To the west of Chelmsford and the north of Brentwood, nestled in the drapes of Essex greenland, sits the civil parish of Ongar. The parish of Ongar includes many neighbouring villages, including the collection of hamlets known as The Rodings, but most famously it is the home to the historic market town of Chipping Ongar. Chipping Ongar is now home to a wealthy array of Victorian and Edwardian estate properties, character properties on the high-street, and contemporary luxury builds.

Chipping Ongar’s affluence is historied, and is even traced back to its name. Ongar, which stems from the Old English ‘anger’ translates to pasture, or grassland. However, ‘chipping’ comes from the Anglian ‘cēping’, which translates to ‘market-place’. Indeed it’s thought that Chipping Ongar was an important market-town during the medieval period, and even once had a castle - which was destroyed some time between 1558 and 1579. Many of the buildings in the Chipping Ongar locale were built directly after the 1086 Domesday Book survey and so are great examples of Norman architecture, including St Martins Church, which remains standing to this day!

Although a wealthy area, Ongar - and Chipping Ongar - suffers from a lack of transport infrastructure. There was indeed a railway line that serviced Ongar from 1865 by Great Eastern Railway which connected Ongar to Epping. This was then replaced by the London Underground’s Central Line. However, the station closed down service in 1994. However, in 2004 the railway re-opened as a heritage railway and is still open today, where visitors are able to drive the Victorian steam trains!

The Ongar parish covers over 900 hectares of land, and yet only 8% of this land is developed. The rest of the land is typified by Green Belt protected arable land and pastoral landscapes, with Chipping Ongar remaining the central locus of activity in the parish. Many residents are keen to withhold Chipping Ongar’s historic roots and medieval charm, and are resistant to developments that may endanger this quality. In Epping Forest District Council’s Ongar Neighbourhood plan for the period up to 2033, EFDC has recognised the need to maintain the historic quality of Chipping Ongar’s historic centre. However, the council recognises the urgent need for new housing developments in the area; particularly for young families. Therefore the council has allocated provisions for the construction of new houses, set to be delivered by 2033!