SAFFRON WALDENTOWN TRAIL

Illustrated map

Guide to places of interest

Short history of Saffron Walden

A SHORT HISTORY OF SAFFRON WALDEN

For the four hundred years of the Roman era there was never more than a small settlement inwhat the later Saxon inhabitants called "weala-denu" ("Valley of the Britons") and we nowcall Saffron Walden. By the writing of the Domesday Book in 1086, however, there was anestate of about 120 households.

In the 1130s and 1140s the Norman Lord of the Manor Geoffrey de Mandeville 3rd Earl ofEssex did three things that led to Walden becoming the economic and administrative centreof the area; he built the castle, moved the market from Newport and founded a BenedictinePriory. The castle keep ruins can be seen today and the market is still held on Tuesdays andSaturdays. The Priory, which became Walden Abbey in 1190 and was given to Sir ThomasAudley in 1538 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, is now Audley End House.

In the 1230s the Earls of Essex, now de Bohuns, set out a new ambitious town plan includingsome earlier elements with a grid system of streets, a new market place and a new church.These elements can still be seen in the town centre today. By the late 1300s the area aroundWalden had begun to grow the saffron crocus and by the early 1500s was the centre of thesaffron industry in this country. Such was its importance that the town adopted the name ofSaffron Walden and its legacy is reflected in the wealth of timber-framed buildings of thistime and the largest parish church in Essex, completed in 1525.

Saffron Walden has a major place in the evolution of democracy in this country. In the springof 1647 with one civil war won, the New Model Army under Sir Thomas Fairfax split withParliament and was ordered not to approach London. Fairfax settled on Saffron Walden as hisheadquarters and billeted his soldiers in the area. Debates were held in the parish church wherefor the first time ever ordinary soldiers elected representatives to speak for them. Eventuallyeven Oliver Cromwell M.P. was persuaded to throw in his lot with the New Model Army.

The decline of the saffron industry in the seventeenth and eighteenth century led to littledevelopment or expansion in the town. There were few new houses built at this time but somerefacing of old houses and a new Georgian Town Hall built in the 1760s.

Prosperity returned in the nineteenth century with the growth of the malting and brewingindustries and with farming still at the centre of the area's economy. The Gibsons, who werebankers and brewers, were one of the wealthiest families in the town. They were Quakers andgreat philanthropists and were involved in the founding of the museum, the library, thehospital, the transfer of the Friends’ School to the town from Croydon, digging wells andeventually bringing the branch line of the railway in 1865. The Victorian prosperity isreflected in buildings around the Market Square and to the south of the town.

Changes in the twentieth century have included the demise of the branch line of the railwayin 1964, the stopping of the regular livestock markets and large modern housingdevelopments on the outskirts of the town and latterly infill developments in the centre. Thesechanges have produced a town of about 15,000 people living in a safe healthy place to bringup a family and yet within easy reach of London and Cambridge.

Funded by

ALMSHOUSESPark Lane and Abbey LaneThe earliest almshouse was built in 1400 froma charity founded by John and ElizabethButler. The building was in the form of twocourtyards each with ten dwellings. After 1633the building fell into disrepair and those nowgrouped in Park Lane and Abbey Lane werebuilt in 1834 and are the replacements andextensions of the original.

AUDLEY END HOUSE & GARDENSAudley End,CB11 4JFTel:01799 522399 Built by Thomas Howard,Earl of Suffolk,LordTreasurer to King James I. Audley End is oneof England’s most magnificent stately homeswith over 30 lavishly decorated rooms,interiors by Robert Adam and a wonderfulcollection of paintings and furnishings. Explorethe Capability Brown parkland,19thCenturyparterre with its elaborate floral displays andthe organic walled kitchen garden.

AUDLEY END MINIATURE RAILWAYThe Audley End Miniature Railway is situatedacross the road from Audley End House. It wasfirst opened in 1964 and now consists of a 1.5mile (2.4 km) ride on Lord Braybrooke’s private101/4inch gauge miniature railway throughestate woodland. Children all enjoy looking forthe teddies that live in the woods while adultswill be reminded of a bygone era especially onSundays when steam engines pull the carriages.

BAPTISTCHURCHHigh StreetIn 1774 the Baptists split with their fellowNonconformists who worshipped in AbbeyLane Independent Church. They bought an orchard on the present site and built the

first Baptist church there. The present churchwas built in 1878-9. Its latest addition is theglass door with a saffron crocus design. Infront of the church is the town’s warmemorial.

