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 County High School Guide ranked the school as the best non-selective state school in East Anglia. In November 2013, the school opened a new "world-class" concert hall dubbed Saffron Hall. The £10m auditorium was funded by the Yellow Car Charitable Trust and replaced the previous main school hall. Saffron Hall won the Project of the Year award at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors East of England Awards 2014. The only cinema in Saffron Walden has operated within the school since 2006. It is a not-for-profit cinema run by volunteer projectionists using both digital projectors and 35mm film. Both Saffron Screen and Saffron