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| Cressing Temple Site (taken April 2007) |
Essex County Council have earmarked nearly £1m for new furniture for County Hall. However against this spend in times of
austerity consultations have started to cut staff at Cressing Temple from 10
full-time with 2 part-time to 3 part-time and one of those a gardener. The site
will be under severe limitations regarding full opening times, including
buildings, from April to October. These will be limited to weekends except
during the school summer holidays with ‘informal’ access to the site during the
week but no access to shop or cafe which will remain closed. The rest of the
year, November to March, the site will be closed and no one living on site.
What an effective way to serve the death knell on this extremely
important historic site. A Templar site that can be said to be unparalleled in
Europe if not the world, containing two 13th century barns and a well
together with a range of other buildings of subsequent ages that continued the
working farm.
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| Barley Barn, Cressing Temple |
“Essex County Council having become custodians of Cressing
Temple on behalf of the people of Essex declares that:
The site will be used as a focus for the County’s heritage
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| Inside the magnificent Barley Barn, Cressing Temple |
Opportunities for learning and research offered by a site of
such importance will be used to enable present and future generations to be
aware of the County’s history and their personal relationship to it
The buildings and grounds will be made available for public
use and enjoyment”
Despite this clear intent the site, opened by Chris Patten
and enjoying numerous Royal visits, has, since being vested in Country Parks
sidelined and undergone the process of ‘dumming’ down to a country park. Even
work to repair the trellis in the garden, a contract won by Country Parks has
not been honoured. Cressing was never envisaged as a money spinner ECC had
become custodians of the site and were committed to protect it for the people
of Essex.
We hope that you will take time to write to the press, Essex County Council or
any other person or society that will support the aim to protect and allow the
site and buildings to continue in the way envisaged by the charter.
Elphin & Brenda Watkin. 4 NOV 2013
1 comment:
Having been very closely involved with the development of ECC's interest in Cressing both as the cabinet member for culture etc as well as being a user of the site as Chairman of the Essex History Fair, and VP of the Guild of Essex Craftsmen, I am speechless with rage at the spectacular vandalism that these proposals demonstrate. How are the young people of Essex ever to learn of their heritage? It is not us "oldies" who should be leading the protest but the young of this great county. It is the school teachers who should be goading their charges on to massive protest. We can back them up, as the vanguard seems to have started the movement.
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