About Saffron Walden                                

Saffron Walden is a typical English market town which offers residents and visitors an attractive and safe environment. We offer specialist shops, an excellent Museum and a beautiful Parish Church.

The Town has a twice weekly market and nearby is Audley End House, one of England’s great mansions. Whether you are a visitor or a resident, you will find there is plenty to do. The town has a large number of clubs and organisations. Take a walk around the attractive streets or just sit on the Common and admire the view of one of England’s most attractive towns.

Saffron Walden is located in NW Essex some 50 miles from London, but in a largely unspoilt rural area. This very attractive town is one of the finest preserved examples of a medieval market town and is quintessentially English. Within its outstanding Conservation Area you can find examples of every style of architecture from the 12th to the 21st century. The town is close to, but largely undisturbed by, Stansted airport and has excellent links to Cambridge, just 15 miles away.

Audley End House                                       

Audley End House, whose park extends from the town’s edge to the railway at Audley End, is very much a 'national monument' and by far the country’s largest newly built mansion of the Jacobean period, although what is seen today is only a part of the former buildings. The mansion is, in fact, the successor to Walden Abbey which was founded as a Benedictine Priory, in 1190 by Geoffrey de Mandeville and raised later to abbey status.

Thomas Howard became Early of Suffolk in 1603 and Lord Treasurer a year later. He began, in 1603, to build a new house here, on a lavish scale, on the monastic site and partly using the original materials. This mansion, named Audley End in honour of his grandfather, was completed in 1616, and was said to be the largest mansion in England.

St. Mary's Church                                        

The great glory of Saffron Walden is the Parish Church of St. Mary, one of the largest in Essex and one of the most ornate and rich in its design.