THE COMMON & TURF MAZEThe oldest of Saffron Walden’s open spaces,the Common is a meadow on which the localpeople had grazing rights and it was alsoused for such events as tournaments. On theeastern side is the largest turf labyrinth stillsurviving in Europe. The ‘path’winds forabout one mile through the turf within acircle 100 feet (30.5 mtrs) in diameter.

FRIENDS’MEETING HOUSEHigh StreetThe Quakers still gather at this meeting placein the High Street where they first met in1676. The Meeting House was altered manytimes over the years and was rebuilt in the1870s by the Gibsons.

FRIENDS’SCHOOLMount Pleasant RoadThe Friends’School moved from Croydon toSaffron Walden in 1879,when the presentestablishment was built of red brick and in aTudor style by the architect Edward Burgess.

UNITED REFORMED CHURCHAbbey LaneThe place of worship for another of theNonconformist groups,the United ReformedChurch was built in 1811 as a CongregationalChapel. With an Ionic four-column portico,itreplaced the original church of 1694,which inturn was built on the site of the barn where thecongregation first worshipped.

For details of opening times and any other information contact the Tourist Information Centre on:01799 510444

OTHER PLACES OF INTEREST IN SAFFRON WALDEN

To Cambridge & M11

B184

BRIDGE ENDGARDEN Brid

ge St

LITTLE WA

LDEN

RD

B1052

To Lt. Walden & Linton

Town Trail Area

Swan Meadow Car Park

Park Lane

Abbey LaneHIG

H S

TREE

T

George

StreetHill Street

Gol

d S

t

Fair

ycro

ft R

d

East St

AUDLEY ROAD

District CouncilOffices

LONDON RD

DEB

DEN

RO

AD

SOU

TH R

OA

D

Borough Lane

Mount Pleasant Road

Friends School

To Debden

Audley End House & Miniature Railway

2Mile

Audley End RoadCounty HighSchool

2 Miles to Audley EndRailway Station

Wen

den

s Am

bo R

oad

New

po

rt Road

PLE

ASA

NT

VALL

EY

Bell College

PEASLANDS ROAD

Lord ButlerLeisure Centre

ASHDON ROADTo Ashdon

RADWINTER ROAD

B1053To Radwinter& Haverhill

THA

XTE

D R

OA

DB

184

To Thaxted & Gt. Dunmow

A Saffron Walden Initiative Project

TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE Market Place,CB10 1HR Tel:01799 510444Opening Times:Apr to Oct:Mon – Sat 9.30am – 5.30pmSun & Bank Holidays 10.30am – 1.00pm (April to August only)Nov to Mar:Mon – Sat 10.00am – 5.00pm

BUSESThe main bus stops are on the High Street andCommon Hill. For timetables contact theTourist Information Centre.

CAR PARKINGFairycroft Road – short stay & cycle racks The Common – short stay & cycle racksRose and Crown car park – short stay Swan Meadow – short and long stay &coach parking

FRY ART GALLERYOff Castle Street,CB10 1BD Tel:01799 513779 for opening times

LIBRARY2 King Street,CB10 1ES Tel:01799 523178

MARKETSHeld in the Market Place on Tues & Sat.

MUSEUMSaffron Walden Museum,Museum Street,CB10 1JL Tel:01799 510333

POLICE STATIONEast Street,CB10 1LX Tel:01799 513232

RAIL TRAVELThe nearest railway station is at Audley EndStation,about 2 miles (3.2 km) from the centreof Saffron Walden.Rail Enquiries – Tel:08457 484950

TOILETSHill Street 7.00am – 6.00pmThe Common24 hoursSwan Meadow24 hoursBridge End Garden Garden opening times

UDC_TRAIL_BUP 26/9/07 5:26 pm Page 1

6. The Eight Bells The Eight Bells is one of the 27 Grade II* listedbuildings in Saffron Walden and is an amalgam ofdifferent elements. The range at right angles to theroad is fifteenth century while the street frontage is alate sixteenth century addition which features a continuousfirst floor jetty or oversailing developed to create bigger rooms on thisfloor. It has a fine carved bressumer beam which is the exposed horizontal beam that supports theupper floor. The building is one of the few buildings in the town with both first and ground floorwindows in their original positions. The memorial on the bridge over the Madgate Slade to ChiefConstable Campling commemorates his murder after he left the Eight Bells pub one night - hisalleged assailant was found not guilty at trial.

2. The Old Sun InnThe crossroads at which the Old Sun Innstands has timber framed buildings on allfour corners. The Old Sun Inn is a range ofGrade I listed homes and shops dating fromthe fourteenth century with many differenttypes of decorative plaster work called‘pargetting’. These include incised repeatpatterns, some freehand designs and laterbas-relief of birds and fruit, possibly datingto 1676. The end gable (pictured) showstwo figures and opinion is divided as towhether they are Tom Hickathrift and TheWisbech Giant or Gog and Magog.

