The following articles appear by permission and are the copyright of the Saffron Walden Historical Journal and the author. Fair dealing for the purposes of private study or non-commercial educational, archival or research purposes is freely allowed, but under no circumstances are articles or illustrations to be reprinted in any other publication, website or other media without permission. It has not been possible to include all the original illustrations with the articles, but these can be seen in copies deposited at Saffron Walden Town Library. All rights reserved. Every effort has been made to ensure that copyright has not been breached within the content of these articles. If you feel this has occurred, pleased email the editor by clicking here.
Indexed Articles (A-Z)
- American Bittern: an historic first for EssexA remarkable detective story began when Nick Green, a member of the Essex Avifauna Committee, joined a group of ornithologists researching specimens of mounted birds kept at museums in Essex.
- Archives of Saffron Walden-Crime Records, Diaries & LettersSaffron Walden is rich in historical archives, held by the Town Library, Saffron Walden Museum, the Town Council, Essex Record Office Archive Access Point and others, and much of it still largely untapped
- Bronze Age Hoards from NW EssexOur understanding of local prehistory has been enriched over the past few years
- Camden’s BritanniaAmong the treasures of Saffron Walden Town Library are various editions of the first-ever topographical survey of the whole country, by William Camden
- Carnival v Festival‘About five minutes television film time’, estimated BBC Director, Don Howarth, when questioned by a Weekly News reporter about the results of a To-Night television film team’s visit to Saffron Walden on Sunday.
- Causewayed Enclosures and Stone CirclesCausewayed Enclosures are rare in England, with only about 60 known to exist, most of them in the south and south-east, but at least ten of these were clustered in the Cambridge area
- Compton Census in NW EssexIn 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
- Crawley Agrimotor of Saffron WaldenIn the early 20th century the town had its own motor-plough production and assembly plant
- East Anglia and the Abolition of the Slave TradeBetween 1690 and 1807 it is estimated that some 11 million Africans were transported across the Atlantic as slaves
- Essex Record Office Archive Access Point in Saffron WaldenThe 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
- Ethnography at Saffron Walden MuseumUpstairs, in the semi-darkened rooms of Saffron Walden Museum, there lies a remarkable collection of cultural artefacts from all around the world, many of them gathered at the height of Victorian collection fever.
- Francis Gibson’s GardenFrancis Gibson (1805–58), the youngest of Atkinson Francis Gibson’s children, conceived and designed Bridge End Garden, previously known as Fry’s Gardens.
- Goodbye Wooliestwo old properties were demolished and replaced by Woolworths’ splendid new modern store.
- Holed stones and sharp iron: equine folklore at Wicken BonhuntThe tiny settlement of Bonhunt, part of the parish of Wicken Bonhunt, four miles south-west of Saffron Walden, consists today of only four houses and the abandoned and desecrated early medieval chapel of St. Helen
- Impact of the American air bases during World War Two in East AngliaIn 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.
- John Newman: MartyrA blue plaque with the above inscription is to be found on the wall of Saffron Walden Town Hall above the western end of the front portico
- Lief Aalbu’s ScrapbookAmongst the papers of former Town Clerk H. C. Stacey in the Saffron Walden Town Library is a cheap red scrapbook that provides a unique insight into life in Saffron Walden during the second half of WW2
- Littlebury-a walk back in time around the boundsOn Sunday 21 May 2006 the History Group of the Parish of Littlebury Millennium Society re-created the ancient tradition of beating the parish bounds.
- Lost Parish of ThunderleyThunderley was a parish in NW Essex till the 15th century when it was judged unable to support a parson and merged with neighbouring Wimbish.
- Memories of Broxted‘The date is 1910, when as a girl of twelve years, I lived in a small village among the meadows, brooks, and endless miles of flowering hedges and trees. All was peaceful in my little village… a church, post-office, mill, school and a candy shop.
- Memories of the Boys’ British School, Saffron Walden 1937-1964‘A man’s world’ – or so it seemed to me when I joined the staff of B.B.S. in 1937.
- Recent Archaeology in Saffron Walden Town CentreSaffron Walden has one of the best preserved historic centres in Essex.
