During the Middle Ages, Thaxted prospered as a centre for the production of cutlery. This association is recalled by the town's well-known guildhall, by the which consists of two crossed swords, and in the name of the nearby hamlet of Cutlers Green. Why a town like Thaxted, lacking in the natural resources required for the large-scale manufacturing metal products, should have developed this industry is unclear. Although it had been assumed that Thaxted's cutlers were finishing blades made elsewhere, excavations undertaken in 2015 in Orange Street found evidence to support the work of bladesmiths alongside cutlers/hafters.