St Albans Cathedral
Encyclopedia
St Albans Cathedral is a Church of England
cathedral church at St Albans
, England
. At 84 metres (275.6 ft), its nave
is the longest of any cathedral
in England. With much of its present architecture dating from Norman
times, it became a cathedral
in 1877 and is the second longest cathedral in the United Kingdom
(after Winchester
). Local residents often call it "the abbey", although the present cathedral represents only the church of the old Benedictine
abbey.
The abbey church, although legally a cathedral church, differs in certain particulars from most of the other cathedrals in England: it is also used as a parish church, of which the dean
is rector. He has the same powers, responsibilities and duties as the rector of any other parish.
was a pagan living in the Roman
city of Verulamium
, where St Albans
is now, in Hertfordshire
, England
, about 22 miles (35.4 km) north of London
along Watling Street
. Before Christianity
became the official religion of the Roman Empire
, local Christian
s were being persecuted by the Romans. Alban sheltered their priest, Saint Amphibalus
, in his home and was converted to the Christian faith by him. When the soldiers came to Alban's house looking for the priest, Alban exchanged cloaks with the priest
and let himself be arrested in his place. Alban was taken before the magistrate, where he avowed his new Christian faith and was condemned for it. He was beheaded, according to legend, on the spot where the cathedral named for him now stands. The site is on a steep hill and legend has it that his head rolled down the hill after being cut off and that a well sprang up at the point where it stopped.
A well certainly exists today and the road up to the cathedral is named Holywell Hill. However the current well structure is no older than the late 19th century and it is thought that the name of the street derives from the "Halywell" river and "Halywell Bridge", not from the well.
The date of Alban's execution is a matter of some debate and is generally given as "circa 250"—scholars generally suggest dates of 209, 254 or 304.
The tomb of Saint Amphibalus is also in the cathedral.
mentions a church and Gildas
a shrine. Bishop Germanus of Auxerre
visited in 429 and took a portion of the apparently still bloody earth away. The style of this structure is unknown; the 13th century chronicler
Matthew Paris
(see below) claimed that the Saxons destroyed the building in 586.
II of Mercia
, who ruled in the 8th century, is said to have founded the Benedictine
abbey
and monastery
at St Albans. All later religious structures are dated from the foundation of Offa's abbey in 793. The abbey was built on Holmhurst Hill—now Holywell Hill—across the River Ver
from the ruins of Verulamium. Again there is no information to the form of the first abbey. The abbey was probably sacked by the Danes around 890 and, despite Paris's claims, the office of abbot remained empty from around 920 until the 970s when the efforts of Dunstan reached the town.
There was an intention to rebuild the abbey in 1005 when Abbot Ealdred was licensed to remove building material from Verulamium. With the town resting on clay and chalk the only tough stone is flint
. This was used with a lime mortar
and then either plaster
ed over or left bare. With the great quantities of brick, tile and other stone in Verulamium the Roman site became a prime source of building material for the abbeys, and other projects in the area, up to the 18th century. Sections demanding worked stone used Lincolnshire
limestone
(Barnack stone) from Verulamium, later worked stones include Totternhoe
freestone from Bedfordshire
, Purbeck marble
, and different limestones (Ancaster
, Chilmark
, Clipsham
, etc.).
Renewed Viking raids from 1016 stalled the Saxon efforts and very little from the Saxon abbey was incorporated in the later forms.
abbot, Paul of Caen
(1077–1093). The 14th abbot, he was appointed by the new Archbishop of Canterbury
, Lanfranc
.
Building work started in the year of Abbot Paul's arrival. The design and construction was overseen by the Norman Robert the Mason. The plan has very limited Anglo-Saxon elements and is clearly influenced by the French work at Cluny
, Bernay
, and Caen
and shares a similar floor plan to St Etienne and Lanfranc's Canterbury—although the poorer quality building material was a new challenge for Robert and he clearly borrowed some Roman techniques, learned while gathering material in Verulamium.
To take maximum use of the hilltop the abbey was oriented to the south-east. The cruciform
abbey was the largest built in England at that time, it had a chancel
of four bays, a transept
containing seven apse
s, and a nave
of ten bays—fifteen bays long overall. Robert gave particular attention to solid foundation
s, running a continuous wall of layered bricks, flints and mortar below and pushing the foundations down to twelve feet to hit bedrock. Below the crossing tower special large stones were used.
The tower was a particular triumph—it is the only 11th century great crossing tower still standing in England. Robert began with special thick supporting walls and four massive brick piers. The four-level tower tapers at each stage with clasping buttresses on the three lower levels and circular buttresses on the fourth stage. The entire structure masses 5,000 tons and is 144 feet high. The tower was probably topped with a Norman pyramidal roof; the current roof is flat. The original ringing chamber had five bells—two paid for by the Abbot, two by a wealthy townsman, and one donated by the rector of Hoddesdon
. None of these bells has survived.
There was a widespread belief that the abbey had two additional, smaller towers at the west end. No remains have been found.
The monastic abbey was completed in 1089 but not consecrated until Holy Innocent's Day, 1115, (28 Dec) by the Archbishop of Rouen
. King Henry I
attended as did many bishops and nobles.
A nunnery (Sopwell Priory
) was founded nearby in 1140.
Internally the abbey was bare of sculpture, almost stark. The plaster walls were coloured and patterned in parts, with extensive tapestries adding colour. Sculptural decoration was added, mainly ornaments, as it became more fashionable in the 12th century—especially after the Gothic style arrived in England around 1170.
In the current structure the original Norman arches survive principally under the central tower and on the north side of the nave. The arches in the rest of the building are Gothic
, following medieval rebuilding and extensions, and Victorian era
restoration.
The abbey was extended in the 1190s by Abbot John de Cella (also known as John of Wallingford
) (1195–1214); as the number of monks grew from fifty to over a hundred, the abbey was extended westwards with three bays added to the nave. The severe Norman west front was also rebuilt by Hugh de Goldclif—although how is uncertain, it was very costly but its 'rapid' weathering and later alterations have erased all but fragments. A more prominent shrine and altar to Saint Amphibalus were also added. The work was very slow under de Cella and was not completed until the time of Abbot William de Trumpington (1214–35). The low Norman tower roof was demolished and a new, much higher, broached spire was raised, sheathed in lead.
The St Albans Psalter
(ca. 1130–45) is the best known of a number of important Romanesque
illuminated manuscript
s produced in the Abbey scriptorium
. Later, Matthew Paris
, a monk at St Albans from 1217 until his death in 1259, was important both as a chronicle
r and an artist. Eighteen of his manuscripts survive and are a rich source of contemporary information for historians.
Nicholas Breakspear
was born near St Albans and applied to be admitted to the abbey as a novice, but he was turned down. He eventually managed to be accepted into an abbey in France. In 1154 he was elected Pope Adrian IV, the only English Pope
there has ever been. The head of the abbey was confirmed as the premier abbot in England also in 1154.
wall supporting the tower was left. The rebuilding and updating was completed during the rule of Abbot Roger de Norton (1263–90).
On 10 October 1323 two piers on the south side of the nave collapsed dragging down much of the roof and wrecking five bays. Mason Henry Wy undertook the rebuilding, matching the Early English style of the rest of the bays but adding distinctly 14th century detailing and ornaments. The shrine to St Amphibalus had also been damaged and was remade.
Richard of Wallingford
, abbot from 1297 to 1336 and a mathematician and astronomer, designed a celebrated clock, which was completed by William of Walsham after his death, but apparently destroyed during the reformation.
A new gateway, now called the Abbey Gateway
, was built to the abbey grounds in 1365, which was the only part of the monastery buildings (besides the church) to survive the dissolution, later being used as a prison and now part of St Albans School
. The other monastic buildings were located to the south of the gateway and church.
In the 15th century a large west window of nine main lights and a deep traced head was commissioned by John of Wheathampstead
. The spire was reduced to a 'Hertfordshire spike', the roof pitch greatly reduced and battlements liberally added. Further new windows, at £50 each, were put in the transept by Abbot Wallington (also known as William of Wallingford
), who also had a new high altar screen made.
and its surrender on 5 December 1539 the income was £2,100 annually. The abbot and remaining forty monks were pensioned off and then the buildings were looted. All gold, silver and gilt objects were carted away with all other valuables; stonework was broken and defaced and graves opened to burn the contents.
