OBITUARY
FRANK J. CULLEN.
It was with sincere regret that the Council of the Club
learned of the passing, on the twenty-second of September,
1971, of Mr. Frank J. Cullen of Cressing Temple near
Braintree, at the venerable age of 97.
Mr. Cullen, who joined the Club during the Second World
War, had devoted his life to farming and maintained the true
farming traditions. His farm was a model, but more important
from the point of view of Club members was his care for and
interest in the famous barns and traditions of Cressing
Temple.
This was the first commandery of Knights Templars in
England to whom Queen Maud, consort of Henry I, in 1136
gave the lands upon which they built the Temple. When the
Order was dissolved following the actions of Philip of France
in 1309, by the Pope some two or three years later, the
property was handed by Edward II to the Hospitallers (Knights
of St. John). It remained in their possession until the
dissolution in 1540 when it passed into private hands. All
that remains are the magnificient timbered barns. The Barley
Barn, built about 1480, is 120 feet long by 42 feet wide,
and the Wheat Barn, built about 1530, is 160 feet long, 40
feet in width, rising to a height of 40 feet. The latter
is some seven bays, of which the sidewalls are half timber
filled with brick noggin. In these buildings the late
Mr. Cullen took a great and personal interest, and was always
proud to show them to interested visitors, as he did when
the Club visited the Temple in 1947. On that occasion,
accompanied by his daughter, he permitted members to inspect
the barns, the house which was built about 1600, and the
granary built about 1623 according to the date inscribed
thereon. He subsequently entertained the members to tea and
showed his collection of Romano-British pottery found in
various excavations on the farm.
With his death, the Club has lost a member of long-standing
and one who helped to sustain the interest of the members.
************** Bernard Ward
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