117-558: Saffron Walden Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Place, Saffron Walden , Essex , England. The structure, which is the headquarters of Saffron Walden Town Council, is a Grade II listed building . The current building was commissioned to replace a medieval town hall in the Market Place: several tenement buildings were demolished at the same time so that there would be more room for holding markets. The foundation stone for
234-726: A coronation . She immersed herself in national affairs as civil war loomed, and in 1644, following the birth of her youngest daughter, Henrietta , during the height of the First English Civil War , was compelled to seek refuge in France. The execution of Charles I in 1649 left her impoverished. She settled in Paris and returned to England after the Restoration of Charles II to the throne. In 1665, she moved back to Paris, where she died four years later. The North American Province of Maryland ,
351-551: A municipal borough , the district contained the parish of Saffron Walden. On 1 April 1974 the district and parish were abolished and became part of Uttlesford district. A successor parish was formed covering the same area as the former district and its parish. According to the Office for National Statistics , at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001 , Saffron Walden had a population of 14,313. The 2001 population density
468-400: A pediment containing a smaller window and a coat of arms in the tympanum . Following the remodelling, the principal rooms were the council chamber and the assembly room. Pevsner liked the design which he described as "ostentatious" but worthy of "an honourable mention". As the council's responsibilities grew it needed more office accommodation than was available in the town hall. In 1934
585-400: A wrought-iron grill; on the first floor there was a tall round headed sash window flanked by two conventional sash windows with blind panels above and, at roof level, there was a modillioned cornice , a parapet and a central turret . Internally, the principal room was the courtroom and there was also a lock-up for petty criminals. Local government in towns was reformed in 1836 under
702-411: A 16th-century barn, it was restored in 2004–5. With a long history of non-conformism , Saffron Walden has: Saffron Walden falls in to three local government administrative areas, including Uttlesford District Council and Essex County Council . The town itself is administered by Saffron Walden Town Council which has 18 members. The majority party is Residents for Uttlesford ('R4U'), who are
819-732: A Royalist court in exile at the Chateau-Neuf de Saint-Germain-en-Laye . During 1646 there was talk of Prince Charles joining Henrietta Maria in Paris; Henrietta Maria and the King were keen, but the Prince was initially advised not to go, as it would portray him as a Catholic friend of France. After the continued failure of the Royalist efforts in England, he finally agreed to join his mother in July 1646. Henrietta Maria
936-570: A birthdate of 26 November. In England, where the Julian calendar was still in use, her date of birth is often recorded as 16 November. Henrietta Maria was brought up as a Roman Catholic . As a daughter of the Bourbon king of France, she was a Fille de France and a member of the House of Bourbon . She was the youngest sister of the future Louis XIII of France . Her father was assassinated on 14 May 1610, when she
1053-469: A chapel garden and a magnificent altarpiece by Rubens . It also had an unusual monstrance , designed by François Dieussart to exhibit the Holy Sacrament. Henrietta Maria also had quite an interest in commercial theatre and, much like paintings and sculptures, was a prime patronage to many actors, their companies, and the theaters they performed in. A prime name in regards to her theatrical patronages
1170-500: A close bond with her husband, such confidants were no longer as necessary. Henrietta Maria had a strong interest in the arts, and her patronage of various activities was one of the various ways in which she tried to shape court events. She and Charles were "dedicated and knowledgeable collectors" of paintings. Henrietta Maria was particularly known for her patronage of the Italian painter Orazio Gentileschi , who came to England in 1626 in
1287-404: A cold, and coughs. Henrietta Maria's negotiations were difficult; the larger pieces of jewellery were both too expensive to be sold easily, and politically risky – many buyers were deterred in case a future English Parliament attempted to reclaim them, arguing they had been illegally sold by Henrietta Maria. Henrietta Maria was finally partially successful in her negotiations, particularly for
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#17328553120861404-435: A combination of her piety, her femininity, and her sponsorship of the arts. A devout Roman Catholic , her religion heavily influenced Henrietta Maria's time as queen, particularly the early years of her marriage. In July 1626, she caused huge controversy by stopping at Tyburn to pray for Catholics executed there and later tried to convert her Calvinist nephew Prince Rupert during his stay in England. At first, there
1521-416: A cook, a baker, a pantler, and a tailor. Their removal was part of a plan to control her extravagant expenditure, which resulted in debts that were still being paid off several years later. Charles appointed Jean Caille as her treasurer; he was succeeded by George Carew , then by Sir Richard Wynn in 1629. Despite these reforms and gifts from the king, her spending continued at a high level; in 1627, she
1638-531: A duel with Digby, arresting them both, however, she was unable to prevent a later duel between Digby and Percy, and between Rupert and Percy shortly after that. King Charles was executed by decree of Parliament in 1649; his death left Henrietta Maria almost destitute and in shock, a situation not helped by the French civil war of the Fronde , which left Henrietta Maria's nephew King Louis XIV short of money himself. During
1755-480: A generous pension. Henrietta Maria's return was partially prompted by a liaison between her second son, James, Duke of York, and Anne Hyde, the daughter of Edward Hyde , Charles II's chief minister. Anne was pregnant, and James had proposed marrying her. Henrietta Maria was horrified; she still disliked Edward Hyde, did not approve of the pregnant Anne, and certainly did not want the courtier's daughter to marry her son. However, Charles II agreed and despite her efforts