The abbey became part of the diocese of Lincoln
in 1542 and was moved to the diocese of London
in 1550. The buildings suffered—neglect, second-rate repairs, even active damage. Richard Lee
purchased all the buildings, except the church and chapel and some other Crown premises, in 1550. Lee then began the systematic demolition for building material to improve Lee Hall at Sopwell
. In 1551, with the stone removed, Lee returned the land to the abbot. The area was named Abbey Ruins for the next 200 years or so.
In 1553 the Lady Chapel became a school, the Great Gatehouse a town jail, some other buildings passed to the Crown, and the Abbey Church was sold to the town for £
400 in 1553 by King Edward VI
to be the church of the parish.
The cost of upkeep fell upon the town, although in 1596 and at irregular intervals later the Archdeacon was allowed to collect money for repairs by Brief in the diocese. After James I
visited in 1612 he authorised another Brief, which collected around £2,000—most of which went on roof repairs. The English Civil War
slashed the monies spent on repairs, while the abbey was used to hold prisoners of war and suffered from their vandalism, as well as that of their guards. Most of the metal objects that had survived the Dissolution were also removed and other ornamental parts were damaged in Puritan sternness. Another round of fund-raising in 1681–84 was again spent on the roof, repairing the Presbytery vault. A royal grant from William and Mary
in 1689 went on general maintenance, 'repairs' to conceal some of the unfashionable Gothic features, and on new internal fittings. There was a second royal grant from William in 1698.
By the end of the 17th century the dilapidation was sufficient for a number of writers to comment upon it.
In 1703, from 26 November to 1 December, the Great Storm
raged across southern England; the abbey lost the south transept window which was replaced in wood at a cost of £40. The window was clear glass with five lights and three transoms in an early Gothic Revival style by John Hawgood. Other windows, although not damaged in the storm, were a constant drain on the abbey budget in the 18th century.
A brief in 1723–24, seeking £5,775, notes a great crack in the south wall, that the north wall was eighteen inches from vertical, and that the roof timbers were decayed to the point of danger. The money raised was spent on the nave roof over ten bays.
Another brief was not issued until 1764. Again the roof was rotting, as was the south transept window, walls were cracked or shattered in part and the south wall had subsided and now leant outwards. Despite a target of £2,500 a mere £600 was raised.
In the 1770s the abbey came close to demolition; the expense of repairs meant a scheme to destroy the abbey and erect a smaller church almost succeeded.
A storm in 1797 caused some subsidence, cracking open graves, scattering pavement tiles, flooding the church interior and leaving a few more arches off-vertical.
—a second-hand example made in 1670.
The major efforts to revive the abbey church came under four men—L. N. Cottingham
, Rector H. J. B. Nicholson, and, especially, George Gilbert Scott
and Edmund Beckett, first Baron Grimthorpe
.
In February 1832 a portion of the clerestory
wall fell through the roof of the south aisle, leaving a hole almost thirty feet long. With the need for serious repair work evident the architect Cottingham
was called in to survey the building. His Survey was presented in 1832 and was worrying reading: everywhere mortar was in a wretched condition and wooden beams were rotting and twisting. Cottingham recommended new beams throughout the roof and a new steeper pitch, removing the spire and new timbers in the tower, new paving, ironwork to hold the west transept wall up, a new stone south transept window, new buttresses, a new drainage system for the roof, new ironwork on almost all the windows, and on and on. He estimated a cost of £14,000. Using public subscription £4,000 was raised, of which £1,700 vanished in expenses. With the limited funds the clerestory wall was rebuilt, the nave roof releaded, the tower spike removed, some forty blocked windows reopened and glazed, and the south window remade in stone.
Henry Nicholson, rector from 1835 to 1866, was also active in repairing the abbey church—as far as he could—and also uncovering Gothic features lost or neglected.
In 1856 repair efforts began again; £4,000 was raised and slow moves started to gain the abbey the status of cathedral. George Gilbert Scott
was appointed the project architect and oversaw a number of works
from 1860 until his death in 1878.
Scott began his efforts by having the medieval floor restored, necessitating the removal of tons of earth, and fixing the north aisle roof. The restored floors were retiled in matching stone and copies of old tile designs from 1872–77. A further 2,000 tons of earth were shifted in 1863 during work on the foundation and a new drainage system. In 1870 the tower piers were found to have been shockingly weakened with many cracks and cavities. Huge timbers were inserted and the arches filled with brick as an emergency measure. Repair work took until May 1871 and cost over £2,000. The south wall of the nave was now 28 inches (71.1 cm) from straight; Scott reinforced the north wall and put in scaffolding to take the weight of the roof off the wall, then had it jacked straight in under three hours. The wall was then rebuttressed with five huge new masses and set right. Scott was lauded as "saviour of the Abbey." From 1870–75 around £20,000 was spent on the abbey.
In 1845 St Albans was transferred from the Diocese of Lincoln
to the Diocese of Rochester
. Then, in 1875, the Bishopric of St Albans Act was passed and on 30 April 1877 the See of St Albans was created, which comprises about 300 churches in the counties of Hertfordshire
and Bedfordshire
. The then Bishop of Rochester
, the Right Revd
Dr
Thomas Legh Claughton
, elected to take the northern division of his old diocese and on 12 June 1877 was enthroned first Bishop of St Albans
, a position he held until 1890. He is buried in the churchyard on the north side of the nave.
George Gilbert Scott was continuing to work on the nave roof, vaulting and west bay when he died on 27 March 1878. His plans were partially completed by his son, John Oldrid Scott
, but the remaining work fell into the hands of Lord Grimthorpe
, whose efforts have attracted much controversy—Nikolaus Pevsner
calling him a "pompous, righteous bully." However, much of the immense £130,000 for the work was donated by Grimthorpe.
Whereas Scott's work had clearly been in sympathy with the existing building, Grimthorpe's plans reflected the Victorian ideal—indeed he spent considerable time dismissing and criticising the work of Scott and the efforts of his son.
Grimthorpe first directed the return of a nave roof matching the original high-pitched design, although the battlements added for the lower roof were retained. Completed in 1879, the roof was leaded, following on Scott's desires.
His second major project was the most controversial. The west front, with the great Wheathampstead window, was cracked and leaning, and Grimthorpe, never more than an amateur architect, designed the new front himself—attacked as dense, misproportioned and unsympathetic: "His impoverishment as a designer ... [is] evident"; "this man, so practical and ingenious, was utterly devoid of taste ... his great qualities were marred by arrogance ... and a lack of historic sense". Counter proposals were deliberately substituted by Grimthorpe for poorly drawn versions and Grimthorpe's design was accepted. During building it was considerably reworked in order to fit the actual frontage and is not improved by the poor quality sculpture. Work began in 1880 and was completed in April 1883, having cost £20,000.
Grimthorpe was noted for his aversion to the Perpendicular—to the extent that he would have sections he disliked demolished as "too rotten" rather than remade. In his reconstruction, especially of windows, he commonly mixed architectural styles carelessly (see the south aisle, the south choir screen and vaulting). He spent £50,000 remaking the nave. Elsewhere he completely rebuilt the south wall cloisters, with new heavy buttresses, and removed the arcading of the east cloisters during rebuilding the south transept walls. In the south transept he completely remade the south face, completed in 1885, including the huge lancet window group—his proudest achievement—and the flanking turrets; a weighty new tiled roof was also made. In the north transept Grimthorpe had the Perpendicular window demolished and his design inserted—a rose window of circles, cusped circles and lozenges arrayed in five rings around the central light, sixty-four lights in total, each circle with a different glazing pattern.
Grimthorpe continued through the Presbytery in his own style, adapting the antechapel for Consistory Courts, and into the Lady Chapel. After a pointed lawsuit with Henry Hucks Gibbs, first Baron Aldenham over who should direct the restoration, Grimthorpe had the vault remade and reproportioned in stone, made the floor in black and white marble (1893), and had new Victorian arcading and sculpture put below the canopy work. Externally the buttresses were expanded to support the new roof, and the walls were refaced.
