1705 ws Version - St Albans History

ST ALBANS & HERTFORDSHIREARCHITECTURAL & ARCHAEOLOGICAL

SOCIETY

NEWSLETTER 204May 2017

Alan Sorrell representation of Verulamium Roman Theatre(drawn 1967)

Reproduction courtesy of St Albans Museums

ST ALBANS & HERTFORDSHIREARCHITECTURAL & ARCHAEOLOGICAL

SOCIETY

President’s MessageAnnual General MeetingSAHAAS Publications

Visit to the Samuel Pepys LibrarySAHAAS LibraryVerulamium - New Discovery

Some items included in this issue:

www.stalbanshistory.org SAHAAS NEWSLETTER 204 Page 2

While every care has been taken in the preparation of this newsletter the publishers cannot be held responsible forthe accuracy of the information herein or any consequence arising from it

ContentsPresident’s Message......................................................................3Membership..................................................................................4Annual General Meeting................................................................5Congratulations.............................................................................6Publications Report.......................................................................7Life Then and Now.........................................................................7Library Report................................................................................8Library Notes...............................................................................10Records of the 1924 St Albans Housing Survey...........................12SAHAAS Library – Directions........................................................13SAHAAS Library Research Bulletin...............................................13Clock Tower Report.....................................................................14In and Around the Clock Tower...................................................16A Useful Resource For Early Modern Local History.....................18Verulamium – New Discovery......................................................20Thoughts on Post-Boudiccan Verulamium..................................21Coach Outing to the Samuel Pepys Library..................................22Explorations in Garden History....................................................24Subscriptions...............................................................................25Passchendaele ............................................................................26Lecture Programme.....................................................................28E-mail Addresses..........................................................................29Quiz Night and Supper ................................................................29Publications List...........................................................................30

BILLY MINTER

Billy Minter played football for St Albans City. In 362 games he scored 356goals. His most famous goal scoring feat did not result in a win. In a 1922FA Cup replay against Dulwich Hamlet, Billy scored 7 (seven) goals but theSaints still succumbed to a 8-7 loss. Billy’s seven goal tally in that gameremains as the highest recorded score by an individual on the losing side ofan FA Cup tie.

Billy was born and died in St Albans, working and then taking over his father’sshop.

He died at the age of 86 in 1984 and is buried at London Road cemetery but in an unmarkedgrave. SAFC historian David Tavener has now launched a campaign to give Billy a headstone.You can read more and contribute athttps://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/billyminter

Sandy Walkington

Photo Herts Advertiser


PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

I do not know of another heritagesociety such as ours, which puts on aprogramme of more than 29 historicallectures and, in addition, organisesoutings, runs an ever-more importantlocal history library, produces fournews- letters annually, shares respon-sibility for the Clock Tower and organ-ises social events. Thanks are due toall who contribute so enthusiasticallyto all these activities. In particular wegive the Society’s grateful thanks toDoreen and Roy Bratby who have,over the last sixteen years, puttogether a lecture programme ofexcellence for us. The results of theirdedication and hard work have beenfascinating and informative. Manypeople who are interested in localhistory come first to lectures to listen,and have then gone on to furtherinvolvement with the Society. Wewish Doreen and Roy an enjoyablenext stage of life – I will not say ‘retire-ment’ – but may be life without somuch pressure.

Kate Harwood has just delivered forus a programme of six workshopson historic gardens, the first time ourlibrary at Sandridge Gate has beenused for such a purpose. She isa nationally recognised expert in herfield and we thank her for this

extension of the Society’s activitieswhich we hope to develop further. Wealso thank Liz Rolfe for managing theprogramme.

Two important occasions occur inJune. The first on Friday 9 June isanother quiz and supper night in thebeautiful setting of Kingsbury Barn toraise funds towards the completion ofthe new museum and gallery for StAlbans. If you haven’t alreadycontacted Val Argue for tickets, eitherto bring a team of eight or to come asan individual or as a smaller group,please do this before tickets run out(See page 29 for details). Thanks to ourexcellent quiz master, Alan Hobson,we shall have an enjoyable andchallenging evening. While on thesubject of fund-raising, I congratulateAnn Dean, Jane Kelsall, Peter Burley

Photo: John Humphreys


and Jon Mein for giving the recent BigEvents lectures which have raisedover £1,600 for the museum project.

