ST ALBANS
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Under Construction This is the "old" St Albans page - which over 6 years has become very untidy. Much information was hard to find and even more information and pictures were not online because there was no room under the old setup. A new "master" web page (the St Albans Home Page) is being constructed, together with a menu of pages related to St Albans. New pages are being added, some of which will include information on this page. During the transfer process (which is expected to take several months) the "Old" and "New" are being run in parallel. |
ST ALBANS
The City of St Albans also includes the Abbey parish and the urban parts of the parishes of St Michaels, St Peters and St Stephen - and now contains parts of the parish of Sandridge.
Detail from Charles Smith's map of Hertfordshire (1808 edition)
Adjacent Parishes to St Albans Abbey Parish: St Michaels, St Peters, St Stephens. see also St Saviours (Bernards Heath)
St Albans Union consisted of the Abbey parish, and the parishes of St Peter, St Michael, St Stephen, Sandridge, Redbourn, Harpenden and Wheathampstead.
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 View circa 1840 |
The St Albans Central Library, in the Maltings shopping centre, has microfilms of the local parish registers and censuses, and of the Herts Advertiser newspaper from 1858. It no longer keeps the City archives - which are now at HALS, but many of the more generally useful items are available on microfilm. Its holdings includes maps and other documents, a good collection of local books on the open shelves (and many available on loan), and a unique collection of mainly older books about the area in locked cases. There are street directories for St Albans and area for most years from about 1881 on the open shelves. The chief problem is that there is only one microfilm reader - which is frequently in use - so booking is absolutely essential if you are making a journey to look at the records
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Travelling south, via Dunstable, towards London, in 1697, Celia Fiennes wrote
Thence to St. Albans and so we enter Hartfordshire 12 mile: there is a very large streete to the Market place, its a pretty large town takeing all, the St Juliers [St Julians - a historic chapel in the parish of St Stephens] and that at one end and the other end is St Nicholas [error?? - she would have passed close to St Michaels], where is a handsome church; the great Church which is dedicated to St. Albans is much out of repaire; I see the places in the pavement that was worn like holes for kneeling by the devotes of the Religion, and his votery's, as they tell you, but the whole Church is so worn away that it mourns for some charitable person to help repaire it; there are several good houses about the town one [Holywell House] of the Earl of Maulberoug [Marlborough] and one of Mrs Gennings [Jennings] the Countess Mother.
The Journeys of Celia Fiennes, edited Christopher Morris, Cresset Press, 1947
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Book: A history in all men's lives - Lives of eminent former members of the St Albans & Herts Architectural & Archaeological Society.
Book: A Short History of Bernards Heath - is the history of common land which was in the parish of Sandridge but is now a district in St Albans.
Books by Tony Billings: CAMP - A local St Albans history, 84 Bus to St Albans, St Albans Street Directory, Victoriana: A St Albans Streetscape
Book: Fishpool Street, St Albans, by Gerald Sanctuary
Book: Population ... Volume 2: The St Albans Region - includes a transcript of the 1851 census.
Book: Illustrated Handbook to St Alban's A very early pocket guide, published 1866
Book: The City of St Albans - a guidebook from 1902
Book: The Story of the English Towns: St Albans - by William Page. Limited history from 1920
Book: A History of St Albans - a good modern general history - by James Corbett
Book: St Albans - The City and People
Book: The Story of St Albans - The first important post-war history - by Elsie Toms
Book: The New Book of St Albans
Book: Yesterday's Town: St Albans
Book: St Albans 1650-1700 - A very important in depth study - relevant if your ancestors lived in the area at the time.
Book: St Albans in Camera by Beryl Carrington & James Corbett, 1991
Book: Around St Albans by Kate Morris - based on Frith postcards.
Book: Around St Albans by Anne Wheeler & Tony Stevens - pictures from St Albans Museums collection.
Book: St Albans Pen Pictures (1920s?)
Book: Coloured Photographic Views of St Albans, by H. E. Brown, circa 1905.
St Albans Town Hall - from The Official Guide
Book: St Albans Almanack - Published annually from 1859-1909 (and may be later)
Book: St Albans - The Official Guide - circa 1923
Book: In & Around St Albans (modern guide book)
ST ALBAN'S ABBEY CHURCH.
