St Albans Tourist Information

St Albans is the oldest town in Hertfordshire, with quite a few tourist attractions based on the history of St Albans.

The first settlement on the site, known as Verlamion, developed in the Iron Age. This Celtic name meant 'the settlement above the Marsh'. The inhabitants of Verlamion traded with the Roman empire for many years before the Roman conquest of 43 AD.

Renamed Verulamium, the settlement grew to become the third largest town in Roman Britain. Verulamium was ransacked, along with London and Colchester, in the Boudica's uprisng of 60/61 AD.

However, the town was rebuilt with many fine buildings including temples, a theatre, public baths and large privately-owned town houses, and in 275 AD the town was encircled by gated walls. Following the departure of the Roman forces in 410 AD the town fell into decline.

The Roman town now lies beneath Verulamium Park and the city seen today grew up on a new site around an abbey established by Abbot Ulsinus in 900 AD.

The new town took its name from Saint Alban, Britain's first Christian martyr. A citizen of Verulamium, Alban was executed for his beliefs in 209 AD and the monastery was built close to the site of his martyrdom.

The ruined Roman buildings were used as building material for the monastic buildings and new settlement. Salvaged Roman bricks can still be seen in the Norman Abbey Tower.

During the Middle Ages the monastery became the country's premier abbey and the town thrived catering for the needs of travellers and pilgrims who flocked to the shrine of Saint Alban. Visitors can still see many of the inns built in the 15th century to accomodate these pilgrims down by the Abbey.

Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Abbey was sold to the town in 1539 and St Albans continued to prosper with the development of the stage coach service from London.

St Albans remained an important market town in the 18th and 19th centuries but in the 1840's the coaching trade declined. This loss of business was eventually offset by the coming of the railways, and in particular the main line from London in 1868. A Royal Charter of 1877 granted city status to the borough and cathedral status to the former abbey church.

The development of the city has always been closely linked to the close proximity of London and in the 20th century St Albans became a bustling commuter town.

Many of the city's historical buildings have survived and now provide valuable tourism revenue for the city. Some of these buildings date back to the 15th century, including the Clock Tower and the St Albans Street Market (still held every Wednesday and Saturday).

The Cathedral, of course, remains the most important tourist attraction. Built on a mound, the magnificent building continues to dominate the city's skyline at every approach.

Modern St Albans is thriving, with new retail and commercial areas opening up in the centre and on the outskirts of the city.