Unfortunately, as early as 1897, Grimthorpe was having to return to previously renovated sections to make repairs. His use of over-strong cement led to cracking, while his fondness for ironwork in windows led to corrosion and damage to the surrounding stone.
Grimthorpe died in 1905 and was interred in the churchyard. He left a bequest for continuing work on the buildings.
During this century the name St Albans Abbey
was given to one of the town's railway stations.
(d. 1913) (George Gilbert Scott
's son), despite frequent clashes with Grimthorpe, had continued working within the cathedral. Scott was a steadfast supporter of the Gothic revival and designed the tomb of the first bishop; he had a new bishop's throne built (1903), together with commemorative stalls for Bishop Festing and two Archdeacons, and new choir stalls. He also repositioned and rebuilt the organ (1907). Further work was interrupted by the war.
A number of memorials to the war were added to the cathedral, notably the painting The Passing of Eleanor by Frank Salisbury
(stolen 1973) and the reglazing of the main west window, dedicated in 1925.
Following the Enabling Act of 1919 control of the buildings passed to a Parochial Church Council (replaced by the Cathedral Council in 1968), who appointed the woodwork specialist John Rogers as Architect and Surveyor of the Fabric. He uncovered extensive death watch beetle
damage in the presbytery vault and oversaw the repair (1930–31). He had four tons of rubbish removed from the crossing tower and the main timbers reinforced (1931–32), and invested in the extensive use of insecticide throughout the wood structures. In 1934, the eight bells were overhauled and four new bells added to be used in the celebration of George V's jubilee.
Cecil Brown was architect and surveyor from 1939 to 1962. At first he merely oversaw the lowering of the bells for the war and established a fire watch, with the pump in the slype
. After the war, in the 1950s, the organ was removed, rebuilt and reinstalled and new pews added. His major work was on the crossing tower. Grimthorpe's cement was found to be damaging the Roman bricks: every brick in the tower was replaced as needed and reset in proper mortar by one man, Walter Barrett. The tower ceiling was renovated as were the nave murals. Brown established the Muniments Room to gather and hold all the church documents.
In 1972, to encourage a closer link between celebrant and congregation, the massive nine-ton pulpit along with the choir stalls and permanent pews was dismantled and removed. The altar space was enlarged and improved. New 'lighter' wood (limed oak) choir stalls were put in, and chairs replaced the pews. A new wooden pulpit was acquired from a Norfolk church and installed in 1974. External floodlighting was added in 1975.
A major survey in 1974 revealed new leaks, decay and other deterioration, and a ten-year restoration plan was agreed. Again the roofing required much work. The nave and clerestory roofs were repaired in four stages with new leading. The nave project was completed in 1984 at a total cost of £1.75 million. The clerestory windows were repaired with the corroded iron replaced with delta bronze and other Grimthorpe work on the clerestory was replaced. Seventy-two new heads for the corbel table were made. Grimthorpe's west front was cracking, again due to the use originally of too strong a mortar, and was repaired.
A new visitors' centre was proposed in 1970. Planning permission was sought in 1973; there was a public inquiry and approval was granted in 1977. Constructed to the south side of the cathedral close to the site of the original chapter house of the abbey, the new 'Chapter House' cost around £1 million and was officially opened on 8 June 1982 by Queen Elizabeth. The main building material was 500,000 replica Roman bricks.
Other late twentieth-century works include the restoration of Alban's shrine, with a new embroidered canopy, and the stained glass designed by Alan Younger for Grimthorpe's north transept rose window, unveiled in 1989 by Diana, Princess of Wales
.
is the Right Reverend Alan Smith
, installed in September 2009. The Venerable Jonathan Smith is Archdeacon of St Albans, installed in October 2008. On 2 July 2004, the Very Reverend Canon Dr Jeffrey John
became the ninth Dean of the Cathedral
.
Robert Runcie
, later Archbishop of Canterbury
, was bishop of St Albans from 1970 to 1980 and returned to live in the city after his retirement; he is commemorated by a gargoyle on the Cathedral as well as being buried in the graveyard. Colin Slee
, former Dean of Southwark Cathedral
, was sub-dean at St Albans under Runcie and then Dean, Peter Moore. The bishop's house is in Abbey Mill Lane, St Albans, as is the house of the Bishop of Hertford
. The Reverend Canon Eric James
, Chaplain Extraordinary to HM the Queen, was Canon at St Albans for many years.
There are a number of youth groups organised by the minor canon and chaplain for young people, the Reverend Darren Collins: Abbey Youth and X:cite. There are also activities for younger children including Abbey Tots and the monthly Teddy Bear service.
and the St Albans Cathedral Girls' Choir.
, Stephen Darlington
and Barry Rose
. Andrew Lucas is the current Master of the Music. Since 1963 the cathedral has been home to the St Albans International Organ Festival
, winners of which include Dame Gillian Weir
, Thomas Trotter
and Naji Hakim
.
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
cathedral church at St Albans
St Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. At 84 metres (275.6 ft), its nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
is the longest of any cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
in England. With much of its present architecture dating from Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
times, it became a cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
in 1877 and is the second longest cathedral in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(after Winchester
Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe...
). Local residents often call it "the abbey", although the present cathedral represents only the church of the old Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
abbey.
The abbey church, although legally a cathedral church, differs in certain particulars from most of the other cathedrals in England: it is also used as a parish church, of which the dean
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
is rector. He has the same powers, responsibilities and duties as the rector of any other parish.
Britain's first Christian martyr
AlbanSaint Alban
Saint Alban was the first British Christian martyr. Along with his fellow saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three martyrs remembered from Roman Britain. Alban is listed in the Church of England calendar for 22 June and he continues to be venerated in the Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox...
was a pagan living in the Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
city of Verulamium
Verulamium
Verulamium was an ancient town in Roman Britain. It was sited in the southwest of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, Great Britain. A large portion of the Roman city remains unexcavated, being now park and agricultural land, though much has been built upon...
, where St Albans
St Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
is now, in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, about 22 miles (35.4 km) north of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
along Watling Street
Watling Street
Watling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
. Before Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
became the official religion of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, local Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s were being persecuted by the Romans. Alban sheltered their priest, Saint Amphibalus
Amphibalus
Saint Amphibalus was formerly venerated as the Christian priest traditionally sheltered by Saint Alban, who was converted by him, as a consequence of which Alban was martyred....
, in his home and was converted to the Christian faith by him. When the soldiers came to Alban's house looking for the priest, Alban exchanged cloaks with the priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
and let himself be arrested in his place. Alban was taken before the magistrate, where he avowed his new Christian faith and was condemned for it. He was beheaded, according to legend, on the spot where the cathedral named for him now stands. The site is on a steep hill and legend has it that his head rolled down the hill after being cut off and that a well sprang up at the point where it stopped.
A well certainly exists today and the road up to the cathedral is named Holywell Hill. However the current well structure is no older than the late 19th century and it is thought that the name of the street derives from the "Halywell" river and "Halywell Bridge", not from the well.
The date of Alban's execution is a matter of some debate and is generally given as "circa 250"—scholars generally suggest dates of 209, 254 or 304.
The tomb of Saint Amphibalus is also in the cathedral.
History of the abbey and cathedral
A memoria over the execution point and holding the remains of Alban existed at the site from the mid-300s (possibly earlier); BedeBede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
mentions a church and Gildas
Gildas
Gildas was a 6th-century British cleric. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during this period. His renowned learning and literary style earned him the designation Gildas Sapiens...
a shrine. Bishop Germanus of Auxerre
Germanus of Auxerre
Germanus of Auxerre was a bishop of Auxerre in Gaul. He is a saint in both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches, commemorated on July 31. He visited Britain in around 429 and the records of this visit provide valuable information on the state of post-Roman British society...
visited in 429 and took a portion of the apparently still bloody earth away. The style of this structure is unknown; the 13th century chronicler
English historians in the Middle Ages
Historians of England in the Middle Ages helped to lay the groundwork for modern historical historiography, providing vital accounts of the early history of England, Wales and Normandy, its cultures, and revelations about the historians themselves....
Matthew Paris
Matthew Paris
Matthew Paris was a Benedictine monk, English chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire...
(see below) claimed that the Saxons destroyed the building in 586.
