Born Jean Belshaw, Jean grew up in the Lancashire town of Wigan, where her parents owned a successful grocery business. She left school at the age of 14 to study stenography for two years at Smart’s College, Southport.  This was a fortunate choice, as it enabled her to find work easily, but also provided the necessary skills to enter journalism

Kenneth James Neale had a very distinguished career in the Civil Service and was also a notable historian of Essex. He died on 18 April 2016 at the age of 93. He accepted the invitation to become the Honorary Life President of the Saffron Walden Historical Society in 2000 and remained a great source of support and encouragement for the

A familiar face at meetings of the Saffron Walden Historical Society, Ena Wright died in 2014 at the grand age of 94. Ena was born on 26 April 1920 at Radwinter Road, Saffron Walden, her parents being Percy and Edith Wright. She always joked that her home was ‘between death and starvation’ [the cemetery and the workhouse]. Her grandfather, who

Dr Kenneth Frank Dixon, who died on 4th February 2015 aged 94, had a keen interest in local history and was the author of the informative history and guide to St Mary’s Church, Saffron Walden. Ken did not have an easy start in life, as his father died when he was just 5 years old and he was sent to

Neville grew up in Jamaica where his father was President of the Baptist Theological College at Kingston. Coming to Cambridge, he first read archaeology and anthropology at St. John’s but later switched to Spanish and French. He went back to the West Indies to teach at his old school and for the rest of his career specialised in mathematics and

Issue No 42 (Autumn 2021) on sale at Tourist Information, Harts Bookshop, Waitrose and Saffron Walden Museum, price £4, or by post – see contact on website. ARTICLES A Changing Walden – photographs by Richard Jemmett Scenes from Old Walden: the 1910 Saffron Walden Pageant by Gillian Williamson Flashback: the 1951 General Election by Martyn Everett Paths to Salvation: Walden’s medieval wayside

Journal No 41 has several interesting articles on gardening & the countryside as well as two stories from WW2 . Other Subjects included A Gallery in the Garden: The Legacy of Bridge End Garden and the Fry Art Gallery by Nigel Weaver An Audley End Gardener’s Diary: 1795-1798 by Susan Jellis The ‘Fishmere’ and the Brickworks by Martin Rose RAF

Journal No 40 is a bumper issue of 40 pages with a spread of tales from slave owners and the anti slavery movement in Saffron Walden to a pictorial record of a Town in lockdown Other Subjects included Death of a Pauper in Thaxted by Martyn Everett Crisis 1940: The battle of Britain by Brian Sanders 80 years ago: Wartime

Journal No 39 has many interesting articles focussing on Saffron Walden again including memories by Bruce Munro, The Bells of St. Mary’s Church & Japan in Saffron Walden : The Grand Japanese Bazaar. Other Subjects included The restoration of Kings Mill at Littlebury by Bernard Jones The Francis Gibson Family & “The Quaker Line” by Jane Cole & Anne Hughes

Lavishly illustrated with old maps and artworks in full colour, and offers a fascinating insight into the countryside around Audley End

The Society’s lectures for 2021 to 2022