The World’s OLDEST Wooden Church [c. 1060]
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ก.พ. 2025
- Built in 1060, Greensted Church is the oldest wooden church in the world, and possibly the oldest wooden building in Europe, a remarkable testament to early English craftsmanship. However, it also raises some questions. What does it mean for a building to be the oldest of its kind, and do later renovations make its status less chronologically distinct? Let's discuss!
I’m so excited to share this with you all, especially as we celebrate reaching 100,000 subscribers! I can’t thank you enough for all the support, comments, and encouragement. It’s been an amazing journey, and I’m beyond grateful to have each and every one of you with me. Here’s to many more adventures together.
Source List:
1) The book I quoted from was John Blair's 'Building Anglo-Saxon England' (Princeton University Press, 2019), p. 19.
2) Historic England, 'The Church of St Andrew, Ongar' listing, Online.
3) Historic UK, 'Greensted Church - The Oldest Wooden Church in the World', Online.
4) Essex Churches, 'St Andrew's, Greensted Church' Online.
5) I don't know who to credit for the excellent guidebook, but the church has done a fantastic job with it - it is hugely thorough and a great read.
Also, some other sources I loved when doing my UG dissertation on ash trees and ash wood in Old English and Old Norse literature were:
Della Hooke, Trees in Anglo-Saxon England (Boydell, 2010)
Michael Bintley, Trees in the Religions of Early Medieval England (Boydell and Brewer, 2015)
Christopher Abram, Evergreen Ash: Ecology and Catastrophe in Old Norse Myth and Literature (University of Virginia Press, 2019)
#medievalhistory #medievalarchitecture #history #essex
The algorithm has been kind to me with this recommendation.
The algorithm loves history ❤️
COULDN'T concur more m8😎👍🏻
Same! And all the shorts, loving this lil dose of history with some fitting music. Keep it up! ❤
The algorithm did me a favor for once with this channel
Yes. Every time the algorithm has made an odd suggestion, it always ends up being a winner.
I don't know what's better, the locales you present to us, or the love/awe you seem to posses for them.
Thank you for these.
Our house is from 1380, a Sussex Wealden house; there is something serene about old wooden buildings, including the quality of the sound in them, that calms the soul.
i drive past this twice daily. i had no idea. thank you
You should go in! It’s open (and free) most days ❤️
I am from Namibia in Africa. I have even been to Stratford upon Avon to see Shakespeare era architecture but this ol church takes the cake! Thanks for this bit of history. Me, as a Spirit filled, Christ loving person, values history that makes sense like this one does. Funny how it is the only wooden building to survive. They must have loved to congregate and preserve their heritage till recently for it to stand the revages of man and time combined!
Your videos are delightful, to say the least, the sites you pick, the background music, your voice and narration, the well-researched information, the length of your videos - all perfect! Thank you, and do keep them coming! 🎉
Absolutely Val!
Agree
I immediately thought “this is the most calming voice I have ever heard”.
At last,finally a youtube channel algorithm for historic buildings,thats my evening sorted.
@stonerdoom3481 I know … how good is it. I live at the end of the earth in Australia 🙃 so I’m loving going back to the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries! 👋. So amazing that the buildings are still standing. 🦘 (It’s also a break from Wax and Harsh and the Jay Slater mystery). I saw anoth red of your comments. I’ve climbed the Glastonbury Tor but sadly haven’t done Glastonbury yet. That would be hectic working there… but at least you don’t have to buy tickets. 🤘
@@Royalty12345thank you for the kind reply,we have some fantastic extremely old buildings here in the uk.i love history always have,I recently traced my ancestry back to 1407 to a knighted sir no less.but unfortunately he lost his fortune through bad deals and gambling.i do get admission to the festival but working festival security for twelve hours or more,all I want to do after shift is get some food and then sleep ready for the next shift.
@Royalty12345 thank you for the kind reply.here in the uk we have lots of fantastic extremely old buildings,I love history and always have.just recently iv been tracing my ancestry and gone back as far as 1407 to a knighted sir no less,until he lost his fortune through bad dealings and gambling.i do get free admission to Glastonbury festival but after working twelve or more hours working security after shift all I want to do is have some food and get some much needed sleep ready for the next shift.
@@stonerdoom3481 cool conversation! from Canada!
Your love of history is contagious! Lovely.
