St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
cathedral in
St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
times. It ceased to be an
abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The con ...
following its
dissolution
Dissolution may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Books
* ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers
* ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music
* Dissolution, in mu ...
in the 16th century and became a cathedral in 1877. Although legally a cathedral church, it differs in certain particulars from most other cathedrals in England, being also used as a parish church, of which the
dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
is
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
with the same powers, responsibilities and duties as that of any other
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...
. At 85 metres long, it has the longest
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
of any cathedral in England.
Probably founded in the 8th century, the present building is Norman or
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this lat ...
of the 11th century, with Gothic and 19th-century additions.
Britain's first Christian martyr
According to
Bede, whose account of the saint's life is the most elaborate, Alban lived in
Verulamium
Verulamium was a town in Roman Britain. It was sited southwest of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England. A large portion of the Roman city remains unexcavated, being now park and agricultural land, though much has been built upon ...
, some time during the 3rd or 4th centuries. At that time Christians began to suffer "cruel persecution."
The legend proceeds with Alban meeting a Christian priest (known as
Amphibalus) fleeing from "persecutors," and sheltering him in his house for a number of days. Alban was so impressed with the priest's faith and piety that he soon converted to Christianity. Eventually Roman soldiers came to seize the priest, but Alban put on his cloak and presented himself to the soldiers in place of his guest. Alban was brought before a judge and was sentenced to beheading.
As he was led to execution, he came to a fast flowing river, commonly believed to be the
River Ver
The Ver is a long chalk stream in Hertfordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Colne.
Course
The source is in the grounds of Lynch Lodge, Kensworth Lynch on the west side of the A5 trunk road and stays on the west side for som ...
, crossed it and went about 500 paces to a gently sloping hill overlooking a beautiful plain
When he reached the summit he began to thirst and prayed that God would give him drink, whereupon water sprang up at his feet. It was at this place that his head was struck off. Immediately after one of the executioners delivered the fatal stroke, his eyes fell out and dropped to the ground alongside Alban's head.
Later versions of the tale say that Alban's head rolled downhill and that a well gushed up where it stopped.
St Albans Cathedral stands near the supposed site of Alban's martyrdom, and references to the spontaneous well are extant in local place names. The nearby river was called Halywell (Middle English for 'Holy Well') in the medieval era, and the road up to Holmhurst Hill on which the Abbey now stands is now called Holywell Hill but has been called Halliwell Street and other variations at least since the 13th century.
The remains of a well structure have been found at the bottom of Holywell Hill. However, this well is thought to date from no earlier than the 19th century.
The date of Alban's execution has never been firmly established. The ''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' lists the year 283, but
Bede places it in 305. Original sources and modern historians such as
William Hugh Clifford Frend
William Hugh Clifford Frend (11 January 1916 – 1 August 2005) was an English ecclesiastical historian, archaeologist, and Anglican priest.
Academic career
* Haileybury College (scholar)
* Keble College, Oxford (scholar, BA first class in ...
and
Charles Thomas indicate the period of 251–259 (under the persecutors Decius or Valerian) as more likely.
The tomb of
St Amphibalus is in the cathedral.
History of the abbey and cathedral
![St Albans cathedral - cloisters - PS01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/St_Albans_cathedral_-_cloisters_-_PS01.JPG)
A ''memoria'' over the execution point holding the remains of Alban existed at the site from the mid-4th century (possibly earlier);
Bede mentions a church and
Gildas
Gildas ( Breton: ''Gweltaz''; c. 450/500 – c. 570) — also known as Gildas the Wise or ''Gildas Sapiens'' — was a 6th-century British monk best known for his scathing religious polemic ''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae'', which recount ...
a shrine. Bishop
Germanus of Auxerre visited in 429. The style of this structure is unknown; the 13th-century
chronicler
A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...
Matthew Paris
Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris ( la, Matthæus Parisiensis, lit=Matthew the Parisian; c. 1200 – 1259), was an English Benedictine monk, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey ...
(see below) claimed that the Saxons destroyed the building in 586.
Saxon buildings
Offa II of
Mercia
la, Merciorum regnum
, conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia
, common_name=Mercia
, status=Kingdom
, status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879) Client state of Wessex ()
, life_span=527–918
, era= Heptarchy
, event_start=
, date_start=
, ...
, is said to have founded a
double monastery
A double monastery (also dual monastery or double house) is a monastery combining separate communities of monks and of nuns, joined in one institution to share one church and other facilities. The practice is believed to have started in the East ...
at St Albans in 793. It followed the
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
rule.
The Abbey was built on Holmhurst Hill—now Holywell Hill—across the
River Ver
The Ver is a long chalk stream in Hertfordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Colne.
