14-08-2025
Look back in Ongar with another view of local history
Your article (Country diary: Ongar, Essex, 13 August) briefly mentions the connection between St Andrew's church in Greensted and the Tolpuddle Martyrs, several of whom settled nearby on their return from transportation. The implication is that the link was benign. It was not.
The Martyrs actively supported the Chartist movement for universal (male) suffrage, payment for MPs and annual parliamentary elections. These radical demands were too much for the vicar of St Andrew's, who, with the local squirearchy, kicked up such a fuss that the Martyrs departed for Canada after a few years of Jobbins Kelvedon Hatch, Essex
I enjoyed your look back in Ongar. But the ancient church there was surely not 'built by' the Tudors or Stuarts – probably not by many Normans either. The real work was done mostly by hard-pressed Essex folk skilled in the necessary tasks, or labourers. Let us fairly remember who truly built this NeedleRowhedge, Essex
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