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 (horse) headed the betting on 2/1 and 5/2 respectively having finished first and second in the 2000 Guineas. Orpen was the third choice on 9/2 ahead of Access All Areas (Marble Hill Stakes) and Mus-If with Saffron Walden starting at odds of 12/1. He was restrained by Peslier in the early stages before moving into contention on the outside in the last quarter mile. He produce a "powerful run" to take the lead inside the final furlong and drew away from his opponents to win "easily" by three lengths from Enrique with Orpen taking third ahead of Mus-If. After the race