St Stephen's Church is a

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, England. It is located to the south of the town centre, at the top of St Stephen's Hill (which leads down and then up Holywell Hill to the

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 Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

). It is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

It is, based upon the writing of

Matthew Paris Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris (; 1200 – 1259), was an English people, English Benedictine monk, English historians in the Middle Ages, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts, and cartographer who was based at St A ...

, believed to have been founded in AD948 by Abbot Ulsinus of St Albans. Although there are now some questions about the exact date of its foundation (and the date of Abbot Ulsinus), it is reasonably clear that, together with St Michael's and St Peter's churches, the church was built at about that time to receive pilgrims and to prepare them for their visit to the shrine of

St Alban Saint Alban (; ) is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, for which reason he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorded at an earl ...

within

St Albans Abbey St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban, also known as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be an abbey follo ...

. The three churches, all of which still exist as active places of

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

worship, stand on the three main roads into St Albans. The

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

building was built to be wide by long, and was probably divided into two rooms. It thought that the church did not at that time have a tower. Little now remains of that building, but the small window, deep set in rough masonry by the door to the Parish Centre, has been dated to around AD950. About 50 years after the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

of 1066, the church was enlarged during the abbacy of Richard de Albini (Richard d'Aubeney). The new building was consecrated, around 1101 to 1118, by Gilbert, Bishop of Limerick. From documentary evidence it would appear that a north aisle was added in about 1170 whilst Robert de Gorron was abbot. During the middle of the fifteenth century many works took place. A belfry was formed over the western bay of the south arcade. The height of the nave walls was increased and windows inserted at high level to allow more light to penetrate the interior of the church. This window feature is known as a "

clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...

". The chancel was enlarged and the wooden framework of the chancel arch dates from this time. The building today is largely medieval, but was

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004, by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard Aus ...

from near-ruinous conditions in the 1860s by

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

. The present spire, replacing a " Hertfordshire spike" on the tower, dates from this time. The parish and

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

of St Alban St Stephen are within the

Diocese of St Albans The Diocese of St Albans forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England and is part of the wider Church of England, in turn part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese is home to more than 1.6 million people and comprises the hi ...

Architecture

The

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. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

has dressing of stone and Roman brick with a tile roof. It consists of 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 ...

with a south

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

and a

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

with a south chapel. There is a

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

over the west end of the nave. There is a ring of bells which were recast in 1957 to make them lighter as the previous bells, from 1892, were too heavy for the frame. The pews and ornamental woodwork are Victorian, and the present

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

and canopy date from 1936. The

eagle lectern An eagle lectern is a lectern in the shape of an eagle on whose outstretched wings the Bible or other texts rest. They are common in Christian churches and may be in stone, wood or metal, usually brass. History Eagle lecterns in stone were a ...

is a copy of a much earlier famous

Dunkeld Lectern The Dunkeld Lectern, also known in Scotland as the Holyrood Bird, is a medieval brass eagle lectern. It stands approximately 1.6 metres high and takes the form of a large eagle or phoenix with outspread wings, with the bird perched on an ...

, which it replaced. The octagonal

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...

is from the 15th century. There is a 13th-century

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Lutherans and Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a pisci ...

References

Gallery

Image:St Stephen's Church (1).JPG Image:St Stephen's Church (2).JPG Image:St Stephen's Church (3).JPG

External links

Official church website

History

Architecture

References

Gallery

External links

See also