Royal Lordship and Ladyship of Brook Walden

Brief Description:

Saffron Walden has been described as “the best surviving Market Town in Essex” [Maria Medlycott, Saffron Walden – Historic Towns Assessment Report, Essex County Council,1999 p.10], partly because its medieval street-plan is well-preserved, as is a relatively high proportion of its medieval fabric (notably timber-framed houses). It is also relatively well-documented, despite manorial records prior to 1381 having been destroyed in the Peasants Revolt, and (for a small town) relatively well-investigated by archaeologists. But all this has not prevented interpretation of the development of Walden from being somewhat speculative and debated.

Walden is situated in the far north-west region of Essex, in the upper Cam valley so that it is comparatively distant from London (43 miles away); Cambridge is the nearest town of any significance – though not especially prosperous compared to other large towns – 12 miles to the north. But Walden lay close to a route between London and Cambridge (following a chain of river valleys) which, a few miles north of Walden intersected the Icknield Way, heading to Norwich. Perhaps equally important, it was situated in a border region between rich grain-growing areas, to the north-west, and more wooded, pastoral areas to the south-east, making it well-placed as a point of exchange for the products of each area. However, the growth of a medieval population nucleus beyond the main valley and on a hillside would pose a challenge to its development as a market centre.

Walden was one of the manors allocated by the Conqueror to Geoffrey de Mandeville (d.1100), paternal grandfather of the like-named first Earl of Essex.

At the time of Domesday, Walden was a fairly large village within a manor of rising value, pasturing large numbers of sheep and goats and with enough woodland to feed an even larger numbers of pigs.