Chipping
Ongar
Castle
This is a semi urban micro, so the
usual warnings apply. The car park is a Pay & Display – check
the operating times when you arrive, evenings and Sundays are
free.
Chipping Ongar is a busy historical
town, formerly the eastern terminus of the Central line, but you
can only get as far as Epping on scheduled services these days.
There are lots of pubs and a selection of shops.
I only recently ‘discovered’ this
castle. The cache will take you to a spot where you can learn more
about Chipping Ongar Castle prior to walking on to have a look at
the site (from the outside – it’s a scheduled ancient monument and
private). You can carry on your walk past the castle into the open
countryside.
Take care as to replace the cache
to minimise the change of accidental discovery.
Some history and
background
The Motte and Bailey at Chipping
Ongar consists of a motte, c70m in diameter at the base surrounded
by a wet ditch c12-15m wide. There is a kidney shaped, inner bailey
to the west and second bailey to the east..
The town enclosure (or ‘burgus’)
extends to the west of the castle. The castle was mentioned in
1157. The castle is said to have been built by Richard de Lacy in
the 12th century but the keep was pulled down in the 16th century
and replaced by a brick building, itself destroyed in the 18th
century.
The motte and bailey are both
moated. Entrance from the town enclosure is in the centre of the
west side, through a gap in the rampart, on each side of which is a
fragment of flint-rubble containing Roman bricks.
At the Conquest Chipping Ongar
became the head of the
Boulogne
estates.There is no exact date for
the establishment of either castle or town though the castle is
assumed to be late 11th or early 12th century.
Today the large tree-covered motte
is surrounded by a wide, water-filled moat; bailey to the west
intact. The high bank runs from the north-west of the bailey around
a car park to Ongar High Street; this is part of the town enclosure
- the rest has been totally obliterated by the town of
Ongar
.
