August 19, 2025 • posted in Articles1979 Blueprint for Walden Buildings published: Saffron Walden Conservation Study Lorry drivers like driving through old towns and enjoy the nuisance value they create.Read More
August 15, 2025 • posted in ArticlesJohn Collin, Attorney of Saffron Walden, 1740- 1783 John Collin, who was born in 1740 and died in 1783, was an attorney and banker from Saffron Walden.Read More
August 11, 2025 • posted in ArticlesThe Misses Hart of Saffron Walden The story of Hart’s is well known: of how Henry Hart, a carpenter’s son from Linton, was apprenticed as printer in 1814 to George Youngman in Market Hill, Saffron Walden; and of how he bought his own printing press in 1836 and set up a stationery shop.Read More
August 5, 2025 • posted in ArticlesSaffron Walden College During the years 1884-1977 Saffron Walden College for Mistresses had a distinguished historyRead More
July 31, 2025 • posted in ArticlesClavering Castle: a mysterious moated monument Clavering Castle, which lies next to the Parish Church, is a large moated site designated by English Heritage as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, of Saxon or medieval origin.Read More
July 27, 2025 • posted in ArticlesNational Trust in Saffron Walden and North-West Essex The National Trust in recent years has spoken out about the damage that could accompany ill-considered decisions to build on green-field sites as a result of the relaxation of current planning policies.Read More
July 26, 2025 • posted in NewsGold pendant found at Thaxted The piece of jewellery shown above is a 6th Century replica of a Byzantine coin and was found by a metal detectorist near Thaxted, Essex and the discovery of such an early medieval gold coin pendant “literally sheds a light” on a period of a county’s history about which little is known. It was minted in Europe and then broughtRead More
July 23, 2025 • posted in ArticlesSarah Chesham, The Archetypical Poisoning Woman Sarah Chesham was a working-class, illiterate woman who lived at Ponds cottages in Clavering. She was charged with murder (poisoning with arsenic) and tried on four occasions,Read More
July 19, 2025 • posted in ArticlesChurchmans of 16th and 17th century Walden, Wenden and Littlebury People of the middling sort were rare in the 16th and 17th century. In the arable areas of Essex, most people were either farm labourers (i.e. essentially, peasants) or were part of the small, all-powerful gentry.Read More
July 15, 2025 • posted in ArticlesNumber 1 Myddylton Place, Saffron Walden,the History and Architecture Saffron Walden’s Youth Hostel stood on the corner of Myddylton Place and Bridge Street, once the main trading route and busy thoroughfare leading from London to Cambridge.Read More
July 11, 2025 • posted in ArticlesPrivate Boarding Schools for Females c.1791-1861 or ‘Establishments for Young Ladies’ with emphasis on Saffron Walden Ladies’ Schools After 1779 many private schools sprang up to cater for the needs of those who were not only dissatisfied with the old- fashioned, grammar schools for their sons, but also wanted education for their girls.Read More