Saffron Walden Cestreforda to the north. After the Norman invasion of 1066, a stone church was built. Walden Castle, dating from about 1140, may have been built on pre-existing fortifications. A priory, Walden Abbey, was founded under the patronage of Geoffrey de Mandeville, first Earl of Essex about 1136, on the site of what is now Audley End village. The abbey was separated from Walden by Holywell Field. After the dissolution of the monasteries, Sir Thomas Audley converted its cloisters into a dwelling. Later this became the site of Audley End House. The market was moved from nearby Newport to Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden Railway Saffron Walden Railway The Saffron Walden Railway was a branch of the Great Eastern Railway between Audley End and Bartlow on the Stour Valley Railway between Shelford to Haverhill, a distance of . The line was opened between Audley End and Saffron Walden on 21 November 1865 and to Bartlow in 1866. The line was the initiative of the local Gibson family whose bank helped to finance the railway. It remained independent until 1 January 1877 when the Great Eastern Railway purchased the line. The Engineer's Line Reference for the line is AEB. Initially there were six return trains a