Ever since St Cedd built his chapel in AD 654 churches have been erected throughout the area.

Some churches fell into disrepair and have been demolished or had their materials used to build a new church.

Other churches such as Woodham Mortimer have been constructed on the site of an earlier church.

Information about Asheldham youth church and other disused C of E churches can be obtained from the communications officer at Chelmsford Diocese Office

Ian Rose has an excellent web site with photos of churches old and new throughout Essex

Listed below are details of some of the ruined or disused churches.

Asheldham - St Lawrence

This 14th century church ceased use in 1986 due to a dwindling congregation and is now used as a youth centre.

Lawling Chapel

Archbishop Lafrane founded a chapel in the late 11th century near to Lawling Hall , Latchingdon. The chapel was believed to have been ruined before 1650.

St Nicholas, Hazeleigh

The church was sited next to Old Hall at Hazeleigh hall lane, Hazeleigh. There is some doubt about the date that it was built although parish registers date back to 1575. There is mention of a Rector in 1390 although this may have referred to a chapel on the site, which would have been attached to Woodham Mortimer Church.

Construction was of lathe and plaster over a timber frame although the church was small in size.

By the late 19th century a new iron chapel had been erected in the populated part of Hazeleigh, which left the isolated church with a dwindling congregation.

By 1900 the church was declared as dilapidated beyond repair having sunk to the south and west sides causing internal problems. The last service was held in 1906 and a public meeting in 1923 agreed to demolish the church.

The new iron church was also demolished and the responsibility adopted by Woodham Mortimer Church.

The site is now covered by woodland although a few headstones are still to be seen.

St Barnabas Church, Mayland

The original church was sited at Mayland Hill about 100 yards from the present church.

The date of building is unknown although the church bell has been dated as 1662, church plate as 1568 and the surviving parish registers start at 1748.

Few records survive although it is known that the church was wooden framed with a shingle spire and three bells.

The church was demolished with the approval of the Bishop of Rochester in 1873 with the material sold to builders.

By 1867 the new church was erected nearly.

The site is now part of private land although some headstones can be seen from the roadside.

St Peters Church ,Snoreham, Latchingdon

Snoreham was a parish which was later combined with Latchingdon.

The church was erected by the Grey Family in the 14th century on land next to Snoreham Hall. in Rectory Road, Latchingdon.

The church quickly deteriorated and by the mid 1700's was beyond use and used as part of the farming at Snoreham Hall.

St Lawrence and All Saints, Steeple

A church stood on the site next to Steeple Hall since Saxon times.

The date of the church is not known although material taken from the ruins has been dated as 12th and 14th centuries.

The church deteriorated over a long period with damage reported as early as 1564. The church continued in use until 1882 when the building was demolished and much of the material used in construction of the current church in the Street, Steeple.

The church was a small single storey building with a porch to the south.

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The foundations and some headstones are still visible although the area of the church has been overgrown by a small copse in farmland

 St Michael’s, Latchingdon

St Michael's Church  has been converted into living accommodation.

The owners ask that their privacy is respected and that members of the public do not trespass           on their property

Only the nave and south porch remain.

St Michael, Woodham Walter

The church was sited inside the moat of the Old Hall.

The first mention of the old church was of building work carried out in 1454

The new church was built in 1564 although the reason that the old church was disused is not known - it may have been damage, it may have been no longer convenient for the population or it may just have been a nuisance to the occupant of Old Hall.

In the late 17th century the Old Hall was in turn demolished leaving no trace of either building today.