The second event in June is ourcommemoration, jointly with theAbbey, of the losses of the Hertford-shire Regiment at Passchendaele in1917. This is to be at Evensong at 4pmon Saturday 17 June in the LadyChapel at the Abbey. I thank John Coxfor the research he has done to makethis possible and for his excellentarticle in the spring edition of HertsPast & Present. We hope to show theLord Lieutenant’s short DVD about lifein Hertfordshire in the First World

War. I encourage as many of you whoare able, to come to acknowledge thesacrifice of the local men and theirfamilies.

Congratulations to Kris Lockyear forthe recent award from UniversityCollege London (see page 6).

Enjoy the summer months.

Best wishes

Helen Bishop

MEMBERSHIP

The Society welcomes the following new members:

Mr Steve & Mrs Helen Wyler, St AlbansDr Christopher Knowles, St AlbansMr Ken Barker, London ColneyMrs Julia Grace Low, St AlbansMrs Judy Jowett, St AlbansMrs Dominica & Miss Ella Proudlock, St AlbansMr Douglas Parkin, St AlbansDr Maria Musto, WheathampsteadMiss Emma Jeffery, St Albans

David SmithMembership Secretary


ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Annual General Meeting of the Society will take place on Tuesday 12 September, with the main objectives of:-

a) Electing a new Council.

b) Receiving reports from the President and Group Leaders of the Society’s activities over the past year, and our plans for the future.

c) Receiving a report from the Treasurer and presentation of the accounts for financial year 2016/17.

Our current President’s term of office comes to an end at this AGM, althoughall other members of Council are willing to stand for re-election. A list ofcurrent members of Council is published overleaf. However, if you wish tonominate any member for a position on Council, please do advise meaccordingly. All such nominations must be with the agreement of thenominee, in writing, and seconded by another member, and must bereceived by me by the end of July.

If you have any other items that you wish to be raised, could I please askyou to advise me accordingly, again by the end of July.

The official proceedings will be followed by a lecture given by Louise Fowlerwith the subject The Anatomy Act 1832 and the Royal London Burial Ground.

Bryan HanlonHon. Secretary


MEMBERS OF COUNCIL

Bryan Hanlon Hon. SecretaryDavid Moore Hon. TreasurerPatricia Broad PublicationsMike Carey Clock Tower (jointly)John Cox Publicity OfficerMaggy Douglas Minutes SecretaryRoderick Douglas WebmasterDavid Girdziusz Chairman, Programme Development CommitteeGill Girdziusz Lecture SecretaryPat Howe 17�� Century Research GroupCaroline Howkins Clock Tower (jointly)John Humphreys Newsletter EditorFrank Iddiols Technical OfficerChristine McDermott Representative, Herts Archaeology and HistoryJonathan Mein First World War Home Front ProjectRoger Miles Archaeology Group

Donald Munro LibraryDavid Smith Membership Secretary

Retiring May 2017Doreen Bratby Lecture SecretaryRoy Bratby Chairman, Programme Development Committee

CONGRATULATIONS

Kris Lockyear, leader of the Community Archaeol-ogy Geophysics Group, which has undertakensurveys on 21 sites in the region including Veru-lamium, has been awarded the University CollegeLondon Provost's Award for Public Engagement2017 in the established researcher category. Kris stated that he saw theaward as an acknowledgment of the success of the group as a whole. Thework of the group, which has been supported by the Arc and Arc from theoutset and includes several of our members, can be seen athertsgeosurvey.wordpress.com. Photo © Frank Iddiols


PUBLICATIONS REPORT

We are making steady progress on a publishing strategy, style guides and otherguidance for authors. We have also been stocktaking and have updated theSociety’s publications list; see pages 30-31 for a summary.