3. Museum and Castle RuinsThe museum collections are housedin one of the oldest purpose builtmuseum buildings in the country,completed in 1835. Its ethnographiccollection is of national importance. Ithas everything from mammoth tusks to mummies, from an earlyTudor bed to a national history museum gallery. The Castle was built by Geoffrey deMandeville 3rd Earl of Essex in the 1130s or 40s. The keep tower ruins of flint andmortar (pictured) are all that remains, but the line of the inner and outer bailey helpedcreate the shape of the town centre today. The ruins are Grade 1 listed.

4. Castle StreetThis street was part of the new townplan of the 1230s but most of thetimber framed hall houses now datefrom around 1500. Some of thehouses are Grade II* listedproperties with many examples ofancient and modern pargetting.There are a number of unusual

Wealden houses, the easiest to identifyis at No 49/51 (pictured). This style of hall house under a single roofis normally associated with Kent. The house also has sliding sashwindows which are commonly found in Saffron Walden houses. Bythe 1800s this was the poorer section of town with many of thehouses divided into small cottages. Clear breaks in the roof lines give clues as to the extent of the original houses.

10. The RowsAt the start of the Rows, on the corner of King

Street and Cross Street stands a large latefifteenth century hall house (pictured). Thehouse shows clearly how large houses weredivided into three different elements with theopen hall section having its roof raised in theeighteenth century. The Rows were thetown’s shopping centre from medieval timesonwards, with 33 of the 46 shops in the townsited there in 1630. The shops started as

market stalls and progressed to become permanent home and business premises combined.On Cross Street are some of the best preserved Tudor shop windows which had shutters thatopened to provide a counter and a canopy over the goods.

9. The Cross KeysThe Cross Keys is a fifteenthcentury timber framed formerhouse and shop with lateradditions. The roof was raised inthe early nineteenth century andnew windows added on the groundand first floors of the King Streetfrontage. The plaster on the entiretimber framed section was taken offin the early twentieth century and some first floor windows reinstated.At the corner of King Street and High Street on the ground floor aretwo of the original fifteenth century shop windows.

Listed buildings

Listed buildings mentioned

1

3

4

7

6

DR

AW

ING

S ©M

EG

AN

RID

GE

WE

LL

N0 100

Metres

Bridge

End

Garden

Bridge

Castle

St

King St

Hill St

George St

The Rows

W.C. S H O R TS T A Y

C A R P A R K

SHORT STAYCAR PARK

W.C.

East St

Abbey Lane

Park Lane

The Common

Ashdon Rd

Castle Hill

Common Hill

Market Hill

Fairycroft

Rd

Gold St

High St

Museum

W .C

Maze

1. Market PlaceThe market is still held here on Tuesdays andSaturdays as it has been since the thirteenthcentury. The Market Place is dominated byVictorian buildings. Barclays Bank was designedby Eden Nesfield as a bank for Gibson & Co. in1874. The stone portico and timber framedadditions to the Georgian Town Hall weredesigned by Edward Burgess and were a gift tothe town from George Stacey Gibson in 1879.The Tourist Information Centre is housed here.The drinking fountain (pictured) was also agift to the town from the Gibson family in

1863 to commemorate the marriage of The Prince of Wales toPrincess Alexandra of Denmark. The Library, once The CornExchange, is of Italianate style designed by Richard Tress andcompleted in 1848.

5. Fry Art Gallery and Bridge End Garden The path to Bridge End Garden passes the Fry Art Gallerywhich was built in 1856 by Francis Gibson to hold hispersonal art collection. It was then inherited by hisdaughter Elizabeth Fry. Since 1987 it has housed a collection of the works of aGreat Bardfield group of artists who settled in the Essex countryside in the 1930s. Started by his father, it was Francis Gibson who expanded Bridge End Garden introducinga Dutch garden, rose garden, kitchen garden,wilderness area, the Maze and a lovely south facing lawn with a Summerhouse (pictured). The garden has now been restored with help from the HeritageLottery Fund.

8

9TIC

2

Turf Maze

5

8. Parish Church of St Mary the VirginThe earliest features of the largest parish church in Essexdate from 1250 but the majority of the church was rebuilt in the Perpendicular Style between 1470 and 1525. Thechurch size reflects the wealth of the town at the height of the saffron trade. With the addition of the spire in1832 the tower is 193 feet (59m) high. The interior of the

church has a wonderful organ with spectacular Trompeta Realpipes, nine mediaeval brasses and some fine stained glasswindows. Among themonuments are Lord Audley’sBelgian slate tomb in the southchapel and R.A.Butler’smemorial plaque, his grave beingat the east end of the churchyard.