Saxon buildings
OffaOffa
Offa may refer to:Two kings of the Angles, who are often confused:*Offa of Angel , on the continent*Offa of Mercia , in Great BritainA king of Essex:*Offa of Essex A town in Nigeria:* Offa, Nigeria...
II of Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
, who ruled in the 8th century, is said to have founded the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
and monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
at St Albans. All later religious structures are dated from the foundation of Offa's abbey in 793. The abbey was built on Holmhurst Hill—now Holywell Hill—across the River Ver
River Ver
The Ver is a river in Hertfordshire, England. The river begins in the grounds of Markyate Cell, and flows south for 12 miles alongside Watling Street through Flamstead, Redbourn, St Albans and Park Street, and joins the River Colne at Bricket Wood....
from the ruins of Verulamium. Again there is no information to the form of the first abbey. The abbey was probably sacked by the Danes around 890 and, despite Paris's claims, the office of abbot remained empty from around 920 until the 970s when the efforts of Dunstan reached the town.
There was an intention to rebuild the abbey in 1005 when Abbot Ealdred was licensed to remove building material from Verulamium. With the town resting on clay and chalk the only tough stone is flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
. This was used with a lime mortar
Mortar (masonry)
Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
and then either plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
ed over or left bare. With the great quantities of brick, tile and other stone in Verulamium the Roman site became a prime source of building material for the abbeys, and other projects in the area, up to the 18th century. Sections demanding worked stone used Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
(Barnack stone) from Verulamium, later worked stones include Totternhoe
Totternhoe Stone
thumb|250 px|right|The characteristic checkerboard design of many Bedfordshire churches built with alternating chalk and flint blocks: [[St Mary's ]]....
freestone from Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, Purbeck marble
Purbeck Marble
Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone quarried in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England.It is one of many kinds of Purbeck Limestone, deposited in the late Jurassic or early Cretaceous periods....
, and different limestones (Ancaster
Ancaster stone
Ancaster stone is Middle Jurassic oolitic limestone, quarried around Ancaster, Lincolnshire, England. There are three forms of this limestone, Weather Bed, Hard White and Freestone...
, Chilmark
Chilmark Quarries
Chilmark Quarries is a 9.65 hectare biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest, in the ravine south of the village of Chilmark in Wiltshire, notified in 1977....
, Clipsham
Clipsham
Clipsham is a village in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England.The village is well-known for its limestone quarries. Clipsham stone, part of the Upper Lincolnshire Limestone Formation, can be found in many of Britain's most famous buildings including King's College Chapel , the...
, etc.).
Renewed Viking raids from 1016 stalled the Saxon efforts and very little from the Saxon abbey was incorporated in the later forms.
Norman abbey
Much of the current layout and proportions of the structure date from the first NormanNormans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
abbot, Paul of Caen
Paul of Caen
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 Archbishop Lanfranc....
(1077–1093). The 14th abbot, he was appointed by the new Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, Lanfranc
Lanfranc
Lanfranc was Archbishop of Canterbury, and a Lombard by birth.-Early life:Lanfranc was born in the early years of the 11th century at Pavia, where later tradition held that his father, Hanbald, held a rank broadly equivalent to magistrate...
.
Building work started in the year of Abbot Paul's arrival. The design and construction was overseen by the Norman Robert the Mason. The plan has very limited Anglo-Saxon elements and is clearly influenced by the French work at Cluny
Cluny
Cluny or Clungy is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France. It is 20 km northwest of Mâcon.The town grew up around the Benedictine Cluny Abbey, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in 910...
, Bernay
Bernay, Eure
Bernay is a commune in the west of the Eure department about fifty km from Évreux in northern France. The city is in the Pays d'Ouche and the Lieuvin...
, and Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
and shares a similar floor plan to St Etienne and Lanfranc's Canterbury—although the poorer quality building material was a new challenge for Robert and he clearly borrowed some Roman techniques, learned while gathering material in Verulamium.
To take maximum use of the hilltop the abbey was oriented to the south-east. The cruciform
Cruciform
Cruciform means having the shape of a cross or Christian cross.- Cruciform architectural plan :This is a common description of Christian churches. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is more likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross,...
abbey was the largest built in England at that time, it had a chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
of four bays, a transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
containing seven apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
s, and a nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
of ten bays—fifteen bays long overall. Robert gave particular attention to solid foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
s, running a continuous wall of layered bricks, flints and mortar below and pushing the foundations down to twelve feet to hit bedrock. Below the crossing tower special large stones were used.
The tower was a particular triumph—it is the only 11th century great crossing tower still standing in England. Robert began with special thick supporting walls and four massive brick piers. The four-level tower tapers at each stage with clasping buttresses on the three lower levels and circular buttresses on the fourth stage. The entire structure masses 5,000 tons and is 144 feet high. The tower was probably topped with a Norman pyramidal roof; the current roof is flat. The original ringing chamber had five bells—two paid for by the Abbot, two by a wealthy townsman, and one donated by the rector of Hoddesdon
Hoddesdon
Hoddesdon is a town in the English county of Hertfordshire, situated in the Lea Valley. The town grew up as a coaching stop on the route between Cambridge and London. It is located southeast of Hertford, north of Waltham Cross and southwest of Bishop's Stortford. At its height during the 18th...
. None of these bells has survived.
There was a widespread belief that the abbey had two additional, smaller towers at the west end. No remains have been found.
The monastic abbey was completed in 1089 but not consecrated until Holy Innocent's Day, 1115, (28 Dec) by the Archbishop of Rouen
Archbishop of Rouen
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen is an Archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the ecclesiastical province of the archdiocese comprises the majority of Normandy....
. King Henry I
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
attended as did many bishops and nobles.
A nunnery (Sopwell Priory
Sopwell Priory
Sopwell Priory was built c. 1140 in Hertfordshire, England by the Benedictine abbot of St Albans Abbey, Geoffrey de Gorham...
) was founded nearby in 1140.
Internally the abbey was bare of sculpture, almost stark. The plaster walls were coloured and patterned in parts, with extensive tapestries adding colour. Sculptural decoration was added, mainly ornaments, as it became more fashionable in the 12th century—especially after the Gothic style arrived in England around 1170.
In the current structure the original Norman arches survive principally under the central tower and on the north side of the nave. The arches in the rest of the building are Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
, following medieval rebuilding and extensions, and Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
restoration.
The abbey was extended in the 1190s by Abbot John de Cella (also known as John of Wallingford
John of Wallingford
John of Wallingford , also known as John de Cella, was Abbot of St Albans Abbey in the English county of Hertfordshire from 1195 to his death in 1214...
) (1195–1214); as the number of monks grew from fifty to over a hundred, the abbey was extended westwards with three bays added to the nave. The severe Norman west front was also rebuilt by Hugh de Goldclif—although how is uncertain, it was very costly but its 'rapid' weathering and later alterations have erased all but fragments. A more prominent shrine and altar to Saint Amphibalus were also added. The work was very slow under de Cella and was not completed until the time of Abbot William de Trumpington (1214–35). The low Norman tower roof was demolished and a new, much higher, broached spire was raised, sheathed in lead.
The St Albans Psalter
St. Albans Psalter
The St Albans Psalter, also known as the Albani Psalter or the Psalter of Christina of Markyate, is an English illuminated manuscript, one of several Psalters known to have been created at or for St Albans Abbey in the 12th century...
(ca. 1130–45) is the best known of a number of important Romanesque
Romanesque art
Romanesque art refers to the art of Western Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century, or later, depending on region. The preceding period is increasingly known as the Pre-Romanesque...
illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
s produced in the Abbey scriptorium
Scriptorium
Scriptorium, literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the copying of manuscripts by monastic scribes...
. Later, Matthew Paris
Matthew Paris
Matthew Paris was a Benedictine monk, English chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire...
, a monk at St Albans from 1217 until his death in 1259, was important both as a chronicle
Chronicle
Generally a chronicle is a historical account of facts and events ranged in chronological order, as in a time line. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, the purpose being the recording of events that occurred, seen from the perspective of the...
r and an artist. Eighteen of his manuscripts survive and are a rich source of contemporary information for historians.