I’m glad! Trying to make a positive influence on social media ☺️
Visited the church just yesterday on a walk from Ongar to Loughton, thanks to your Insta reel. Lived in Essex for decades and visited many a beautiful church, but somehow this one escaped me, so thanks again!
Glad I ‘influenced’ you! Isn’t it lovely? I bought a delicious chutney there
All that timber must make this church a lovely, cosy place to worship in.
And there are still services several times a week!
This was such a pleasure! Thank you, viewed from West Virginia, USA 🇺🇸 ❤
You certainly do visit the most beautiful churches and locations. A joy to watch and listen with your soft beautiful voice 🔥❤️
You're a natural at this, girl. Charm, knowledge and enthusiasm make for a good presenter. I think you could expand greatly on what you're currently doing. I've only just discovered your channel and I'm pleasantly surprised at the content. Good stuff.
Congratulations on reaching 100K subscribers!
Thank you so much!!!!
@@lady_of_the_mercians Sitting in Sydney at a restaurant having a bowl of chips and a Bellini. Just found your channel yesterday by seeing a ‘short’ video on utube and subscribed immediately! 🥇. Love your work 🤘⭐️💯
@@lady_of_the_mercians
You deserve it..
A silver playbutton unboxing video/livestream?
& as I said in a previous comment more actual videos not shorts and you should have some more pennies for travel etc..
Maybe you could get a little drone..
A older map showing where you are at the beginning, then a view of the whole building/place would give more context.
I liked the woodland view.. though try to make the camera float level (like a steady cam) as you walk with knees slightly bent.. a bit difficult to explain but easy to master.. after years of practice I can walk backwards, though check your path first and lift your feet to stop the possibility of tripping..
also is there a setting on your camera to stabilise.
🐾🐾🐾 🐈 💖
God bless you and your family ❤
This was very calming to watch. What a beautiful church. I live in Northern Ireland where most of the ancient churches and Abbeys are ruins, so it is nice to see a church that old that is maintained like that and is still in use.
There are so many gorgeous sites in Ireland. When I have a little money saved, I’d love to see some of the abbeys
Especially in wood. Most often replaced for stone structures in time. Some stave churches still in Scandinavia. But those are nowhere near as old as this one I believe.
You are absolutely lovely. Beautiful. My lord.
When I consider that it survived wars, the dangers of fire, and the ravages of time, I say it's simply amazing! Cozy and serene inside, too. I'd feel right at home attending church there.
It’s extraordinary! 👋
Absolutely remarkable. Thank you for your work sharing this amazing place with us.
Really enjoyed this video history lesson. Who knew that an actual wood building from 1060 could have survived through the extraordinary English history. Just think of all the dangers this church could've faced and had to overcome to make it this far just boggles the mind. ❤ it, great work.😊
OST Saxon (wooden) church-buildings were torn down by the Normans, who didn’t want Saxon-anything used as a place of rebellion or opposition to their rule. A pity. And the Victorians, with their rigidly fixed ideas of what a church-building should be (inside and out) did great destruction too. This building is remarkable, but disappointing inside with its terrible Victorian furnishings and furniture.
Please do longer videos. I love your channel. Your show is wonderful. 🏰 🗡️ 🛡️
I absolutely love this channel and I’d love to just spend the day with you walking around and sightseeing.
Your enthusiasm is infectious and your narration is outstanding, wonderful job!
I got to 2.09 and you failed to tell me where this is. I'm British by the way.
What a beautiful church, it must be such an overwhelming feeling of awe being in there.
I love your softly spoken presentation of it, thank you 😊 ❤🙏👌
Okay my mind is completely blown. It's incredible to think that a wooden structure could stay intact that long.
And here I thought my town's mid-16th century wooden church is impressive. I suppose it is still quite impressive considering that it's almost entirely original.
Old wooden structures are really something else.
Greetings from Medellín - Colombia 🇨🇴, love your videos, I hope to visit these beautiful places quite soon, thank you for these amazing vids.😊
Such a long way away! Thank you for watching 🫶
@shoot4777 Greetings from Australia 🦘…. I’ve just subscribed to this awesome channel and yes it would be amazing doing a tour of the sites. If you are able, Durham Cathedral Is outstanding as well. I was absolutely blown away to see St. Cuthbert’s 634-687 AD and the Venerable Bede’s 672/3-735 AD tombs!!! One of the highlights of my life! 🤘
Wonderful. To think of all the prayers, christenings, and others events announced from the pulpit, such as the announcement of the invasion by William the Conqueror.
