Where else would you go first in an English cathedral city but its magnificent cathedral with centuries of history as seen through its architecture and surrounding buildings and gardens, right? Well certainly that was the case with my visit to St Albans in Hertfordshire.
The city took its name from St Alban, the first British Christian martyr, who was executed in 305 AD for refusing to participate in a pagan sacrifice. The ground where the Cathedral stands specifically the north transept was the traditional spot where St Alban was executed.
Alban was a citizen of Verulamium, the Roman town that grew to become St Albans. During the reign of the Emperor Diocletian many Christians were persecuted for their beliefs. One such was Amphibalus, a deacon who fled from the authorities. Alban, though himself a pagan, offered shelter to Amphibalus.
During the time he hid the deacon from the Roman authorities Alban himself became converted to Christianity. Eventually both men were captured by the Romans and put to death. Alban could have escaped his fate if he agreed to sacrifice at a pagan altar, but he refused, and was executed. (Source: Britain Express)
I visited the cathedral city of St Albans in January 2022 when I had a few hours to spare while waiting for my wife attend her lessons from the nearby university in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. The city was just a 15-minute drive from Hatfield, which was an hour and 15 minutes drive from our house in Peterborough, which is also famed for its magnificent cathedral. I decided to just visit two famous places in the city that were close to each other - St Albans Cathedral and the ruins of the Roman Theatre of Verulamium.
I parked in the Verulamium car park which was situated in the remains of the old Roman town. It was the ideal place to start my tour with a short 15-minute walk through the beautiful Verulamium Park and onto St Albans Cathedral. I ended my tour with a visit to the ruins of the Roman Theatre of Verulamium, which was a 5-minute walk from the car park past the A4147 road.
After exiting Verulamium Park and just before I started to climb the hill to the cathedral I passed by this unassuming old-looking pub, Ye Olde Fighting Cocks. According to Wikipedia: "It is one of several pubs that lay claim to being the oldest in England, claiming to have been in business since 793 AD. The pub was once recognized as the oldest in England by the Guinness World Records, but this title was wrested in 2000. The building is described by Historic England as being of 16th-century appearance, but as the earliest date for which it can be proved to have been licensed is 1756, and even that date is not certain, its claim to this record is somewhat uncertain."
St Albans Cathedral
Before I went inside the Cathedral I wandered outside its grounds for awhile and saw the Abbey Gateway, the Verdun Tree and the Vintry Garden in more details. I also had a quick look at the nearby Clock Tower, the only surviving medieval town belfry in England.
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I entered the Cathedral through the gift shop and was awed by some of the highlight places inside the cathedral:
- Norman Tower - one of the largest and oldest cathedral tower in England
- Quire - the main monastic area during the medieval period
- Medieval wall paintings - the best preserved collection in any English Cathedral
- Nave - at 85 metres it has the longest Nave in England
- Font
- The spectacular stained glass windows around the Cathedral, including the magnificent Rose Window
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Ruins of the Roman Theatre of Verulamium
In the southwest of St Albans lies the remains of the Roman Britain town of Verulamium. A few remains of Verulamium are still seen at Verulamium Park like parts of the city wall and a hypocaust (a central heating system in the Roman period) as well as items that are found in the museum. The ruins of the Roman theatre, however, is now part of the nearby Gorhambury Estate.
All photos were taken with a micro four thirds camera (https://amzn.to/2Qjtg8h) attached with a telephoto zoom lens (https://amzn.to/32TeGWA).
