St Albans is in southern Hertfordshire, England, around 22 miles (35km) north of London, beside the site of a Catuvellauni settlement and the Roman town of Verulamium. St Albans is the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London. Hertfordshire (ˈhɑːtfədʃə(r, abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The Catuvellauni were a Celtic Belgic tribe or state of south-eastern Britain before the Roman conquest. Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and 410 Verulamium was the third-largest city in Roman Britain. It was sited in the southwest of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire. St Albans is Hertfordshire's oldest town, a modern city shaped by over 2000 years of continuous human occupation.
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Pre-Roman times
The town is first recorded as Verlamion, a Celtic Iron Age settlement whose name means 'the settlement above the marsh'. Verlamion, or Verlamio ("settlement above the marsh" was the capital of the Catuvellauni tribe in Iron Age Britain from approximately 20 BC Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts In Britain and Ireland the Iron Age lasted from about the 7th century BC until the Roman conquest and until the 5th century in non- Romanised After the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43, it developed as Verulamium and became one of the largest towns in Roman Britain. Year 43 was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Verulamium was the third-largest city in Roman Britain. It was sited in the southwest of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire. Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and 410 Built mainly of wood, it was destroyed during the revolt of Boudica in AD 60-61, but was rebuilt and grew to feature many impressive town houses and public buildings. Boudica (also spelled Boudicca, formerly known as Boadicea, and known in Welsh culture and legends as "Buddug" (d Year 60 was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Year 61 was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. It was encircled by gated walls in AD 275.
The Romans leave
The fine Roman City of Verulamium slowly declined and fell into decay after the departure of the Roman Army in AD 410. Events By place Western Roman Empire Alaric I deposes Priscus Attalus as Emperor. However, its ruinous buildings provided building materials to build the new monastic and market settlement of St Albans which was growing on the hill above, close to the site of Saint Alban's execution. Saint Alban was the first British Christian Martyr. Along with his fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three martyrs remembered Indeed, in the Norman abbey tower, you can still see the Roman bricks removed from nearby Verulamium. The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France.
Much of the post-Roman development of St Albans was in memorial to Saint Alban, the earliest known British Christian martyr, executed in circa AD 250 (the exact date is a matter of some controversy, with scholars suggesting dates of 209, 254 and 304). Saint Alban was the first British Christian Martyr. Along with his fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three martyrs remembered The term martyr ( Greek μάρτυς martys "witness" is most commonly used today to describe an individual who sacrifices their life (or personal freedom Events By Place Roman Empire A group of Franks penetrate as far as Tarragona in Spain (approximate date For the area code see Area code 209. Events By Place Roman Empire Publius Septimius Geta receives Events May 12 — Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I as the 23rd Pope. Events By Place Roman Empire The Roman colony of Konstanz is founded The town itself was known for some time by the Saxon name Verlamchester. A shrine was erected on the site of his death following Emperor Constantine's adoption of Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (27 February ca. 272 &ndash 22 May 337 commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial In the 5th century a Benedictine monastic church was constructed. The 5th century is the period from 401 to 500 in accordance with the Julian calendar in Anno Domini / Common Era. Benedictine refers to the Spirituality and Consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in
The Abbey is founded
Another abbey was founded by King Offa of Mercia in 793. An abbey (from Latin abbatia derived from Syriac abba "father" is a Christian Monastery or Offa was the King of Mercia from 757 until his death in July 796 The settlement grew up around the precincts of another Benedictine monastery, founded in AD 900-950 by Abbot Ulsinus (also known as Wulsin). This article concerns the buildings occupied by monastics. For the life inside monasteries and its historical roots see Monasticism. According to Matthew Paris, the 13th century chronicler of St Albans Abbey, Abbot Ulsinus (Wulsin) founded three churches in 948, reputedly to tend to the physical and spiritual needs of the growing number of pilgrims to Alban's shrine: St Peter's, St Stephen's and St Michael's. Matthew Paris (c 1200 &ndash 1259 was a Benedictine monk English chronicler, artist in Illuminated manuscripts and Cartographer St Albans Cathedral (formerly St Albans Abbey, officially The Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban) is an Anglican church at Events By Place Europe Otto I the Great founds the missionary dioceses of Brandenburg, Havelburg, Ribe, St Peter's Church in St Albans, England, is a parish church which is based upon the writing of Matthew Paris, believed to have been originally St Stephen's Church in St Albans, England, is a parish church which is based upon the writing of Matthew Paris, believed to have been originally founded St Michael's Church in St Albans is a parish church which is based upon the writing of Matthew Paris, believed to have been originally founded in Each church was equidistant from the Abbey and on one of the main approaches to the town.