We are pleased to report that Chris Green’s forthcoming book The Old Town Hall:St Albans should be ready for publication this summer, following recent delaysdue to budgetary constraints. The book tells the fascinating history of the TownHall over 200 years, describing the changing purpose of the building and howthese changes led to new building works. More details will follow shortly.

Later we expect to launch the Society’s new pamphlet series. This has been onthe back burner for some time and we are looking forward to publishing the firstpamphlet as soon as resources permit. We are developing ideas for furtherpublications and plan to involve members in that process.

Our Twitter site now has more than 150 followers. It is proving to be a usefulsource of information about local history research, publications and events – aswell as many First World War Home Front research projects.

Patricia BroadPublications Committee

LIFE THEN AND NOW

Herts Express newspaper, 1 June 1861 page 3

St AlbansMend our ways: a portion of our public streets, after having been opened forthe purpose of supplying larger water and gas pipes, are left in a state whichis a discredit to those concerned with it; for instead of the earth being presseddown tight, firm and solid, and made level with the other portion of the road,it is left rough, loose and unsightly, rendering it unsafe to horse and man, andthe more so after dark. Surely this job ought not to be so left.

Follow us on Twitter: SAHAAS@stalbanspast


LIBRARY REPORT

Life in the library continues very busywith further accommodation planningand sorting of the Beardsmore Collec-tion. We are moving towards a reso-lution of the various computer andLibrary Management System needs.Kate Harwood’s Garden HistorySeminar was very successfully hostedin the Library space in March andApril.

Library computing and hardware.SAHAAS local networking. Afterseveral attempts it is clear that securelocal networking (i.e. within theSAHAAS Library) is not possible via theSADC public Wi-Fi, and hardwiring andswitching in the age of laptops isimpractical. Alternative ways ofmaking SAHAAS text and image filesavailable on more than one machineare being considered. Huge thanks toMalcolm Merrick for his advice andresearch on this; and also for his veryuseful work in optimising the capabil-ities of our existing computers – atminimal cost.

Library Management System (LMS).SAHAAS Council agreed in April thatwe should migrate the Library Cata-logue from Heritage to a Soutron SoloLibrary and Archives Management

System. This will be a major andprofile-raising step forward for theSociety.Given the recent qualitative expan-sion in Library holdings, the singleadministrator user of Heritage hasbeen a major brake on making thelibrary available to the membershipand the wider world. An upgrade isessential. To catalogue, publicise andmake our holdings widely accessiblewe require

· an On-line Public Access Cat-alogue (OPAC) with at leasttwo administrator users

· and, ideally, a Cloud-HostedLMS (hosting removes theworry for us of providing andmaintaining OPAC serverhardware).

We considered a shortlist of threealternatives. To upgrade Heritage tothe above capability would be prohib-itively expensive. Soutron offers ahosted OPAC management systemwith three administrator users whichcan be closely tailored to our needs.It allows us 30,000 records, with tem-plates for printed, archival and imagematerials; and we have considerableinput into how our finished pages will

Visit the SAHAAS Library. Opening times and directions at Page 13


look – all this at a price much less thanthe minimal upgrade in Heritage.Feedback from libraries using thesystem has been very positive. Ibelieve the Soutron combined Libraryand Archive package will suit us verywell, and very much help affirm ourrole as a significant resource for thehistorical study of the St Albans areaand Hertfordshire generally.

During the catalogue migrationperiod (4-6 weeks, hopefully startedby the time you read this) it willbe essential to have all our recordschecked to make sure all the data hascome over. Volunteers will help checkdata and "out of library hours"sessions will be organised to pressalong with this. System training willalso be arranged as group sessions inMay/June.

The Library Volunteer group has beencontacted already, but if any recentlyjoined member is interested inhelping check data transferred,please contact me [email protected]. Thank you.

Reorganisation of the Library RoomSpace. Frank Iddiols has completedconstruction of the lockable storagearea. He also found us extraordinarilycheaply a flat five drawer map

cabinet, which he has fitted under themap table. We are expecting a 9’ x 6’x 10” bookcase from the library of JTSmith. This will be placed along thewall of the storage area facing intothe room.

