St Albans: Romans, Saints & Boudicca
With no opportunity to leave these shores just yet, we continued our exploration of our own country this week with a brief visit to Hertfordshire, centred on time in St Albans, an ancient city steeped in fascinating history.
After a motorway closure made our journey somewhat tortuous we rolled into St Albans around lunchtime and set about exploring a city with some of England’s most dramatic history. St Alban the man was a religious martyr executed on the spot which today houses the cathedral, itself originally an abbey which was ransacked and all but destroyed by Henry VIII’s men during the Reformation.
From a distance, the wide central tower of the cathedral appears slightly unusual due to its brick content rather than the more traditional stonework of most church spires, but closer inspection reveals that the brickwork is the flatter, tile shaped bricks of Roman architecture. This is due to the fact that post-Reformation rebuilding of the cathedral was achieved by raiding the extensive Roman ruins nearby and “recycling” the Roman construction materials.
The result is an impressively expansive interior of cruciform design which has seen many adornments over time, including very recent additions of statuary and stained glass windows: it seems that St Albans is a cathedral comfortable with modernisation. Indeed, for the last 50 years or so, this has been the UK’s leading ecumenical church, hosting regular services for the differing branches of Christianity.
And so back to the Romans. St Albans is built on the site of Verulamium, the third largest city of the Roman Empire on these shores and a hugely important and powerful trading city. The foremost Roman thoroughfare, Watling Street, ran through Verulamium on its route from Dover (Dubris) to Chester (Deva) via London (Londinium), so linking many of the major Roman cities.
The Roman settlement was brought to an end when the fearsome Queen Boudicca came rampaging down from her native Norfolk to ruthlessly destroy the city, having done the same to Camulodunum (Colchester) on her way here.
Roman ruins are dotted throughout the city, from sections of city walls and gates to perfectly preserved mosaic floors, shopping malls and amphitheatre. These together with the large number of beautiful old buildings coupled with a quaint clock tower, the pretty River Ver and extensive open parkland, make St Albans a most attractive city and our wanders around its streets are very enjoyable.
Reputedly the oldest pub in England 
Our pleasant overnight stay is at Shendish Manor in the leafy Hertfordshire countryside close to Hemel Hempstead. After two days exploring St Albans we call in at the pretty nearby village of Wheathampstead on the River Lea before heading home.
St Albans is a city well worth a visit and its proximity to London makes it an easy detour, one which we can definitely recommend.
15 Comments
Toonsarah
A lovely overview of St Albans – I especially enjoyed seeing your photos of the abbey interior. I have a friend who lives there and we spent a pleasant day a couple of years ago wandering around with our cameras. I was going to visit again last year but you can guess what happened to that plan!
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Sarah
Monkey's Tale
What a rich history and a cute town. I love that mosaic floor! I’m sure you had a beer in the oldest pub in England 😊 Maggie
Phil & Michaela
It was really interesting and unusual for us to visit such sites in England, we are usually abroad when we visit Roman remains so it was lovely to see in our own country
wetanddustyroads
Gosh, those stained glass windows are so pretty! And love the Roman ruins – wow, the mosaic floors are something special … reminded me of our hiking journeys in Spain and how I was in awe with the old Roman roads and ruins.
Phil & Michaela
It was great to see Roman ruins in England, we are usually abroad when we see such things. They are always interesting to see
Steven and Annie Berger
Ditto the other comments about your great photos and tour of St. Albans with the accompanying history of its Roman heritage. I enjoyed it all thoroughly!
Annie
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Annie
leightontravels
I went to St Albans as a kid on a school trip but remember virtually zilch about it. Had no idea about St Alban himself and the history behind the name. As others have said the mosaic floor is really special and hey, it’s gotta be worth a visit just for a pint at the oldest pub in England. Wonderful photographs as always.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Leighton – turns out St Albans is also where CAMRA has its origins. Although I think there’s quite a few pubs who lay claim to being the oldest in England.
normareadtalktalknet
Amazing, not at all how I imagined StAlbans .. you never disappoint wherever you go, incredible 😁xx
Phil & Michaela
Thank you!
grandmisadventures
That cathedral is so stunning! Wonderful pictures of such a charming place. I always enjoy reading your posts and I hope you’re able to venture to the places you’ve been planning for soon 🙂
bitaboutbritain
I haven’t been to St Albans Cathedral since I was a kid, but did make it to the fascinating Verulamium museum and nearby Roman theatre ruins not long ago. I do need to have a pint at Ye Olde Fighting Cocks sometime!
Phil & Michaela
Thanks for reading, and for following. There were several other great pubs around the city centre too!