Also in 948, Abbot Ulsinus (Wulsin) founded St Albans School, an education establishment to this day. Events By Place Europe Otto I the Great founds the missionary dioceses of Brandenburg, Havelburg, Ribe, History By c1100 the School had built for itself such a reputation that the Norman scholar Geoffrey de Gorham applied for the post of Master
Around 500 people lived in the town in 1086 (at the time of the Domesday Book). The Domesday Book (ˈduːmzdeɪ bʊk also known as Domesday, or Book of Winchester) was the record of the great survey
The building of the Norman Abbey Church (now the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban) was started in 1077 by Paul de Caen, the 14th Abbot and completed in 1089. The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. St Albans Cathedral (formerly St Albans Abbey, officially The Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban) is an Anglican church at Paul of Caen was a Norman Benedictine monk who became fourteenth Abbot of St Albans Abbey in 1077 a position he held to 1093 He was a nephew of Lanfranc It was 350 feet long with a tower and seven apses.
A nunnery, Sopwell Priory, was founded nearby in 1140 by Abbot Geoffrey de Gorham. An abbey (from Latin abbatia derived from Syriac abba "father" is a Christian Monastery or Sopwell Priory (also known as Sopwell Nunnery) was built in c
The head of the abbey was confirmed as the premier abbot in England in 1154. The abbey was extended by John de Cella (also known as John of Wallingford) in the 1190s, and again between 1257 and 1320 but financial constraints limited the effectiveness of these later additions. John of Wallingford, also known as John de Cella, (died 1214 was Abbot of St Albans Abbey in the English county of Hertfordshire from 1195 to John of Wallingford, also known as John de Cella, (died 1214 was Abbot of St Albans Abbey in the English county of Hertfordshire from 1195 to
In August 1213 the first draft of Magna Carta was drawn up in St Albans Abbey. Magna Carta ( Latin for Great Charter, literally " Great Paper " also called Magna Carta Libertatum ( Great Charter of Freedoms St Albans Cathedral (formerly St Albans Abbey, officially The Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban) is an Anglican church at
In 1290 the funeral procession of Eleanor of Castile stopped overnight in the town and an Eleanor cross was erected at a cost of £100 in the Market Place. For others known sometimes by same name see Leonora of Castile For other Eleanors of England see Eleanor of England (disambiguation The Eleanor crosses were 12 lavishly decorated stone monuments of which three survive intact in a line down part of the east of England. The cross, which stood for many years in front of the 15th century Clock Tower, was demolished in 1701.
A market was running outside the abbey from the 10th century; it was confirmed by King John in 1202 and by a Royal Charter of Edward VI in 1553. John (24 December 1167 &ndash 19 October 1216 reigned as a King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death A Royal Charter is a Charter granted by the Sovereign on the advice of the Privy council to legitimize an incorporated body such as a city company Edward VI (12 October 1537 &ndash 6 July 1553 became King of England and Ireland on 28 January 1547 and was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine
Conflict
During the 14th century the Abbey came into increasing conflict with the townsfolk of St Albans, who demanded rights of their own. This led, among other things, to the construction of a large wall and gate surrounding the Abbey (for instance, the Great Gatehouse, the "Abbey Gateway", which is the only surviving monastic building other than the Abbey Church, dates from 1365).