(the West End)
Herts.
London: Published by Vernor & Hood, Poultry, March 1, 1805
Engraved by R. Rolfe from a drawing by G. Shepherd
For the Beauties of England &
Wales J.B.dirext
Book: St Albans Cathedral - several guides including The Abbey of St Albans (1887) and Cannon Liddell's 1897 St Alban's Abbey
Book: Where God had a People - Quakers in St Albans over 300 years.
Book: Methodism in the city of the Proto-Martyr and the St Albans Circuit
Book: Historical Records of St Albans - by A E Gibbs - history of Grammar School, etc
Book: The Corporation Records of St Albans - by A E Gibbs - A summary of early records which paints a vivid picture of life in the borough - see 16c extracts.
Book: Mysterious Ruins - The Story of Sopwell Priory
Book: St Albans Quarter Session Rolls 1784-1820
Book: St Albans Wills, 1471-1500 see also Names 1451-1500, St Albans
Book: The Cock & Pye Deeds - The story of a property in Chequer Street as told by documents which relate to the lease and sale of the property from 1515 to 1678.
The Market Place, St Albans, looking down St Peter's Street with St Peters in
the distance
Valentine's Postcard early 20th century
Book: The Watford and St Albans Gas Company, 1834-1934
Book: Around St Albans by Anne Wheeler & Tony Stevens
Book: A Short History of St Albans School
Book: Memories of St Albans - Reminiscences and old photographs published in 2000
Book: A Window on Victorian St Albans,
Book: The D.I.A. Cautionary Guide to St. Albans - Examples of bad urban design in 1929
Book: Celebration, the story of a parish (the Roman Catholic Church in St Albans)
Book: Reconstruction and Measurement of Landscape Change - Detailed study of the parishes around St Albans
Census: 1881: St Albans Prison Staff
Directories: Election Bribery in St Albans in 1850 - includes poll book, etc
Education: St Albans Schools - St Albans used to illustrate the kinds of information available
Ephemera: Receipt relating to mortgage, 1809 (Thomas Smith, Edward Garrett, St Albans)
Map: Britannia Depicta - An example from this 1755 road atlas shows the road from St Albans via Harpenden to Luton and transcribed a brief history of St Albans.
Occupations: St Albans Brickmakers
Occupations: The Inns & Public Houses of St Albans in the 19th Century
Occupations: Silk Mill
Occupations: Suet Making: Wiles & Lewis, St Albans
Old News: The St Albans Pub Song - 1884
Topics: St Albans Abbey: Early 20th century Post Cards
Topics: The St Albans Pageant of 1907
Topics: The Straw Hat Industry - St Albans was an important centre
Topics: The Long Stay Hospitals of the St Albans area.
Web Site: www.salbani.co.uk - An essential site for some quality archaeology and history
Web Site: Spicer Street Independent Chapel - includes interesting historical material
Web Site: St Albans Nostalgia - A message board for exchanging memories about St Albans mainly relating to the second half of the 20th century
For information about the Dagnall Street Baptist chapel see WATTS, St Albans, 1865-1880s
Web Site: St Albans & District Council
The Shrine of St Alban
Web Site: St Albans Catherdal - A must if your ancestors used the Abbey
Web Site: St Albans Museums - A good general museum - and the specialist Verulamium (Roman) museum
Web Site: St Albans Observer - A weekly local newspaper which publishes a regular Nostalgia column.
Web Site: The St Albans & Hertfordshire Architectural & Archaeological Society has a regular programme of talks and some valuable publications.
Web Site: Gary Houston's web site contains many photographs of St Albans and elsewhere
See also Britons Camp (First World War), St Albans.
| Quick links to
extra postcard images. click on thumbnail picture |
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 Holwell Hill St Albans |
 Cricket Match St Albans School |
 St Peters Street St Albans |
 Clock Tower St Albans |
 River Ver St Albans |
 St Albans Abbey Garden |
 Soldier on Horseback St Abans |
The Boot Inn St Albans |
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See also Vital Records
If you know of other books, websites, etc, relating to this place, please tell me.
Page updated May 2007