Beardsmore Collection books havebeen checked for duplicates, and weare now going through the pam-phlets. We are liaising with the CityMuseums on all this. We are alsoconsidering ways of disposing of theunwanted but better quality dupli-cates, etc. A list of items of localinterest will be circulated to SAHAASmembers.

Parking is a continuing problem. At aSandridge Gate Tenants’ meeting inMarch some progress was made andsteps agreed to help ameliorate this.Currently cones are placed on up tosix parking bays in front of the build-ing on Wednesday and Friday morn-ings. SAHAAS visitors should move acone back to the pavement and parkin the cleared space. Ring the SAHAASbell push on the entrance door if youneed help.

SAHAAS Library Research Bulletin.The Library staff intend to provide ane-news current awareness servicecovering recent publications and


archival news for the benefit of inter-ested local researchers. Jon Mein willorganise. See highlighted box on p.13.

SAHAAS Journals Database update.The July edition of the database willbe posted on the website towards theend of June. Along with the usualdetails of articles published in the lastsix months, we have several otherupdates to report. Thanks to JohnRidge, the new edition will includemore detailed descriptions of countyarchaeology bulletins published in the1970s. Also, due to recent acquisi-tions, we show our more extensivecollections of Hertfordshire Country-side magazine and the Transactions ofthe East Herts Archaeological Society.

The Society’s thanks again go to anenthusiastic hard-working libraryteam and associates.

Donald MunroLibrarian

LIBRARY NOTES

Preoccupation with housing andassimilating the books and pamphletsfrom the Cathedral’s Beardsmore col-lection, and planning for a new com-puter system has meant that fewbooks have been catalogued recently,and only one is noted for this issue. Aswe catalogue the Beardsmore mate-

rial in the next few months the mostinteresting and curious items will benoted here.

New acquisitionsWomen’s work in industrial England:regional and local perspectives, editedby Nigel Goose. Hatfield: Local Popu-lation Studies, 2007. 402p, maps,tables, bibliog, and index.The editor contributes Chapter 5, ‘Thestraw plait and hat trades in 19��century Hertfordshire’, pp 97-137.The industry was concentrated in thesouth-west of the county, and pro-vided a significant contribution tohousehold income. Statistics of thetrade are examined.

Recent journal articlesIn Herts Past and Present Spring 2017Pp 2-7 ‘Hertfordshire men at Pass-chendaele, 1917’, by John Cox. Thefirst battalion of the Hertfordshires, aTerritorial regiment, served in Francefrom 1914 to 1918. It sustained dread-ful casualties, particularly at thethird battle of Ypres, also known asPasschendaele. Centenary eventstake place in July and in the autumnof this year.

Pp 8-10 ‘In search of “My Lord” Salis-bury: the story behind a self-publish-ing venture in local history’, by NickyWebster. The author researched herbook on the life of the 2ⁿ� Marquess


of Salisbury (1791-1868). Shedescribes tackling the Hatfield Housearchives, writing the book and publish-ing it herself.

Pp 11‐17 ‘William Cecil, 2ⁿ� Earlof Salisbury: the education of a noble-man’, by Alan Thomson. William(1591-1668) was the son of QueenElizabeth’s First Minister, Robert Cecil,but did not rise to high office like hisfather. His education is examined inan attempt to find out why this wasso. Despite his education, he wasknown as a “hunting” earl, too domi-nated by his father and not given toindependent thought.

Pp 18-20 ‘“Plenty of punch and goodcompany”: bringing local history tolife’. An account of a production in2016 of this dramatisation of the lifeof Bramfield farmer, John Carrington,based on his diary.

Pp 21-26 ‘The enclosure of the Manorof Barnet, 1818: a new publication ofthe Hertfordshire Record Society’, bySusan Flood. The author shows howthe enclosure award provides a valu-able snapshot of the Barnet locality inthe early 19�� century, and how thedecisions made at that time changedthe landscape for ever, paving the wayfor urban development later in thecentury. (Author abstract, amended).