Beautiful scenery in the oldest wooden church. Wow! All the places are beautiful and suitable for exploration. I really enjoyed watching your video. Thank you for sharing. All the best to you, my lovely friend... 👍👍❤❤
I grew up in Ongar and often cycled past this church without ever going inside. Thankyou for this video. Fascinating
Stumbled across your channel, what a gem 💎 ❤
Very interesting to hear about the history of this building. Love the music and your soothing voice 😊
A wonderful, gem of a channel.
Thank you for posting.
Found this in my recommendations. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Your soft narration is perfect for the subject matter. Subbed.
Your videos and reels remind me of when my grandfather used to read me stories of knights and damsels aloud before bedtime. They fill me with a sense of childlike wonder.
I’m glad! That’s the exact feeling I hope to inspire 😊
Amazing. Imagine all the different congregations that have gathered there and the stories that building has lived through
Greensted Church was believed to have been the first and long term burial place of Saint Edmund, who was murdered in or near Epping Forest. King Edmund was taken to the nearby Greensted Church and buried there until the new burial place for him was finished and ready at the town that henceforth came to be called Bury Saint Edmunds.
Thanks for the extended version of this post. It is a very unique building, very fortunate it is still standing.
We’re so lucky to still have it around!
Very unique is incorrect. Something is either unique or it isn't. 😊
@erikcourter9967 I agree that it’s a very unique building and fortunate that lady_of_the_mercians has shown us its beauty
Awww! Your poetic description of the past craftsmen made me tear up.
incredible... thanks Lady of the Mercians ...a Northumbrian
English-blooded American here.. I love these features you do. And, they're just right in length! Appreciate your work
Fascinating! And very well-presented, love your style :)
Glad you liked it! Thank you for watching ☺️
I stumbled across your channel recently and I absolutely LOVE it!
Thank you! ☺️
It's nice to think of all these people caring through the ages for this beautiful church.
A thought provoking and most excellent disquisition, one upon which you are to be congratulated heartily! 🌟👍
Thank you for this, your voice is so wonderful to listen to (and this is coming from someone who has worked 12+ years across a plethora of feature films and television programs in the sound dept, and listened to a lot of voices!) You clearly poses a true passion for the subject and a natural flair for presenting, keep it up, you’re doing amazing.
Agree with you about the voice ... (30 years in film & tv production - now retired) R (Australia)
She doesn't have (thank the gods!!) the deadful "vocal fry" of American women. They speak like a Marlborough cowboy who would smoke 4 packets a day ! Absolutely dreadful. I guess they find it cool or they want to sound like men, I don't know...
I've been to Greensted Church two or three times. It is absolutely beautiful and so quaint. The act it is still a parish church, which is so important in keeping it in great condition and ensuring its survival for the future.
There is a small churchyard around the church with a few Crusader gravestones and effigies. It's so interesting and a true Essex historical treasure.
I've been to this church. Absolutely beautiful!
Thank you for this wonderful content and channel - watching from Nanaimo, BC, Canada.
01:26
Your voice, lady... so soothing.😮
I don't know what you did to worm your way into my feed, but I'm glad it happened. I've been studying Art History and have been wanting to find a way to educate the general population without just pushing museums. Finding local history as amazing as this will be difficult in the US given our short history, but watching this has given me a confidence boost to go out and find some hidden gems in the small towns around me. Keep up the great work!
I'm sure there are plenty of interesting nooks and crannies in the USA that get little attention, especially from those in far away States and Europe. There's plenty of folks who look back here to learn about where their people came from yet theres very little to stoke the interest of where relatives went to beyond living the American Dream. Big niche right there. Good luck.
What an exquisite building! To think that the wooden walls are 1000 years old and have survived all that time just makes me grateful for the craftsmen and women who built this church. They certainly built this church to last through the ages and to be a testament to their skill and artistry.
It’s extraordinary to think that churches are still standing, especially made of timber, FROM
c. 1060!!! Thank you for sharing this information 🥇
Discovered your channel just an hour ago and already subscribed. I live far away now and you are remining me of my home country. That is very valuable.
Thank you Charlotte. I'm glad to have found your channel.
Had the pleasure to visit from Australia. Absolutely lovely.
You are adorable. I especially enjoy hearing your soft-spoken, even reverent, voice. Have you been to Durham Cathedral? I bumped into the venerable Bede there. I didn't realise that he was entombed there until I explored the church one day after the Morning Prayer service.
