Wall Along South Side Of Abbey Lane

The wall along the south side of Abbey Lane in Saffron Walden is a 19th-century structure that stretches 112 meters and turns for 25 meters at the western end. It bounds the site of an Anglo-Saxon cemetery and now contains 20th-century development. The wall is constructed of flint and erratics arranged in panels, framed with red brick. It features a deep upper brick band and a coping made of cobbles, standing approximately 3 meters high, and is shaped to maintain its height towards the western end.

At the northwest corner, there is an original entrance gateway with red brick piers, each topped with a capstone featuring a ball. There are three additional openings, including a simple garage entry with a concrete lintel towards the eastern end, and two 20th-century arched entryways located in the north-south stretch at the western end. The wall continues south but tapers rapidly to the ground where it has been removed. This wall and Abbey Lane follow the line of a principal road that led out of the medieval town, with the southern turn aligning with the Repell Ditches, or "magnum fossatum," from the 13th century.