Course
The source is in the grounds of Lynch Lodge, Kensworth Lynch on the west side of the A5 trunk road and stays on the west side for som ...
from the ruins of Verulamium. Again there is no information to the form of the first abbey. The Abbey was probably sacked by the Danes around 890 and, despite Paris's claims, the office of abbot remained empty from around 920 until the 970s when the efforts of
Dunstan reached the town.
There was an intention to rebuild the Abbey in 1005 when Abbot Ealdred was licensed to remove building material from Verulamium. With the town resting on clay and chalk the only tough stone is
flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...
. This was used with a lime
mortar and then either
plaster
Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...
ed over or left bare. With the great quantities of brick, tile and other stone in Verulamium, the Roman site became a prime source of building material for the Abbey and other projects in the area. Sections demanding worked stone used
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
(
Barnack stone
Barnack is a village and civil parish, now in the Peterborough unitary authority of the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England and the historic county of Northamptonshire. Barnack is in the north-west of the unitary authority, south-east ...
) from Verulamium; later worked stones include
Totternhoe
Totternhoe is a village and civil parish in the Manshead hundred of the county of Bedfordshire, England.
Overview
Totternhoe is an ancient village in southern Bedfordshire, near Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard. Totternhoe Knolls has been a for ...
freestone from
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...
,
Purbeck marble, and different limestones (
Ancaster,
Chilmark,
Clipsham
Clipsham is a small village in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is in the northeast of Rutland, close to the county boundary with Lincolnshire. The population of the civil parish was 120 at the 2001 census increasing ...
, etc.).
Renewed Viking raids from 1016 stalled the Saxon efforts and very little from the Saxon abbey was incorporated in the later forms.
Norman abbey
Much of the current layout and proportions of the
structure date from the first
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
abbot,
Paul of Caen (1077–1093). The 14th abbot, he was appointed by his uncle, the new
Archbishop of Canterbury,
Lanfranc.
Building work started in the year of Abbot Paul's arrival. The design and construction was overseen by the Norman Robert the Mason. The plan has very limited Anglo-Saxon elements and is clearly influenced by the French work at
Cluny
Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon.
The town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in ...
,
Bernay and
Caen, and shares a similar floor plan to
Saint-Étienne in Caen and Lanfranc's
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
—although the poorer quality building material was a new challenge for Robert and he clearly borrowed some Roman techniques, which were learned while gathering material in the ruins of Verulamium.
To take maximum use of the hilltop the Abbey was oriented to the south-east. The
cruciform
Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design.
Cruciform architectural plan
Christian churches are commonly describe ...
abbey was the largest built in England at that time, it had a
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ov ...
of four bays, a
transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...
containing seven
apse
In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...
s, and a
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
of ten bays—fifteen bays long overall. Robert gave particular attention to solid
foundation
Foundation may refer to:
* Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization
** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S.
** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...
s, running a continuous wall of layered bricks, flints and mortar below and pushing the foundations down to twelve feet to hit bedrock. Below the
crossing tower
A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform (cross-shaped) church.
In a typically oriented church (especially of Romanesque and Gothic styles), the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, ...
special large stones were used.
The tower was a particular triumph—it is the only 11th-century great crossing tower still standing in England. Robert began with special thick supporting walls and four massive brick piers. The four-level tower tapers at each stage with clasping buttresses on the three lower levels and circular buttresses on the fourth stage. The entire structure masses 5,000 tons and is 144 feet high. The tower was probably topped with a Norman pyramidal roof; the current roof is flat. The original ringing chamber had five bells—two paid for by the Abbot, two by a wealthy townsman, and one donated by the rector of
Hoddesdon
Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River.
Hoddesdon ...
. None of these bells has survived.
There was a widespread belief that the Abbey had two additional, smaller towers at the west end. No remains have been found.
The monastic abbey was completed in 1089 but not consecrated until
Holy Innocents' Day (28 December), 1115, by the
Archbishop of Rouen
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rothomagensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Rouen'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the Arch ...
. King
Henry I Henry I may refer to:
876–1366
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...
attended as did many bishops and nobles.
A
nunnery (
Sopwell Priory
Sopwell Priory (also known as Sopwell Nunnery) was a Benedictine nunnery founded around 1140 on the site of an ancient hermitage in Sopwell, Hertfordshire, England. After the Dissolution, the priory was torn down and a Tudor manor house construct ...
) was founded nearby in 1140.
Internally the Abbey church was bare of sculpture, almost stark. The plaster walls were coloured and patterned in parts, with extensive tapestries adding colour. Sculptural decoration was added, mainly ornaments, as it became more fashionable in the 12th century—especially after the Gothic style arrived in England around 1170.
