Greensted / Gernesteda / Greensted-juxta-Ongar / Greenstead / Greenstead-juxta-Ongar

There is an entry for Greensted [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://opendomesday.org/place/TL5302/greensted/] [accessed 12 June 2018], but it mentions neither priest nor church in it. The Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (Essex, 1916-1923) reports: "Stoup: In log, W. of former N. doorway, recess with splayed jambs and pointed head, base repaired in cement, probably stoup, 13th or 14th-century." The Victoria County History (Essex, vol. 4, 1956) notes: "The parish church of St. Andrew [...] was probably built, in or soon after 1013 [...] The small stoup with a pointed head to the west of the former north door probably dates from the 13th or 14th century [...] The stone font is of the 19th century." Bettley & Pevsner (2007), however, write: "Font. Of oak, shaped with a hand adze, 1987; by by Sir Hugh Casson, made by Russell Thomas." This modern font has a square basin with chamfered angles and upper rim, resting on four legs that are constructional; the inner basin is round and is covered with a round lid, also wooden; the font is made of multiple planks of wood joined together. The Parish web site [www.greenstedchurch.com] shows an image of the 'stoup' and notes: "Many people know the hole as a leper squint, but archaeologists doubt this. It is more likely, given the fact it is adjacent to the original doorway, to have been a small window, or that the ledge held a holy water stoup in the Middle Ages." [NB: we have no information on the earlier font(s) of this church]. [NB: the spelling of this village varies and both 'Greensted' and 'Greenstead' have been used [e.g., the VCH uses 'Greenstead', in Ongar Hundred]. There is another 'Greenstead', also with a parish church dedicated to St. Andrew, just SE of Colchester]