapuerca, an archaeological site in SpainArchaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities.

Listed buildingProtected historic structure in the United KingdomThe Forth Bridge, designed by Sir Benjamin Baker and Sir John Fowler, which opened in 1890, and is now owned by Network Rail, is designated as a Category A listed building by Historic Environment Scotland.In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historical interest deserving of special protection.

EnglandCountry within the United KingdomNot to be confused with United Kingdom.England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and more than 100 smaller adjacent islands.

EssexCounty of EnglandNon-metropolitan and ceremonial county in EnglandEssex ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the south, Greater London to the south-west, and Hertfordshire to the west. The largest settlement is Southend-on-Sea. The county has an area of 3,670 km (1,420 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 1,929,610 in 2024.

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