In the current structure the original Norman arches survive principally under the central tower and on the north side of the nave. The arches in the rest of the building are
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
, following medieval rebuilding and extensions, and
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
restoration.
The Abbey was extended in the 1190s by Abbot
John de Cella (also known as
John of Wallingford) (1195–1214); as the number of monks grew from fifty to over a hundred, the Abbey church was extended westwards with three bays added to the nave. The severe Norman west front was also rebuilt by Hugh de Goldclif—although how is uncertain; it was very costly but its 'rapid' weathering and later alterations have erased all but fragments. A more prominent shrine and altar to Saint Amphibalus were also added.
The work was very slow under de Cella and was not completed until the time of Abbot William de Trumpington (1214–1235). The low Norman tower roof was demolished and a new, much higher, broached spire was raised, sheathed in lead.
The
St Albans Psalter (ca. 1130–1145) is the best known of a number of important
Romanesque illuminated manuscripts produced in the Abbey
scriptorium
Scriptorium (), literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the writing, copying and illuminating of manuscripts commonly handled by monastic scribes.
However, lay scribes an ...
. Later,
Matthew Paris
Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris ( la, Matthæus Parisiensis, lit=Matthew the Parisian; c. 1200 – 1259), was an English Benedictine monk, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey ...
, a monk at St Albans from 1217 until his death in 1259, was important both as a
chronicler and an artist. Eighteen of his manuscripts survive and are a rich source of contemporary information for historians.
Nicholas Breakspear was born near St Albans and applied to be admitted to the Abbey as a novice, but he was turned down. He eventually managed to be accepted into an abbey in France. In 1154 he was elected Pope Adrian IV, the only English
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
there has ever been. The head of the Abbey was confirmed as the premier abbot in England also in 1154.
File:Psalm 21 Initial D.jpg, Psalm 22:1-8 in the St. Albans Psalter. The first words of the Psalm in the Latin Vulgate are "Deus, Deus meus," abbreviated here as DS DS MS.
File:Psalm 136 Initial S.jpg, Psalm 137 Initial S
File:Vaterunser Initial P.jpg, Initial at the start of the "Our Father
The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...
"
File:Kindermord von Bethlehem.jpg, Massacre of the Innocents
File:Gastmahl des Simon.jpg, Christ in the house of Simon the Pharisee, with Mary Magdalene washing his feet, Luke 7:36–50
File:Albani-Psalter Getsemane.jpg, Jesus's Agony in the Garden
The Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane is an episode in the life of Jesus. After the Last Supper, Jesus enters a garden where he experiences great anguish and prays to be delivered from his impending death on the cross ("Take this cup from me") ...
File:Maria Magdalena berichtet den Jüngern.jpg, Mary Magdalene announces the Risen Christ
The Abbey had a number of daughter houses, ranging from
Tynemouth Priory
Tynemouth Castle is located on a rocky headland (known as Pen Bal Crag), overlooking Tynemouth Pier. The moated castle-towers, gatehouse and keep are combined with the ruins of the Benedictine priory where early kings of Northumbria were buried ...
in the north to
Binham Priory
St Mary's Priory, Binham, or Binham Priory, is a ruined Benedictine priory located in the village of Binham in the English county of Norfolk. Today the nave of the much larger priory church has become the ''Church of St. Mary and the Holy Cross' ...
near the Norfolk coast.
13th to 15th centuries
![St Albans Abbey before dissolution painting 2011-06-20](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/St_Albans_Abbey_before_dissolution_painting_2011-06-20.jpg)
An earthquake shook the Abbey in 1250 and damaged the eastern end of the church. In 1257 the dangerously cracked sections were knocked down — three apses and two bays. The thick
Presbytery wall supporting the tower was left. The rebuilding and updating was completed during the rule of Abbot Roger de Norton (1263–90).
On 10 October 1323 two piers on the south side of the nave collapsed dragging down much of the roof and wrecking five bays. Mason Henry Wy undertook the rebuilding, matching the Early English style of the rest of the bays but adding distinctly 14th-century detailing and ornaments. The shrine to St Amphibalus had also been damaged and it was remade.
Richard of Wallingford
Richard of Wallingford (1292–1336) was an English mathematician, astronomer, horologist, and cleric who made major contributions to astronomy and horology while serving as abbot of St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire.
Biography
Richard was bor ...
, abbot from 1297 to 1336 and a mathematician and astronomer, designed a celebrated
astronomical clock
An astronomical clock, horologium, or orloj is a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets.
Definition ...
, which was completed by William of Walsham after his death, but apparently destroyed during the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
.