- Saffron Walden Borough Arms Deo Adjuvante FloremusIn 1784 William Robinson jnr made a drawing which included the Borough Arms as used then, based on the 1688 seal made after the 1685 Charter.
- Saffron Walden Town HallA book with the title ‘Accct of Town Hall & New Buildings begun 1761’ in the town archives is endorsed ‘Samuel Fiske 1826 given me by J. Wolfe Esq’.
- Seventeenth Century Copper Tokens of Saffron Walden: a commentaryCopper farthing and halfpenny coins were issued in the mid-17th century by the town's tradesmen in the absence of royal copper coinage.
- Site of the Battle of Assandun, 1016The Battle of Assandun was the event which eventually gave Cnut the Crown of England.
- St. Mary’s, Saffron Walden Burial Registers 1558-1892The burial registers officially continue until the end of 1856, when the churchyard was closed for burials due to overcrowding
- The Dissenters’ Burial Ground at WimbishThe Wimbish Dissenters’ burial ground today is well-maintained, planted with bulbs, and contains two memorial stones, as well as a seat donated by descendants in 2002.
- The Legacy of Adrian GibsonAdrian Gibson, left an important legacy to the town of Saffron Walden by carefully describing and listing many of its most important buildings on behalf of English Heritage
- Wimbish and Thunderley – the development of settlement in a boulder-clay landscapeThunderley and Wimbish since the Conquest, landholding and agricultural change in NW Essex
- ‘Say it with Flowers’ The Engelmann Nursery, Saffron WaldenThe difficulty of producing flowers throughout the year in the unfavourable British climate was finally solved by the development of the heated greenhouse.
- ‘STAND AWHILE AND ADMIRE’ A History of the Saffron Walden MuseumIn September, 1832, three gentlemen strolled across the grass in front of the ruined keep of Walden Castle, deep in conversation. They were talking about the possibility of putting up a building for use as a museum
PDFs
The Articles repository existed historically as PDFs. As of 2025, we are indexing all articles, which appear above, alphabetically. All old PDFs yet to be indexed appear below in their original PDF format.
- Catons Lane Survey
- Churches of NW Essex
- Clavering Castle
- Clavering Poisoner
- Cotman Connections
- Debden Church Vault
- Demographic Transition
- Demolition Line WW2
- Eglantyne Jebb
- Eighteenth Century Walden
- Family History - Collin
- Family History - Hart
- Family History - Miller
- Family History - Pledger
- Family History - Robinson
- Family History- Churchman
- Field Names of Clavering
- First World War - Saffron Walden
- Hadstock Church
- Historians of Essex
- House Mr Robinson built
- John Harveys Mantlepiece
- John Newman - Martyr
- Langley Methodist Church
- Little Walden Medieval Park
- Malt Theft Case 1833
- Manuden in wartime
- Marquis d'Oisy
- Miles Graye Made Me
- Miracle of the Ring
- Moat Farm Murder
- Molehill Green
- National Trust in Saffron Walden & NW Essex
- No 1 Myddylton Place
- Old Poor Law in Saffron Walden
- Orford House
- Pre-enclosure maps NW Essex
- Private Boarding Schools for Females
- Prof Steve Osbourne
- Prosecution Associations NW Essex
- Pumps & Wells
- RAB Butler
- Radwinter Reredos
- Radwinter wartime harvest camp
- Reminiscences of a Country Auctioneer
- Right up my Street
- Rose & Crown Fire
- Ruby Hurn
- Saffron Walden and the Struggle for Democracy
- Saffron Walden Buildings Architects
- Saffron Walden College
- Saffron Walden Conservation
- Saffron Walden Convent
- Saffron Walden Turf Maze
- Saffron Walden Museums Elephant
- Saffron Walden Survey
- Saffron Walden Town Football Club
- Saint Blaise
- Sir William Waad of Manuden
- Skullduggery in Strethall
- SOE at Audley End
- The Bounds of Littlebury
- The Gibson Boulders
- The Richest Man in Walden
- The Somme Anniversary
- The Stately Homes of NW Essex
- The Walden Slades
- The Windmills of Walden
- Walden memories 1950s
- WE Nesfield and the Missing Archives
- Wombwells Menagerie