Saffron Walden takes its name from the saffron industry which grew up here around the late 14th century.
Saffron was an incredibly important product - it was used as a
dye and as a spice.
The trade died out during the eighteenth century, but an
enterprising farmer has recently begun growing
saffron crocus again in the area.
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| Church St |
The town is still home to many charming medieval buildings, some of which, e.g. the Cross Keys Hotel, have their original shop windows. Many of these buildings are adorned with
pargeting, a type of moulded decorative plasterwork. If your surname is Pargeter, then maybe one of your ancestors was involved in this craft.
In some ways the town reminded me of
Chester,
as there were a few Georgian buildings mixed in with the medieval ones
(although of course Chester's shops are two-tiered - the famous Rows).
Saffron Walden is also home to a
museum,
built in the mid-1830s. It's said to be one of the oldest purpose-built
museums in the UK, although sadly we did not have time to pay it a
visit.
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| Saffron Walden museum. |
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| Walsingham House. |
Michael Portillo's Great British Railway Journeys is back with a new series. This week on the programme he visited some industrial sites and we've been treated to some fascinating archive footage of workers. During the second episode he had a ride on the Waverley paddle steamer, and visited the David Livingstone Centre at Blantyre - I was especially interested as I did not realize that the famous missionary was a child worker in a cotton factory. Episode 3 was another treat as Mr Portillo visited a modern steel rolling mill, the Clyde Falls at New Lanark, and explored the Union Canal and the Falkirk Wheel, which I would love to visit one day. Over the next few weeks, I'll be taking a look at some of the fabulous heritage sites I visited last year, but haven't had time to blog about yet, as I'm busy writing Regency Spies.
