‘A man’s world’ – or so it seemed to me when I joined the staff of B.B.S. in 1937.
Church Porches -Book Launched
The church porches of medieval England are among the most beautiful and glorious aspects of ecclesiastical architecture; but in comparison with its stained glass, for example, they have been relatively little studied. This book, the first detailed study of them for over a century, gives new insights into this often over-looked element.
Saffron Walden Town Hall
A book with the title ‘Accct of Town Hall & New Buildings begun 1761’ in the town archives is endorsed ‘Samuel Fiske 1826 given me by J. Wolfe Esq’.
New Henry Winstanley Book Launched
Successful book signing on 3rd December 2024 by Martin Rose. A recently published new biography of Henry Winstanley, the Saffron Walden engineer, engraver, lighthouse-builder and theatrical entrepreneur was launched on 3rd December 2024 at the Old Sun Inn, Church Street, Saffron Walden . As Douglas Kent (owner of the Sun Inn) said, the Winstanley family were known to have associations …
Remembrance Day Parade and Related Posts
Sunday 10th November saw the annual Remembrance Day Parade, which took place at the top of the High Street by the War Memorial. The Society has a number of posts and articles relating to both World War I and World War II.
American air bases during World War Two in East Anglia- their Impact
In 1939 there were only 1,700,000 people living in East Anglia. The main industry continued to be centred around agriculture, but the East Anglian economy was in a poor state in the pre-war period.
Thomas Netter of Walden: Diplomat, Carmelite and Theologian (c.1372–1430)
Thomas Netter was born in Saffron Walden and spent his early years in the town before entering the church, and becoming a diplomat and confessor for King Henry V, who reportedly died in Netter’s arms.
Recent Archaeology in Saffron Walden Town Centre
Saffron Walden has one of the best preserved historic centres in Essex.
The Railway through Audley End: Lord Braybrooke, W G Gibson and the Line to Cambridge, by Martin Rose
SWHS Publications no 7 (2024), design by Nick Crawley. ISBN 978-1873669-23-5, 64 pages, price £6.00 Why do all fast trains stop at Audley End? Why does the line disappear into the Chalk through two tunnels whose only function is to hide it from the windows of Audley End? Whose is the showy heraldry on the Littlebury tunnel portal? And why …
Wimbish and Thunderley – the development of settlement in a boulder-clay landscape
Thunderley and Wimbish since the Conquest, landholding and agricultural change in NW Essex
Sir William Waad, Lieutenant of the Tower, and the Gunpowder Plot
When Sir William Waad became Lieutenant of the Tower of London in August 1605, only three months before the Gunpowder Plot, it was the culmination of a lifetime of service to the Crown
Lost Parish of Thunderley
Thunderley was a parish in NW Essex till the 15th century when it was judged unable to support a parson and merged with neighbouring Wimbish.