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

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.

In January 1669 the writer and historian William Winstanley published a pamphlet entitled The Flying Serpent or Strange News out of Essex. It describes in graphic detail the appearance of a fearsome dragon or winged serpent at Henham, near Saffron Walden

In January 1675/6 Gilbert Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury, directed that a census be made of the number of inhabitants papist recusants and dissenters in each parish

Among the treasures of Saffron Walden Town Library are various editions of the first-ever topographical survey of the whole country, by William Camden

Read about the lives of people who shaped our local story. The latest edition of the Saffron Walden Historical Journal (No 48 – Autumn 2024) is now on sale (£5) at the Saffron Walden Tourist Information Centre, Harts bookshop, the Town Museum and the Saffron Walden Historical Society. Articles in this issue include: Ashdon Village Museum: a tale of dedication

To Pleshey this week at the invitation of Simon Coxall, to see the dig he’s running there in the churchyard, exploring the remains of Pleshey College. The college was founded in 1394, with the church, by Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester and his wife Eleanor de Bohun, who were seated at the castle. It housed nine priests and formed

The Essex Record Office Archive Access Point in Saffron Walden was opened in January 1996 in response to prolonged lobbying from local organisations, historical groups and individual historians

A major 450pp biography of Winstanley, one of Walden’s greatest sons. With 50 illustrations and a full illustrated catalogue raisonné of his etchings.

Saffron Walden Town Council agreed to discuss the possibility of commemorating the fact that the Parliamentary Army was stationed in Saffron Walden in 1647

This rare arrow- head from the Middle Bronze Age (1275- 1140 BC) has been donate to Saffron Walden Museum, after being found by a metal detectorist in north-west Essex