City in Hertfordshire, England
St Albans
A city where a Roman town, Britain's first saint and England's longest cathedral nave share one hillside, and a pub claims to be the nation's oldest.
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Key information
- County
- Hertfordshire
- Nation
- England
- Known for
- Roman Verulamium, St Albans Cathedral, the Wars of the Roses and the Campaign for Real Ale
- What locals are called
- Albanians
- Famous people
- Saint Alban, Francis Bacon, Nicholas Breakspear (Pope Adrian IV), Stephen Hawking
- Football clubs
- St Albans City (the Saints), founded 1908
About St Albans
The Roman town under the park
Walk through Verulamium Park today and you are strolling across what was once the third-largest city in Roman Britain. Verulamium was a self-governing Roman town, with a forum, a basilica, grand town houses and floors laid with mosaics. Stretches of its city wall still survive in the park. The Romans built a theatre here too, and its remains are among the few Roman theatres you can still see in Britain. In AD 60 or 61 the town was burned by Boudica's rebels, then rebuilt. The Verulamium Museum now holds the mosaics and the everyday objects that came out of the ground. The Roman name lives on in Verulam School. Francis Bacon took the title Baron Verulam, then Viscount St Alban.
The soldier, the saint and the executioner's eyes
The city is named after Alban, Britain's first recorded Christian martyr. The story goes that he sheltered a fleeing priest, swapped cloaks with him and was executed in his place, probably in the third or fourth century. Legend adds some vivid details. The river is said to have parted to let him reach the execution hill, and his executioner's eyes fell out when he struck the blow. A shrine grew up on the spot, and in 793 King Offa of Mercia is said to have founded a great abbey there. The abbey became one of the richest in England, and its chronicler Matthew Paris, a monk of the 13th century, left one of the great records of medieval life.
A very long nave built from Roman bricks
St Albans Cathedral has the longest nave of any cathedral in England. Look closely at the tower and you will see thin red Roman bricks, salvaged from the ruins of Verulamium and reused by Norman builders. The abbey church only became a cathedral in 1877, the same year Queen Victoria made St Albans a city. Before that it survived the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 because the townspeople bought it to use as their parish church. The Pope link is a good pub-quiz tale. Nicholas Breakspear, from nearby Abbots Langley, was turned away when he applied to become a monk here. He went abroad, rose through the Church and in 1154 became Pope Adrian IV, the only Englishman ever to hold the office.
Presses, rebels and the first battle of the Wars of the Roses
St Albans punches above its weight in English history. In 1381 townsfolk rose up against the abbey during the Peasants' Revolt, led by William Grindcobbe. In 1455 the First Battle of St Albans was fought in the town's streets, and it is traditionally seen as the opening clash of the Wars of the Roses. A second battle followed in 1461. In 1479 a printing press began work here, one of the earliest in England. Its best-known product, the Book of St Albans of 1486, covered hawking, hunting and heraldry, and is a medieval gentleman's handbook. The town's 15th-century Clock Tower is the only medieval town belfry in England. Its bell, Gabriel, dates back to 1335, and you can still climb up to the roof.
Pubs, pints and a campaigning headquarters
Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, an odd octagonal pub by the river, claims to be the oldest pub in England. It is said to stand on the site of an abbey pigeon house, and the name comes from the cockfighting once held there. The pub trade has a modern link too. The Campaign for Real Ale, CAMRA, is headquartered in St Albans, so the city is a kind of capital of cask beer. On Wednesdays and Saturdays the street market fills the centre, a tradition that goes back centuries. Locals, known as Albanians, call the old streets around the Clock Tower and Fishpool Street their own.
Football, famous faces and a quick train to London
St Albans City FC, nicknamed the Saints, have played since 1908 at Clarence Park, a ground right next to the city's park. The city has produced and attracted some remarkable people. Francis Bacon, philosopher and statesman, lived at Gorhambury and is buried in St Michael's Church. According to a famous tale, he died in 1626 after catching a chill while stuffing a chicken with snow to test refrigeration. Stephen Hawking grew up here and went to St Albans School. Today the city is a commuter favourite, with Thameslink trains reaching central London in about 20 minutes.
Related articles
Roman Britain
Published
Rome ran Britain for almost 400 years, yet the island's most famous Roman road builders left behind a province that was never fully conquered and a capital that was never Rome's idea.