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 Railway day, while between 1877 and 1894 trains operated between Saffron Walden and London. Coaches dating from the 1890s operated on the line until the 1950s. From July 1958 the line was operated by railbuses until closure. The line closed to passengers on 7 September 1964 and to freight three months later. At Audley End services served a separate platform, of which the building still remains in the current car park (). 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,