The Cart or Wagon Lodge at Cressing Temple

Variously called the Cart or Wagon Lodge, it is an eight-bay open-sided building dating from the second half of the 18th century. It is shown on the Cressing Temple estate map of 1794, although not in the position it stands today. Then, it was positioned more to the west and was accessed directly from the road. We can also notice that the horse pond had not been dug by then. By 1842 when the first Tithe Maps were drawn the Cart Lodge had moved and the pond appeared.

The 1794 Estate map shows the Cart Lodge positioned more to the west nearer the old road.

By 1842 the Cart Lodge had been lined up with the Granary and the horse pond dug out against it.

Typical features of its carpentry are the primary bracing, the presence of reused timbers, and the hanging knees at the junction of the tie-beams and main posts. These are held in place with long wrought iron bolts more typical of the 1800's.

The Cart Lodge has suffered over the years. It was blown down in the 1987 gale and again in the gales three years later. The Cart Lodge has been rebuilt and rethatched with long straw wheat traditional to Essex vernacular buildings. The long straw was grown in Dovehouse Field and cut using a horse drawn sideknife adapted to be pulled by a tractor.

The exhibits in the Cart Lodge are relics of a bygone age where work was laborious and agriculture the main employers. These hand and horse operated machines are redolent of the pre-war era before mechanisation and the need to intensify farming took hold. Some of the machines came forward into modern times their handles being replaced by belt drives and almost unbelievably some are still being used today.

One of the main features of these machines is that they are predominantly made of wood - because it was cheap, lightweight and easy to form into complex shapes. Nowadays pressed steel and aluminium alloys are commonplace.

The Machines

Displayed here is a range of machinery and equipment to be found in use on farms in the years before and after the 2nd World War, at a time when horse power was being replaced by tractors. By this time, such machinery was no longer necessarily obtained from a local manufacturer: the items here come from all over England and even North America.

The items on show make it possible to follow the cycle of the farming year, from ground preparation with the plough, to the spreading of manure and fertiliser, harvesting with the reaper binder, and the dressing of grain and seed and afterwards. Also included are mowers for cutting hay for animals, and a wagon and a cart. Many of these items come from Essex County Council's country park at Marsh Farm, South Woodham Ferrers.

A wooden seed dressing machine
A seed dressing machine made by Stubbs, from Rook Hall, Cressing
A winnowing machine made by W. Rainsford & Sons, Lincoln, from Marsh Farm, Woodham Ferrers
A fertiliser distributor
A Massey Harris reaper binder
A multi-furrow plough
A Bamford no.7 mower
A Bentall no. 2 mower, from Marsh Farm, Woodham Ferrers
An Essex wagon
A tumbril cart

Fertiliser Distributor.
Heralded as the most advanced and practical idea in fertiliser distribution it was designed to evenly spread quantities between 10 and 2350 pounds per acre. Inside the hoppers is an agitator feeder the fingers of which push the fertiliser into the upper hopper bottom. It is then ejected through the openings in the lower hopper bottom having been thoroughly pulverised. Advantageously it could also be used as a seed distributor without any modifications and it was claimed that it could be cleaned out in only ten minutes.

Massey Harris Reaper Binder.
This is the direct predecessor of the modern combine harvester and baler in that it cut, sheaved and bound the bales before depositing them on the ground. The rotor drew the cut stems onto the rolling canvas platform which then passed them through the knotting mechanism.

Bamford Mowers.
This type of mower used automotive design principles in that all the gearing, differentials, clutch and countershafts were contained in one oil-filled dust proof gearbox. This, it was claimed, gave automatic oiling and quiet, friction free operation. It would have originally been horse drawn and then converted to tractor use.

Lister-Cockshutt plough.
A two-furrow topsoil plough for use with a tractor, supplied by R.A. Lister & Co. of Dursley, Gloucestershire, who imported it from Cockshutt of Ontario, Canada. The original design was possibly by International Harvester of Chicago and Milwaukee. An advanced feature of the plough is clutch-type self-lift, which make it possible to lift the plough when out of work.

The Cockshutt Model 120 Plow was produced during the 1950's with either 2 or 3 furrows and sold with a choice of steel or rubber tires. These ploughs could quickly be changed from a 10" to a 12" furrow by taking out a couple of bolts and placing the furrow shank on the other side of the beam.

Tumbril Milk Cart.
This beautiful two-wheeled cart or tumbril started its working life as a milk delivery wagon in about 1910. The milk was put into churns and taken to the dairy. Rings for tying the churns down are still on the inside of the cart. It is most likely that originally there was a wrought iron step out of the back of the cart for the driver to stand on.

The cart was also used for transporting calves, pigs and the odd sheep to the livestock markets. It was an essential vehicle for inspecting the cattle out to graze and for reaching the harvesting and haymaking fields.

The wheels are stamped with the name of GYE & SONS Builders, St Philips, Bristol and as the previous owners originally came from Somerset in 1893 it is a fair bet it came from the West Country.

Essex Wagon.
This imposing wagon is of a type known as the Essex Wagon and is recognised by its carriage and different size wheels. It came to Cressing Temple from Marsh Farm where it had stood outside for many years. It is now under restoration. It was used for carting heavy loads especially hay and straw and this type is immortalised in Constables 'The Haywain'. Wooden extensions are used to increase the capacity.

The late Cecil Hewett who for many years faithfully recorded the craftsmanship of the wagon maker lamented the fact that many of these beautiful vehicles were dumped when they became obsolete. During the Second World War they were left at rural cross-roads ostensibly as moveable roadblocks should the invasion come. Later they were burnt and the remains picked over for the iron fittings by scrap-metal dealers. A sorry end.