The Villages of Saffron Walden, Hinxton and Sawston in Essex

Saffron Walden, Sawston and Hinxton in Essex England

Saffron Walden is the central marketing town near Hinxton and Sawston, two villages mentioned on documents discovered for the Chapman and Parkin families. The surrounding area is called Cambridgeshire.

"SAWSTON is a large parish and village, on the river Cam and on the road from London to Cambridge, 1? miles north from Whittlesford station on the London and Cambridge section of the Great Eastern railway, 7 south from Cambridge, 6 north-west from Linton and 7 north-west from Saffron Walden, in the Eastern division of the county, hundred of Whittlesford, union and petty sessional division of Linton, county court district of Cambridge, rural deanery of Camps, south division, and archdeaconry and diocese of Ely. The village is lighted by subscription with gas, first used in November, 1882; the works, erected in 1867, are the property of Mr. James Hunter. It is supplied with water from artesian wells."
"The soil is chalky; subsoil, chalk. The chief crops are wheat, barley and oats. The area is 1,884 acres of land and 14 of water rateable value £8,611; the population in 1891 was 1,882."

[Kelly's Directory Cambridgeshire 1900]

"HINXTON is a village and parish on the borders of Essex, and 2 miles from either Great Chesterford or Whittlesford stations on the London and Cambridge section of the London and North Eastern railway, 5 north from Saffron Walden, 6 south-west from Linton and 9 south from Cambridge, in the hundred of Whittlesford, petty seasional division and union of Linton, county court district of Saffron Walden, rural deanery of Camps, archdeaconry and diocese of Ely."

"Hinxton Hall, the property of the trustees of the late Robert Bertram Wilkinson esq. lords of the manor and the principal landowners, is a plain mansion of red brick; it is now the residence of Charles Laurence Pemberton Robinson seq. The soil is light, with a subsoil of gravel and chalk. The chief crops are wheat, barley and roots. The area is 1,158 acres of land and 6 of water; the population in 1921 was 297. By a Local Governinent Board Order which came into operation March 25, 1886, a detached part of Ickleton was amalgamated with this parish."

[Kelly's Directory - Cambridgeshire - 1929]

This is the original caption printed with this photo.

Bridge End, looking north, c.1920
The shop on the right was were Tom Goddard started his butcher's business, before moving to Church Street. His sausage recipe is legendary in the town and is still used by Grayson and Start who bought the recipe when Goddard's closed.

The remarkable thing about these two photos is there similarity in shape and buildings in spite of 80 years. Although Saffron Walden began as a Medieval town, (in 1086 there were 128 households), many of the original buildings have survived. William Parkin had his wheelwright shop at number 4 on the right (1871 census). The crossing street noted by the sign in the upper picture is CASTLE.