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) in straight he was beaten one and a half lengths by the Jim Bolger-trained filly Athlumney Lady. On his three-year-old debut Saffron Walden started odds-on favourite for a maiden race over one mile at the Curragh on 28 March. Despite sweating up before the start he tracked the leaders before going to the front a furlong from the finish and won "easily" by a length from Carhue Gold. Three weeks later the colt contested the Listed 2000 Guineas Trial Stakes over the same distance at Leopardstown and started 8/11 favourite ahead of the National Stakes winner Mus-If. He turned into