Essex Heritage Guide - Historic Churches

A 13th-century church with major 15th-century remodelling, St Leonard at the Hythe, Colchester, is graced with a striking tower. It stands on a site once occupied by a Saxon church and is entered by way of a two-storey south porch, where the medieval door shows bullet holes from the Civil War.
Church of St Leonard-at-the-Hythe, Hythe Hill, Colchester, Essex, England, CO1 2NP

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St Martin's Church, Colchester, is an ancient church in the centre of Colchester, now redundant. The walls incorporate Roman bricks, but the earliest evidence of construction dates to the 11th century. The bulk of the church is 14th century, including the nave arcades and the chancel roof.
West Stockwell Street, Colchester, Essex, England, CO1 1HN

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Located just inside the old Roman town walls, near Balkerne Gate, is this attractive medieval church. The tower was used by Royalist gunners in the Civil War Siege of Colchester and was rebuilt in distinctive red brick. The church is redundant, now used by the Colchester Arts Centre.
Church Street, Colchester, Essex, England, CO1 1NF

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Heritage Highlight: Tower used during the Civil War Siege of Colchester

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A peaceful Norman church with an unusual rounded apse, famous for its collection of staggeringly beautiful 12th-century wall paintings, including Christ in Majesty in Byzantine style, covering the apse ceiling. Bricks in the south aisle date to c. 1300, making them among the oldest in England.
Copford, Essex, England, CO6 1DG

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Heritage Highlight: Fabulous 12th-century wall paintings an Romanesque apse

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This late 15th-century church features a vaulted tower passage and a 16th-century carved door. One highlight is a painting by John Constable, one of only three religious paintings Constable created in his lifetime. There is also a specially carved pew commemorating the link between Dedham and the town of Dedham, Massachusetts, in America.
5 High Street, Dedham, Essex, England, CO7 6DE

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Heritage Highlight: John Constable's 'The Ascension' is displayed here

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A fabulous historic church in an isolated location looking out towards the River Thames. There was a Norman church here, but that was rebuilt by the Tyrell family of nearby Heron Hall in the 15th century to create a lovely building of golden brick.
East Horndon, Essex, England, CM13 3LL

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Heritage Highlight: 15th century tomb of Alice Tyrell

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St Andrews is a remarkable timber church, built sometime around AD 1060, making it the oldest known wooden church in the world. The current church stands on the site of even older buildings dating to the 6th or 7th centuries. Greensted has a close association with the Tolpuddle Martyrs, one of whom was married here in 1839.
Church Lane, Greensted, Essex, England, CM5 9LD

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Heritage Highlight: The oldest wooden church in the world and possibly the oldest timber building in Europe

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Holy Trinity church in Halstead is one of the first Gothic Revival churches in England to be built in the Early English style that became so popular in the mid to late Victorian period. The church was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1843-1844.
Trinity Street, Halstead, Essex, England, CO9 1JH

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St Mary's is a 12th-century church beside the manor house of Langham, on the southern edge of Dedham Vale. John Constable painted the church on several occasions, and it is easy to see why when you see the views across the Vale.
Langham Hall, Langham, Essex, England, CO4 5PS

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Heritage Highlight: 1660 Charles II coat of arms

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An early 16th-century church beside the Tudor mansion of Layer Marney Tower. The church features a late 15th-century wall painting of St Christopher and elaborate tombs of Marney family members from the 14th to the 16th centuries.
Roundbush Road, Layer Marney, Essex, England, CO5 9UR

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Heritage Highlight: 16th century Marney family terracotta memorials

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