1872-523: A history of cricket matches recorded back to 1757. A monument at the site commemorates the American airmen and people of Saffron Walden who died in the Second World War. Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria of France ( French : Henriette Marie ; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England , Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles
1989-590: A key patron in Stuart masques, complementing her husband's strong interest in paintings and the visual arts. She performed in various works herself, including as an Amazon in William Davenant 's 1640 "Salmacida Spolia". She was also a patron of English composer Nicholas Lanier , and was responsible for Davenant being appointed the Poet Laureat in 1638. The queen liked physical sculpture and design too, and retained
2106-424: A local political party formed by residents. As of 2024 the mayor is Deryk Eke of Residents for Uttlesford. The town is divided into four parish wards: Audley, named after Audley End House - representing the western area of Saffron Walden including Audley End; Castle - taking its name from Saffron Walden Castle; Shire (formerly Plantation) - representing the southern area of the town; and Little Walden - representing
2223-459: A major haven for Roman Catholic settlers, was named in honour of Queen Henrietta Maria. The name was carried over into the current U.S. state of Maryland . Henrietta Maria was the youngest daughter of Henry IV of France (Henry III of Navarre) and his second wife, Marie de' Medici , and was named after her parents. She was born at the Palais du Louvre on 25 November 1609, but some historians give her
2340-412: A marriage with Henrietta Maria, the terms of which were negotiated by James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle . Henrietta Maria was aged fifteen at the time of her marriage, which was not unusual for royal princesses of the period. Opinions on her appearance vary; her niece Sophia of Hanover commented that the "beautiful portraits of Van Dyck had given me such a fine idea of all the ladies of England that I
2457-449: A menagerie of dogs, monkeys and caged birds. Henrietta Maria's marriage to Charles did not begin well and was not improved by his ejection of her French staff. Initially, their relationship was frigid and argumentative, and Henrietta Maria took an immediate dislike to the Duke of Buckingham , the King's favourite . One of Henrietta Maria's closest companions in the early days of her marriage
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#17328553120862574-750: A number of others had departed for the Massachusetts Bay Colony as part of the Great Migration . Saffron Walden was at the centre of the Eastern Association during the English Civil War . While the town was the headquarters of the New Model Army , Lieutenant-General of Horse, Oliver Cromwell paid a 19-day visit in May 1647, taking part in debates to seek a settlement between Parliament and
2691-593: A pamphlet, before being imprisoned for life. In the late 1630s, the lawyer William Prynne , popular in Puritan circles, also had his ears cut off for writing that women actresses were notorious whores, a clear insult to Henrietta Maria. London society would blame Henrietta Maria for the Irish Rebellion of 1641 , believed to be orchestrated by the Jesuits to whom she was linked in the public imagination. Henrietta Maria herself
2808-556: A period at York, where she was entertained in some style by the Earl of Newcastle . She took the opportunity to discuss the situation north of the border with Royalist Scots, promoting the plans of Montrose and others for an uprising. She also supported the Earl of Antrim 's proposals to settle the rebellion in Ireland and bring forces across the sea to support the king in England. Henrietta Maria continued to argue vigorously for nothing less than
2925-502: A school on this site since 1317 but it was in 1521 that Dame Bradbury made this school available for local people. For the first four years Dame Bradbury paid the salary of the schoolmaster herself, until the school was endowed in 1535. Friends' School , renamed Walden School, was a co-educational Quaker independent school with roots dating back to 1702. Its final building, in Mount Pleasant Road, opened in 1879. On 11 May 2017 it
3042-684: A shipload of arms for the king, which had been held at the request of Parliament. Defying her astrologers , who predicted disaster, she set to sea again at the end of February. This second attempt was successful and she evaded the Parliamentarian navy to land at Bridlington in Yorkshire with troops and arms. The pursuing naval vessels then bombarded the town, forcing the royal party to take cover in neighbouring fields; Henrietta Maria returned under fire, however, to recover her pet dog Mitte which had been forgotten by her staff. Henrietta Maria paused for
3159-507: A total victory over Charles's enemies, countering proposals for a compromise. She rejected private messages from Pym and Hampden asking her to use her influence over the king to create a peace treaty, and was impeached by Parliament shortly afterwards. Meanwhile, Parliament had voted to destroy her private chapel at Somerset House and arrest the Capuchin friars who maintained it. In March, Henry Marten and John Clotworthy forced their way into
3276-678: Is Christopher Beeston , who had not only run his own company of actors known by the Beeston's Boys , but others such as Queen Henrietta's Men . The latter group performed in many courts, such as Hampton Court or the Denmark House. These plays would often be to critical acclaim and great reception of the time, especially from other theatrical figures like Thomas Heywood . In the end – again, such as with other art forms – those who received Henrietta Maria's patronages were always appreciated, and in turn made certain to perform much appreciated shows. During
3393-495: Is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long and opened in 1964. Saffron Walden Museum , which was established in 1835 by Saffron Walden Natural History Society, is close to the town's castle. The museum had many benefactors from local families, including the Gibsons, Frys and Tukes. The first professional curator, Guy Nathan Mayard, was appointed in 1889 and his son, also Guy Maynard, succeeded him as curator before moving on to Ipswich Museum . It
3510-500: Is a market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex , England, 12 miles (19 km) north of Bishop's Stortford , 15 miles (24 km) south of Cambridge and 43 miles (69 km) north of London . It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. The population was 15,504 at the 2011 census and 16,613 in the 2021 census. Archaeological evidence suggests continuous settlement on or near
