This curious church, which ranks amongst the oldest and most interesting in the kingdom, having been thoroughly reinstated and restored, and the damage repaired which time and decay had made by eating for centuries at its foundation, was re-opened for Divine worship on the 22nd ult., under circumstances which showed the deep interest which is now felt in the preservation of those hallowed and olden edifices of the land. Respecting the origin of this church tradition carries us far back into dim antiquity, and here and there scraps in the more sober and trustworthy records of history seem to confirm the legend which belongs to its first erection. The peculiar construction of the church has often attracted notice, and its interest amongst antiquaries is derived from the belief apparently well founded, that it was at first a temporary shrine or resting place for the body of St Edmund, the patron saint of the capital of Suffolk, when the corpse was being conveyed along the then highway from London. This carries it back to a time even beyond the Conquest; and it is not the thick-ribbed walls,
“The swelling pillars and the expansive roof,”
which so often excite our admiration amongst the relics of the past, but it is the unprecedented and primitive character of its architecture, the walls of the nave being built of rough split trees, which gives to the building its venerable value. Edmund it will be remembered died in 946, slain by a free-booter in his own hall during a festival at Gloucester, and being canonised, his remains were regarded as a sacred treasure, and during some of the wild incursions of the Danes half a century after, were carried for security to London. In the year 1010 or 1011, they were conveyed from the metropolis to Bury St Edmunds, no doubt with some pomp and ceremony, and the Register of the Abbey tells us that on the way “he was sheltered near Aungre, where a wooden chapel remains as a memorial unto this day” – Greenstead being near Ongar, which at the period was on the line or route from London to Suffolk, there cannot be the slightest doubt this is the identical structure. The spot is about 20 miles from London, a good day’s journey in those times, when the road often lay through waste and wilderness; and the probability is that as no convenient resting place for the body during the night’s halt could be found in the neighbourhood, large trees, the readiest material at hand were cut down, split up the centre, and their huge bodies used as walls of a temporary structure. We can easily conceive that amidst the superstitions of those times such a building would afterwards be regarded as sacred – that it would be gradually added to, and at length grow into a parish church; and thus it has stood to the present age, surviving the storms and the strife of 838 years, and forming the nave of the sacred little edifice, a brick chancel, and a wooden belfry having been added at a comparatively modern date. The side walls of this nave, as we have said, are formed of the trunks of large oak trees, split down the middle, rather roughly hewn, and placed upright with the edges close together, the flat side inwards, and the bark side exposed to the weather. Before the late restoration these split trunks were let into a wooden sill, resting upon the ground at the bottom, and fastened to a plank at top with wooden pins. These half trunks are 36 in number, and it is evident that before the erection of the chancel and belfry the ends were of the same character, there being a place formerly used as a door on one side. The interior is thus 29 feet I inches long, 14 feet wide and until the late alterations, on 5 feet 6 inches to the roof.
This stood “St Edmunds Shrine,” until a short time since, when although a writer about 15 years ago had asserted that the oaks were so hard and sound that “having been beaten by the storms of nearly a thousand winters, they promise to endure a thousand more,” It was found that some considerable care and caution was necessary in order to secure for them that extraordinary preservation, which they will probably now attain. The wooden sill, resting only upon the earth had rotted, and the ends of the tree trunks dropping through had begun to be touched at the bottom by decay, so that had it not been from the more solid character of other parts of the church, the building would have been in some danger. Happily the matter fell into the hands of a gentleman who had the good taste to undertake, and the liberality to carry through the work of restoration – the Rev. P. Ray, the rector; otherwise we might have had this interesting and olden relic remorselessly swept away, and some trim walls of burnt brick and mortar reared up instead, which those who feel not,
“The charm so softly cast
Around the dim and shadowy past
With all the treasures, half divine,
The ruin’s tower and hallow’d shrine,”
Would have nicknamed “improvement,” and have prided themselves in no small degree upon their handiwork. Fortunately, as we have said better feeling here prevailed; and the experienced advice of Mr. Wyatt, the architect, being called in, under his directions the whole of the nave was taken down, the ancient trees being carefully marked and arranged so that in the rebuilding each came exactly in its former position. A few inches of the decayed part of the bottom were cut away and a brick foundation and sill provided for their reception, every precaution being taken to protect them from the further bite of the “corroding tooth of time.” No alteration has been made in the size of the building, but by raising the foundations about six inches, and by sinking the floor of the church a foot, the wall up to the roof has been very conveniently heightened. The roof itself is of a similar character to the old except that trusses have been introduced and between the compartments of these have been affixed elaborate carvings in oak of the wolf and the human head connected with the legend of St Edmund, and after the old stone carvings dug up in the Abbey grounds at Bury. These and also a carved eagle for the reading desk, copied from an antique specimen, have been very finely executed by Mr. Barlow, builder of Ongar, by whom the whole work was carried out in a manner that reflects much credit on his taste and zeal in the task of restoration. The tree trunks have been cleared in interior of the plaster which formerly encrusted them, and are cleaned and varnished, so as to correspond with the colour of the fittings; and the base of the bell-tower has been cut through, and sittings are provided there for the school children, so that the little church will now contain altogether about one hundred and ten.
On the exterior a neat porch of oak, a fine piece of architecture has been added in place of the former small one, and has an excellent effect. The whole cost of the work is about £400, a small portion of which is paid by the rate, but by far the greater part is borne by the Rev. P. Ray, the rector, whose name in connection with this work will be mentioned with respect by all who have the spiritual welfare of the parish at heart, and by all future antiquarians and pilgrims to the spot, who will not fail also to notice the peculiar neatness of the churchyard, which when we visited it, and such we were assured was its usual state, was as smooth and well-trimmed as the best kept lawns.
The re-opening on Thursday was attended by a large congregation, so large indeed that the little edifice could not contain them, and many persons, including several clergymen were unable to obtain admission. Amongst those present were many of the gentry of the neighbourhood, and the clergy included the Revds F. Palmer, G.F. Deedes, - Jarvis, I. Pettigrew, W.M. Oliver, H. Palmer, E. Fane, H. Earle, H. Soames, E. Fisher, G. F. Rawlings and many others. The sermon on the occasion was preached by the Right Re. Lord Bishop of Madras, from 1st Timothy, chapter 3, and part of the 15th verse – “That thou mayest know how though oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, the pillar ground of the truth,” from which appropriate text the right rev. prelate eloquently dwelt upon the interesting circumstances under which they were assembled in the renovated house of prayer. Several professional singers from the metropolis added much to the effective character of the sacred services of the day; ad altogether the proceedings were a source of deep satisfaction to the friends of religion, and to those who take an interest in the restoration of the cherished architectural relics of the land.
From the Chelmsford Chronicle 9 March 1849