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 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.

Saffron Walden has one of the best preserved historic centres in Essex.

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

Thunderley and Wimbish since the Conquest, landholding and agricultural change in NW Essex

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