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) Saffron Walden (horse) Saffron Walden (foaled 5 March 1996) was a French-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Bred by Stavros Niarchos he fetched IR£1,200,000 as a yearling and showed considerable promise on his only run as a two-year-old when he finished second in the Killavullan Stakes. In the spring of 1999 he emerged as a top-class miler, winning the 2000 Guineas Trial Stakes before recording an emphatic victory in the Irish 2000 Guineas. He was fancied for The Derby but finished seventh and was disappointing in his two subsequent races. After being retired from racing he stood as a breeding