A new gateway, now called the
Abbey Gateway, was built to the Abbey grounds in 1365, which was the only part of the monastery buildings (besides the church) to survive the dissolution, later being used as a prison and now (since 1871) part of
St Albans School. The other monastic buildings were located to the south of the gateway and church.
In the 15th century a large west window of nine main lights and a deep traced head was commissioned by
John of Wheathampstead. The spire was reduced to a 'Hertfordshire spike', the roof pitch greatly reduced and battlements liberally added. Further new windows, at £50 each, were put in the transepts by Abbot Wallingford (also known as
William of Wallingford
William of Wallingford (died 20 June 1492) was the 47th abbot of St Albans Abbey.
He was a Benedictine monk at Holy Trinity Priory, Wallingford, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire), England and like John of Wallingford and Richard of Wallingford, move ...
), who also had a new high altar screen made.
Dissolution and after
After the death of Abbot Ramryge in 1521 the Abbey fell into debt and slow decay under three weak abbots. At the time of the
Dissolution of the Monasteries and its surrender on 5 December 1539 the income was £2,100 annually. The abbot and remaining forty monks were pensioned off and then the buildings were looted. All gold, silver and gilt objects were carted away with all other valuables; stonework was broken and defaced and graves opened to search for riches.
The Abbey became part of the
diocese of Lincoln in 1542 and was moved to the
diocese of London in 1550. The buildings suffered—neglect, second-rate repairs, even active damage.
Richard Lee purchased all the buildings, except the church and chapel and some other Crown premises, in 1550. Lee then began the systematic demolition for building material to improve Lee Hall at
Sopwell. In 1551, with the stone removed, Lee returned the land to the abbot. The area was named Abbey Ruins for the next 200 years or so.
In 1553 the
Lady chapel
A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as ...
was used as a school, the Great Gatehouse as a town jail, some other buildings passed to the Crown, and the Abbey Church was sold to the town for
£400 in 1553 by
King Edward VI
Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...
to be the church of the parish.
The cost of upkeep fell upon the town, although in 1596 and at irregular intervals later the Archdeacon was allowed to collect money for repairs by Brief in the diocese. After
James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
visited in 1612 he authorised another Brief, which collected around £2,000—most of which went on roof repairs. The
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
slashed the monies spent on repairs, while the Abbey Church was used to hold prisoners of war and suffered from their vandalism, as well as that of their guards. Most of the metal objects that had survived the Dissolution were also removed and other ornamental parts were damaged in Puritan sternness. Another round of fund-raising in 1681–1684 was again spent on the roof, repairing the Presbytery vault. A royal grant from
William III and
Mary II in 1689 went on general maintenance, 'repairs' to conceal some of the then considered unfashionable Gothic features, and on new internal fittings. There was a second royal grant from William in 1698.
By the end of the 17th century the dilapidation was sufficient for a number of writers to comment upon it.
In 1703, from 26 November to 1 December, the
Great Storm raged across southern England; the Abbey lost the south transept window which was replaced in wood at a cost of £40. The window was clear glass with five lights and three transoms in an early Gothic Revival style by John Hawgood. Other windows, although not damaged in the storm, were a constant drain on the Abbey budget in the 18th century.
A brief written in 1723–1724, seeking £5,775, notes a great crack in the south wall, that the north wall was eighteen inches from vertical, and that the roof timbers were decayed to the point of danger. The money raised was spent on the nave roof over ten bays.
Another brief was not issued until 1764. Again the roof was rotting, as was the south transept window, walls were cracked or shattered in part and the south wall had subsided and now leant outwards. Despite a target of £2,500 a mere £600 was raised.
In the 1770s the Abbey came close to demolition; the expense of repairs meant a scheme to destroy the Abbey and erect a smaller church almost succeeded.
A storm in 1797 caused some subsidence, cracking open graves, scattering pavement tiles, flooding the church interior and leaving a few more arches off-vertical.
19th century
![St Albans Wallingford Screen 2, Hertfordshire, UK - Diliff](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/St_Albans_Wallingford_Screen_2%2C_Hertfordshire%2C_UK_-_Diliff.jpg)
This century was marked with a number of repair schemes. The Abbey received some money from the 1818 "
Million Act", and in 1820, £450 was raised to buy an
organ—a second-hand example made in 1670.
The major efforts to revive the Abbey Church came under four men—
L. N. Cottingham, H. J. B. Nicholson (Rector), and, especially,
George Gilbert Scott and
Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe
Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe, KC (12 May 1816 – 29 April 1905), known previously as Sir Edmund Beckett, 5th Baronet and Edmund Beckett Denison, was a "lawyer, mechanician and controversialist" as well as a noted horologist and archit ...
.
