INDEX TO LOCAL
HISTORY MATERIALS
Those who have never visited
before, and who know which place they are studying,
could start with
the red file entitled 'Index to Materials' which
is constantly updated with every item acquired
relating to Saffron Walden and over 40 villages
of north-west Essex. There is a separate section
dealing with each place, starting with the general
sources such as Victoria County History of
Essex,
Morant's 18th century History & Antiquities
of the County of Essex, the Royal Commission
on Historical Monuments survey, the Domesday
Book
entry, Pevsner's book on notable buildings, P.H.
Reaney's Place Names of Essex and other key sources.
The listing then continues with items relating
to that particular place, such as articles in
books or in the Essex Review, Essex Journal,
the Saffron
Walden Historical Journal, Transactions of the
Essex Archaeological Society and other journals.
At the back of this file can be found an alphabetical
list of items relating to the notable people
associated with the district, such as Edward
Bawden, 'Rab'
Butler, Oliver Cromwell, Gabriel Harvey, Gustav
Holst, Dick Turpin and so on.
MICROFORMS
Indeed family historians will find the
Town Library invaluable in many ways. The resources
include
all the standard references on microfilm or fiche:
the International Genealogical Index, parish registers
and census returns: an unusual addition is the
listing of the 1811 census of Saffron Walden. Among
the microfilms also are the Board of Guardians
minutes from 1887-1940 and some local newspapers,
the Essex Standard from 1831-1890, the Saffron
Walden Weekly News from 1889 and the Herts & Essex
Observer from 1939.
ANTIQUARIAN BOOKS
The wealth of material does not
end here, however. Within the locked cabinets of
the Town Library
will be found not only complete runs of many periodicals,
but also an amazing and little-known assemblage
of antiquarian books belonging to Saffron Walden
Museum, many of them on local history subjects.
They include such enticing titles as: A Short
Sketch of the Life of Helen Winder, justifying
and explaining
her conduct, and exhibiting her enemies in their
true colours, published in 1826 and offering insights
into local society of that time. There are well-known
works such as the transcript of the 1387 Cartulary
of Walden Abbey, the original 1862 Flora
of Essex by noted Walden botanist George Stacey Gibson,
Gabriel Harvey's Marginalia and the 1825 version
of Pepys' Diary rescued from obscurity by Lord
Braybrooke. Lord Braybrooke's own 1836 History
of Audley End is represented by several copies,
one of which is full of insertions and extra information.
Likewise John Player's charming Sketches of
Saffron Walden & Vicinity, published in 1845, and which
contains his own annotations, identifying some
of the characters described. William Winstanley
was the local author of the many Poor Robin almanacs
which were enormously popular in the 18th century
and of which the Town Library has a good collection.
The History of Saffron Walden
The following works provide a good introduction
to the history of Saffron Walden:
S. R. Bassett, Saffron Walden: Excavations and
Research, 1972-1980.
Chelmsford Archaeological Trust, 1982.
(CBA Research Report: 45)
Anna Brooker and Mary Whiteman, Saffron Walden:
Portrait of a Market Town.
C. W. Daniel, 1982.
Jacqueline Cooper, The Well-Ordered Town: a Story
of Saffron Walden, Essex, 1792-1862.
Cooper Publications, 2000.
Martyn Everett and Howard Newman, Saffron Walden:
A Pictorial History.
Phillimore, 1998.
Martyn Everett and Donald Stewart, The Buildings
of Saffron Walden.
W. Hart, 2003 [2004]
Jean Gumbrell, Voices of Saffron Walden and Surrounding
Villages.
Chalford, 1998.
Jean Gumbrell, Down Your Street. (3 parts)
Gumbrell, 1989-95.
Len Pole, Saffron Walden in Old Photographs.
Sutton Publishing, 1997.
C. B. Rowntree, Saffron Walden: Then and Now.
Hart, 1951.
H. C. Stacey, Saffron Walden in Old Photographs.
C. W. Daniel, 1980.
White, Malcolm, Saffron Walden’s History:
A Chronological Compilation.
White, 1991.