Ongar, Essex

Ongar is a civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. The parish is named after its main settlement of Chipping Ongar and also includes the settlements of Greensted, Greensted Green, Marden Ash, and Shelley. The parish has been declared to be a town by its parish council. The Royal Mail uses Ongar as the name for the post town covering the area; the name Chipping Ongar is not used in official postal addresses. Ongar is located 21 miles (34 km) north-east of London and 10 miles (16 km) west of Chelmsford. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 7,138.

Ongar was a large estate in Saxon times, with its main settlement at High Ongar. The estate fragmented into smaller manors, some of which became parishes, in the 11th and 12th centuries. Following the construction of Ongar Castle after the Norman Conquest, the market town of Chipping Ongar grew up adjoining the castle. Chipping Ongar overtook High Ongar in population and became a separate parish during the medieval period. The modern parish of Ongar was created in 1965 as a merger of the former parishes of Chipping Ongar, Greensted, and Shelley, along with some territory ceded from High Ongar, which remains a separate parish.