History of saffron stores from wild flowers, believing that divine intervention alone enables saffron's medicinal properties. Such evidence suggests that saffron was an article of long-distance trade before Crete's Minoan palace culture reached a peak in the 2nd millennium BC. Saffron was also honoured as a sweet-smelling spice over three millennia ago in the Hebrew Tanakh: In ancient Persia, saffron ("Crocus sativus" 'Hausknechtii') was cultivated at Derbena and Isfahan in the 10th century BC. There, Persian saffron threads have been found interwoven into ancient Persian royal carpets and funeral shrouds. Saffron was used by ancient Persian worshippers as a ritual offering to their
Saffron Building Society society' Saffron Walden Second Building Society became a permanent building society in 1857 and changed their name to The Saffron Walden Second Benefit Building and Investment Society on the Permanent Plan. In the same year the Society lent £1,730. In 1873 Henry Hart a printer, was Chairman and directors' salaries now stood at £1. Saffron Building Society The Saffron Building Society is a regional building society which has branches and agencies in the East of England. These span: Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Suffolk and London. It is a member of the Building Societies Association. Saffron Building Society was established in 1849.