Nicholas Breakspear
Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV , born Nicholas Breakspear or Breakspeare, was Pope from 1154 to 1159.Adrian IV is the only Englishman who has occupied the papal chair...
was born near St Albans and applied to be admitted to the abbey as a novice, but he was turned down. He eventually managed to be accepted into an abbey in France. In 1154 he was elected Pope Adrian IV, the only English Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
there has ever been. The head of the abbey was confirmed as the premier abbot in England also in 1154.
13th to 15th centuries
An earthquake shook the abbey in 1250 and damaged the eastern end of the church. In 1257 the dangerously cracked sections were knocked down—three apses and two bays. The thick PresbyteryPresbytery (architecture)
The presbytery is the name for an area in a church building which is reserved for the clergy.In the oldest church it is separated by short walls, by small columns and pilasters in the Renaissance ones; it can also be raised, being reachable by a few steps, usually with railings....
wall supporting the tower was left. The rebuilding and updating was completed during the rule of Abbot Roger de Norton (1263–90).
On 10 October 1323 two piers on the south side of the nave collapsed dragging down much of the roof and wrecking five bays. Mason Henry Wy undertook the rebuilding, matching the Early English style of the rest of the bays but adding distinctly 14th century detailing and ornaments. The shrine to St Amphibalus had also been damaged and was remade.
Richard of Wallingford
Richard of Wallingford
Richard of Wallingford was an English mathematician who made major contributions to astronomy/astrology and horology while serving as abbot of St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire.-Biography:...
, abbot from 1297 to 1336 and a mathematician and astronomer, designed a celebrated clock, which was completed by William of Walsham after his death, but apparently destroyed during the reformation.
A new gateway, now called the Abbey Gateway
Abbey Gateway, St. Albans
The Abbey Gateway, St. Albans was built in 1365 and is the last remaining building of the Benedictine Monastery at St. Albans, Hertfordshire....
, was built to the abbey grounds in 1365, which was the only part of the monastery buildings (besides the church) to survive the dissolution, later being used as a prison and now part of St Albans School
St Albans School (Hertfordshire)
St Albans School is an independent school in the city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, in the East of England. Entry before Sixth Form is for boys only, and co-educational thereafter. Founded in 948 by Wulsin , St Albans School is not only the oldest school in Hertfordshire but also one of the oldest...
. The other monastic buildings were located to the south of the gateway and church.
In the 15th century a large west window of nine main lights and a deep traced head was commissioned by John of Wheathampstead
John Whethamstede
John Whethamstede , English abbot, was a son of Hugh Bostock, and was born at Wheathampstead in Hertfordshire, owing his name, the Latin form of which is Frumenlarius, to this circumstance....
. The spire was reduced to a 'Hertfordshire spike', the roof pitch greatly reduced and battlements liberally added. Further new windows, at £50 each, were put in the transept by Abbot Wallington (also known as William of Wallingford
William of Wallingford
William of Wallingford was the 47th abbot of St Albans Abbey.He was a Benedictine monk at Holy Trinity Priory, Wallingford, Berkshire , England and like John of Wallingford and Richard of Wallingford, moved from this cell of St Albans Abbey to the abbey itself. He was a favourite of John Stoke,...
), who also had a new high altar screen made.
Dissolution and after
After the death of Abbot Ramryge in 1521 the abbey fell into debt and slow decay under three weak abbots. At the time of the Dissolution of the MonasteriesDissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
and its surrender on 5 December 1539 the income was £2,100 annually. The abbot and remaining forty monks were pensioned off and then the buildings were looted. All gold, silver and gilt objects were carted away with all other valuables; stonework was broken and defaced and graves opened to burn the contents.
The abbey became part of the diocese of Lincoln
Diocese of Lincoln
The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire.- History :...
in 1542 and was moved to the diocese of London
Diocese of London
The Anglican Diocese of London forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England.Historically the diocese covered a large area north of the Thames and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the north and west. The present diocese covers and 17 London boroughs, covering most of Greater...
in 1550. The buildings suffered—neglect, second-rate repairs, even active damage. Richard Lee
Richard Lee (engineer)
Sir Richard Lee was a military engineer in the service of Henry VIII of England, Edward VI and Elizabeth I. He was a commander of Henry VIII of England| and appointed surveyor of the King's works.-Surveyor of Calais:...
purchased all the buildings, except the church and chapel and some other Crown premises, in 1550. Lee then began the systematic demolition for building material to improve Lee Hall at Sopwell
Sopwell Priory
Sopwell Priory was built c. 1140 in Hertfordshire, England by the Benedictine abbot of St Albans Abbey, Geoffrey de Gorham...
. In 1551, with the stone removed, Lee returned the land to the abbot. The area was named Abbey Ruins for the next 200 years or so.
In 1553 the Lady Chapel became a school, the Great Gatehouse a town jail, some other buildings passed to the Crown, and the Abbey Church was sold to the town for £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
400 in 1553 by King Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
to be the church of the parish.
The cost of upkeep fell upon the town, although in 1596 and at irregular intervals later the Archdeacon was allowed to collect money for repairs by Brief in the diocese. After James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
visited in 1612 he authorised another Brief, which collected around £2,000—most of which went on roof repairs. The English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
slashed the monies spent on repairs, while the abbey was used to hold prisoners of war and suffered from their vandalism, as well as that of their guards. Most of the metal objects that had survived the Dissolution were also removed and other ornamental parts were damaged in Puritan sternness. Another round of fund-raising in 1681–84 was again spent on the roof, repairing the Presbytery vault. A royal grant from William and Mary
William and Mary
The phrase William and Mary usually refers to the coregency over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, of King William III & II and Queen Mary II...
in 1689 went on general maintenance, 'repairs' to conceal some of the unfashionable Gothic features, and on new internal fittings. There was a second royal grant from William in 1698.
By the end of the 17th century the dilapidation was sufficient for a number of writers to comment upon it.
In 1703, from 26 November to 1 December, the Great Storm
Great Storm of 1703
The Great Storm of 1703 was the most severe storm or natural disaster ever recorded in the southern part of Great Britain. It affected southern England and the English Channel in the Kingdom of Great Britain...
raged across southern England; the abbey lost the south transept window which was replaced in wood at a cost of £40. The window was clear glass with five lights and three transoms in an early Gothic Revival style by John Hawgood. Other windows, although not damaged in the storm, were a constant drain on the abbey budget in the 18th century.
A brief in 1723–24, seeking £5,775, notes a great crack in the south wall, that the north wall was eighteen inches from vertical, and that the roof timbers were decayed to the point of danger. The money raised was spent on the nave roof over ten bays.
Another brief was not issued until 1764. Again the roof was rotting, as was the south transept window, walls were cracked or shattered in part and the south wall had subsided and now leant outwards. Despite a target of £2,500 a mere £600 was raised.
In the 1770s the abbey came close to demolition; the expense of repairs meant a scheme to destroy the abbey and erect a smaller church almost succeeded.
A storm in 1797 caused some subsidence, cracking open graves, scattering pavement tiles, flooding the church interior and leaving a few more arches off-vertical.
19th century
This century was marked with a number of repair schemes. The abbey received some money from the 1818 "Million Act", and in 1820 £450 was raised to buy an organOrgan (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
—a second-hand example made in 1670.
The major efforts to revive the abbey church came under four men—L. N. Cottingham
Lewis Nockalls Cottingham
Lewis Nockalls Cottingham was a British architect who pioneered the study of Medieval Gothic architecture. He was a restorer and conservator of existing buildings...
, Rector H. J. B. Nicholson, and, especially, George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
and Edmund Beckett, first Baron Grimthorpe
Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe
Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe, Q.C. , known previously as Sir Edmund Beckett, 5th Baronet and Edmund Beckett Denison was a lawyer, horologist, and architect...
.
