Epping and Ongar are ancient market towns set in the 'garden of Essex'. Epping hosted an important cattle market and was a staging post on the road from London to East Anglia. In Ongar the de Lucy family built a formidable estate based on the castle and its bailey. The villages around Epping and Ongar include some of the most picturesque in Essex. ... a more interesting read than many dry history books. Epping Star