Cressing Temple Barns

Over het museum

Cressing Temple takes its name from the Knights Templar, who received the estate in 1137 when Queen Matilda, wife of King Stephen, granted it to them. It became their most important landholding in Essex, and farms like this helped to fund the order's military campaigns in Europe. By 1313 the estate had a chapel, hall, brewhouse, dairy and smithy as well as a large stock of animals, including peacocks. After the Templar order was dissolved, Cressing passed to the Knights Hospitaller.

The two Grade I listed barns, the Barley Barn and the Wheat Barn, were built in the thirteenth century and are among the oldest timber barns in England and some of the few surviving Templar buildings. The Wheat Barn is regarded as a masterpiece of Romanesque carpentry, and the site's medieval carpentry is admired internationally. The Granary, built shortly after 1575, is the largest granary in Essex, and other buildings from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, such as the seventeenth-century farmhouse, show how country life in Essex changed over eight centuries.

The walled garden began as a formal pleasure garden for the Tudor Great House that once stood here. About a century later the estate belonged to a wealthy Dutch merchant, who had the house demolished but kept the garden as a kitchen garden. Only the Tudor wall survives, and the present garden is a faithful recreation of a Tudor manor-house garden with medicinal herbs, a knot garden and a potager. Today the site is run by Essex County Council, with interactive trails created by the Friends of Cressing Temple, and fabric coverings on the barn roofs, installed as part of maintenance work with Historic England, protect the structures and the bats that roost in them.

Hoogtepunten

• Barley Barn and Wheat Barn, 13th-century Templar timber barns
• Largest granary in Essex, built after 1575
• Recreated Tudor walled garden with knot garden and potager
• Displays on the Knights Templar and the history of the site
• Interactive character trails for all ages
• Tiptree tea room and plant shop

Vaste collectie

• Templar history displays and Tudor walled garden – Displays in the barns outline the history of the Knights Templar and of the site, and the walled garden is recreated as a Tudor pleasure garden with medicinal herbs, a knot garden and a potager.

Beheerder

Essex County Council

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

De toegang is gratis.

Admission and parking are free on normal days, and donations are welcome. Entry charges can apply on event days, for example £7.00 for adults at the Essex Christmas Fair (6 to 8 November 2026).

Toegankelijkheid

• Deels rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift: geen informatie
• Aangepast toilet
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats: geen informatie
• Hulphonden welkom: geen informatie
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

There is level access to all areas apart from the Stables, the Bake House and the Granary, and there are two disabled toilets on site. A 4x4 all-terrain Tramper mobility scooter can be borrowed free of charge; booking and a short training session are needed, and visitors should bring identification.

Kinderen & gezin

Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen

• Gezinsrondleidingen & workshops
• Speurtocht, doeboekje of kinderaudiotour
• Doe- en voelstations
• Verschoonruimte

Interactive trails let visitors bring historical characters to life by pressing a button or scanning a QR code, and a free Spooky Magic Trail runs at October half term for primary-school-aged children. Book bags can be borrowed for reading and counting in the grounds. There are baby changing facilities in the toilets, and the walled garden is described as a good place for young children to run and hide.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

From Colchester take the A12 to Witham, then the B1018 towards Braintree; the site is well signposted.

Service & horeca

• Café
• Museumwinkel

The Tiptree Tea Room serves breakfasts, sandwiches, jacket potatoes, salads, cream teas, cakes and drinks. The shop sells plants, herbs, wildflowers, fresh produce and cut flowers from the community vegetable garden. Picnics are welcome, but barbecues are not allowed.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

• Ruimtes te huur
• Zakelijke evenementen

The barns and conference rooms can be hired; prices and availability are given on request.

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