3627-415: Is a large co-educational academy with over 2000 pupils. Located to the west of the town centre, it was rated outstanding in its most recent Ofsted report in 2012. The school replaced Saffron Walden Grammar School , which was established in 1521 by the town's Holy Trinity Guild and Dame Joan Bradbury , a local benefactor. Dame Bradbury also founded Dame Bradbury's School on Ashdon Road. There has been
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3744-421: Is approximately 4 feet (1.2 m) long. Two smaller silver maces were bought by the corporation in 1549 to commemorate the granting of a new town charter by Edward VI . This purchase is recorded in the town's Guild of Holy Trinity accounts and reads, "For 2 new maces, weying 18 ownces one quarter and half at 8s. the ownce 7l.7s" . The 12th-century Walden Castle , built or expanded by Geoffrey de Mandeville ,
3861-451: Is held every Tuesday and Saturday (and Thursdays in the run up to Christmas); it is attended by local residents like Jamie Oliver . The Anglo American playing fields , located close to Bridge End Gardens on Catons Lane, are home to the town's cricket club and were donated to Saffron Walden by the US forces after the war . Prior to that, Saffron Walden Cricket Club played on the town's common, with
3978-535: Is now used for functions. Pevsner described it as: "without doubt, the best medieval house of Saffron Walden". Other notable early buildings are in Bridge Street, Castle Street and the side streets off the High Street. The High Street contains some late-Georgian and Victorian buildings. Bridge End Gardens , seven interlinked gardens – including a maze, rose garden and walled garden – were originally laid out by
4095-738: Is sited on the West Anglia Main Line between Cambridge and London Liverpool Street . Greater Anglia operates an off-peak service of two trains an hour in each direction, with additional services during peak times; the journey time to London is approximately 55 minutes and approximately 20 minutes to Cambridge. All southbound trains also stop at Tottenham Hale , where there is a London Underground Victoria line station and onward rail connections to Stratford station in east London. An hourly GreaterAnglia service between Stansted Airport and Norwich , via Cambridge and Ely , also stops at Audley End. Saffron Walden railway station served
4212-618: Is still owned by the founding society – now Saffron Walden Museum Society – and is managed by Uttlesford District Council. The museum contains the stuffed remains of a lion named Wallace (1812 – 1838), said to have inspired Marriott Edgar 's comic poem "The Lion and Albert". It is also home to the mummy of a 7 year old dating to the 3rd century AD. The Fry Art Gallery exhibits the work of artists who had an association with Saffron Walden and north west Essex, focusing on Great Bardfield Artists . The collection includes extensive artworks and supporting material by Edward Bawden , who lived in
4329-621: The Battle of Langport in July ;– the Parliamentarians effectively destroyed Charles's armies. Finally, in May 1646 Charles sought shelter with a Presbyterian Scottish army at Southwell in Nottinghamshire. With the support of Anne of Austria and the French government, Henrietta Maria settled in Paris, appointing as her chancellor, the eccentric Sir Kenelm Digby , and forming
4446-453: The Beeching cuts in the 1960s. Heavy industry arrived after the Second World War. Acrows Ltd, makers of falsework , built premises to the east of the town and became a significant employer and economic influence in the area. For a short time there was a dedicated railway station for the works known as Acrow Halt . Saffron Walden's unofficial coat of arms showed the saffron crocus within
4563-505: The Carmelites at the French court. By 1622, Henrietta Maria was living in Paris with a household of some 200 staff, and marriage plans were being discussed. Henrietta Maria first met her future husband in 1623 at a court entertainment in Paris, when he was on his way to Spain with the Duke of Buckingham to discuss a possible marriage with Maria Anna of Spain . The proposal fell through when Philip IV of Spain demanded Charles convert to
4680-469: The Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye . Henrietta Maria had been joined by a wide collection of Royalist exiles, including Jermyn, Henry Wilmot , Lord John Byron, George Digby , Henry Percy , John Colepeper and Charles Gerard, who were referred to collectively as the 'Louvre faction'. The Queen's court was beset with factionalism, rivalry and duelling; Henrietta Maria had to prevent Prince Rupert from fighting
4797-478: The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 , with Saffron Walden becoming a municipal borough . The town hall continued to serve as headquarters of the reformed council. The courtroom was converted to serve as a council chamber in 1836 and new lock-up facilities were created at the back of the town hall in 1840. In October 1877, a local businessman, George Stacey Gibson , offered to pay for the remodelling of
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4914-474: The royal jewels , and on attempting to persuade Prince Frederick Henry of Orange and King Christian IV of Denmark to support Charles's cause. Henrietta would regularly send letters to Charles from her time in The Hague to her eventual return to England. This was to maintain the couple's dual decision-making beyond simply keeping in touch. She was not well during this period, suffering from toothache, headaches,
5031-592: The 1630s, was forced to flee to the Continent after the First Army Plot of 1641. Henrietta Maria encouraged Charles to take a firm line with Pym and his colleagues. She was widely believed to have encouraged Charles to arrest his Parliamentary enemies in January 1642, although no hard proof of this exists. The Marquis de La Ferté-Imbault, the French ambassador, was keen to avoid any damage to French prestige by an attack on
5148-483: The 1640s had difficulty writing or speaking the language. Combined with her Catholicism, this made her unpopular among English contemporaries who feared "Papist" subversion and conspiracies such as the Gunpowder Plot . Henrietta Maria has been criticised as being an "intrinsically apolitical, undereducated and frivolous" figure during the 1630s; others have suggested that she exercised a degree of personal power through
5265-562: The 1640s, the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland were dominated by a sequence of conflicts termed the English Civil War or the Wars of the Three Kingdoms ; within England, the conflict centred on the rival Royalist and Parliamentarian factions. Queen Henrietta Maria became heavily involved in this conflict that resulted in her husband's death and her exile in France. There have been various schools of thought as to Henrietta Maria's role in
