A sign in the layby boldly declares: “The world’s oldest wooden church, open today.” Just beyond, beneath an arching yew, is St Andrew’s Church in Greensted, its architecture a historical mosaic, a seemingly mismatched patchwork that forms a striking whole.
People have been worshipping here for at least 1,300 years. In the 1960s, archaeologists uncovered the impression of two wooden buildings, potentially built in the late sixth or early seventh century, when Christianity was taking root in the region. But it is the palisade nave that has earned the church its remarkable claim. A copse of 51 split oaks forms the central body of the church, constructed around 1060 during the reign of Edward the Confessor, and at one time adorned with nothing but a thatched roof.
