Name
St Albans takes its name from the first British saint, Alban. The most elaborate version of his story, in Bede's ''History
Iron Age
There was anRoman
Anglo-Saxon
After the Roman withdrawal the town became the centre of the territory or '' regio'' of theMedieval
The medieval town grew on the hill to the east of Wæclingacaester where theModern
Before the 20th century St Albans was a ruralGovernance
St Albans has two tiers of local government, at district and county level: St Albans City and District Council and Hertfordshire County Council. The main part of the urban area of St Albans (the pre-1974 borough) is anPast
The early administrative history of the town of St Albans is closely tied to St Albans Abbey. The town was effectively controlled by the abbey through thePresent
Parliamentary representation
St Albans is part of the homonymous parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Established in 1885, it is a county constituency in Hertfordshire, and elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.Geography
Climate
St Albans has anNeighbourhoods
Nearby towns and villages
* Other nearby towns:Transport
Road
St Albans is north-east of the intersection between the M1 and M25 motorways. On the M1, its northern, central and southern junctions are 9, 7 and 6, respectively; on the M25, its western and eastern junctions are 21A and 22 respectively. Notable A-roads serving the city include: * The A414, which runs directly south of St Albans betweenRailway
Two railway stations serve the city: * St Albans City, which is situated east of the city centre. It lies on theBuses
St Albans is well served by local buses, with frequent services to local villages and major towns including Watford, Harpenden and Luton. Routes are operated predominantly run by Arriva Herts & Essex, Uno, Red Eagle andCulture and media
St Albans has a cultural life, with regular concerts and theatre productions held at venues including Trestle Theatre, Trestle Arts Base, St Albans Abbey, The Horn, The Pioneer Club, Maltings Arts Theatre, the Alban Arena, the Abbey Theatre, St Peter's Church and St Saviour's Church, given by organisations including St Albans Bach Choir, St Albans Cathedral Choir, St Albans Cathedral Girls' Choir, St Albans Symphony Orchestra, St Albans Chamber Choir, St Albans Chamber Opera, The Company of Ten, St Albans Choral Society, and St Albans Organ Theatre. St Albans is also home to Trestle Theatre Company, who have been creating professional, physical storytelling theatre since 1981. Originally known for their work with masks, Trestle collaborates with UK and international artists to unify movement, music and text into a theatrical experience. The Sandpit Theatre is a theatre attached to Sandringham School which hosts plays throughout the year, mainly performances put on by the pupils of Sandringham School. The school also hosts Best Theatre Arts, a part-time theatre school for children aged 4 to 16. Furthermore, St Albans is home to many music acts such asFilming location
The mixed character of St Albans and its proximity to London have made it a popular filming location. The Abbey and Fishpool Street areas were used for the pilot episode of the 1960s ecclesiastical TV comedy ''All Gas and Gaiters''. The area of Romeland, directly north of the Abbey Gateway and the walls of the Abbey and school grounds, can be seen masquerading as part of an Oxford college in some episodes of ''Inspector Morse (TV series), Inspector Morse'' (and several local pubs also appear). Fishpool Street, running from Romeland to St Michael's village, stood in for Hastings in some episodes of ''Foyle's War''. ''Life Begins (TV series), Life Begins'' was filmed largely in and around St Albans. The Lady Chapel in the Abbey itself was used as a location for at least one scene in Sean Connery's 1995 film ''First Knight'', whilst the nave of the Abbey was used during a coronation scene as a substitute for Westminster Abbey in ''Johnny English'' starring Rowan Atkinson. The 19th-century gatehouse of the former prison near the St Albans City railway station, mainline station appeared in the title sequence of the TV series ''Porridge (1974 TV series), Porridge'', starring Ronnie Barker. The 2001 film ''Birthday Girl (2001 film), Birthday Girl'' starring Ben Chaplin and Nicole Kidman was also partly filmed in St Albans. More recently, several scenes from the film ''Incendiary (film), Incendiary'', starring Michelle Williams (actress), Michelle Williams, Ewan McGregor and Matthew Macfadyen, were filmed in St Albans, focusing in particular on the Abbey and the Abbey Gateway. In 2018, a Gucci advert featuring Harry Styles was filmed at a Fish and Chips shop in Fleetville, St Albans. It has also been used in the setting for the fictional town ''Waltringham'', in the TV show ''Humans (TV series), Humans''. In early 2022 Verulamium Park was used as a filming location for Wonka (film), ''Wonka'' starring Timothée Chalamet.Sport
