Hill House, Saffron Walden listed in 1972 and is now divided into 17 flats. Hill House, Saffron Walden Hill House is a 19th-century building at 75 High Street, Saffron Walden, Essex, England. It is listed Grade II. In 1845, George Stacey Gibson (1818–1883) and his wife Elizabeth, the daughter of Samuel Tuke, bought Hill House and lived there until their death. Gibson was a British banker, botanist and philanthropist. Their only child, Mary Wyatt Gibson (1855–1934) lived at Hill House until her death. After her death, most of the grounds of Hill House were developed for housing, and the family name lives on in
Saffron Walden market place. This was demolished in 1847 to make way for a corn exchange. In the 16th–17th centuries the saffron crocus ("Crocus sativus") was widely grown, thanks to the town's favourable soil and climate. The flower was valuable, as the extract from the stigmas was used in medicines, as a condiment, in perfume, as an aphrodisiac, and as an expensive yellow dye. The industry gave Walden its name. The town and surrounding area, like much of East Anglia, was strongly Puritan during the 17th century. The population was influenced by the missionary John Eliot. By 1640, Samuel Bass's family and