Saffron Building Society 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. It is a UK building society based in Saffron Walden, Essex. It began life as the Saffron Walden Second Building Society and was founded by the Revd John Marten, who became the first Secretary. The first Chairman of the Saffron Building Society was a local builder called Joseph Durrant. Originally established as a 'terminating
Saffron Walden More than 40 maltings stood in the town by the end of the century. The trade was less lucrative than saffron, but the town continued to grow through the 19th century, and had a cattle market, corn exchange and other civic buildings. During this time Quakers became active. The influential Gibsons – one of the founding families of Barclays Bank – aided the construction of several public buildings that remain today, such as the museum and town hall. In the 1900s the Saffron Walden branch railway line from Audley End station, on the mainline from London to Cambridge, was extended