St Albans played a role in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381: the peasants, led by a local man William Grindcobbe and Jack Straw, forced their way into the Abbey and demanded a charter for the freedom of St Albans from the Abbot ('Charter of freedom of the villeins of St Alban's forcibly obtained from the Abbot and Convent', 16 June 1381 ). Jack Straw (probably the same person as John Rackstraw) was one of the three leaders (together with John Ball and Wat Tyler) of the Peasants' Revolt Richard of Wallingford a local landowner, who had presented demands to Richard II on behalf of Wat Tyler in London, brought news of this to St Albans and argued with the abbot over the charter. Richard of Wallingford ( 14th century) constable of Wallingford Castle and landowner in St Albans, played a key part in the English peasants' revolt Richard II (6 January 1367 &ndash ca 14 February 1400 was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399 Walter Tyler, commonly known as Wat Tyler ( January 4, 1341 – June 15, 1381) was the leader of the English Peasants' However, this was short-lived. Once the 14-year-old king had regained control of the capital and then the whole country, Grindcobbe was tried in the Moot Hall (on the site of the present day WH Smith store, where a plaque commemorates the event) and adjudged a 'traitor' alongside John Ball ('the mad priest of Kent', one of the rebel leaders who had escaped from Smithfield to Coventry) and more than a dozen others. John Ball (c 1338 - 15 July 1381) was an English Lollard priest who took a prominent part in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. Smithfield (also known as West Smithfield) is an area in the north-west part of the City of London, mostly known for its centuries-old meat market and its bloody history Coventry ( is a city and Metropolitan borough in the County of West Midlands in England. He was hung, drawn and quartered in July 1381.
Another notable building dating from around this time, the Clockhouse belfy or Clock Tower, built between 1403 and 1412, seems to have been intended both as a visible and audible statement of the town's continuing civic ambitions against the power of the Abbot.
During the Wars of the Roses two battles were fought in and around St Albans. The Wars of the Roses (1455–1485 were a series of dynastic Civil wars fought in England between supporters of the Houses of Lancaster and York The First Battle of St Albans on 22 May 1455 was a Lancastrian defeat that opened the war. The First Battle of St Albans was the first Battle of the Wars of the Roses and was fought on May 22, 1455 in the town of St Albans The Lancastrian army occupied the town but the Yorkist forces broke in and a battle took place in the streets of the town. On 17 February 1461 the Second Battle of St Albans on Bernards Heath north of the town centre resulted in a Lancastrian victory. The Second Battle of St Albans was a Battle of the English Wars of the Roses fought on February 17, 1461 near the town of St Albans
Following the Reformation, the Abbey was dissolved in 1539 and the Abbey Church sold to the town in 1553 for £400: it became a Protestant parish church for the borough and the Lady Chapel was used as a school. The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time St Albans School may refer to St Albans School (Hertfordshire, a private school in St Albans Hertfordshire England United Kingdom St The Great Gatehouse was used as a prison until the 19th century, when it was taken over by the school. In May 1553, in response to a public petition, the first royal charter for the town was issued by King Edward VI, granting it the status of borough. A Royal Charter is a Charter granted by the Sovereign on the advice of the Privy council to legitimize an incorporated body such as a city company Edward VI (12 October 1537 &ndash 6 July 1553 became King of England and Ireland on 28 January 1547 and was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine A borough is an Administrative division of various countries In principle the term borough designates a self-governing Township although in practice The charter defined the powers of the mayor and councillors, then known as burgesses, as well as specifying the Wednesday and Saturday market days which continue to this day. [1]
In 1555, during the reign of Mary Tudor, a Protestant Yorkshire baker, George Tankerfield, was brought from London and burnt to death on Romeland because of his refusal to accept the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation. Mary I (18 February 1516 &ndash 17 November 1558 was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 19 July 1553 until her death See also Eucharist (Catholic Church On the related belief that Christ is present in the Eucharist in body blood soul and divinity see Real Presence. [2]
During the English Civil War (1642-45) the town sided with parliament but was largely unaffected by the conflict. The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists.
An early transport hub
Three main roads date from the medieval period - Holywell Hill, St Peter's Street, and Fishpool Street. These remained the only major streets until around 1800 when London Road was constructed, to be followed by Hatfield Road in 1824 and Verulam Road in 1826.
Verulam Road was created specifically to aid the movement of stage coaches, since St Albans was the first major stop on the coaching route north from London. For other meanings see Stagecoach (disambiguation. A stagecoach (also called diligence) is a type of four-wheeled enclosed The large number of coaching inns is, in turn, one reason why the City has so many pubs today (another being that it was, and remains, a major centre for Christian pilgrimage). This article is about coaching inns in general for individual inns see Stagecoach Inn (Disambiguation In Europe, from approximately the mid 17th Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings In Religion and Spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or Search of great Moral significance
The railway arrived in 1868, off-setting the decline in coaching since the 1840s.
