St Albans is a town located inHertfordshire,England.[1] It was originally founded asVerlamion a settlement belonging to the Catuvellauni (a Celtic tribe or state of southeastern Britain before the Roman conquest, attested by inscriptions into the 4th century). It was subsequently transformed into the Roman settlement ofVerulamium from where it grew into amunicipium around AD 50.
After theAnglo-Saxon settlement it was known as Verlamacaestir.[2]It later became known as St Albans because of its association withSaint Alban.
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The Roman city ofVerulamium, the third largest town in Roman Britain afterLondinium andColchester,[3] was built alongside the Celtic settlement in the valley of theRiver Ver nearer to the present city centre. The settlement was granted the rank ofmunicipium around AD 50, meaning that its citizens had what were known as "Latin Rights", a lesser citizenship status than acolonia possessed. It grew to a significant town, and as such received the attentions ofBoudica of theIceni in 61, when Verulamium was sacked and burnt on her orders:[4] a black ash layer has been recorded by archaeologists, thus confirming the Roman written record. It grew steadily; by the early 3rd century, it covered an area of about 125 acres (0.51 km2), behind a deep ditch and wall. It was encircled by gated walls in AD 275. Verulamium contained aforum,basilica and atheatre, much of which were damaged during two fires, one in 155 and the other in around 250. One of the few extant Roman inscriptions in Britain is found on the remnants of the forum (seeVerulamium Forum inscription). The town was rebuilt instone rather thantimber at least twice over the next 150 years.
The city is named afterSt Alban, a convert to Christianity who, according to medieval sources, lived in the Roman city. He was martyred in either the third or fourth century.[5][6]Bede'sEcclesiastical History gives an account of Alban being beheaded on a hill outside the city.[2] This suggests that the cathedral, built on a hill above the Roman city, may have been built on the site of his martyrdom. However, the cathedral could alternatively be on the site of his burial. Widespread cults of saints began in cemeteries outside of Roman cities.[7] The site of Alban's burial remains a topic for investigation. The site of a Roman burial was uncovered near the Cathedral in the late 20th century, in the area of demolished medieval cloisters, probably extending beneath the present building, but there is no evidence of a connection with Alban.[8][9]
Bede referred to a Roman church dedicated to St Alban, built "when peaceable Christian times were restored" (possibly thefourth century) and still in use in Bede's time.[2][10] In 429Germanus of Auxerre visited the church and subsequently promoted the cult of St Alban.[11][12][13][14]John Morris argued that the church was probably built in 396–8.[15] It has been suggested that several unearthed remains might have been Roman churches but there is no certain archaeological evidence.[5] An archaeological excavation in 1978, directed byMartin Biddle, failed to find Roman remains on the site of thechapter house of the medieval abbey,[16] but recent investigation has uncovered abasilica near the cathedral, supporting the contention that it is "the oldest continuous site of Christian worship in Great Britain".[13]
Some historians doubt thehistoricity of St Alban and argue that his cult was invented by Germanus.[17]
TheAbbots of St Albans divertedWatling Street away from the ruins of Verulamium into the medieval town.
Three main roads date from the medieval period—Holywell Hill, St Peter's Street, and Fishpool Street—each of which had a pilgrim church founded in the ninth century by AbbotUlsinus at the entrance to the town:St Stephen's,St Peter's andSt Michael's respectively. The foundation of the town'smarkets is also attributed to this time.[18]
As part of thedissolution of the monasteries,Henry VIII closed the Abbey in 1539 and took possession of the town, it remained crown property for the next fourteen years. In 1553, Henry's sonEdward VI sold the abbey, the governance of the town, and the market (byletters patent) to a group of local merchants and landowners. The town becameborough with a mayor. The mayor, assisted by tenburgesses and serving for up to three years, had executive and judicial powers.[19] The first mayor was John Lockey.[20] The Lady Chapel became part ofSt Albans School and the Great Gatehouse was used as a prison until the 19th century, when the school took it over.
In 1555, during the reign ofQueen Mary I, a Protestant baker from Yorkshire,George Tankerfield, was brought from London and burnt to death on Romeland for his refusal to accept the Roman Catholic doctrine oftransubstantiation.
During theEnglish Civil War (1642–45) the town sided with parliament but was largely unaffected by the conflict.
The bridge over the River Ver in St Michael's Street, adjacent toKingsbury Watermill and not far fromSt Michael's Church, dates from 1765 and is believed to be the oldest extant bridge in Hertfordshire. It isGrade II listed.[21] According to a contemporary account of theSecond Battle of St Albans in 1461, another bridge existed on this site previously (recorded in 1505 asPons de la Maltemyll - Malt Mill Bridge). It is thought that the Romans had built a bridge here by the 3rd century AD. Theford alongside the current bridge, which is known to have existed for 2,000 years, is traditionally believed to beAlban's crossing point on his way to his execution.