5382-576: The 1670s back Wedgwood's case somewhat, as there is documentation of Henrietta Maria's rather forward trades with France for money and arms. Reinterpretation in the 1970s argued that Henrietta Maria's political role was more limited, suggesting that the King took more decisions himself personally. Quinton Bone concludes that, despite having a very close personal relationship with Henrietta Maria, Charles rarely listened to her on matters of state politics. A third, more recent model argues that Henrietta Maria did indeed exercise political power and influence during
5499-599: The Catholic Church and live in Spain for a year as pre-conditions for the marriage. As Philip was aware, such terms were unacceptable, and when Charles returned to England in October, he and Buckingham demanded King James declare war on Spain. Searching elsewhere for a bride, Charles sent his close friend Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland , to Paris in 1624. A Francophile and godson of Henry IV of France , Holland strongly favoured
5616-617: The Gibson family in about 1840. They have been restored with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund and volunteers. St Mary the Virgin, Saffron Walden ( Church of England ) is the largest parish church in Essex. The church dates mainly from the end of the 15th century, when an old smaller church was extensively rebuilt by the master mason John Wastell , who was building King's College Chapel in
5733-733: The King would be in England, Ormonde, with his usual bluntness, retorted that if she had never been trusted the King need never have left England. Co-location began to bring the factions together, but Henrietta Maria's influence was waning. In 1654, Charles II moved his court on to Cologne , eliminating the remaining influence of Henrietta Maria in St-Germain. Henrietta Maria increasingly focused on her faith and on her children, especially Henrietta (whom she called "Minette"), James and Henry . Henrietta Maria attempted to convert both James and Henry to Catholicism, her attempts with Henry angering both Royalists in exile and Charles II. Henriette, however,
5850-519: The Queen's Head of the Robes and confidante. She acquired several court dwarves, including Jeffrey Hudson and "little Sara". Henrietta Maria established her presence at Somerset House , Greenwich Palace , Oatlands , Nonsuch Palace , Richmond Palace and Holdenby as part of her jointure lands by 1630. She added Wimbledon House in 1639, which was bought for her as a present by Charles. She also acquired
5967-438: The Queen, but was equally unimpressed by Charles's record on relations with France. He advised caution and reconciliation with Pym. The arrest was bungled, and Pym and his colleagues escaped Charles's soldiers, possibly as a result of a tip-off from Henrietta Maria's former friend Lucy Hay. With the anti-royalist backlash now in full swing, Henrietta Maria and Charles retreated from Whitehall to Hampton Court . The situation
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#17328553120866084-527: The Scots, however, promising a Presbyterian government in England with the exception of Charles's own household. The result was the Second Civil War , which despite Henrietta Maria's efforts to send it some limited military aid, ended in 1648 with the defeat of the Scots and Charles's capture by Parliamentary forces. In France, meanwhile, a "hothouse" atmosphere had developed amongst the royal court in exile at
6201-408: The aim of capturing Henrietta Maria and thereby acquiring a valuable bargaining counter over Charles. By June, Essex's forces had reached Exeter. Henrietta Maria had had another difficult childbirth, and the king had to personally appeal to their usual physician, de Mayerne, to risk leaving London to attend to her. The Queen was in considerable pain and distress, but decided that the threat from Essex
6318-590: The area. The influential Gibsons – one of the founding families of Barclays Bank – aided the construction of several public buildings that remain today, such as the Saffron Walden Museum and the Saffron Walden Town Hall . In the 1900s the Saffron Walden branch railway line from Audley End station , on the mainline from London to Cambridge, was extended to Bartlow . The branch succumbed to
6435-521: The army. He is thought to have stayed at the Sun Inn . By the end of the 18th century saffron was no longer in demand and the industry was replaced by malt and barley . More than 40 maltings stood in the town by the end of the century. The trade was less lucrative than saffron, but the town continued to grow through the 19th century, and had a cattle market , corn exchange and other civic buildings. During this time Quakers became economically active in
6552-471: The average for Uttlesford (22.0 per cent) and below that for the whole of England (28.9 per cent). In the 2001 UK census, 73.0 per cent of Saffron Walden residents declared themselves Christian, 0.6 per cent Muslim, 0.4 per cent Buddhist, 0.2 per cent Jewish, and 0.1 per cent Hindu. The census recorded 17.6 per cent as having no religion, 0.4 per cent with an alternative religion, and 7.8 per cent not stating their religion. Saffron Walden County High School
6669-494: The chapel with troops and destroyed the altarpiece by Rubens , smashed many of the statues and made a bonfire of the queen's religious canvases, books and vestments. Travelling south in the summer, she met Charles at Kineton , near Edgehill, before travelling on to the royal capital in Oxford . The journey through the contested Midlands was not an easy one, and Prince Rupert was sent to Stratford-upon-Avon to escort her. Despite
6786-526: The civil war period and the degree of her responsibility for the ultimate Royalist defeat. The traditional perspective on the Queen has suggested that she was a strong-willed woman who dominated her weaker-willed husband for the worse; the historian Wedgwood, for example, highlights Henrietta Maria's steadily increasing ascendancy over Charles, observing that "he sought her advice on every subject, except religion" and indeed complained that he could not make her an official member of his council. Some recounting from
6903-486: The conflict, less so directly but more as a result of her public actions and deeds, which constrained and influenced the choices available to Charles. By the end of the 1630s, relations between the English factions had become increasingly tense. Arguments over religion, society, morals, and political power became increasingly evident in the years before war broke out. Henrietta Maria's strong views on religion and social life at
