Welcoming visitors for 2000 years (St Albans in General)

Member Name: Pinotage

Product:	St Albans in General
Date:	14/04/01 (264 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: History, compact, close to London

Disadvantages: Car parking difficult.

St Albans, just 30 minutes by train from central London, is an ideal day trip destination. Roman ruins, an attractive medieval city and Abbey, 15th century pubs and an open market held since 948 are in easy walking distance. The city takes its name from Britain's first Saint, the martyred Alban, and his shrine can be seen in the magnificent Abbey, dating from 1077. Alban was a Roman soldier executed in 209 for his beliefs and for hiding a Christian priest.


At that time the city was known as Verulamium and was a grand Roman city, the third largest in Britain. It had been built on the site of the capital of an ally British tribe's city. The tribe was rich and powerful but couldn't prevent the Roman legions conquering England. They allied themselves with the Romans and adopted their ways. You can walk along their enormous defensive ditches, still some sixty feet deep in places 2000 years later.


Verulamium prospered, despite being burned to the ground by Queen Boadicea's army and later by accident, until Rome withdrew her legions 400 years later. The new town was built of brick and flint with massive defensive walls and fortifies gateways. It straddled Watling Street, the main road from London to the west. The city was built on a plain alongside the river Ver navigable by sea going ships.


But as Christianity became the major religion a new town slowly grew around Alban's shrine housed in a small wooden church on the hill overlooking Verulamium. A monastery was built and people gradually abandoned the Roman city. The fine Roman buildings decayed and were used as a source of materials for the new city of St Albans.


If you look up at the Abbey you'll see thousands of thin orange roman bricks used to build the tower, plus an occasional section of statue and pillar. And as you walk around St Albans looking at old buildings you'll spot bricks and flints taken from Verulamium.

r>Because St Albans was built alongside Verulamium, much of the Roman city survived, but except for some long sections of high city wall, the remains are underground. A public park and farmland cover the area. Every summer a new section of the park is excavated. Just under the grass where nowadays people play football and cricket are streets, the stumps of walls and superb mosaic floors.

One spectacular floor has been roofed over and may be visited free of charge. You can walk around the mosaic and observe the raised floor under which hot air from fires was wafted by brick ducts. Nearby are the ruins of Verulamiums theatre. It is unique in northern Europe for having a stage and proscenium. Next to it are foundations of town houses and an underground temple to Mithras.


Verulamium Museum in the park contains much discovered in the ruins, including more mosaic floors, skeletons, reconstruction's and is a visit is not only essential to appreciate the site and its importance, but is really enjoyable in its own right.
The town of St Albans spread out from the monastery built around the Abbey of St Alban.

The monastery was all-powerful and owned all land for miles around. Many local inhabitants depended on it for a living by working as farm labourers. The start and end of the working day was measured by tolling the Abbey bells. The suspicion that the monastery cheated by ringing the end of work day bell later and later during the summer caused locals to build their own clock tower which they placed in the town centre facing the monastery.



You can climb this unique curfew tower on weekends in the summer and gain a birds eye view over the roofs and streets which have retain the same pattern for centuries. Two major battles of the Wars of the Roses were fought in these streets, and you can follow the path of both sides as fighting ebbed and flowed.


There is so much history packed into a compact are
a. Next to the clock tower is narrow French Row where King John of France was held as prisoner of war in 1356. Three churches founded in 948, the oldest pub in England, many superb 15 century timbered buildings, and a waffle shop in a working water mill are just some of the sights also to be seen in a short walk through St Albans.


For an enjoyable day out do visit my home town - historic St Albans - Verulamium.


How to get to St Albans.

By Train -
St Albans City station is well connected north and south on the Thameslink line which goes from Bedford south to Brighton, with many stops including Kings Cross Thamslink, St Pauls, Blackfriars and London Bridge in the centre of London, and Gatwick airport to the south and London Luton airport to the north.

The journey should average 30 minutes from Kings Cross Thameslink

St Albans City Station is about 10 minutes walk from the centre of the city. There is a taxi rank at the station.

Rail timetable at www.railtrack.co.uk


By Car:-
St Albans is at the junction of the M25 (London outer ring) and M1 motorways. Take exit 21A or 22 on the M25, exit 6 on the M1. Or consider driving from London's Hyde Park on the old roman road, Watling Street, named Edgware Road at the London end.


By Plane:-
London Luton airport, served by EasyJet and Ryan Air is the closest airport, about 20 minutes by car or use Thameslink train. Gatwick airport is about 90 minutes away bt Thameslink train.

Stay Overnight

St Michaels Manor hotel backs onto Verulamium Park in historic Fishpool Street. Less expensive accommodation may be found in the same street in the Red Lion pub. There is a Comfort Inn hotel in the old Ryder Seed Merchants Hall in the center of town, plus many B+Bs and small hotels. To make a booking contact the tourist office on 01727 64511


Can't Do Without

The St Albans Mapguide is a
full colour booklet containing a concise history of St Albans and the most detailed map you'll ever see. Professional mapmaker Michael Middleditch photographed St Albans from the air then walked every road and lane. His resulting map shows everything in fine detail. Buy it from the rail station bookstall or any St Albans bookshop of tourist office. ISBN 0-9513390-0-1 at £2.95

St Albans on the web
http://www.stalbans.gov.uk/tourism/



If you have been, thanks for reading
(April 2001)