Distant Day Out - St Albans

This is one of a few posts I never got round to writing. When I went to St Albans, it was mid-summer, the weather was beautiful, and I'd just got back from a holiday abroad. Then, all of a sudden, I ended up having writer's block, the kind which means you never actually end up writing the things you want to write. Yet I've wanted to put something out for a while, even if it was just a selection of photos with a brief description.

St Albans isn't a remarkable city, but it is a historic one. During the Iron Age, there was a settlement in the area known as Verlamion, which was the centre of the Celtic Catuvellauni tribe from about 20 BC to 43 AD, when the Romans invaded Britain. The area developed into the Roman town of Verulamium, which at its height was the second biggest city in Roman Britain, behind only Londinium (now London). A major Roman Road - Watling Street - passed by the town, and Verulamium was also one of the towns Queen Boudica sacked as part of her Celtic raids on the Romans.

   

It might surprise you to know the Roman Empire doesn't exist anymore, and so neither does Verulamium. However, you can still see its ruins, as well as the old Roman wall which was built here around the town, in the aptly named Verulamium Park. It's a wonderful green space, and also consists of a lovely lake and the Ver River, which flows just south of the city centre. There's a nearby Verulamium Museum, chronicling Roman life in St Albans and Britain as a whole, but there's an admission fee, so I didn't visit.  

   

Just outside the park's borders lies Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, allegedly England's oldest pub, but I didn't know this when I passed by so I didn't take a photo. St Albans's history with alcohol doesn't end there, though - the local museum will proudly tell you CAMRA - an organisation promoting beers and pubs - was set up here in 1971. 

Also nearby is St Albans Cathedral, which is a real historical treat. St Albans is a cathedral city, but the cathedral came way before city status (which only came in 1877). 

   

St Albans's religious significance dates back to St Alban himself. Alban was a Roman born in Verulamium, during a time when Christian persecution was rife in the empire. According to St Bede, Alban hid a priest from persecution, and was later caught. Alban was thus executed, becoming the first Christian martyr from Britain, and he was buried just outside St Albans. The cathedral was dedicated to St Alban upon its construction. 

 

The cathedral was constructed in the 11th century, and was originally an abbey in Norman England, before the dissolution of the monasteries under King Henry VIII put an end to that. This also saw the demolition of shrines dedicated to St Alban and St Amphibalus (who converted Alban to Christianity), and all of Alban's relics were lost in the process. 

 

The abbey fell into disrepair, becoming merely a local church, and serious repairs would only take place in the 19th century, which saw old features of the abbey replaced for more Gothic features - you can still see the old cloisters when you walk around the cathedral to this day. By 1877, however, it became a cathedral, and how magnificent it looks to this day. 

Rather confusingly, the local railway station to the cathedral is called St Albans Abbey, despite opening nearly 400 years after the abbey was destroyed. I thought there would be a separate abbey but no, apparently not.

Within the city centre itself, you'll find the old St Albans clocktower, built in 1405, and which is the only medieval belfry still standing in England. The bell of the tower rang out for the first time in 1455, signalling the Battle of St Albans in the War of the Roses. This was the first battle in the conflict, and saw King Henry VI captured (although the war itself lasted 32 more years aftet that) - another fact the local museum proudly mentions. You can climb to the top of the clocktower as well - I didn't, but I'm sure it's worth it.

 

I'll also briefly mention the museum and gallery, which I've largely forgotten since I visited.

 

Looking through my photos, there appears to have been lots of abstract art there, as well as a taxidermied fox and Zoom-like call with people dressed as birds that I'd long forgotten about. I'm not sure if they're still there, or whether it was an exhibition of sorts. The former courtroom, still well preserved and now converted into a cafe of sorts, is probably the main attraction here if you were to visit. 

   

I'm glad I went to St Albans when I did, less glad that it took me so long to blog about it. At least I visited at a time when the photos come out way better than they otherwise would. 

The River Ver in more pastoral places