In February 1832 a portion of the clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
wall fell through the roof of the south aisle, leaving a hole almost thirty feet long. With the need for serious repair work evident the architect Cottingham
Lewis Nockalls Cottingham
Lewis Nockalls Cottingham was a British architect who pioneered the study of Medieval Gothic architecture. He was a restorer and conservator of existing buildings...
was called in to survey the building. His Survey was presented in 1832 and was worrying reading: everywhere mortar was in a wretched condition and wooden beams were rotting and twisting. Cottingham recommended new beams throughout the roof and a new steeper pitch, removing the spire and new timbers in the tower, new paving, ironwork to hold the west transept wall up, a new stone south transept window, new buttresses, a new drainage system for the roof, new ironwork on almost all the windows, and on and on. He estimated a cost of £14,000. Using public subscription £4,000 was raised, of which £1,700 vanished in expenses. With the limited funds the clerestory wall was rebuilt, the nave roof releaded, the tower spike removed, some forty blocked windows reopened and glazed, and the south window remade in stone.
Henry Nicholson, rector from 1835 to 1866, was also active in repairing the abbey church—as far as he could—and also uncovering Gothic features lost or neglected.
In 1856 repair efforts began again; £4,000 was raised and slow moves started to gain the abbey the status of cathedral. George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
was appointed the project architect and oversaw a number of works
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
from 1860 until his death in 1878.
Scott began his efforts by having the medieval floor restored, necessitating the removal of tons of earth, and fixing the north aisle roof. The restored floors were retiled in matching stone and copies of old tile designs from 1872–77. A further 2,000 tons of earth were shifted in 1863 during work on the foundation and a new drainage system. In 1870 the tower piers were found to have been shockingly weakened with many cracks and cavities. Huge timbers were inserted and the arches filled with brick as an emergency measure. Repair work took until May 1871 and cost over £2,000. The south wall of the nave was now 28 inches (71.1 cm) from straight; Scott reinforced the north wall and put in scaffolding to take the weight of the roof off the wall, then had it jacked straight in under three hours. The wall was then rebuttressed with five huge new masses and set right. Scott was lauded as "saviour of the Abbey." From 1870–75 around £20,000 was spent on the abbey.
In 1845 St Albans was transferred from the Diocese of Lincoln
Diocese of Lincoln
The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire.- History :...
to the Diocese of Rochester
Diocese of Rochester
The Diocese of Rochester is a Church of England diocese in South-East England and forms part of the Province of Canterbury. It is an ancient diocese, having been established in 604; only the neighbouring Diocese of Canterbury is older in the Church of England....
. Then, in 1875, the Bishopric of St Albans Act was passed and on 30 April 1877 the See of St Albans was created, which comprises about 300 churches in the counties of Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
and Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
. The then Bishop of Rochester
Bishop of Rochester
The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers the west of the county of Kent and is centred in the city of Rochester where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin...
, the Right Revd
Right Reverend
The Right Reverend is a style applied to certain religious figures.*In the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church in Great Britain it applies to bishops except that The Most Reverend is used for archbishops .*In some churches with a...
Dr
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
Thomas Legh Claughton
Thomas Legh Claughton
Thomas Legh Claughton was a British academic, poet and clergyman. He was professor of poetry at Oxford University from 1852 to 1857; Bishop of Rochester; and the first Bishop of St Albans.-Biography:...
, elected to take the northern division of his old diocese and on 12 June 1877 was enthroned first Bishop of St Albans
Bishop of St Albans
The Bishop of St Albans is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of St Albans in the Province of Canterbury. The bishop is supported in his work by two suffragan bishops, the Bishop of Hertford and the Bishop of Bedford, and three archdeacons....
, a position he held until 1890. He is buried in the churchyard on the north side of the nave.
George Gilbert Scott was continuing to work on the nave roof, vaulting and west bay when he died on 27 March 1878. His plans were partially completed by his son, John Oldrid Scott
John Oldrid Scott
John Oldrid Scott was an English architect.He was the son of Sir George Gilbert Scott and Caroline née Oldrid. His brother George Gilbert Scott Junior and nephew Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, were also prominent architects. He married Mary Ann Stevens in 1868, eldest daughter of the Reverend Thomas...
, but the remaining work fell into the hands of Lord Grimthorpe
Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe
Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe, Q.C. , known previously as Sir Edmund Beckett, 5th Baronet and Edmund Beckett Denison was a lawyer, horologist, and architect...
, whose efforts have attracted much controversy—Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
calling him a "pompous, righteous bully." However, much of the immense £130,000 for the work was donated by Grimthorpe.
Whereas Scott's work had clearly been in sympathy with the existing building, Grimthorpe's plans reflected the Victorian ideal—indeed he spent considerable time dismissing and criticising the work of Scott and the efforts of his son.
Grimthorpe first directed the return of a nave roof matching the original high-pitched design, although the battlements added for the lower roof were retained. Completed in 1879, the roof was leaded, following on Scott's desires.
His second major project was the most controversial. The west front, with the great Wheathampstead window, was cracked and leaning, and Grimthorpe, never more than an amateur architect, designed the new front himself—attacked as dense, misproportioned and unsympathetic: "His impoverishment as a designer ... [is] evident"; "this man, so practical and ingenious, was utterly devoid of taste ... his great qualities were marred by arrogance ... and a lack of historic sense". Counter proposals were deliberately substituted by Grimthorpe for poorly drawn versions and Grimthorpe's design was accepted. During building it was considerably reworked in order to fit the actual frontage and is not improved by the poor quality sculpture. Work began in 1880 and was completed in April 1883, having cost £20,000.
Grimthorpe was noted for his aversion to the Perpendicular—to the extent that he would have sections he disliked demolished as "too rotten" rather than remade. In his reconstruction, especially of windows, he commonly mixed architectural styles carelessly (see the south aisle, the south choir screen and vaulting). He spent £50,000 remaking the nave. Elsewhere he completely rebuilt the south wall cloisters, with new heavy buttresses, and removed the arcading of the east cloisters during rebuilding the south transept walls. In the south transept he completely remade the south face, completed in 1885, including the huge lancet window group—his proudest achievement—and the flanking turrets; a weighty new tiled roof was also made. In the north transept Grimthorpe had the Perpendicular window demolished and his design inserted—a rose window of circles, cusped circles and lozenges arrayed in five rings around the central light, sixty-four lights in total, each circle with a different glazing pattern.
Grimthorpe continued through the Presbytery in his own style, adapting the antechapel for Consistory Courts, and into the Lady Chapel. After a pointed lawsuit with Henry Hucks Gibbs, first Baron Aldenham over who should direct the restoration, Grimthorpe had the vault remade and reproportioned in stone, made the floor in black and white marble (1893), and had new Victorian arcading and sculpture put below the canopy work. Externally the buttresses were expanded to support the new roof, and the walls were refaced.
Unfortunately, as early as 1897, Grimthorpe was having to return to previously renovated sections to make repairs. His use of over-strong cement led to cracking, while his fondness for ironwork in windows led to corrosion and damage to the surrounding stone.
Grimthorpe died in 1905 and was interred in the churchyard. He left a bequest for continuing work on the buildings.
During this century the name St Albans Abbey
St Albans Abbey railway station
St Albans Abbey railway station serves the city of St Albans, in Hertfordshire, England, being situated about 1 km south of the city centre in the St Stephen's area of the city. It is the terminus of the Abbey Line from Watford Junction, which is part of the London Midland franchise...
was given to one of the town's railway stations.
20th century
John Oldrid ScottJohn Oldrid Scott
John Oldrid Scott was an English architect.He was the son of Sir George Gilbert Scott and Caroline née Oldrid. His brother George Gilbert Scott Junior and nephew Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, were also prominent architects. He married Mary Ann Stevens in 1868, eldest daughter of the Reverend Thomas...
(d. 1913) (George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
's son), despite frequent clashes with Grimthorpe, had continued working within the cathedral. Scott was a steadfast supporter of the Gothic revival and designed the tomb of the first bishop; he had a new bishop's throne built (1903), together with commemorative stalls for Bishop Festing and two Archdeacons, and new choir stalls. He also repositioned and rebuilt the organ (1907). Further work was interrupted by the war.
A number of memorials to the war were added to the cathedral, notably the painting The Passing of Eleanor by Frank Salisbury
Frank O. Salisbury
Francis Owen Salisbury was an English Methodist artist from who specialised in portraits, large canvases of historical and ceremonial events, stained glass and book illustration. In his heyday he made a fortune on both sides of the Atlantic and was known as “Britain’s Painter Laureate”...
(stolen 1973) and the reglazing of the main west window, dedicated in 1925.