7. Youth Hostel and The Close The Youth Hostel (pictured) is Grade I listed and is one of thefinest medieval buildings in the town. It was built as acombined shop, home and warehouse in the 1490s. There is a fine doorway into Bridge Street and a carved dragon post on the corner. The sack hoistin the roof was added in the early nineteenthcentury when part of the building was converted to a malting. Diagonally acrossthe road from the Youth Hostel stands The Close, a fine late fifteenth century timber framed house with later additions including an unusualseventeenth century ‘Spider’ window.

10

SHORT + LONGS T A YC A R P A R K

UDC_TRAIL_BUP 26/9/07 5:26 pm Page 2

SAFFRON WALDENTOWN TRAIL

Illustrated map

Guide to places of interest

Short history of SaffronWalden

A SHORT HISTORY OF SAFFRON WALDEN

For the four hundred years of the Roman era there was never more than a small settlement inwhat the later Saxon inhabitants called "weala-denu" ("Valley of the Britons") and we nowcall Saffron Walden. By the writing of the Domesday Book in 1086,however,there was anestate of about 120 households.

In the 1130s and 1140s the Norman Lord of the Manor Geoffrey de Mandeville 3rd Earl ofEssex did three things that led to Walden becoming the economic and administrative centreof the area; he built the castle,moved the market from Newport and founded a BenedictinePriory. The castle keep ruins can be seen today and the market is still held on Tuesdays andSaturdays. The Priory,which became Walden Abbey in 1190 and was given to Sir ThomasAudley in 1538 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries,is now Audley End House.

In the 1230s the Earls of Essex,now de Bohuns,set out a new ambitious town plan includingsome earlier elements with a grid system of streets,a new market place and a new church.These elements can still be seen in the town centre today. By the late 1300s the area aroundWalden had begun to grow the saffron crocus and by the early 1500s was the centre of thesaffron industry in this country. Such was its importance that the town adopted the name ofSaffron Walden and its legacy is reflected in the wealth of timber-framed buildings of thistime and the largest parish church in Essex,completed in 1525.

Saffron Walden has a major place in the evolution of democracy in this country. In the springof 1647 with one civil war won,the New Model Army under Sir Thomas Fairfax split withParliament and was ordered not to approach London. Fairfax settled on Saffron Walden as hisheadquarters and billeted his soldiers in the area. Debates were held in the parish church wherefor the first time ever ordinary soldiers elected representatives to speak for them. Eventuallyeven Oliver Cromwell M.P. was persuaded to throw in his lot with the New Model Army.

The decline of the saffron industry in the seventeenth and eighteenth century led to littledevelopment or expansion in the town. There were few new houses built at this time but somerefacing of old houses and a new Georgian Town Hall built in the 1760s.

Prosperity returned in the nineteenth century with the growth of the malting and brewingindustries and with farming still at the centre of the area's economy. The Gibsons,who werebankers and brewers,were one of the wealthiest families in the town. They were Quakers andgreat philanthropists and were involved in the founding of the museum,the library,thehospital,the transfer of the Friends’School to the town from Croydon,digging wells andeventually bringing the branch line of the railway in 1865. The Victorian prosperity isreflected in buildings around the Market Square and to the south of the town.

Changes in the twentieth century have included the demise of the branch line of the railwayin 1964,the stopping of the regular livestock markets and large modern housingdevelopments on the outskirts of the town and latterly infill developments in the centre. Thesechanges have produced a town of about 15,000 people living in a safe healthy place to bringup a family and yet within easy reach of London and Cambridge.

Funded by

ALMSHOUSESPark Lane and Abbey LaneThe earliest almshouse was built in 1400 froma charity founded by John and ElizabethButler. The building was in the form of twocourtyards each with ten dwellings. After 1633the building fell into disrepair and those nowgrouped in Park Lane and Abbey Lane werebuilt in 1834 and are the replacements andextensions of the original.

AUDLEY END HOUSE & GARDENSAudley End, CB11 4JFTel: 01799 522399 Built by Thomas Howard, Earl of Suffolk, LordTreasurer to King James I. Audley End is oneof England’s most magnificent stately homeswith over 30 lavishly decorated rooms,interiors by Robert Adam and a wonderfulcollection of paintings and furnishings. Explorethe Capability Brown parkland, 19th Centuryparterre with its elaborate floral displays andthe organic walled kitchen garden.

