The Farm under Frank Cullen.
Centre of the Essex Seed Industry. 1912-1971.
Thomas Cullen was born in Somerset in 1846, worked with a London firm of seed merchants and then in 1873 joined the firm of George Taber, Rivenhall. In 1887, he set up his own business in the Braintree Road, Witham. It was to become one of the most successful in the area. His son Frank bought Cressing Temple in 1912 and remained active in the running of the firm almost to the end of his long life.
Frank Cullen was a farmer, racehorse owner, Suffolk Punch breeder, and head of one of the most important seed-growing and wholesaling companies in the country. This photograph was taken when he was in about his 80th year.
The Cullens both dealt in seed and grew and developed their own in the Witham-Cressing area or under contract abroad. Amongst the many different kinds of seed produced were root crops for animals, notably turnips and mangelwurzels, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, garden peas, and a range of garden flowers such as sweet peas and larkspur.
In 1974, Thomas Cullen and Sons Ltd. became part of Amalgamated Seed Merchants Ltd. of Leicester and merged with W. Deal and Sons Ltd. of Kelvedon to become Deal Cullen Seeds Ltd. In 1983, the running of the business was transferred to Leicester and the existence of the company came to an end.