7020-419: The council bought a large house nearby at 5 Hill Street to serve as its offices. The town hall continued to be used for council meetings. The initial stages of the trial of Major Oliver Smedley for the alleged manslaughter of the band manager , Reginald Calvert , took place in the town hall in July 1966; Smedley was founded to have acted in self-defence and was acquitted. The town hall continued to serve as
7137-534: The couple spending their first night together at St Augustine's Abbey near Canterbury on 13 June 1625. As a Roman Catholic, Henrietta Maria was unable to participate in the Church of England ceremony on 2 February 1626 when Charles was crowned in Westminster Abbey . A suggestion she be crowned by Daniel de La Mothe-Houdancourt, the bishop of Mende who accompanied her to England, was unacceptable, although she
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#17328553120867254-455: The couple were married. That same September, Henrietta's third son, Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester , died of smallpox in London at age 20. He had accompanied his brother King Charles II to England in May and had participated in the King's triumphal progress through London. More death was to follow: on Christmas Eve, Henrietta's elder daughter Mary also died of smallpox in London, leaving behind
7371-542: The court meant that, by 1642, she had become a "highly unpopular queen who apparently never successfully commanded intense personal respect and loyalty from most of her subjects". Henrietta Maria remained sympathetic to her fellow Catholics, and in 1632 began construction of a new Catholic chapel at Somerset House . The old chapel had been deeply unpopular amongst Protestants, and there had been much talk amongst London apprentices of pulling it down as an anti-Catholic gesture. Although modest externally, Henrietta Maria's chapel
7488-421: The designer Inigo Jones as her surveyor of works during the 1630s. Like Charles, she was enthusiastic about garden design , although not horticulture itself, and employed André Mollet to create a baroque garden at Wimbledon House. She patronized Huguenot sculptor Hubert Le Sueur , while her private chapel was plain on the outside, but its interior included gold and silver reliquaries, paintings, statues,
7605-507: The difficulties of the journey, Henrietta Maria greatly enjoyed herself, eating in the open air with her soldiers and meeting friends along the way. She arrived in Oxford bringing fresh supplies to great acclaim; poems were written in her honour, and Jermyn , her chamberlain, was given a peerage by the king at her request. Henrietta Maria spent the autumn and winter of 1643 in Oxford with Charles, where she attempted, as best she could, to maintain
7722-453: The ensuing, and final, Third English Civil War the whole of the Royalist circle now based itself from St-Germain, with Henrietta Maria's followers being joined by the old Royalist circle who had been with her son Charles II at the Hague , including Ormonde and Inchiquin and Clarendon , whom she particularly disliked. She also quarrelled with Ormonde: when she said that if she had been trusted
7839-483: The entourage of her favourite François de Bassompierre . Orazio and his daughter Artemisia Gentileschi were responsible for the huge ceiling paintings of the Queen's House at Greenwich. The Italian Guido Reni was another favourite artist, along with the miniature painters Jean Petitot and Jacques Bourdier. Anthony van Dyck was another very important painter she would often commission, either as gifts for others or for personal appreciation. Henrietta Maria became
7956-479: The first Earl of Essex , is in ruins. After the medieval period, the castle fell into disuse and much of the flint was taken and used in the construction of local houses and the wall surrounding the Audley End estate. All that remains is the ruined basement. Near the castle is a turf maze , a series of circular excavations cut into the turf of the common . It is the largest example of this style of maze in England,
8073-435: The first time in 1628 but lost her first child shortly after birth in 1629, following a very difficult labour. In 1630, the future Charles II was born successfully, however, following another complicated childbirth aided by the noted physician Theodore de Mayerne . Henrietta Maria effectively took over Buckingham's role as Charles's closest friend and advisor. Despite the ejection of the French staff in 1626, Charles's court
8190-439: The happiness of thy company." Henrietta Maria, as her relationship with her husband grew stronger, split with Lucy Hay in 1634. The specific reasons are largely unclear although the two had had their differences before. Hay was an ardent Protestant, for example, and led a rather more dissolute life than the Queen; Henrietta Maria may also have felt rather overshadowed by the confident and beautiful Hay and because she now had such
8307-569: The king's advisers, Archbishop William Laud and Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford . Pym then turned his attention to Henrietta Maria as a way of placing further pressure on Charles. The Grand Remonstrance , passed by Parliament at the end of 1641, for example, did not mention the Queen by name, but it was clear to all that she was part of the Roman Catholic conspiracy the remonstrance referred to and condemned. Henrietta Maria's confidant Henry Jermyn , who had himself converted to Catholicism in
8424-447: The late 1630s – they were certainly more open in court society. Charles came under increasing criticism for his failure to act to stem the flow of high-profile conversions. Henrietta Maria even gave a requiem mass in her private chapel for Father Richard Blount, S.J. upon his death in 1638. She also continued to act in Masque plays throughout the 1630s, which met with criticism from
8541-497: The main part being about 100 feet (30 m) in diameter. The earliest record of it dates from 1699, although its origin may be earlier. It has been extensively restored several times, most recently in 1979. The oldest inhabited building in the town is believed to be the former maltings at 1 Myddleton Place. The 15th-century building with a courtyard garden was used by the Youth Hostel Association from 1947 to 2010. It
8658-519: The meeting place of the borough council until it was abolished in 1974 and replaced by Uttlesford District Council , which initially established its headquarters at the former Saffron Walden Rural District council offices in Debden Road. The town hall instead became the meeting place of the parish-level Saffron Walden Town Council, created as a successor parish covering the same area as the abolished borough. The BBC Radio programme Any Questions?
