Ashdon Ashdon Ashdon, is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is about northeast of Saffron Walden and northwest from the county city of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Uttlesford and the parliamentary constituency of Saffron Walden. The village has its own Parish Council. The village is approximately northeast of the nearest town, Saffron Walden. It is on the River Bourn, a tributary to the River Granta, a tributary to the River Cam. The village is close to the Essex/Cambridgeshire county border. According to the 2011 census the population of the parish was 893, up from
Saffron Walden market place. This was demolished in 1847 to make way for a corn exchange. In the 16th–17th centuries the saffron crocus ("Crocus sativus") was widely grown, thanks to the town's favourable soil and climate. The flower was valuable, as the extract from the stigmas was used in medicines, as a condiment, in perfume, as an aphrodisiac, and as an expensive yellow dye. The industry gave Walden its name. The town and surrounding area, like much of East Anglia, was strongly Puritan during the 17th century. The population was influenced by the missionary John Eliot. By 1640, Samuel Bass's family and