In February 1832 a portion of the
clerestory wall fell through the roof of the south aisle, leaving a hole almost thirty feet long. With the need for serious repair work evident, the architect
Lewis Nockalls Cottingham
Lewis Nockalls Cottingham (1787 – 13 October 1847) was a British architect who pioneered the study of Medieval Gothic architecture. He was a restorer and conservator of existing buildings. He set up a Museum of Medieval Art in Waterloo Road, Lon ...
was called in to survey the building. His ''Survey'' was presented in 1832 and was worrying reading: everywhere mortar was in a wretched condition and wooden beams were rotting and twisting. Cottingham recommended new beams throughout the roof and a new steeper pitch, removal of the spire and new timbers in the tower, new paving, ironwork to hold the west transept wall up, a new stone south transept window, new buttresses, a new drainage system for the roof, new ironwork on almost all the windows, and on and on. He estimated a cost of £14,000. A public subscription of £4,000 was raised, of which £1,700 vanished in expenses. With the limited funds the clerestory wall was rebuilt, the nave roof re-leaded, the tower spike removed, some forty blocked windows reopened and glazed, and the south window remade in stone.
Henry Nicholson, rector from 1835 to 1866, was also active in repairing the Abbey Church—as far as he could, and in uncovering lost or neglected Gothic features.
In 1856 repair efforts began again; £4,000 was raised and slow moves started to gain the Abbey the status of cathedral.
George Gilbert Scott was appointed the project architect and oversaw a
number of works from 1860 until his death in 1878.
![St Albans Choir 2, Hertfordshire, UK - Diliff](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/St_Albans_Choir_2%2C_Hertfordshire%2C_UK_-_Diliff.jpg)
Scott began by having the medieval floor restored, necessitating the removal of tons of earth, and fixing the north aisle roof. From 1872 to 1877 the restored floors were re-tiled in matching stone and copies of old tile designs. A further 2,000 tons of earth were shifted in 1863 during work on the foundation and a new drainage system. In 1870 the tower piers were found to be badly weakened with many cracks and cavities. Huge timbers were inserted and the arches filled with brick as an emergency measure. Repair work took until May 1871 and cost over £2,000. The south wall of the nave was now far from straight; Scott reinforced the north wall and put in scaffolding to take the weight of the roof off the wall, then had it jacked straight in under three hours. The wall was then buttressed with five huge new masses and set right. Scott was lauded as "saviour of the Abbey." From 1870 to 1875 around £20,000 was spent on the Abbey.
In 1845 St Albans was transferred from the
Diocese of Lincoln to the
Diocese of Rochester
The Diocese of Rochester is a Church of England diocese in the English county of Kent and the Province of Canterbury. The cathedral church of the diocese is Rochester Cathedral in the former city of Rochester. The bishop's Latin episcopal signa ...
. Then, in 1875, the Bishopric of St Albans Act was passed and on 30 April 1877 the
See of St Albans was created, which comprises about 300 churches in the counties of
Hertfordshire and
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...
.
Thomas Legh Claughton
Thomas Legh Claughton (6 November 1808 – 25 July 1892) was a British academic, poet, and clergyman. He was professor of poetry at Oxford University from 1852 to 1857; Bishop of Rochester; and the first Bishop of St Albans.Sutton, C. W. "Claugh ...
, then
Bishop of Rochester, elected to take the northern division of his old diocese and on 12 June 1877 was enthroned first
Bishop of St Albans
The Bishop of St Albans is the Ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of St Albans in the Province of Canterbury. The bishop is supported in his work by two suffragan bishops, the Bishop of Hertford and the Bishop of Bedford, and three ar ...
, a position he held until 1890. He is buried in the churchyard on the north side of the nave.
George Gilbert Scott was working on the nave roof, vaulting and west bay when he died on 27 March 1878. His plans were partially completed by his son,
John Oldrid Scott
John Oldrid Scott (17 July 1841 – 30 May 1913) was a British architect.
Biography
He was the son of Sir Gilbert Scott (George Gilbert Scott) and his wife Caroline (née Oldrid). His brother George Gilbert Scott Junior and nephew Sir Giles G ...
, but the remaining work fell into the hands of
Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe
Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe, KC (12 May 1816 – 29 April 1905), known previously as Sir Edmund Beckett, 5th Baronet and Edmund Beckett Denison, was a "lawyer, mechanician and controversialist" as well as a noted horologist and archit ...
, whose efforts have attracted much controversy—
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...
calling him a "pompous, righteous bully." However, he donated much of the immense sum of £130,000 the work cost.
Whereas Scott's work had clearly been in sympathy with the existing building, Grimthorpe's plans reflected the Victorian ideal. Indeed, he spent considerable time dismissing and criticising the work of Scott and the efforts of his son.
