Until 1974, a forbidding brick wall ran along the Ashdon Road on the north side of the Common, largely concealing an even more forbidding and austere building.
Thomas Netter of Walden: Diplomat, Carmelite and Theologian (c.1372–1430)
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.