Christopher A Strickland Photography
Barley Barn in Winter
The Barley Barn
This huge timber-framed barn was built by the Order of the Knights Templar at Cressing some fifty years before the more refined Wheat Barn whose west end it faces across the farmyard green. Constructed in oak in the Romanesque tradition of carpentry of the early 13th century, it was built of 480 oak trees felled between 1205 and 1235, barely 100 years after the granting of the site to the Order by Queen Matilda. There are a number of old and ancient timber-framed "Essex barns" around the county and in the east of England, but this one has been officially dated as being the oldest...not only in England but also in Europe. There is an unsolved question of whether this barn or the one in the north Essex village of Coggeshall (Grange barn) is older.
The Barley Barn at Cressing Temple, approximately 40 metres west of Cressing Temple Farmhouse. The only Templar buildings to survive at Cressing Temple are the two great barns: the Barley Barn and the Wheat Barn. These barns are of importance not only because of their size and age, but also because they were first among the structures studied by Cecil Hewett when he began his pioneering reassessment of the history of timber-framing techniques. Hewett argued that the original carpentry on the barns indicated construction dates in the 13th century. The Barley Barn was subsequently radiocarbon dated to circa AD 1200, a date confirmed by tree-ring dating to AD 1205-35. However, there is no archaeological evidence to show that the barn was on the site at this time as the floors have been sealed in concrete and excavations were not successful in identifying its origins. It has been suggested that the Barley Barn may have been brought to the site from one of the other Templar Barn Field's after the Poll Tax riots of 1381, and the moats redug to accommodate it.
The barn is constructed of close-studded timber-framing, plastered and weatherboarded, with later brick infill, and a relatively modern roof of handmade red plain tiles. It has seven bays aligned north-east/south-west, with two aisles. It measures 38 metres long, 14 metres wide, and 15 metres high. The south-east and north-west elevations have great doors. In a major alteration in first half of the 16th century, the north-east bay was reduced to a half-bay with hip, the walls were rebuilt, and a crown post structure was added to the existing roof. There have been repairs and piecemeal replacements from the 18th to 20th centuries. An unusual feature is a pattern of auger holes high on the arcade-posts and arcade-braces, having no structural function, probably used for attachment of staging during the original construction. Few other timber-framed buildings are so high as to be beyond the reach of ladders.
Originally, the barn roofs at Cressing Temple were believed to be thatched but were replaced with baked clay roof tiles sometime between the 18th to 19th century during renovations.
Barley Barn in Winter
The Barley Barn
This huge timber-framed barn was built by the Order of the Knights Templar at Cressing some fifty years before the more refined Wheat Barn whose west end it faces across the farmyard green. Constructed in oak in the Romanesque tradition of carpentry of the early 13th century, it was built of 480 oak trees felled between 1205 and 1235, barely 100 years after the granting of the site to the Order by Queen Matilda. There are a number of old and ancient timber-framed "Essex barns" around the county and in the east of England, but this one has been officially dated as being the oldest...not only in England but also in Europe. There is an unsolved question of whether this barn or the one in the north Essex village of Coggeshall (Grange barn) is older.
The Barley Barn at Cressing Temple, approximately 40 metres west of Cressing Temple Farmhouse. The only Templar buildings to survive at Cressing Temple are the two great barns: the Barley Barn and the Wheat Barn. These barns are of importance not only because of their size and age, but also because they were first among the structures studied by Cecil Hewett when he began his pioneering reassessment of the history of timber-framing techniques. Hewett argued that the original carpentry on the barns indicated construction dates in the 13th century. The Barley Barn was subsequently radiocarbon dated to circa AD 1200, a date confirmed by tree-ring dating to AD 1205-35. However, there is no archaeological evidence to show that the barn was on the site at this time as the floors have been sealed in concrete and excavations were not successful in identifying its origins. It has been suggested that the Barley Barn may have been brought to the site from one of the other Templar Barn Field's after the Poll Tax riots of 1381, and the moats redug to accommodate it.
The barn is constructed of close-studded timber-framing, plastered and weatherboarded, with later brick infill, and a relatively modern roof of handmade red plain tiles. It has seven bays aligned north-east/south-west, with two aisles. It measures 38 metres long, 14 metres wide, and 15 metres high. The south-east and north-west elevations have great doors. In a major alteration in first half of the 16th century, the north-east bay was reduced to a half-bay with hip, the walls were rebuilt, and a crown post structure was added to the existing roof. There have been repairs and piecemeal replacements from the 18th to 20th centuries. An unusual feature is a pattern of auger holes high on the arcade-posts and arcade-braces, having no structural function, probably used for attachment of staging during the original construction. Few other timber-framed buildings are so high as to be beyond the reach of ladders.
Originally, the barn roofs at Cressing Temple were believed to be thatched but were replaced with baked clay roof tiles sometime between the 18th to 19th century during renovations.