Grimthorpe first reinstated the original pitch of the roof, although the battlements added for the lower roof were retained. Completed in 1879, the roof was leaded, following on Scott's desires.
![St Albans West End Wickhamstede window](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/St_Albans_West_End_Wickhamstede_window.jpg)
His second major project was the most controversial. The west front, with the great Wheathampstead window, was cracked and leaning, and Grimthorpe, never more than an amateur architect, designed the new front himself—attacked as dense, misproportioned and unsympathetic: "His impoverishment as a designer ...
sevident"; "this man, so practical and ingenious, was utterly devoid of taste ... his great qualities were marred by arrogance ... and a lack of historic sense". Counter proposals were deliberately substituted by Grimthorpe for poorly drawn versions and Grimthorpe's design was accepted. During building it was considerably reworked in order to fit the actual frontage and is not improved by the poor quality sculpture. Work began in 1880 and was completed in April 1883, having cost £20,000.
![Cathedral in St albans PS099](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Cathedral_in_St_albans_PS099.png)
Grimthorpe was noted for his aversion to the
Perpendicular
In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It ca ...
—to the extent that he would have sections he disliked demolished as "too rotten" rather than remade. In his reconstruction, especially of windows, he commonly mixed architectural styles carelessly (see the south aisle, the south
choir screen and vaulting). He spent £50,000 remaking the nave. Elsewhere he completely rebuilt the south wall cloisters, with new heavy buttresses, and removed the arcading of the east cloisters during rebuilding the south transept walls. In the south transept he completely remade the south face, completed in 1885, including the huge lancet window group—his proudest achievement—and the flanking turrets; a weighty new tiled roof was also made. In the north transept Grimthorpe had the Perpendicular window demolished and his design inserted—a rose window of circles, cusped circles and lozenges arrayed in five rings around the central light, sixty-four lights in total, each circle with a different glazing pattern.
Grimthorpe continued through the Presbytery in his own style, adapting the antechapel for Consistory Courts, and into the Lady Chapel. After a pointed lawsuit with
Henry Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham, over who should direct the restoration, Grimthorpe had the vault remade and reproportioned in stone, made the floor in black and white marble (1893), and had new Victorian arcading and sculpture put below the canopy work. Externally the buttresses were expanded to support the new roof, and the walls were refaced.
As early as 1897, Grimthorpe was having to return to previously renovated sections to make repairs. His use of over-strong cement led to cracking, while his fondness for ironwork in windows led to corrosion and damage to the surrounding stone.
Grimthorpe died in 1905 and was interred in the churchyard. He left a bequest for continuing work on the buildings.
During this century the name ''
St Albans Abbey'' was given to one of the town's two railway stations.
20th century
John Oldrid Scott
John Oldrid Scott (17 July 1841 – 30 May 1913) was a British architect.
Biography
He was the son of Sir Gilbert Scott (George Gilbert Scott) and his wife Caroline (née Oldrid). His brother George Gilbert Scott Junior and nephew Sir Giles G ...
(died 1913) (
George Gilbert Scott's son), despite frequent clashes with Grimthorpe, had continued working within the cathedral. Scott was a steadfast supporter of the Gothic revival and designed the tomb of the first bishop; he had a new bishop's throne built (1903), together with commemorative stalls for Festing (a bishop) and two archdeacons, and new choir stalls. He also repositioned and rebuilt the organ (1907). Further work was interrupted by the war.
A number of memorials to the war were added to the cathedral, notably the painting ''The Passing of Eleanor'' by
Frank Salisbury (stolen 1973) and the reglazing of the main west window, dedicated in 1925.
Following the Enabling Act of 1919, control of the buildings passed to a Parochial Church Council (replaced by the Cathedral Council in 1968), who appointed the woodwork specialist John Rogers as Architect and Surveyor of the Fabric. He uncovered extensive
death watch beetle
The deathwatch beetle (''Xestobium rufovillosum'') is a species of woodboring beetle that sometimes infests the structural timbers of old buildings. The adult beetle is brown and measures on average long. Eggs are laid in dark crevices in old w ...
damage in the presbytery vault and oversaw the repair (1930–31). He had four tons of rubbish removed from the crossing tower and the main timbers reinforced (1931–32), and invested in the extensive use of insecticide throughout the wood structures. In 1934, the eight bells were overhauled and four new bells added to be used in the celebration of
George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
's silver jubilee.
Cecil Brown was architect and surveyor from 1939 to 1962. At first he merely oversaw the lowering of the bells for the war and established a fire watch, with the pump in the
slype
The term slype is a variant of slip in the sense of a narrow passage; in architecture, the name for the covered passage usually found in monasteries or cathedrals between the transept and the chapter house, as at St Andrews, Winchester, Glouces ...