8775-473: The more Puritan wing of English society. In most of these masques she chose roles designed to advance ecumenism , Catholicism and the cult of Platonic love . The result was an increasing intolerance of Henrietta Maria in Protestant English society, gradually shifting towards hatred. In 1630, Alexander Leighton , a Scottish doctor, was flogged, branded and mutilated for criticising Henrietta Maria in
8892-410: The nearby city of Cambridge. In 1769 it was damaged by lightning and the repairs, carried out in the 1790s, removed many medieval features. The spire was added in 1832 to replace an older lantern tower. The church is 183 feet (56 m) long and the spire, 193 feet (59 m) high, is the tallest in Essex. The town's Catholic church , Our Lady of Compassion, is on Castle Street. Created in 1906 from
9009-429: The new building was laid by the mayor, William Mapletoft, in 1761. It was designed in the neoclassical style , built in red brick and was completed in 1763. The design of the original building involved a symmetrical main frontage with seven bays facing onto the Market Place; the central section of three bays, which slightly projected forward and was rusticated on the ground floor, featured three arched openings, each with
9126-529: The pleasant court life that they had enjoyed before the war. The queen lived in the Warden's lodgings in Merton College , adorned with the royal furniture which had been brought up from London. The queen's usual companions were present: Denbigh, Davenant, her dwarves; her rooms were overrun by dogs, including Mitte. The atmosphere in Oxford was a combination of a fortified city and a royal court, and Henrietta Maria
9243-591: The poor start to his marriage on these advisors, primarily her principal confidante Madame St. George . He ordered their dismissal on 26 June 1626, greatly upsetting Henrietta Maria, while some refused to leave, including the Bishop of Mendes who cited orders from the French king. In the end, they were physically ejected, but she managed to retain her chaplain and confessor , Robert Phillip , along with seven of her French staff, her nurse Françoise de Monbodiac, Madame Garnier, her dresser Marguerite Courtin, Madame de Vantelet ,
9360-509: The queen's old favourite, Prince Rupert, had already been living in The Hague for some years. The Hague was a major centre for banking and finance; the queen intended to raise funds in aid of her husband there. In August 1642, when the Civil War finally began, Henrietta Maria was in Europe at The Hague , raising money for the Royalist cause. Henrietta Maria focused on raising money on the security of
9477-510: The rashness of the following decisions were partially due to the desire to rejoin Charles I in person, as his recent decision-making and disregard of her advising caused her to grow very concerned. The first attempt to cross from The Hague was not an easy one; battered by storms, her ship came close to sinking and was forced to return to port. Henrietta Maria used the delay to convince the Dutch to release
9594-510: The records of the Court of Common Pleas, the town was called Magna Walden in Hilary Term 1484, and Chipping Walden in the 15th and early 16th centuries, but by the 1540s it had become Saffron Walden. 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
9711-415: The romance tradition in their writings in order to spread the influence of religion." The new queen brought with her a huge quantity of expensive possessions, including jewellery, ornate clothes, 10,000 livres ' worth of plate, chandeliers, pictures and books. She was also accompanied by a large and costly retinue, including her ladies-in-waiting , twelve Oratorian priests, and her pages. Charles blamed
9828-538: The site of Saffron Walden from at least the Neolithic period. It is believed that a small Romano-British settlement and fort – possibly in the area round Abbey Lane – existed as an outpost of the much larger settlement of Cestreforda to the north. After the Norman invasion of 1066, a stone church was built. Walden Castle , dating from about 1140, may have been built on pre-existing fortifications. A priory, Walden Abbey,
9945-480: The small village of the same name and a large rural area to the north of the town. Nationally, the town is part of the much larger Saffron Walden Parliamentary constituency . The MP is Conservative , Kemi Badenoch who is Secretary of State for International Trade. Notable former MPs include: It has been considered a safe seat for the Conservative Party since 1922. In the 1840s Saffron Walden became
10062-490: The smaller pieces, but she was portrayed in the English press as selling off the crown jewels to foreigners to buy guns for a religious conflict, adding to her unpopularity at home. She urged Charles, then in York , to take firm action and secure the strategic port of Hull at the earliest opportunity, angrily responding to his delays in taking action. At the beginning of 1643, Henrietta Maria attempted to return to England. Part of
10179-412: The summer of 1628 the two were extremely close friends, with Hay one of the queen's ladies-in-waiting. In August 1628, Buckingham was assassinated, leaving a gap in the royal court. Henrietta Maria's relationship with her husband promptly began to improve and the two forged deep bonds of love and affection, marked by various jokes played by Henrietta Maria on Charles. Henrietta Maria became pregnant for
10296-486: The town between 1865 and 1964. Regular bus services connect the town with Cambridge, Bishop's Stortford , Haverhill and Stansted Airport. Operators include Stephensons of Essex and Stagecoach East . Saffron Walden is accessed from junction 8 of the M11 when travelling northbound from London and from junction 10 when travelling south from Cambridge. During the coronavirus pandemic, Essex Highways narrowed some roads in
10413-411: The town centre to make social distancing easier for pedestrians and they reduced some speed limits to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) as part of their Safer, Greener, Healthier scheme. Stansted Airport is located 15 miles (24 km) from the town, while Luton Airport is 43 miles (69 km) away. Audley End Airfield , a private grass runway, is located about 1 mile (2 km) outside of
