Archaeological evidence suggests continuous settlement on or near the site of Saffron Walden from at least the
Neolithic period. It is believed that a small
Romano-British settlement and fort – possibly in the area round Abbey Lane – existed as an outpost of the much larger settlement of
Cestreforda to the north. After the
Norman Conquest of 1066, a stone church was built.
Walden Castle, dating from about 1140, may have been built on pre-existing fortifications. A priory,
Walden Abbey, was founded in around 1136 under the patronage of
Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex. and Chipping Walden in the 15th and early 16th centuries, but by the 1540s it had become Saffron Walden.
Puritans and Quakers The town and surrounding area, like much of
East Anglia, was strongly
Puritan during the 17th century. The population was influenced by the missionary
John Eliot. By 1640, Samuel Bass's family and a number of others had departed for the
Massachusetts Bay Colony as part of the
Great Migration. Saffron Walden was at the centre of the
Eastern Association during the
English Civil War. While the town was the headquarters of the
New Model Army, Lieutenant-General of Horse,
Oliver Cromwell paid a 19-day visit in May 1647, taking part in debates to seek a settlement between Parliament and the army. He is thought to have stayed at the
Sun Inn. By the end of the 18th century saffron was no longer in demand and the industry was replaced by
malt and
barley. More than 40
maltings stood in the town by the end of the century. The trade was less lucrative than saffron, but the town continued to grow through the 19th century, and had a
cattle market, corn exchange and other civic buildings. During this time
Quakers became economically active in the area. The influential Gibsons – one of the founding families of
Barclays Bank – aided the construction of several public buildings that remain today, such as the
Saffron Walden Museum and the
Saffron Walden Town Hall. The
Eastern Counties Railway opened its route from London to Cambridge in 1845, taking a route along the valley of the
River Granta to the west of the town. The nearest station to Saffron Walden on that line is
Audley End railway station, south-west of the town at
Wendens Ambo. The
Saffron Walden Railway was subsequently built as a branch line from Audley End to
Bartlow via
Saffron Walden railway station, which opened in 1865. The branch line closed as part of the
Beeching cuts in 1964, since when Audley End has again been Saffron Walden's nearest station. Heavy industry arrived after the Second World War. Acrows Ltd, makers of
falsework, built premises to the east of the town and became a significant employer and economic influence in the area. For a short time there was a dedicated railway station for the works known as
Acrow Halt.
Coat of arms and maces Saffron Walden's unofficial
coat of arms showed the saffron crocus within the walls of the castle in the form of an
heraldic pun – as in, "Saffron walled-in". In 1961, a formal coat of arms was granted by the
College of Arms and this was adapted in 1974 into its current form. The town has three
ceremonial maces. The large mace was given to Saffron Walden by
James II in 1685 and provides an early recording of the unofficial coat of arms. Made of
silver gilt, it is approximately long. Two smaller silver maces were bought by the corporation in 1549 to commemorate the granting of a new town charter by
Edward VI. This purchase is recorded in the town's Guild of Holy Trinity accounts and reads,
"For 2 new maces, weying 18 ownces one quarter and half at 8s. the ownce 7l.7s". ==Sites and buildings of interest==