Growth was always slow and steady, with no sudden burst: in 1801 there were 6,000 people living in St Albans, in 1850 11,000, in 1931 29,000, and in 1950 44,000.
The City Charter
In 1877, in response to a public petition, Queen Victoria issued the second royal charter, which granted city status to the borough and Cathedral status to the former Abbey Church. Year 1877 ( MDCCCLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901 was from 20 June 1837 the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland A Royal Charter is a Charter granted by the Sovereign on the advice of the Privy council to legitimize an incorporated body such as a city company Lord Grimthorpe financed a £130,000 renovation and rebuilding of the then dilapidated cathedral, which is most apparent in his generally poorly regarded Neo-Gothic-style rebuild of the west front (1880-1883). The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement which began Year 1880 ( MDCCCLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Year 1883 ( MDCCCLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common However, without Grimthorpe's money, it seems reasonable to assume that the Abbey Church would now almost certainly be a ruin, like many other former monastic churches, despite the work performed under Sir George Gilbert Scott in the years 1860 to 1877. Sir George Gilbert Scott ( 13 July 1811 &ndash 27 March, 1878) was an English Architect of the Victorian Age Year 1860 ( MDCCLX) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year starting Year 1877 ( MDCCCLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
The football club was founded in 1880. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered
Ralph Chubb, the poet and printer, lived on College Street in St Albans from 1892 to 1913, and attended St Albans School. Ralph Nicholas Chubb ( 8 February 1892 - 14 January 1960) was an English Poet, printer, and Artist St Albans School may refer to St Albans School (Hertfordshire, a private school in St Albans Hertfordshire England United Kingdom St His work frequently references the Abbey of St Albans, and he ascribed mystical significance to the geography and history of the town.
Modern growth
Between the wars
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. This article is about the field of research and industry for the corporation see The Aerospace Corporation Aerospace comprises the Nearby Radlett was the base for Handley Page, while Hatfield became home to de Havilland (later Hawker Siddeley). Radlett is a large village located north of London in the county of Hertfordshire between St Albans and Elstree on Watling Street Handley Page Limited was founded by Frederick Handley Page (later Sir Frederick in 1909 as the United Kingdom 's first publicly traded aircraft manufacturing Hatfield, originally Bishop's Hatfield, is in the Welwyn Hatfield district of Hertfordshire, in the south of England. The de Havilland Aircraft Company (less commonly spelled de Haviland was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies renowned for their aircraft production. St Albans itself became a centre for the Marconi company, specifically, Marconi Instruments. telent plc is a Radio, Telecommunication, and Internet systems installation & services provision company. Marconi Instruments was a British company, one of the Marconi group of companies formerly part of GEC. Marconi (later part of The General Electric Company) remained the city's largest employer (with two main plants) until the 1990s. The General Electric Company or GEC was a major UK company involved in consumer and defence electronics communications and engineering A third plant - working on top secret defence work - also existed. Even Marconi staff only found out about this when it closed down. All of these industries are now gone from the area.
In 1936 St Albans was the last but one stop for the Jarrow Crusade. The Jarrow March (or Jarrow Crusade, from the phrase on banners carried by the marchers was an October 1936 Protest march against Unemployment
Post-war growth
The City was expanded significantly after World War II, as government policy promoted the creation of New Towns and the expansion of existing towns. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including A new town, planned community or planned city is a City, Town, or Community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically Substantial amounts of local authority housing were built at Cottonmill (to the south), Mile House (to the south-east) and New Greens (to the north). The Marshalswick area to the north-east was also expanded, completing a pre-war programme.
In 1974 St Albans City Council, St Albans Rural District Council and Harpenden Town Council were merged to form St Albans District Council (part of a much wider local government reorganisation). Naming The district's irregular sounding name reflects its diverse nature with two main urban areas and several villages typically districts with the status of cities are known
The 2001 census returns show a population of 129,000 for St Albans City and District.
References
- ^ [1] St Albans City and District Council's commemoration of 450th anniversary of the town's first Royal Charter
External links
- St Albans History and Archaeology; Chris Saunders.
- St Albans, 1911 encyclopedia article.
- British History Online - the city of St Albans
- Diocesan House, St Albans
- Verulam House, St Albans
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