. After the war, in the 1950s, the organ was removed, rebuilt and reinstalled and new pews added. His major work was on the crossing tower. Grimthorpe's cement was found to be damaging the Roman bricks: every brick in the tower was replaced as needed and reset in proper mortar by one man, Walter Barrett. The tower ceiling was renovated as were the nave murals. Brown established the Muniments Room to gather and hold all the church documents.
In 1972, to encourage a closer link between celebrant and congregation in the nave, the massive nine-ton pulpit along with the choir stalls and permanent pews was dismantled and removed. The altar space was enlarged and improved. New 'lighter' wood (limed oak) choir stalls were put in, and chairs replaced the pews. A new wooden pulpit was acquired from a Norfolk church and installed in 1974. External floodlighting was added in 1975.
A major survey in 1974 revealed new leaks, decay and other deterioration, and a ten-year restoration plan was agreed. Again the roofing required much work. The nave and clerestory roofs were repaired in four stages with new leading. The nave project was completed in 1984 at a total cost of £1.75 million. The clerestory windows were repaired with the corroded iron replaced with delta bronze and other Grimthorpe work on the clerestory was replaced. Seventy-two new heads for the corbel table were made. Grimthorpe's west front was cracking, again due to the use originally of too strong a mortar, and was repaired.
A new visitors' centre was proposed in 1970. Planning permission was sought in 1973; there was a public inquiry and approval was granted in 1977. Constructed to the south side of the cathedral, close to the site of the original chapter house of the Abbey, the new 'Chapter House' cost around £1 million and was officially opened on 8 June 1982 by
Queen Elizabeth. The main building material was 500,000 replica Roman bricks.
Other late 20th-century works include the restoration of Alban's shrine, with a new embroidered canopy, and the stained glass designed by Alan Younger for Grimthorpe's north transept rose window, unveiled in 1989 by
Diana, Princess of Wales. In 2015 seven new painted stone statues by
Rory Young were installed in the medieval niches in the nave screen. This was a rare occurrence as the last painted figures placed in a church screen were put there before the Reformation and the English civil war.
21st century
The shrine of St Amphibalus was restored between 2019 and 2021, funded by a grant and the contribution of over a thousand donors. Due to be unveiled in 2020, work was delayed due to the
Covid pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...
, and a new figure wearing a face mask was added to commemorate this.
Modern times
The
bishop of St Albans
The Bishop of St Albans is the Ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of St Albans in the Province of Canterbury. The bishop is supported in his work by two suffragan bishops, the Bishop of Hertford and the Bishop of Bedford, and three ar ...
is
Alan Smith, installed in September 2009. Jonathan Smith is
Archdeacon of St Albans
The Archdeacon of St Albans is an ecclesiastical post in the Church of England Diocese of St Albans in the Province of Canterbury. The post has been held by Jane Mainwaring since March 2020.
History
Before the Dissolution of the Monasteries and ...
, installed in October 2008. On 4 December 2021, Jo Kelly-Moore became the tenth Dean of St Albans, dean of the cathedral.
Robert Runcie, later
Archbishop of Canterbury, was Bishop of St Albans from 1970 to 1980 and returned to live in the city after his retirement; he is commemorated by a gargoyle on the cathedral as well as being buried in the graveyard. Colin Slee, former dean of Southwark Cathedral, was sub-dean at St Albans under Runcie and the then dean, Peter Moore. The bishop's residence, Abbey Gate House, is in Abbey Mill Lane, St Albans, as is the house of the bishop of Hertford. Eric James (priest), Eric James, Chaplain Extraordinary to the Queen, was canon at St Albans for many years.
Dean and chapter
![Charter Cathedral Saint Alban 1900](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Charter_Cathedral_Saint_Alban_1900.jpg)
As of 4 December 2021:
*Dean of St Albans, Dean – Jo Kelly-Moore (since 4 December 2021 installation)
*Canon Chancellor – Kevin Walton (since 2008 installation)
*Diocesan Director of Ministry & Diocesan Canon – Tim Bull (since 2013)
*Diocesan Director of Mission & Diocesan Canon – Tim Lomax (since 2016)
*Residentiary Canon & Sub-Dean – vacant since Abi Thompson's installation as Dean of Sheffield, 6 November 2021
Minor Canons
*Precentor – Jonathan Lloyd (since 2019)
*Youth Chaplain – Calum Zuckert (since 2021)
Music and choirs
Organ
Details of the organ from the National Pipe Organ Register
*[http://www.harrison-organs.co.uk/stalbanspec.html Details of the new specification following the major restoration] by Harrison & Harrison completed in March 2009.
