Cressing Temple

Cressing Temple lies very close to the B1018 road between Witham and Braintree in Essex, England, UK. On this site there are ancient barns, a farmhouse and farm buildings, vestiges of a 16th Century mansion, and a reconstructed Tudor Garden. The site and its buildings were acquired by Essex County Council in 1987 and restored with generous purchase grants from English Heritage, the National Heritage Memorial Fund, and the European Commission. Cressing Temple is open to the public ^$ and provides a superb venue for the performing arts, exhibitions and craft shows.

$ Please refer to information from tourist information centres or phone 01376 584903 for opening times

The 13th Century Barns

The barns at Cressing are the best preserved examples of the 13th Century timber framed barn in England and Europe. There are two barns - the 'Barley Barn', originally built between 1205 and 1235, and the 'Wheat Barn, built some 50 years later. Both barns have been rebuilt over the years, but some of the original 13th Century construction and carpentry remains, particularly in the Wheat Barn which is the least altered of the two. Both the Barns are open to the public for viewing and the 'Wheat Barn' has permanent exhibits giving historical and contextual information^#. The Barley Barn is used for performing arts events of all types, including concerts involving the Essex Symphony Orchestra and Essex-based choirs.

#Not necessarily open at the time of concerts in the Barley Barn

The Knights of Cressing

The Cressing Temple has historical associations with the Knights Templar, a military order which was founded in 1119 at the time of the Crusades with the expressed intention of protecting pilgrims travelling to the holy land. These knights were both monks and soldiers, earning a reputation for valour and fighting skills whilst taking vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. They became very powerful and wealthy, moving into all aspects medieval life. They owned vast estates, had fleets of ships for commercial and military purposes and were involved in commerce, banking and property. In modern parlance they were successful entrepreneurs.
The Templar's worldly success caused jealousy and envy in Europe and their deviation from their strict religious vows gave an excuse for their suppression and the seizure of their property. Their rapid demise came at the orders of Pope Clement V, encouraged by Philip IV of France. Consequently in the early 14th Century the lands of the Templars passed into the hands of the Knights Hospitaller, a similar crusading military order. They were more cautious and subtle in their dealings and survived until 1540 when they , in their turn, were suppressed by Henry VIII.

The 'Great House' and Tudor Garden'

In the late 16th Century there was a mansion on the site, now called the 'Great House', but it was demolished early in the 18th Century and nothing remains above ground today. Archaeological work has uncovered the cellars and the drains, and has shown the outline of the Tudor garden associated with this mansion. In 1994-1995 a garden was created in the Tudor style on the original garden site, following designs typical of that period and using plants commonly grown in Tudor times.

Farmhouse and Associated Farm Buildings

The Cressing Temple site has been at the centre of farming activity from the time of the Templars until the 1980s when it was acquired by Essex County Council. At the centre of the site is an attractive farmhouse with an appearance typical of many houses across the county. Tree ring analysis has dated the central part of this farmhouse at 1603, but extensions were built in the 18th and 19th Centuries creating a harmonised structure of Georgian proportions. Near the Visitor Centre is a granary, which was built in the 17th Century and restored in 1991 and adjoining the granary is a very good example of a cartlodge built in about 1800.