saffron
walden
historical society

Featured image for “A penny for your Thoughts”
December 23, 2025 • posted in Articles

A penny for your Thoughts

At the beginning of the reign of Queen Victoria, Henry Hart, printer and bookseller, began to issue his Saffron Walden Year Books, price one penny. The earliest of these in the Town Library is dated 1853
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Featured image for “The Marquis d’Oisy: Aesthete, Eccentric and Enigma”
December 18, 2025 • posted in Articles

The Marquis d’Oisy: Aesthete, Eccentric and Enigma

On a warm summer’s afternoon in 1917, the London to Cambridge train pulled up at Elsenham station. From out of the First Class carriage stepped the train’s only passenger: a tall, thin gentleman with an aristocratic bearing, his black greying hair rustling slightly in the breeze.
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Featured image for “Malt Stealing Case in Saffron Walden, 1833”
December 14, 2025 • posted in Articles

Malt Stealing Case in Saffron Walden, 1833

In 1833, Saffron Walden was gripped by scandal as a malt-thieving scam of enormous proportions unfolded. The story has already been summarised in print, and what is given here is an abbreviated transcript in chronological order of some of the major archives relating to this unprecedented and very complicated court case.
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Featured image for “Little Walden: The Medieval Park”
December 9, 2025 • posted in Articles

Little Walden: The Medieval Park

Deer parks were an established landscape feature in medieval Essex. It has been stated by Oliver Rackham that about 160 medieval parks were known to have existed within the county at different times which represents one to every 9.6 square miles.
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Featured image for “A Gold Coin and a Forgery: Iron Age and Roman Discoveries from a field walk in Littlebury Parish”
December 4, 2025 • posted in Articles

A Gold Coin and a Forgery: Iron Age and Roman Discoveries from a field walk in Littlebury Parish

Within the parish of Littlebury and close by at Catmere End, flints, prehistoric pottery, Iron Age remains and artefacts of the Roman period have come to light
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Featured image for “John Harvey’s Carved Mantlepiece (c.1570): an early instance of the use of Alciato emblems in England”
November 29, 2025 • posted in Articles

John Harvey’s Carved Mantlepiece (c.1570): an early instance of the use of Alciato emblems in England

A substantial mansion in the centre of town had been the dwelling of John Harvey (d. 1593), yeoman farmer, master rope-maker, and father of the English renaissance scholar and poet Gabriel Harvey (c.1550-1650).
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Featured image for “Eglantyne Jebb”
November 25, 2025 • posted in Articles

Eglantyne Jebb

Eglantyne Jebb moved to Cambridge in 1901, making a new start after a disastrous stint as a teacher, and to be close to her uncle Richard Claverhouse Jebb, Chair of Greek, and MP, at the university.
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Featured image for “Pledger Family- Researching ancestors”
November 20, 2025 • posted in Articles

Pledger Family- Researching ancestors

Researching my ancestors is something I had always wanted to do, but where to start was the most difficult thing, as I knew nothing about my grandparents, not even their Christian names
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Featured image for “Britain’s Pompeii”
November 15, 2025 • posted in News

Britain’s Pompeii

Rare Bronze and Iron Age log boats unearthed have gone on display for the first time.
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Featured image for “Eastacre, Saffron Walden, the House that Mr Robinson Built”
November 15, 2025 • posted in Articles

Eastacre, Saffron Walden, the House that Mr Robinson Built

Eastacre in Chaters Hill is one of the most elegant houses in Saffron Walden
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Featured image for “War Memorial”
November 11, 2025 • posted in News

War Memorial

Robert Pike, author of The Victor Heroes, has provided the following details of the 159 men recorded on the Saffron Walden War Memorial, lost in WW1.
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