Organists
The master of the music and the assistant master of the music share the responsibility of directing the St Albans Cathedral Choir and the St Albans Cathedral Girls' Choir respectively.
The earliest known name of an organist at St Albans is Adam from the early 13th century. Robert Fayrfax, the prominent English Renaissance composer, is recorded as being organist from 1498 to 1502, and was buried there following his death some 20 years later. Since 1820 the post of organist and master of the music has been held by a number of well-known musicians, including Peter Hurford, Stephen Darlington and Barry Rose. The current master of the music, since 1998, is Andrew Lucas. The assistant master of music at the cathedral is sometimes also the master of music at
St Albans School — for example, Simon Lindley and Andrew Parnell.
Since 1963 the cathedral has been home to the St Albans International Organ Festival, founded by Peter Hurford, and winners of which include Dame Gillian Weir, Thomas Trotter (musician), Thomas Trotter and Naji Hakim.
Bells
In total, there are 23 bells housed in the tower. The main ring of 12 bells (with a sharp 2nd) was cast in 2010 by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. These replaced the previous ring, 8 of which still remain in the tower and are used for the clock chime and carillon; the carillon plays a different tune every day of the week.
In the 17th century the cathedral housed a ring of 5 bells, until they were recast and augmented to 6 in 1699. In 1731 the bells were augmented to a ring of 8 by adding two new bells. Finally, in 2010 the 13 new bells were cast, and were rung for the first time at Easter 2011.
The oldest bell in the tower was cast in c.1290 and is still used today as the Church bell#Sanctus bells, sanctus bell.
Burials
*Robert "of the Chamber" Breakspear (died 1110), priest of the diocese of Bath, then monk at St Albans; father of Nicholas who became the only English Pope, Pope Adrian IV.
*Richard d'Aubeney (1097–1119), Abbot
*Ralph Gubion (died 7 July 1150), Abbot and historian
*Robert of Gorron (died c. 1170), Abbot of St Albans
*Simon Warin (died 1195), Abbot
*
John of Wallingford (died 1214), Abbot
*William of Trumpington, Abbot (1214–35)
*John of Hertford (died 1335), Abbot
*Adam Rous (died 1370), Surgeon to Henry III of England, King Henry III
*Thomas de la Mare (died 1396), Abbot
*John de la Moote, Abbot (1396–1401)
*John Whethamstede (died 1465), Abbot
*Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (died 1447), the fourth son of King Henry IV of England, Henry IV
*Casualties of the First Battle of St Albans:
:*Thomas Clifford, 8th Baron de Clifford (1414–55)
:*Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland (1392/1393–1455)
:*Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset (1406–55)
*Sir Anthony (or Antony) Grey (died 1480), brother-in-law of Elizabeth Woodville, queen consort of Edward IV of England, Edward IV
*
Thomas Legh Claughton
Thomas Legh Claughton (6 November 1808 – 25 July 1892) was a British academic, poet, and clergyman. He was professor of poetry at Oxford University from 1852 to 1857; Bishop of Rochester; and the first Bishop of St Albans.Sutton, C. W. "Claugh ...
, first Bishop of St Albans 1877–90, buried in the churchyard
*
Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe
Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe, KC (12 May 1816 – 29 April 1905), known previously as Sir Edmund Beckett, 5th Baronet and Edmund Beckett Denison, was a "lawyer, mechanician and controversialist" as well as a noted horologist and archit ...
(1816–1905)
*Robert Runcie, Bishop of St Albans 1970–80, Archbishop of Canterbury 1980–91, buried in the churchyard and commemorated with a gargoyle on the roof
See also
*Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England
*English Gothic architecture
*History of St Albans
*List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom
*List of Gothic cathedrals in Europe
Notes
References
*
Further reading
*
External links
Official website of St Albans CathedralDiocese of St AlbansBell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Saint Albans— from Project Gutenberg
Flickr images tagged St Albans CathedralSt Albans Cathedrals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Albans Cathedral
Monasteries in Hertfordshire
Anglo-Saxon monastic houses
11th-century church buildings in England
1539 disestablishments in England
Anglican cathedrals in England, Saint Alban
Buildings and structures in St Albans
History of St Albans
Church of England church buildings in Hertfordshire
Grade I listed churches in Hertfordshire
Grade I listed cathedrals
English churches with Norman architecture
English Gothic architecture in Hertfordshire
8th-century establishments in England
Diocese of St Albans
Scheduled monuments in Hertfordshire
Churches in Hertfordshire
Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation
Burial sites of the Beaufort family
Basilicas (Church of England)
Churches completed in 793
8th-century churches in the United Kingdom