Following the Enabling Act of 1919 control of the buildings passed to a Parochial Church Council (replaced by the Cathedral Council in 1968), who appointed the woodwork specialist John Rogers as Architect and Surveyor of the Fabric. He uncovered extensive death watch beetle
Death watch beetle
The death watch beetle, Xestobium rufovillosum, is a woodboring beetle. The adult beetle is long, while the xylophagous larvae are up to long....
damage in the presbytery vault and oversaw the repair (1930–31). He had four tons of rubbish removed from the crossing tower and the main timbers reinforced (1931–32), and invested in the extensive use of insecticide throughout the wood structures. In 1934, the eight bells were overhauled and four new bells added to be used in the celebration of George V's jubilee.
Cecil Brown was architect and surveyor from 1939 to 1962. At first he merely oversaw the lowering of the bells for the war and established a fire watch, with the pump in the slype
Slype
The term slype is a variant of slip in the sense of a narrow passage; in architecture, the name for the covered passage usually found in monasteries or cathedrals between the transept and the chapter house, as at St Andrews, Winchester, Gloucester, Exeter and St. Albans....
. After the war, in the 1950s, the organ was removed, rebuilt and reinstalled and new pews added. His major work was on the crossing tower. Grimthorpe's cement was found to be damaging the Roman bricks: every brick in the tower was replaced as needed and reset in proper mortar by one man, Walter Barrett. The tower ceiling was renovated as were the nave murals. Brown established the Muniments Room to gather and hold all the church documents.
In 1972, to encourage a closer link between celebrant and congregation, the massive nine-ton pulpit along with the choir stalls and permanent pews was dismantled and removed. The altar space was enlarged and improved. New 'lighter' wood (limed oak) choir stalls were put in, and chairs replaced the pews. A new wooden pulpit was acquired from a Norfolk church and installed in 1974. External floodlighting was added in 1975.
A major survey in 1974 revealed new leaks, decay and other deterioration, and a ten-year restoration plan was agreed. Again the roofing required much work. The nave and clerestory roofs were repaired in four stages with new leading. The nave project was completed in 1984 at a total cost of £1.75 million. The clerestory windows were repaired with the corroded iron replaced with delta bronze and other Grimthorpe work on the clerestory was replaced. Seventy-two new heads for the corbel table were made. Grimthorpe's west front was cracking, again due to the use originally of too strong a mortar, and was repaired.
A new visitors' centre was proposed in 1970. Planning permission was sought in 1973; there was a public inquiry and approval was granted in 1977. Constructed to the south side of the cathedral close to the site of the original chapter house of the abbey, the new 'Chapter House' cost around £1 million and was officially opened on 8 June 1982 by Queen Elizabeth. The main building material was 500,000 replica Roman bricks.
Other late twentieth-century works include the restoration of Alban's shrine, with a new embroidered canopy, and the stained glass designed by Alan Younger for Grimthorpe's north transept rose window, unveiled in 1989 by Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
.
Modern times
The BishopBishop of St Albans
The Bishop of St Albans is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of St Albans in the Province of Canterbury. The bishop is supported in his work by two suffragan bishops, the Bishop of Hertford and the Bishop of Bedford, and three archdeacons....
is the Right Reverend Alan Smith
Alan Gregory Clayton Smith
Alan Gregory Clayton Smith is the current Bishop of St Albans, and formerly area Bishop of Shrewsbury. He was educated at the University of Birmingham. After ordination in 1981 he began his career as curate at St Paul Pudsey...
, installed in September 2009. The Venerable Jonathan Smith is Archdeacon of St Albans, installed in October 2008. On 2 July 2004, the Very Reverend Canon Dr Jeffrey John
Jeffrey John
Jeffrey Philip Hywel John SCP is a Church of England priest and the current Dean of St Albans. He made headlines in 2003 when he was the first person to have openly been in a same-sex relationship to be nominated as a Church of England bishop...
became the ninth Dean of the Cathedral
Dean of St Albans
The Dean of St Albans is the head of the Chapter of St Albans Cathedral in the city of St Albans, England in the Diocese of St Albans. The first incumbent was Walter John Lawrance and the post is currently held by the Very Revd Jeffrey John,MA....
.
Robert Runcie
Robert Runcie
Robert Alexander Kennedy Runcie, Baron Runcie, PC, MC was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991.-Early life:...
, later Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, was bishop of St Albans from 1970 to 1980 and returned to live in the city after his retirement; he is commemorated by a gargoyle on the Cathedral as well as being buried in the graveyard. Colin Slee
Colin Slee
The Very Rev Colin Slee was a clergyman in the Church of England, most notable for his final post as Dean of Southwark Cathedral, a post he held from 1994 until his death...
, former Dean of Southwark Cathedral
Southwark Cathedral
Southwark Cathedral or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge....
, was sub-dean at St Albans under Runcie and then Dean, Peter Moore. The bishop's house is in Abbey Mill Lane, St Albans, as is the house of the Bishop of Hertford
Bishop of Hertford
The Bishop of Hertford is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of St Albans, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Hertford, the county town of Hertfordshire...
. The Reverend Canon Eric James
Eric James
Reverend Canon Eric Arthur James FKC AKC is an Anglican clergyman, Chaplain Extraordinary to HM the Queen and for many years a regular on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day programme...
, Chaplain Extraordinary to HM the Queen, was Canon at St Albans for many years.
There are a number of youth groups organised by the minor canon and chaplain for young people, the Reverend Darren Collins: Abbey Youth and X:cite. There are also activities for younger children including Abbey Tots and the monthly Teddy Bear service.
Music and choirs
The master of music and the organist have the responsibility of directing the St Albans Cathedral ChoirSt Albans Cathedral Choir
St. Albans Cathedral Choir is an English Cathedral Choir based in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. It is made up of around 25 boy choristers aged 7–14 and 12 adult Lay Clerks...
and the St Albans Cathedral Girls' Choir.
Organ
- Details of the organ from the National Pipe Organ Register.
- Details of the restoration of the organ being undertaken 2007–09; article on the Cathedral's website dated August 2007 by Andrew Lucas, the Master of the Music.
- http://www.harrison-organs.co.uk/stalbanspec.htmlDetails of the new specification following the major restoration by Harrison & HarrisonHarrison & HarrisonHarrison & Harrison Ltd are a British company that make and restore pipe organs, based in Durham and established in 1861. They are well known for their work on instruments such as King's College Cambridge, Westminster Abbey and the Royal Festival Hall....
completed in March 2009].
Organists
The posts of organist and master of the music has been held by a number of well-known musicians, including Peter HurfordPeter Hurford
Peter Hurford OBE is a British organist, born St Cecilia's day 1930 in Minehead, Somerset.Educated at Blundell's School, he later studied both music and law at Jesus College, Cambridge, graduating with dual degrees, subsequently obtaining an enviable reputation for both musical scholarship and...
, Stephen Darlington
Stephen Darlington
Stephen Darlington is a British choral director and conductor, and president of the Royal College of Organists from 1999-2001.During the early 1970s Darlington was organ scholar at Christ Church, Oxford, studying under Simon Preston...
and Barry Rose
Barry Rose
Barry Michael Rose is a choir trainer and organist. He is best known for conducting the choir of St Paul's Cathedral at the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales at St Paul's Cathedral in London on 29 July 1981.-Biography:Born in Chingford, England, Rose grew up...
. Andrew Lucas is the current Master of the Music. Since 1963 the cathedral has been home to the St Albans International Organ Festival
St Albans International Organ Festival
The International Organ Festival is a biennial music festival and organ competition held in St Albans, England since 1963. Originally held annually, it was changed to every two years in 1965 due to the complexity of organising the increasingly ambitious programme...
, winners of which include Dame Gillian Weir
Gillian Weir
Dame Gillian Constance Weir DBE is a New Zealand organist.-Biography:Gillian Weir was a co-winner of the Auckland Star Piano Competition at 19, playing Mozart. A year later she won a scholarship of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in London...
