SAFFRON WALDEN

This article appears in Volume V23, Page 1000 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: SAC-SAR

SAFFRON WALDEN , a market-town and municipal borough in the Saffron Walden parliamentary division of Essex, England, beautifully situated near the Cam in a valley surrounded by hills, on a branch of the

Great

GREAT

Eastern railway, 431 M. N.N.E. from London. Pop. (1901) 5896. It has a somewhat ancient appearance and possesses a spacious market-place. Of the old castle, dating probably from the 12th century, but in part protected by much earlier earthworks, the keep and a few other portions still remain. Near it are a

series

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

of curious circular excavations in the chalk, called the Maze, of unknown date or purpose. The earthworks west and south of the town are of

great

GREAT

extent; there was a large Saxon burial-ground here. The church of St Mary the Virgin, a beautiful specimen of the Perpendicular style, dating from the reign of

Henry

VII., but frequently repaired and restored, contains the tomb of Lord Audley, chancellor to

Henry

VIII. There is an Edward VI. grammar school, occupying modern buildings. The town possesses a museum with good archaeological and natural history collections, a literary institute and a horticultural society. The benevolent institutions include the

hospital

and the Edward VI. almshouses. There is a British and Foreign School Society's training college for mistresses. In the neighbourhood is the fine

mansion

MANSION (through O. Fr. mansion, mod. maison, from Lat. mansio, dwelling-place, stage on a journey; manere, to remain)

of Audley End, built by Thomas, 1st

earl

EARL

of Suffolk, in 1603 on the ruins of the abbey, converted in 1190 from a

Benedictine

BENEDICTINE

priory founded by Geoffrey de Mandeville in 1136. Brewing, malting and iron-founding are carried on. The borough is under a mayor, 4 aldermen and 12 councillors. Area, 7502 acres.
Saffron Walden (Waledana) was almost certainly fortified by the Britons, and probably by some earlier race. The town

corporation

CORPORATION (from Lat. corporare, to form into a
body
- BODY
, corpus, corporis)

grew out of the Gild of the Holy Trinity, which was incorporated under Henry VIII., the lord of the town, in 1514. It was dissolved under Edward VI., and a charter was obtained for Walden, appointing a treasurer and chamberlain and twenty-four assistants, all elective, who, with the commonalty, formed the

corporation

CORPORATION (from Lat. corporare, to form into a
body
- BODY
, corpus, corporis)

. In 1694 William and Mary made Walden a free borough, with a mayor, 4 aldermen and 12 town councillors. The corporation became a local board of health under the act of 1858, and a municipal borough in 1875. The culture of saffron was the most characteristic industry at Walden from the reign of Edward III. until its

gradual

GRADUAL (Med. Lat. gradualis, of or belonging to steps or degrees; gradus, step)

extinction about 1768.

End of Article: SAFFRON WALDEN

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/SAC_SAR/SAFFRON_WALDEN.html">
SAFFRON WALDEN
</a>

(Previous)
SAFFRON (Arab. za'faran)

(Next)
SAFRANINE

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email