10530-507: The town during the 1970s and 1980s, and Eric Ravilious . Saffron Hall , which is attached to Saffron Walden County High School, opened in 2013. The 730-seater venue came about as a result of a £10 million donation by an anonymous music loving donor. In 2014, former head of music at the Barbican Centre Angela Dixon became its director. Saffron Walden Market is a thriving market, with numerous local sellers trading goods,
10647-461: The town hall. The work involved a large new porch designed by Edward Burgess in the Tudor style which was officially opened by the mayor, Joseph Bell, who accepted the keys from Gibson, on 1 October 1879. The design of the porch, which was timber-framed on the upper floors, involved a three-opening loggia on the ground floor and a prominent bay window on the first floor flanked by brackets supporting
10764-511: The town's influence. This Tuesday market was held from 1295. The town's first charter was granted in about 1300, to what was known then as Chepyng (i. e. Market) Walden. The town at that time was largely confined to the castle's outer bailey, but in the 13th century the Battle or Repel Ditches were built or extended to enclose a larger area to the south. The focus of the town moved southwards to Market Square. The main trading item in medieval times
10881-518: The town. Audley End House , once one of the largest mansions in England, is now in the care of English Heritage and is open to the public. During the summer months, picnic concerts and a last night in the style of the BBC Proms have been held in the grounds. Audley End Miniature Railway – originally built by Lord Braybrooke – is a 10 + 1 ⁄ 4 in (260 mm) gauge railway ride through woodland adjoining Audley End House. The track
10998-452: The walls of the castle in the form of an heraldic pun – as in, "Saffron walled-in". In 1961, a formal coat of arms was granted by the College of Arms and this was adapted in 1974 into its current form. The town has three ceremonial maces . The large mace was given to Saffron Walden by James II in 1685 and provides an early recording of the unofficial coat of arms. Made of silver gilt , it
11115-423: Was Lucy Hay , wife of James Hay who helped negotiate the marriage and who was now a gentleman of the bedchamber to Charles. Lucy was a staunch Protestant, a noted beauty and a strong personality. Many contemporaries believed her to be a mistress to Buckingham, rumours which Henrietta Maria would have been aware of, and it has been argued that Lucy was attempting to control the new queen on his behalf. Nonetheless, by
11232-515: Was 10,900 inhabitants per square mile (4,209/km ), with a 100 to 94.5 female-to-male ratio. Of those over 16 years old, 45.0 per cent were married, 27.4 per cent were single (never married), and 8.2 per cent divorced. The parish's 6,013 households included 38.5 per cent married couples living together, 31.5 per cent one-person households, 8.4 per cent co-habiting couples, and 7.9 per cent single parents with children. Of those aged 16–74, 22.3 per cent had no academic qualifications , close to
11349-541: Was allowed to watch her husband's coronation at a discreet distance. This went down badly with the London crowds, while England's pro-French policy gave way rapidly to a policy of supporting French Huguenot uprisings, and then a disengagement from European politics, as internal problems grew. After an initially difficult period, she and Charles formed a close partnership and were devoted to each other, but Henrietta Maria never fully assimilated into English society. She did not speak English before her marriage, and as late as
11466-406: Was announced that Walden School would close at the end of the 2016–17 school year. Its final day was 7 July 2017. Saffron Walden College, a teachers' training college for women, closed in 1977. The nearest station to Saffron Walden is Audley End , which is located 2 miles (3 km) outside the town in the village of Wendens Ambo ; regular bus services link it to the town centre. The station
11583-520: Was broadcast from the town hall in May 2011. As a cost saving measure, Saffron Walden Town Council relocated its staff, who had previously been based in offices in Emson Close, into the town hall in October 2020. Works of art in the town hall include portraits by Daniël Mijtens of King Charles I and of Queen Henrietta and a portrait by Henry Scott Tuke of the benefactor of the town hall, George Stacey Gibson. Saffron Walden Saffron Walden
11700-595: Was brought up a Catholic. Henrietta Maria had founded a convent at Chaillot in 1651, and she lived there for much of the 1650s. Henrietta Maria returned to England following the Restoration in October 1660 along with her daughter Henrietta. She did not return to much public acclaim – Samuel Pepys counted only three small bonfires lit in her honour, and described her as a "very little plain old woman [then aged 50], and nothing more in her presence in any respect nor garb than any ordinary woman". She took up residence once more at Somerset House , supported by
11817-433: Was executed on 30 January 1649. She was mother of his sons Charles II and James II and VII . Under a decree of her husband, she was known in England as Queen Mary , but she did not like this name and signed her letters "Henriette" or "Henriette Marie". Henrietta Maria's Roman Catholicism made her unpopular in England, and also prohibited her from being crowned in a Church of England service; therefore, she never had
11934-442: Was founded under the patronage of Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex about 1136, on the site of what is now Audley End House. The abbey was separated from Walden by Holywell Field. After the dissolution of the monasteries , Sir Thomas Audley converted its cloisters into a dwelling. Later this became the site of Audley End House . The market was moved from nearby Newport to Walden during de Mandeville's tenure, increasing
12051-537: Was frequently stressed with worry. By early 1644, however, the king's military situation had started to deteriorate. Royalist forces in the north came under pressure, and after the Royalist defeat at the battle of Alresford in March, the royal capital at Oxford was less secure. The queen was pregnant with Henrietta and the decision was taken for her to withdraw safely west to Bath . Charles travelled as far as Abingdon with her before returning to Oxford with his sons. It