, Thomas Trotter
Thomas Trotter
Thomas Trotter is a British concert organist. He is Birmingham City Organist and organist of St. Margaret's, Westminster and visiting Professor of Organ at the Royal College of Music, London....
and Naji Hakim
Naji Hakim
Naji Subhy Paul Irénée Hakim is a Lebanese-French organist, composer, and improviser. He studied under Jean Langlais, and succeeded Messiaen as organist at the Église de la Sainte-Trinité, Paris.-Biography:...
.
- 1302 Adam
- 1498 Robert FayrfaxRobert FayrfaxRobert Fayrfax was an English Renaissance composer, considered the most prominent and influential of the reigns of Kings Henry VII and Henry VIII of England.-Biography:...
- 1529 Henry Besteney
- 1820 Thomas Fowler
- 1831 Edwin Nicholls
- 1833 Thomas Fowler
- 1837 Thomas Brooks
- 1846 John Brooks
- 1855 William Simmons
- 1858 John Stocks Booth
- 1880 George Gaffe
- 1907 Willie Lewis Luttmann
- 1930 Cuthbert E. Osmond
- 1937 Albert Charles Tysoe
- 1947 Meredith DaviesMeredith Davies (conductor)Meredith Davies CBE was a British conductor, renowned for his advocacy of English music by composers such as Benjamin Britten, Frederick Delius and Ralph Vaughan Williams....
- 1951 Claude Peter Primrose Burton
- 1957 Peter HurfordPeter HurfordPeter Hurford OBE is a British organist, born St Cecilia's day 1930 in Minehead, Somerset.Educated at Blundell's School, he later studied both music and law at Jesus College, Cambridge, graduating with dual degrees, subsequently obtaining an enviable reputation for both musical scholarship and...
- 1978 Stephen DarlingtonStephen DarlingtonStephen Darlington is a British choral director and conductor, and president of the Royal College of Organists from 1999-2001.During the early 1970s Darlington was organ scholar at Christ Church, Oxford, studying under Simon Preston...
- 1985 Colin Walsh
- 1988 Barry RoseBarry RoseBarry Michael Rose is a choir trainer and organist. He is best known for conducting the choir of St Paul's Cathedral at the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales at St Paul's Cathedral in London on 29 July 1981.-Biography:Born in Chingford, England, Rose grew up...
- 1998 Andrew Lucas
Assistant organists
- John Cawley 1908–09
- George C. Straker 1921–30
- Sydney John Barlow 1936–39
- Frederick Carter 1948–51
- John Henry Freeman 1951–70
- Simon LindleySimon LindleySimon Lindley is a British organist, choirmaster, conductor and composer. He has been organist at Leeds Town Hall since 1976 and Master of the Music and organist of Leeds Parish Church since 1975. Senior Lecturer in Music at Leeds Polytechnic from 1976 to 1987, Lindley held the post of Senior...
1970–75 - John Clough 1975–76
- Andrew ParnellAndrew ParnellAndrew Parnell is an organist and harpsichordist.As a boy Parnell was a choral scholar at Southwell Minster, where he began organ studies under Kenneth Beard. He won the Organ Scholarship at Christ's College, Cambridge aged 19 and studied under Nicolas Kynaston...
1976–2001 - Simon Johnson 2001–08 (Later Assistant Director of Music St Paul's Cathedral)
- Tom Winpenny 2008–current
Burials
- Robert "of the Chamber" Breakspear (d. 1110), priest of the diocese of Bath, then monk at St Albans; father of Nicholas who became the only English Pope, Pope Adrian IVPope Adrian IVPope Adrian IV , born Nicholas Breakspear or Breakspeare, was Pope from 1154 to 1159.Adrian IV is the only Englishman who has occupied the papal chair...
. - Richard d'Aubeney (1097–1119), Abbot
- Ralph GubionRalph GubionRalph Gubion was a native Englishman and abbot of St Albans Abbey from 1146 to 1151.Gubion was a native of England, although his surname indicates that his family was likely from Normandy or Brittany. Gubion was a monk at St Albans as well as being a clerk in the household of Alexander, Bishop of...
(d. 7 July 1150), Abbot and historian - Robert of Gorron (d. ca. 1170), Abbot of St Albans
- Simon Warin (d. 1195), Abbot
- John of WallingfordJohn of WallingfordJohn of Wallingford , also known as John de Cella, was Abbot of St Albans Abbey in the English county of Hertfordshire from 1195 to his death in 1214...
(d. 1214), Abbot - William of Trumpington, Abbot (1214–35)
- John of Hertford (d. 1335), Abbot
- Adam Rous (d. 1370), SurgeonSurgeonIn medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
to King Henry IIIHenry III of EnglandHenry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready... - Thomas de la Mare (d. 1396), Abbot
- John de la Moote, Abbot (1396–1401)
- John WhethamstedeJohn WhethamstedeJohn Whethamstede , English abbot, was a son of Hugh Bostock, and was born at Wheathampstead in Hertfordshire, owing his name, the Latin form of which is Frumenlarius, to this circumstance....
(d. 1465), Abbot - Humphrey, Duke of GloucesterHumphrey, Duke of GloucesterHumphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Pembroke, KG , also known as Humphrey Plantagenet, was "son, brother and uncle of kings", being the fourth and youngest son of king Henry IV of England by his first wife, Mary de Bohun, brother to king Henry V of England, and uncle to the...
(d. 1447), the fourth son of King Henry IVHenry IV of EnglandHenry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke... - Casualties of the First Battle of St AlbansFirst Battle of St AlbansThe First Battle of St Albans, fought on 22 May 1455 at St Albans, 22 miles north of London, traditionally marks the beginning of the Wars of the Roses. Richard, Duke of York and his ally, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, defeated the Lancastrians under Edmund, Duke of Somerset, who was killed...
: - Thomas Clifford, 8th Baron de Clifford (1414–55)
- Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of NorthumberlandHenry Percy, 2nd Earl of NorthumberlandHenry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland was an English nobleman and military commander in the lead up to the Wars of the Roses. He was the son of Henry "Hotspur" Percy, and the grandson of Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland...
(1392/1393–1455) - Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset (1406-1455)
- Sir Anthony (or Antony) Grey (d. 1480), brother-in-law of Elizabeth WoodvilleElizabeth WoodvilleElizabeth Woodville was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. Elizabeth was a key figure in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans...
, queen consort of Edward IVEdward IV of EnglandEdward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England... - Thomas Legh ClaughtonThomas Legh ClaughtonThomas Legh Claughton was a British academic, poet and clergyman. He was professor of poetry at Oxford University from 1852 to 1857; Bishop of Rochester; and the first Bishop of St Albans.-Biography:...
, first Bishop of St Albans 1877-90, buried in the churchyardChurchyardA churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language or Northern English language this can also be known as a kirkyard or kirkyaird.... - Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron GrimthorpeEdmund Beckett, 1st Baron GrimthorpeEdmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe, Q.C. , known previously as Sir Edmund Beckett, 5th Baronet and Edmund Beckett Denison was a lawyer, horologist, and architect...
(1816–1905) - Robert RuncieRobert RuncieRobert Alexander Kennedy Runcie, Baron Runcie, PC, MC was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991.-Early life:...
, Bishop of St Albans 1970-80, Archbishop of Canterbury 1980-91, buried in the churchyard
See also
- List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom
- History of St AlbansHistory of St AlbansSt Albans is in southern Hertfordshire, England, around 22 miles north of London, beside the site of a Catuvellauni settlement and the Roman town of Verulamium and on the River Ver...
- Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of EnglandArchitecture of the medieval cathedrals of EnglandThe medieval cathedrals of England, dating from between approximately 1040 and 1540, are a group of twenty-six buildings which together constitute a major aspect of the country’s artistic heritage and are among the most significant material symbols of Christianity. Though diversified in style, they...
- English Gothic architectureEnglish Gothic architectureEnglish Gothic is the name of the architectural style that flourished in England from about 1180 until about 1520.-Introduction:As with the Gothic architecture of other parts of Europe, English Gothic is defined by its pointed arches, vaulted roofs, buttresses, large windows, and spires...
- Romanesque architectureRomanesque architectureRomanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
- Church of EnglandChurch of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
External links
- Official website of St Albans Cathedral
- Diocese of St Albans
- Catholic Encyclopedia article on the Abbey
- Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Saint Albans - from Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
- Flickr images tagged St Albans Cathedral