St Mary the Virgin, Saffron Walden St Mary the Virgin, Saffron Walden St Mary the Virgin is the parish church of Saffron Walden, Essex. It is the largest non-cathedral church in Essex with an overall length of and the spire, high, which is the tallest in Essex. It was designated as a Grade I listed building in 1951. A Norman church was recorded in 1130, which in turn had replaced an earlier wooden structure. The building as it currently stands dates predominantly from a rebuilding between 1250 and 1258, with a further rebuilding in the Perpendicular style begun in about 1450, the latter stages supervised by
Saffron Walden Birmingham New Street via and also stops at Audley End. Saffron Walden is accessed from junction 8 of the M11 travelling from London (a distance of about ) and from junction 10 travelling from the Cambridge direction (). Stansted Airport is some from the town, while Luton Airport is away. Regular bus services connect the town with Cambridge, Bishop's Stortford, Haverhill and Stansted Airport. Audley End Airfield, a private grass runway, is located about outside of the town. Audley End House – once one of the largest mansions in England – is now in the care of English Heritage and