Pp 27-29 ‘Local history essay compe-tition’, by Julie Moore. HertfordshireAssociation for Local History and Hert-fordshire University ran an essay com-petition in 2016 on the theme ofrailways in Hertfordshire and theireffect on the county. Three essayswere received; on Knebworth, by AnnJudge, the winner; on Lemsford, byAndy Chapman; and on Croxley Green,by Margaret Pomfret.

In The Alban Link , Spring 2017 p 4 -7‘Brother Thomas Rocliffe and theAlban Bun’, by Stephen da Silva. TheAlban bun is said to be the ancestor oftoday’s hot cross bun. It is reputed tohave been first served to the poor ofSt Albans by Brother Rocliffe, a monkattached to the Abbey refectory in1361.

Pp 8-11 ‘The war shrine movement inSt Albans 1914-22’, by Jonathan Mein.All churches faced the problem ofrecognising the contribution of menfrom their parishes who served in theFirst World War. Some publishedsimple lists of names, others Rolls ofHonour. Some of these in St Albansevolved, from 1916, into more elabo-rate shrines in public places. Those ofthe Abbey parish are well-known andmost have survived; those of otherparishes have not.

Tony Cooper


RECORDS OF THE 1924ST ALBANS HOUSING SURVEY

The promise of ‘homes fit for heroes’was just what many soldiers wantedto hear as they returned to civilian lifeat the end of the First World War.However, various problems curbedany immediate wholesale improve-ment to the nation’s housing stock. In1924, concerned by the lack of localprogress, the Bishop of St Albansinitiated a survey of workers’ housingin the city to shine a light on theproblem.

The extensive records of the surveyare in the St Albans City archive atHALS under references SBR/3580/1-32. They consist of the report itselftogether with a completed form foreach of the properties surveyed. Theforms typically record details of own-ership, sanitation and state of repair.They are bundled together in 24 sur-viving files each covering the street(s)in which the properties were located.While the surveyors mostly concen-trated on the city’s medieval core,they also assessed more recent devel-opments, on Bernards Heath for

example. This was for comparativepurposes.

There is an opportunity here foranyone with an interest in socialhistory to review the importance ofthe survey. The archive will alsoattract researchers looking at thedevelopment of their own house orstreet.

Thanks to the labours of John Cox, theSociety’s Publicity Officer, we havephotocopies in our library of thereport and over 250 of the surveyforms from about ten of the streetfiles. John also copied several articlesfrom the Herts Advertiser. Theserecord the publication of the reportby the survey team, the response ofthe City Council and the fractiousexchange of views between the twoparties. Val Argue’s notes abouthousing in the city, originally preparedfor the Home Front project, are alsoavailable.

To find out more about the survey, dopop into the Society’s Library ore-mail: [email protected]

Jonathan Mein


RONSON’S WAYENTRANCE

LIBRARY DIRECTIONS

Map drawn by Frank Iddiols

SAHAAS LIBRARY RESEARCH BULLETIN

We have been musing about how best to disseminate the many snippets ofinformation we receive in the library. For example, updates of recentacquisitions at HALS, new sources of primary material relating to the county’shistory, notices of important events, etc. These tend not to suit our existingways of transmitting material, e.g. the Newsletter or the website.

Instead we are launching a new e-mail-based system for members whichwill work along the same lines as the Society’s existing e-news system. Weanticipate sending no more than two messages a month.

So, if you are a researcher or are thinking of doing some research, do e-mailTony Cooper at [email protected] and we will add you to the list.You can always ‘unsubscribe’ from the system as and when you want.

