43120
St Albans Cathedral, in St Albans, Hertfordshire.
Saint Alban is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr and saint. The most elaborate version of his story, Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, relates that he lived in Verulamium, sometime during the 3rd or 4th century, when Christians were suffering persecution. Alban met a Christian priest fleeing from his persecutors and sheltered him in his house, where he became so impressed with the priest's piety that he converted to Christianity.
When the authorities searched Alban's house, he put on the priest's cloak and presented himself in place of his guest. He was sentenced to endure the punishments that were to be inflicted upon the priest, unless he renounced Christianity. Alban refused and was taken for execution. In later legends, his head rolled downhill after execution and a well sprang up where it stopped.
Little is known of the early churches built over Alban’s grave. The Shrine of St Alban was the reason for the Abbey’s foundation and the town that grew up around it, and it is said that King Offa of Mercia founded a monastery here in 793.
After the Norman invasion of 1066, William the Conqueror appointed Paul of Caen as the first Norman abbot of St Albans and commissioned a new church. Paul started his great rebuilding of the Abbey with the Tower, which still stands today. This Norman church was built from bricks and tiles saved from the ruins of Roman Verulamium.
In 1213 St Albans Abbey was the meeting place for a group of churchmen and nobles. Their discussions led to Magna Carta which was reluctantly sealed by the king at Runnymede in 1215.
The medieval Abbey was famous as a place of learning. The monks who lived here produced high-quality manuscripts in a workshop called the scriptorium. These included bibles and books on science, music, and classics.
St Albans Abbey was closed in December 1539 and most of the buildings were destroyed. The shrines of St Alban and St Amphibalus were demolished, and Alban’s relics disappeared.
In 1553, the people of St Albans bought the church for their own use. However, the upkeep was expensive and by 1832, the Abbey was in a sorry state.
Wealthy Victorian benefactors paid for the building to be repaired. This included remodelling the West End, removing medieval features, and replacing the statues in the High Altar Screen.
In 1877 what had previously been a local parish church became a cathedral and the seat of the Bishop of St Albans.
Information Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Albans
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Alban
www.stalbanscathedral.org/the-history-of-st-albans-cathedral
43120
St Albans Cathedral, in St Albans, Hertfordshire.
Saint Alban is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr and saint. The most elaborate version of his story, Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, relates that he lived in Verulamium, sometime during the 3rd or 4th century, when Christians were suffering persecution. Alban met a Christian priest fleeing from his persecutors and sheltered him in his house, where he became so impressed with the priest's piety that he converted to Christianity.
When the authorities searched Alban's house, he put on the priest's cloak and presented himself in place of his guest. He was sentenced to endure the punishments that were to be inflicted upon the priest, unless he renounced Christianity. Alban refused and was taken for execution. In later legends, his head rolled downhill after execution and a well sprang up where it stopped.
Little is known of the early churches built over Alban’s grave. The Shrine of St Alban was the reason for the Abbey’s foundation and the town that grew up around it, and it is said that King Offa of Mercia founded a monastery here in 793.
After the Norman invasion of 1066, William the Conqueror appointed Paul of Caen as the first Norman abbot of St Albans and commissioned a new church. Paul started his great rebuilding of the Abbey with the Tower, which still stands today. This Norman church was built from bricks and tiles saved from the ruins of Roman Verulamium.
In 1213 St Albans Abbey was the meeting place for a group of churchmen and nobles. Their discussions led to Magna Carta which was reluctantly sealed by the king at Runnymede in 1215.
The medieval Abbey was famous as a place of learning. The monks who lived here produced high-quality manuscripts in a workshop called the scriptorium. These included bibles and books on science, music, and classics.
St Albans Abbey was closed in December 1539 and most of the buildings were destroyed. The shrines of St Alban and St Amphibalus were demolished, and Alban’s relics disappeared.
In 1553, the people of St Albans bought the church for their own use. However, the upkeep was expensive and by 1832, the Abbey was in a sorry state.
Wealthy Victorian benefactors paid for the building to be repaired. This included remodelling the West End, removing medieval features, and replacing the statues in the High Altar Screen.
In 1877 what had previously been a local parish church became a cathedral and the seat of the Bishop of St Albans.
Information Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Albans
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Alban
www.stalbanscathedral.org/the-history-of-st-albans-cathedral