A brief history of Cressing

Written by slc-admin on Monday, 1st June 2020. Posted in

The civil parish of Cressing has within it the villages of Cressing and Tye Green, plus the hamlet of Hawbush Green.  Cressing Parish contains a number of presumed villa sites along the west and east sides of the Brain valley.

In the village of Cressing archaeological investigations in the medieval All Saints Church and churchyard have identified evidence of a late Iron Age settlement and Roman remains. The church was built upon the site of earlier structures, likely to be from Late Saxon to Saxo- Norman periods

A sizeable settlement of roundhouses from this time has also been found during the recent excavations on a site due for development between Mill Lane and B1018.

Following the Norman Conquest in 1066 lands in Cressing Parish were in the hands of a variety of individuals including the King and Count Eustace. The place name dates from at least 1136 and is thought to derive from the presence of ditches and brooks noted for the presence of watercress.

Parts of Cressing became the centre of an estate belonging to the Order of the Knights Templar (the Templars) which was granted to them by Queen Matilda in 1137. The Witham church estates, which probably included parts of Cressing (as distinct from the Templar estate), were granted by King Stephen (1135-54) to the Canons of St Martins, London.

In the following centuries a number of farms and small holdings were established in the Cressing area, including the building of the Horse Shoes (from 15th century), Rook Hall which probably dates from the 16th century, and the Willows public house (16th century). These vernacular buildings were characterised by the use of steeply pitched tiled roofs, with side hung casement windows, although alteration of roof pitches, additions and the changing of windows to double hung vertical sliding sashes may disguise the original building styles

The 18th century saw the enlargement of Cressing village, with a number of additional houses built including the Old Post Office. Most properties in the village date from the 19th century onwards and typically follow the architectural styles of the era, with pitched tiled roofs over rendered or brick elevations, with a variety of window styles. The mid-late 20th century saw a number of buildings converted from agricultural, commercial or community use to residential.

The Street in Cressing, which is the main thoroughfare through the old Cressing village, has Conservation Area status for a significant part of its length to the south, including the Parish Church located at the south-eastern end of the main street.

There is a total of 47 listed buildings in the Parish, including a large number in the village of Cressing.

Cressing Temple Barns are scheduled ancient monuments and comprise three Grade 1 listed barns located in the southwest corner of the Parish. The barns date from the 13^th century, built by the Knights Templar, and now owned by Essex County Council. The barns are often open to the public, and are now regularly used as an events venue.

Polecat Road, Mill Lane and Bulford Mill Lane form a historic route between the original settlement of Cressing and the water mill of Bulford, a number of listed buildings are also located along this historic route.