SAFFRON WALDEN, a market-town and municipal bor ough in Essex, England, on a branch of the L.N.E.R., 434 m. N.N.E. from London. Pop. (1931) 5,93o. Of the old castle, dating probably from the 12th century, the keep and a few other portions still remain. Near it are a series 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 extent ; there was a large Saxon burial-ground here. The church of St. Mary the Virgin contains the tomb of Lord Audley, chancellor to Henry VIII. The town has a museum with good archaeological and natural history collections, an important school under the direction of the Society of Friends, a literary institute and a horticultural society. Benevolent institutions include the hospital and the Edward VI. almshouses. In the neighbourhood is the fine mansion of Audley End, built by Thomas, 1st earl of Suffolk, in 1603 on the ruins of the abbey, converted in 1190 from a Benedictine priory founded by Geoffrey de Mandeville in 1136.
Saffron Walden (Waledana) was almost certainly fortified by the Britons, and probably by some earlier people. The town corporation grew out of the Gild of the Holy Trinity, which was incorporated under Henry VIII., the lord of the town, in It was dissolved under Edward VI., and a charter •was obtained appointing a treasurer and chamberlain and twenty-four assist ants, who, with the commonalty, formed the corporation. In 1694 William and Mary made Walden a free borough, with a mayor, 4 aldermen and 12 town councillors. The culture of saffron was the most characteristic industry at Walden from the reign of Edward III. until its gradual extinction about 1768.