The Liberty of St Albans (also known as the ''Hundred of Albanestou'' or ''Cashio'') was a

liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

situated within

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 ...

, but enjoying the powers of an independent

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

. At the time of the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

the liberty was known as ''Albanestou'' and originally had the powers of a

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

. It was originally associated with the

Abbey of St Albans 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 follow ...

, and later with the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

corporation. It was absorbed by

in 1874. The origins of the liberty are unclear, but the abbots of St Albans claimed that the privileges had first been granted by King

Offa of Mercia Offa ( 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death in 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of ...

, who founded the abbey in 793. The Liberty appears to have contained parts of the Dioceses of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

. Haslam proposes that Cashio and Danais hundreds were originally a larger "proto-hundred" which was originally created to support the

burh A burh () or burg was an Anglo-Saxon fortification or fortified settlement. In the 9th century, raids and invasions by Vikings prompted Alfred the Great to develop a network of burhs and roads to use against such attackers. Some were new constru ...

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 ...

by King Edward the Elder in the 900s to defend against the Danes. The interlocking nature of the two hundreds, together with the unique status of Cashio as a Liberty of the church, is taken as evidence that they were originally part of a single unit that was later subdivided into hundreds. The boundaries of the area expanded over time, including at times parts of

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

. Several parishes across Hertfordshire, often where the abbey also held the manor, were transferred to the Liberty of St Albans from their original hundred, including: *

Hexton Hexton is a small village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, about west of Hitchin. This parish is a salient of Hertfordshire jutting northwards into Bedfordshire. The southern half of the parish is part of the chalky downs of the ...

and

St Paul's Walden St Paul's Walden is a village and civil parish in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. The village lies about south of Hitchin, its post town. The largest settlement in the parish is the village of Whitwell, and the parish ...

from Hitchin hundred *

Shephall Shephall () is a neighbourhood of the town of Stevenage in Hertfordshire, England. It was formerly a separate village and civil parish, parish, being absorbed into Stevenage in 1953. Name Spellings of Shephall have included: Scepa-halh (before ...

, Norton and

Codicote Codicote ( ) is a village and civil parish in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It lies south of Hitchin, its post town, and north of Welwyn. Codicote was a small market town between the 13th and 16th centuries. The ...

from Broadwater hundred * Bramfield from Hertford hundred * Newnham from Odsey hundred Exactly what powers the liberty possessed previous to the twelfth century are not known.

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...

gave the abbot of St Albans

palatine A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times.

powers equal to those enjoyed by the bishops of

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

and Ely. With the dissolution of the abbey the Borough of St Albans was granted a charter of incorporation as a free borough, having previously been under the control of the abbot. The liberty was henceforth placed under the corporation of the borough. Palatine status was discontinued, although the borough and liberty retained its own

quarter sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts that were traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388; they were extended to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535. Scotland establ ...

. The administration was headed by a high steward chosen by the corporation. The liberty was merged with the county of

in 1874 by Act of Parliament, which divided the county into two divisions, the eastern part of the county to be the

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a Ford (crossing), ford on ...

division and the western part to be known as the Liberty of St Albans Division, each maintaining separate quarter sessions, but being a single commission of the peace. The Act made clear that, despite its name, the St Albans division was not to be deemed a liberty in any future legislation. In 1889 the

Local Government Act 1888 The Local Government Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 41) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales. It came into effect ...

created an elected Hertfordshire

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

which covered both divisions. For some time after its creation, the county administration was divided between Hertford and St Albans. Hertfordshire Administrative Map 1832

By the nineteenth century the liberty contained all or part of the following

parishes 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 or ...

:Youngs, F.A., ''Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England'', Vol. I, London, 1979 *

Abbots Langley Abbots Langley () is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Hertfordshire. It is an old settlement and is mentioned (under the name of Langelai) in the Domesday Book. Economically the village is closely linked to Watford and w ...

Aldenham Aldenham is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the borough of Hertsmere in Hertfordshire, England. The parish includes Radlett and Letchmore Heath as well as Aldenham village itself. The village of Aldenham lies north-eas ...

* Bramfield *

Chipping Barnet Chipping Barnet or High Barnet is a suburban market town in north London, forming part of the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is a suburban development built around a 12th-century settlement, and is located north-northwest of Charing C ...

East Barnet East Barnet is an area of north London within the London Borough of Barnet bordered by New Barnet, Cockfosters and Southgate. It is a largely residential suburb whose central area contains shops, public houses, restaurants and services, and ...

Elstree Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, which follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of the ...

* Newnham *

Northaw Northaw is a village in the Welwyn Hatfield district of Hertfordshire, England. It is part of the civil parish of Northaw and Cuffley (where at the 2011 Census the population was included), which was originally known as Northaw. The parish h ...

* Norton *

Redbourn Redbourn is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. It is located from Harpenden, from St Albans and from Hemel Hempstead. The civil parish had a population of 6,913 according to the 2011 Census. History To the south-west of ...

Rickmansworth Rickmansworth () is a town in south-west Hertfordshire, England, located approximately north-west of central London, south-west of Watford and inside the perimeter of the M25 motorway. The town is mainly to the north of the Grand Union Canal ( ...

Ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

(within the borough of St Albans) *

St Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...

(partly within the borough of St Albans) *

St Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the early Christian Church. He appears repe ...

(partly within the borough of St Albans) *

St Stephen Stephen (; ) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity."St ...

(partly within the borough of St Albans from 1835) *

Sandridge Sandridge is a village and civil parish between the city centre of St Albans ( to the south-west) and Wheathampstead in Hertfordshire, England, forming part of the contiguous built-up area of St Albans. History The original name was "Saundruag ...

(partly within the borough of St Albans from 1887) *

Sarratt Sarratt is both a village and a civil parish in Three Rivers District, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated north of Rickmansworth on high ground near the county boundary with Buckinghamshire. The chalk stream, the River Chess, rising just n ...

South Mimms South Mimms is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of South Mimms and Ridge, in the borough of Hertsmere in Hertfordshire in the East of England. It is a small settlement located near the junction of the M25 motorway with the ...

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

References

{{reflist

Hundreds of Hertfordshire History of local government in London (pre-1855) History of St Albans