1901 Saffron Walden by-election 1901 Saffron Walden by-election The Saffron Walden by-election, 1901 was a by-election held on 31 May 1901 for the British House of Commons constituency of Saffron Walden in Essex. The by-election was caused by the death on 1 May 1901, at the age of 40, of the sitting Liberal MP for the constituency Armine Wodehouse. Wodehouse was the son of sometime Foreign Secretary John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley and had held the Saffron Walden seat since the general election of 1900. Saffron Walden Liberals selected as their candidate Jack Pease. Pease had been Liberal MP for the Tyneside Division
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