Before the 20th century, St Albans was a ruralmarket town, aChristian pilgrimage site, and the first coaching stop of the route to and fromLondon, accounting for its numerous old inns. Victorian St Albans was small and had little industry. It grew slowly, 8-9% per decade between 1801 and 1861, compared to the 31% per decade growth of London in the same period. The railway arrived relatively late. In 1869 the extension of the city boundaries was opposed by the Earl of Verulam and many of the townsfolk, but there was rapid expansion and much building at the end of the century, and between 1891 and 1901 the population grew by 37%.[22]
Population of St Albans in the Nineteenth Century[22]
| 1801 | 3,872 |
| 1831 | 6,582 |
| 1851 | 8,208 |
| 1861 | 9,090 |
| 1871 | 10,421 |
| 1881 | 10,659 |
| 1891 | 12,478 |
| 1901 | 16,181 |
The medieval road pattern was amended from the 18th century onwards. London Road was constructed in 1754, Hatfield Road in 1824 and Verulam Road in 1833.[22] Verulam Road was created (as part ofThomas Telford's large-scale improvement of sections of theLondon to Holyhead road) specifically to aid the movement of stage coaches, since St Albans was the first major stop on thecoaching route north from London. Victoria Street was called Sweetbriar Lane until 1876.[22]
There were three railway stations in the town, two of which are still active:St Albans Abbey andSt Albans City. The first, St Albans Abbey, was opened by theLondon and North Western Railway on 5 May 1858 as the terminus of theAbbey Line, a branch line fromWatford Junction. This was followed by theMidland Railway Company's station, now known as St Albans City, which opened on 1 October 1868 on themain line from Bedford to London. There was also a third railway station in the city centre,St Albans (London Road), which was opened on 16 October 1865 by theGreat Northern Railway on itsHatfield and St Albans branch. This branch line closed to passengers in 1951.[23][24]
In 1877, in response to a public petition, QueenVictoria issued the second royal charter, which grantedcity status to the borough andCathedral status to the former Abbey Church. The newdiocese was established in the main from parts of the largeDiocese of Rochester. The Abbey Church of St Alban had fallen into disrepair, despite work done on it under SirGeorge Gilbert Scott in 1860–1877, and some thought it ought to be allowed to decline into romantic ruin, but in the latter year, under the chairmanship of theEarl of Verulam, a restoration committee was formed, of whichEdmund Beckett (later Lord Grimthorpe) became the dominant member. Grimthorpe put up £130,000 of his own money and by sheer force of personality brought about a restoration of the church (1880–1883) inNeo-Gothic style, sparking the ire of theSociety for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.Nicholas Pevsner said that the Abbey "is the only one of the major churches of England that has a West Front completely, or almost completely, Victorian."[22] However, it seems reasonable to assume that, without Grimthorpe's money the Abbey Church would now be a ruin like many other former monastic churches.
The original St Albans Football Club was founded in October 1881, if folded in 1904. The present day St Albans City Football Club was founded on 13 April 1908. The club's home ground is Clarence Park, which was donated to the city by Sir John Blundell and opened on 23 July 1894.
The aforementioned transport links attracted a seed merchant,Samuel Ryder, to locate his business in St Albans, which eventually moved to offices and a large purpose-built packing seed hall on Holywell Hill, which is now aCafé Rouge restaurant. He served as Mayor of St Albans in 1905, and remained a councillor for several years after his term of office. In later life, Ryder began to suffer from poor health and was advised to take up golf as exercise. He joined the local Verulam Golf Club, making large donations to the club including the famousRyder Cup and sponsorship of the tournament.
Ralph Chubb, the poet and printer, lived on College Street in St Albans from 1892 to 1913, and attended St Albans School. His work frequently references the Abbey of St Albans, and he ascribed mystical significance to the geography and history of the town.
Another St Albans writer,Charles Williams, lived as boy and young man in Victoria Street from 1894 to 1917. He also attended St Albans School.
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The pioneering filmmakerArthur Melbourne-Cooper was born in St Albans in 1874 at 99 London Road. He became a noted figure in thehistory of film when he began to explore the new art of moving photography in the mid-1900s. By 1908, he had set up a production base, the Alpha Production Works in Bedford Park Road, later moving to larger premises at Alma Road. Among the pioneering films he shot in St Albans was the animated fantasy,Dreams of Toyland (1908).[25] He also established a film theatre on London Road to present his productions to the paying public, the Alpha Picture House, which opened on 27 July 1908, Hertfordshire's first permanent cinema. The cinema changed hands several times, variously known as the Poly, the Regent, the Capitol and the Odeon. It was replaced by a newArt Deco building in 1931, and the cinema continued in operation until 1995. In 2014 the building was restored and re-opened asthe Odyssey Cinema.[26]
DuringWorld War I in September 1916, following an attack on St Albans, the German AirshipSL 11 became the firstairship to be brought down over England.[27]
In the inter-war years St Albans, in common with much of the surrounding area, became a centre for emerging high-technology industries, most notably aerospace. NearbyRadlett was the base forHandley Page Aircraft Company, whileHatfield became home tode Havilland. St Albans itself became a centre for theMarconi plc company, specifically,Marconi Instruments.[28]Marconi (later part of theGeneral Electric Company) remained the city's largest employer (with two main plants) until the 1990s. A third plant - working on top secret defence work - also existed.[citation needed] All of these industries are now gone from the area.
The city expanded rapidly afterWorld War II, as governmentpolicy promoted the creation of New Towns and the expansion of existing towns around London. The local authority built large housing estates at Cottonmill (to the south), Mile House (to the south-east) and New Greens (to the north). TheMarshalswick area to the north-east was also expanded, completing a programme of mainly private house building begun before the war.
In 1974 St Albans City Council, St Albans Rural District Council and Harpenden Town Council were merged, as part of a major national re-organisation of local government in the UK, to formSt Albans District Council.
In 2011 the population of the St Albans City and District was 140,664, up 9% on the 2001 population of 129,005.[29][30] By 2021 the population had risen a further 5.4% to 148,700.[31]