Beautiful church, and narration, thank you for the video :)
A mesmerizing journey into the past - thank you, kindly.
Just been pointed here thanks to the algo. Really enjoying it (longs and shorts) and find your ‘exploring side streets’ and ‘forgotten buildings' approach right up my street and in my wheelhouse 😀. The channel name is enough to spark my curiousity as I love the whole Saxon/Viking/Early Norman period. Your approach and presentation makes we want to visit the places and find out more and I love your obvious enthusiasm for the period - quite infectious. Can't wait for more.
Just wonderful.
Such a great watch. You have an obvious ability to 'connect' imaginatively to ancient English buildings. For us viewers, you bring that connection alive for us. So, thanks!
I feel blessed to live in a world where TH-cam exists, as well as such a wonderful person and amazing content. Lady of the Mercians appeared on my youtube a few days ago as well as a young fellow named Tom Ayling who posts about old books, and I have been binge watching the two of them. 😊
Simple and simply beautiful.
Wonderful ! ❤
So happy to have found your channel! An absolute delight. Your enthusiasm and knowledge really shine through, making this channel a pleasure to view. Keep on posting; you're a natural at this! Subscribed. ✌️🇬🇧
Thanks for this video,you captured my interest when you mentioned Theseus and Trigger !
Beautiful
Very cool subject and presentation!
Greetings from Kentucky, USA!
Phwarrrr! What a church! Love your nerdy videos. My cup of tea!
Your voice is so soothing it’s ASMR for me. So much better than an over the top dramatic narration, happy to have subscribed and will follow your channels journey. Good luck :)
A delightful channel and a brilliant video - what an awesome find!
A beautifuly shot & interesting vid, thank you.
I absolutely love this Church which I was not aware of until now . Thank you so much for sharing with us and being such a lovely and beautiful host . I am now a subscriber .
The adze marks are amazing, it really shows that people made this with care and it still somehow survived.
You do a great show. 😊 Keep up the awesome work!
Thank you for this wonderful presentation . 🙏🏻🤔
Thank you for this architectural history
And your so lovely xxxxx
Amazing!
This is top-notch content 👌🏻. God bless the algorithm.
Just subscribed, thank you for entertaining me before I go to sleep. Everything you present is fascinating. I can’t stop watching 😊
I love your channel. I love hearing about the different ages seen in the architecture of just one building or place. I can’t wait to explore more of Britain, I will go to these places and soak up the history. Thank you! ❤
Oooh, how marvellous! Must visit it one day. Brava, this was really well done.
So cool thanks for this. You have a lovely voice. And this is fascinating.
Greetings and thanks from Poland 🥰
Thank you for watching ! :)
AAAAA this is perfect inspiration for the story I'm working on which is set in 11th-century England!!! your videos are absolute gems 🥹
Glad it helped! I hope further research into the site continues to inspire 😉
@@lady_of_the_mercians It definitely will!! Thank you so much :D
Love your style! great video, and very informative. I hope the youtube algorithm continues to boost your viewership!
Wonderful. I can’t wait to see more from you!❤
Beautiful voice
such a captivating topic. Amazing that such a structure is still around, and what it's taken for that to happen.
Especially love the mention of wood as an organic and "living" material! This definitely deserved a long form video 😊
Lovely film. I've visited it twice and it really is a magical little building.
Thank you for such an informative topic❤
Thank you
First time finding one of your videos and am now subscribed. Will make sure to watch your earlier videos and look out for future content. Best of luck growing your channel.
Love it! 😍
to this church a few times. Beautiful building, glad ive stumbled across your channel, think ive found my new favourite youtuber, keep up the quality work
The modifications over time are lovely as well. The whole is a living tribute to the faith of our ancestors to the glory of God.
Allah is great, and Mohammed is His Prophet.
@@garryferrington811 Not really. Much of the Quran predates Mohammed (you can look that up) He was a plagiarist as well as a pedophile and war criminal.
Such a great survivor 🌳... People really cared for little gem❤
😄I first visited Greenstead Church in the mid-1980's. Glad to see it has not changed at all, at least to my eye.
Lovely presentation, the right length and relaxing. Beautiful voice too.
Wow I love it 👍
Really interesting channel. Normally prefer longer form content but this is definitely worth the sub.
I never knew about this one - worth a visit.