12168-546: Was getting weaker and he desperately needed Henrietta Maria to raise additional funds and troops from the continent. The campaigns of 1645 went poorly for the Royalists, however, and the capture, and subsequent publishing, of the correspondence between Henrietta Maria and Charles in 1645 following the Battle of Naseby proved hugely damaging to the royal cause. In two decisive engagements – the Battle of Naseby in June and
12285-463: Was heavily influenced by French society; French was usually used in preference to English, being considered a more polite language. Charles regularly wrote letters to Henrietta Maria, addressed "Dear Heart." These letters showcase the loving nature of their relationship. On 11 January 1645, for example, Charles wrote, "And dear Heart, thou canst not but be confident that there is no danger which I will not hazzard, or pains that I will not undergo, to enjoy
12402-423: Was increasingly depressed and anxious in France, from where she attempted to convince Charles to accept a Presbyterian government in England as a means of mobilising Scottish support for the re-invasion of England and the defeat of Parliament. In December 1647, she was horrified when Charles rejected the "Four Bills" offered to him by Parliament as a peace settlement. Charles had secretly signed "The Engagement" with
12519-400: Was less than a year old. As a child, she was raised under the supervision of the royal governess Françoise de Montglat . Henrietta Maria was trained, along with her sisters, in riding, dancing, and singing, and took part in court plays. Although tutored in reading and writing, she was not known for her academic skills. As part of her religious training, the princess was heavily influenced by
12636-578: Was much more elaborate inside and was opened in a particularly grand ceremony in 1636. This caused great alarm amongst many in the Protestant community. Henrietta Maria's religious activities appear to have focused on bringing a modern, 17th-century European form of Catholicism to England. To some extent, it worked, with numerous conversions amongst Henrietta Maria's circle; historian Kevin Sharpe argues that there may have been up to 300,000 Catholics in England by
12753-451: Was open about her beliefs, obstructing plans to require the eldest sons of Catholic families to be raised as Protestants, and also facilitated Catholic marriages, a criminal offence under English law at the time. An extension of this openness resulted in the Queen beginning to practise a sub-religion within her friend group, that being Précieuses . This was heavily inspired by the French's version of Devout Humanism, "whose proponents drew on
12870-428: Was rarely seen in London, as Charles and she had largely withdrawn from public society during the 1630s, both because of their desire for privacy and because of the cost of court pageants. By 1641, an alliance of Parliamentarians under John Pym had begun to place increasing pressure on Charles, himself embattled after the failure of several wars. The Parliamentary faction achieved the arrest and subsequent execution of
12987-593: Was secretly borrowing money, and her accounts show large numbers of expensive dresses purchased during the pre-war years. There were fears over her health, and in July 1627 she travelled with her physician Théodore de Mayerne to take the medicinal spring waters at Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, while Charles visited Castle Ashby House . Over the next few years, the Queen's new household began to form around her. Henry Jermyn became her favourite and vice-chamberlain in 1628. The Countess of Denbigh became
13104-508: Was steadily moving towards open war, and in February Henrietta Maria left for The Hague , both for her own safety and to attempt to defuse public tensions about her Catholicism and her closeness to the king. The Hague was the seat of Henrietta's prospective son-in-law, William II of Orange , and the queen was to accompany the bride, her 10-year-old daughter Mary, to her new home. Also, her widowed sister-in-law Elizabeth , mother of
13221-474: Was surprised to see that the queen, who I had seen as so beautiful and lean, was a woman well past her prime. Her arms were long and lean, her shoulders uneven, and some of her teeth were coming out of her mouth like tusks.... She did, however, have pretty eyes, nose, and a good complexion..." A proxy marriage was held at Notre-Dame de Paris on 1 May 1625, where Duke Claude of Chevreuse stood as proxy for Charles, shortly after Charles succeeded as king, with
13338-407: Was the last time the two saw each other. Henrietta Maria eventually continued southwest beyond Bath to Exeter , where she stopped, awaiting her imminent labour. Meanwhile, however, the Parliamentarian generals the Earl of Essex and William Waller had produced a plan to exploit the situation. Waller would pursue and hold down the king and his forces, while Essex would strike south to Exeter with
13455-454: Was too great; leaving newborn Henrietta in Exeter because of the risks of the journey, she stayed at Pendennis Castle , then took to sea from Falmouth in a Dutch vessel for France on 14 July. Despite coming under fire from a Parliamentarian ship, she instructed her captain to sail on, reaching Brest in France and the protection of her French family. By the end of the year, Charles's position
13572-496: Was uncertainty about the new Queen's name, and one historian has said of this "... Henriette or Henrietta seeming altogether too fanciful for English taste". After prayers had been offered for her as "Queen Henry", the king determined the question by announcing that she was to be known publicly as "Queen Mary". He himself liked to call her "Maria". In using the name of Queen Mary, the English would also have been reminded of Charles's grandmother, Mary, Queen of Scots . Henrietta Maria
13689-516: Was wool. A guildhall was built by the wool-staplers in the market place, but demolished in 1847 to make way for the Corn Exchange . In the 16th and 17th centuries the saffron crocus ( Crocus sativus ) was widely grown, thanks to the town's favourable soil and climate. The stigmas of the flower were used in medicines, as a condiment, in perfume, as an expensive yellow dye, and as an aphrodisiac. The industry gave Walden its present name. In
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