Where is st albans hertfordshire

The bones were moved to the abbey church and a second shrine was established. The abbey became a centre for medieval scholarship, with the famous chroniclers Roger of Wendover and Matthew Paris both serving as monks here. The abbey was a popular destination for pilgrims, but in it was also a meeting place of a group of disgruntled nobles bent on breaking King John's habit of arbitrary taxation. Their meeting led to the signing of Magna Carta at Runnymede just two years later. The Abbey was hit hard by the Black Death in when over 60 monks died out of a total of just After the Dissolution of the Monasteries most of the Abbey buildings were torn down and the material used for other building projects.

The Abbey church survived, however, to become the parish church, and in it was given cathedral status. The only other part of the medieval monastery to survive is the Abbey Gateway , built around The Gateway housed one of the earliest printing presses in England and for centuries also served as the town gaol.

It is now part of St Albans School. One of the Cathedral highlights is St Alban's shrine, made by piecing together over 2, small pieces of the medieval shrine after it was demolished at the Reformation. Beside the shrine is a beautifully painted medieval watching loft, where monks kept watch night and day over the shrine.

St Albans suffered during the Wars of the Roses and on two occasions the town was at the centre of a fierce battle between supporters of rival claimants to the throne. The battle was fought in a biting snowstorm, with fighting centred in the lanes around the Clock Tower. The result was a comprehensive Lancastrian triumph and Henry VI was freed. The Cathedral is not the only historic church in St Albans. The largest is St Peter's , a short walk north from the Cathedral.

Nothing remains of the Saxon building; what we see today is a mix of 13th-century work and a 19th-century restoration. Look for the grave of Dr Nathaniel Cotton, an 18th-century pioneer in the treatment of mental illness, who counted the poet William Cowper among his patients.

Very little of the Saxon building remains beyond a small lancet window. The Lectern was stolen by Scottish nationalists and hidden in a Highland grave for years before it reappeared.

It is now in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. The third Saxon church and the most gratifying to visit today, is St Michael's Church , just outside the Verulamium Museum. St Michael's stands on the site of the Roman basilica and was founded to serve pilgrims visiting the site of Alban's trial.

You can see original 10th-century window and doorway openings, and Roman bricks in the walls. The historical highlight is the ornate memorial to Sir Francis Bacon of Gorhambury, the early 17th-century philosopher and the man who promoted the scientific method of investigation. From St Michael's it is a very short stroll to the Verulamium Museum , a modern museum showcasing finds from the Roman city. One highlight is a 2nd-century bronze figure of a goddess known as the Verulamium Venus, and another is ' Postumus ', a skeleton discovered buried in a beautifully crafted lead coffin.

A short walk across Verulamium Park from the museum brings you to a 3rd-century mosaic and hypocaust , protected by a low modern building. Beyond the mosaic and still within the park is the best-preserved section of the 3rd-century town wall and the foundations of one of the town's main gates.

If you follow a footpath along the south bank of the River Ver from the park you come to the ruins of Sopwell Nunnery , a 12th-century nunnery established by the Abbot of St Albans for 13 women. It is a historic market town. There was an Iron Age settlement known as Verulamium, Verlamion, or Verlamio, near the site of the present city, the center of Tasciovanus' power and a major center of the Catuvellauni from about 20 BC until shortly after the Roman invasion of AD The name "Verulamium" is Celtic, meaning "settlement over or by the marsh".

Michael's, Verulamium Park and the Gorhambury Estate. It is believed that the tribal capital was moved to the site by Tasciovanus around 25 to 5 BC. Cunobelinus may have constructed Beech Bottom Dyke, a defensive earthwork near the settlement whose significance is uncertain. The Roman city of Verulamium, the second-largest town in Roman Britain after Londinium, developed from the Celtic settlement, and was granted the rank of municipium around AD 50, meaning that its citizens had what were known as "Latin Rights", a lesser citizenship status than a colonia possessed.

It grew to a significant town, and as such received the attentions of Boudica of the Iceni in 61, when Verulamium was sacked and burnt on her orders.

Archaeologists have recorded a black ash layer, thus confirming the Roman written record. It grew steadily and by the early 3rd century, it covered an area of about acres 0. Verulamium contained a forum, basilica and a theater, much of which were damaged during two fires, one in and the other in around One of the few extant Roman inscriptions in Britain is found on the remnants of the forum. After the Roman withdrawal the town became the center of the territory or regio of the Anglo-Saxon Waeclingas tribe.

See the website for full details. Christmas This year sees a return to live, in-person activities in the city. Keep an eye on our social media accounts for updates and information about what's on More info. Load More…. Coronavirus: information and guidance Visitors to St Albans should check their plans before travelling, as many events and activities across the district have been postponed.

Coronavirus Guidance More info. What a busy city we are! Festive Friday Full article 9 Nov Would you like your event, business or attraction to be listed on Enjoy St Albans? St Albans, your way It's easy to plan your perfect trip to St Albans. All it takes is a few taps. Where is St Albans? St Albans on a map Bounding box showing extent of St Albans. Location of St Albans within the UK.

Source: Ordnance Survey Open Names. Licence: Open Government Licence. Source: Ordnance Survey County Boundaries. Location of St Albans within Hertfordshire. Location of St Albans within AL3. Source: Wikipedia: List of postcode districts in the United Kingdom. St Albans is 5 miles south of Harpenden. St Albans is 5 miles north of Radlett. St Albans is 5 miles west of Hatfield.