In December 2007, Sport England published a survey which revealed that residents of St Albans were the 10th most active in England in sports and other fitness activities. 30.8% of the population participate at least 3 times a week for 90 minutes.Cricket
Clarence Park plays host to St Albans Cricket Club. The club currently runs four Saturday sides, playing in the Saracens Hertfordshire Cricket League and also two Sunday sides in the Chess Valley Cricket League. In 2008 the club's 1st XI won the Hertfordshire League Title. In the previous two seasons, the first XI came 5th (2011) and 4th (2012) in division one.Football
The local football team is St Albans City FC: its stadium is on the edge of Clarence Park and the team won promotion from the Conference South League in 2005–06. It played in the Conference Premier, Nationwide Conference Division of the Football Conference for the 2006–07 season, but finished at the bottom of the table and was relegated.Gymnastics
St Albans Gymnastics Club, founded in 2005, provides the St Albans area with recreational classes as well as a professionally managed competitive squad.Hockey
St Albans is also home to St Albans Hockey Club, based in Oaklands, St Albans. The club is represented at National league level by both women's and men's teams, as well as other local league competitions. The club's nickname is ''The Tangerines''.Rugby league
St Albans Centurions Rugby league Club have their ground at Toulmin Drive, St Albans. They play in the London Premier League. In 2007 and again in 2010 'The Cents', as they are known, won 'the triple' – topping the league, and becoming the Regional and National Champions of the Rugby League Conference Premier Divisions.Rugby union
Old Albanian RFC is a rugby union club that plays at the Old Albanian sports complex. They play in National League 1 English rugby union system, the third tier of the English rugby union system. Saracens A team and OA Saints Women's Rugby team also play here. This complex hosts the offices of the Premiership Rugby club Saracens FC, Saracens (and have recently moved their home ground to Barnet Copthall, Barnet). St Albans RFC play at Boggymead Spring in Smallford. Verulamians RFC (formerly Old Verulamians) play at Cotlandswick inSkateboarding
St Albans is home to one of the country's oldest indoor skateparks, the Pioneer Skatepark in Heathlands Drive, next to the former fire station. Its ramps are available to all skateboarding, skateboarders and inline skates, inliners. A new outside mini ramp was built in March 2005. A second outdoor mini ramp was opened at Easter 2009.Links with other sports
St Albans is additionally home to a community of traceurs from around Hertfordshire. St Albans was once home to the then most prestigious Steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase in England. The Great St Albans chase attracted the best horses and riders from across Britain and Ireland in the 1830s and was held in such high esteem that when it clashed with the 1837 Grand National the top horses and riders chose to bypass Aintree. Without warning the race was discontinued in 1839 and was quickly forgotten. St Albans was once home to Samuel Ryder, the founder of the Ryder Cup. He ran a very successful packet seeds business in the 1890s which at one time he ran from a packing warehouse on Holywell Hill (became Café Rouge until closure in 2023). His interest in golf and sponsorship led to his donation of the now famous Ryder Cup. He is buried in Hatfield Road Cemetery, where in London Olympics 2012, July 2012 the 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Olympic Torch Relay passed by to honour him.Education
International relations
St Albans is sister city, twinned with: * Odense, Region of Southern Denmark, Syddanmark, Denmark * Nevers, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France * Worms, Germany, Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany * Nyíregyháza, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Hungary * Fano, Province of Pesaro and Urbino, Pesaro and Urbino, Marche, Italy * Sylhet, BangladeshNotable people
See also
* Kingsbury Watermill Museum * St Alban and St Stephen's Church, St Albans * St Albans Museums * St Albans (UK Parliament constituency) * Sopwell Priory * Sopwell House * Verulam House, St Albans (17th century) * Verulam House, St Albans * Verulamium MuseumReferences
External links
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