AUDLEY END MINIATURE RAILWAYThe Audley End Miniature Railway is situatedacross the road from Audley End House. It wasfirst opened in 1964 and now consists of a 1.5mile (2.4 km) ride on Lord Braybrooke’s private10 1/4 inch gauge miniature railway throughestate woodland. Children all enjoy looking forthe teddies that live in the woods while adultswill be reminded of a bygone era especially onSundays when steam engines pull the carriages.

BAPTIST CHURCHHigh StreetIn 1774 the Baptists split with their fellowNonconformists who worshipped in AbbeyLane Independent Church. They bought an orchard on the present site and built the

first Baptist church there. The present churchwas built in 1878-9. Its latest addition is theglass door with a saffron crocus design. Infront of the church is the town’s warmemorial.

THE COMMON & TURF MAZEThe oldest of Saffron Walden’s open spaces,the Common is a meadow on which the localpeople had grazing rights and it was alsoused for such events as tournaments. On theeastern side is the largest turf labyrinth stillsurviving in Europe. The ‘path’ winds forabout one mile through the turf within acircle 100 feet (30.5 mtrs) in diameter.

FRIENDS’ MEETING HOUSEHigh StreetThe Quakers still gather at this meeting placein the High Street where they first met in1676. The Meeting House was altered manytimes over the years and was rebuilt in the1870s by the Gibsons.

FRIENDS’ SCHOOLMount Pleasant RoadThe Friends’ School moved from Croydon toSaffron Walden in 1879, when the presentestablishment was built of red brick and in aTudor style by the architect Edward Burgess.

UNITED REFORMED CHURCHAbbey LaneThe place of worship for another of theNonconformist groups, the United ReformedChurch was built in 1811 as a CongregationalChapel. With an Ionic four-column portico, itreplaced the original church of 1694, which inturn was built on the site of the barn where thecongregation first worshipped.

For details of opening times and any other information contact the Tourist Information Centre on: 01799 510444

OTHER PLACES OF INTEREST IN SAFFRON WALDEN

To Cambridge & M11

B184

BRIDGE ENDGARDENBridge St

LITT

LE W

ALD

EN R

DB

1052

To Lt. Walden & Linton

Town Trail Area

Swan Meadow Car Park

Park Lane

Abbey Lane HIG

H STR

EET

George

StreetHill Street

Gold

St

Fairycroft R

d

East St

AUDLEY ROAD

District CouncilOffices

LONDON RD

DEB

DEN

RO

AD

SOU

TH R

OA

D

Borough Lane Mount Pleasant Road

Friends School

To Debden

Audley End House & Miniature Railway

2 Mile

Audley End RoadCounty HighSchool

2 Miles to Audley EndRailway Station

Wen

den

s A

mb

o R

oad

New

po

rt R

oad

PLEA

SAN

T VALLEY

Bell College

PEASLANDS ROAD

Lord ButlerLeisure Centre

ASHDON ROAD To Ashdon

RADWINTER ROAD

B1053To Radwinter& Haverhill

THA

XTED

RO

AD

B184

To Thaxted & Gt. Dunmow

A Saffron Walden Initiative Project

TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE Market Place, CB10 1HR Tel: 01799 510444Opening Times:Apr to Oct: Mon – Sat 9.30am – 5.30pmSun & Bank Holidays 10.30am – 1.00pm (April to August only)Nov to Mar: Mon – Sat 10.00am – 5.00pm

BUSESThe main bus stops are on the High Street andCommon Hill. For timetables contact theTourist Information Centre.

CAR PARKINGFairycroft Road – short stay & cycle racks The Common – short stay & cycle racksRose and Crown car park – short stay Swan Meadow – short and long stay &coach parking

FRY ART GALLERYOff Castle Street, CB10 1BD Tel: 01799 513779 for opening times

LIBRARY2 King Street, CB10 1ES Tel: 01799 523178

MARKETSHeld in the Market Place on Tues & Sat.

MUSEUMSaffron Walden Museum, Museum Street,CB10 1JL Tel: 01799 510333

POLICE STATIONEast Street, CB10 1LX Tel: 01799 513232

RAIL TRAVELThe nearest railway station is at Audley EndStation, about 2 miles (3.2 km) from the centreof Saffron Walden.Rail Enquiries – Tel: 08457 484950

TOILETSHill Street 7.00am – 6.00pmThe Common 24 hoursSwan Meadow 24 hoursBridge End Garden Garden opening times

UDC_TRAIL_BUP 26/9/07 5:26 pm Page 1