Library Team

The SAHAAS library is located at:Sandridge Gate Business CentreRonsons WaySt AlbansAL4 9XR

Enter through the door 26 midwayalong the Sandridge Gate complex

Opening Times 10.00 to 12.00Wednesdays and Fridays

DOOR 26SANDRIDGE GATEBUSINESS CENTRE

Valley Road

Beech RoadMarshalswick Lane

Sandrid

ge Road

St A

lban

s Roa

d

RONSON’S WAYENTRANCE


CLOCK TOWER REPORT

The Clockateers’ Party on the 31�� Marchwas held again at the VerulamiumMuseum which always has a special,warm and welcoming ambiance to it inthe evening. The party was well attendedand gave us a chance to thank our clean-ers, Russell and David, for their 20 yearsof service by presenting them with acertificate, voucher and large box of choc-olates. The lucky winners of this year’sprize draw were Barbara Beal and AlanParker both of whom were presentedwith a £25 M&S voucher by The RightWorshipful, Mayor of St Albans City andDistrict, Councillor Frances Leonard. TheMayor gave a brief speech in which shethanked the Civic Society and SAHAAS forproviding Clockateers for the past 40years.

The Clock Tower opened up for the firsttime for the county organised, BigWeekend on 1 and 2 April. Our new,double-sided flag made its first appear-ance at this opening and, along with thelovely sunny weather, helped to make itthe very busy weekend it turned out tobe; although the private guided tour thatwe offered for the ballot was not partic-ularly well attended. We had offered atotal of 20 tickets over the two days in theonline ballot. But although the ticketswere oversubscribed by people wanting

to go on the tours, the Big Weekendorganisers only allocated 17. Each ticketwas for two people and a total of 34people could have turned up. As it was,only 12 winners claimed their tour. It maybe that people do not value tickets if theyare given to them for free?

The Mayor officially opened the St AlbansClock Tower on Good Friday, with the6½lb, iron, ceremonial, replica key – whichis becoming a bit of a tradition! Only amatter of hours later, the former Mayor(2014/15), Geoff Harrison was on duty at

Caroline Howkins, Mayor Leonard, MikeCarey, Helen Bishop with our new double-

sided flag.


the Clock Tower to welcome visitors,followed the next day by fellowClockateer, the former Mayor (2007/08),Kate Morris who handed over to theformer Mayor (2003/04), Jenny Stroud.

Mayor Leonard was the first visitor of theseason to climb the 93 stone steps to thetop of the Tower to enjoy the magnificentviews. On her way back down shestopped off to study the exhibition aboutthe home front in St Albans during theFirst World War, currently on display onthe first floor. The exhibition is based onthe book “St Albans: Life on the Home

Front, 1914-1918” researched andwritten by members of SAHAAS. MayorLeonard was particularly interested in aphoto of a former Mayor (1915/17),James Flint wearing the Mayoral chain.The current chain was presented to thecity around 1885 by the then Mayor Mr.Monkton White and the names of allMayors since that date, including that ofJames Flint, are inscribed on the smallshields attached to the chain,

We are always looking for new volunteersto join the roster of Clockateers. Manningthe Clock Tower for one of the sessionsover Saturday or Sunday with anotherClockateer is a fun and interesting way tomeet new people and talk to the diverserange of tourists who visit our city. If youwould like to volunteer, please do contactMike Carey or Caroline Howkins (via thee-mail: [email protected]).

The Tower is now open for everyweekend and bank holiday until the endof September. As always, Mike and Iwould like to thank all the Clockateers forgiving their time to keep the Clock Toweropen for the public to enjoy.

Caroline Howkins & Mike Carey

Photos ©Andy Lawrence

Mayor Leonard officially opens the ClockTower on Good Friday.


IN AND AROUND THE CLOCKTOWER

Visitors to St Albans Clock Tower this yearwill be able to view an exhibition by theSociety about St Albans during the FirstWorld War.

The exhibition will be in the room on thefirst floor of the Tower and is, in fact, thedisplay that some of you may have seenwhen it was exhibited in St Albans Cathe-dral in late last year.

There is a new panel introducing theexhibition, which will be on the groundfloor. It includes two lovely images of theClock Tower from the war and post-warperiod.

As part of the exhibition, new informationsheets have been compiled providinginsights into the lives and livelihoods ofsome of those who worked around theClock Tower and events that took place inthe vicinity during the war years. Visitorsare invited to take this information withthem as they climb the tower and, fromthe vantage point of the roof, see howmany shops and pubs they can recognisenow and then.

One of those ‘now and then’ businesseswas Steabben & Son butchers in MarketPlace (pictured) where the Trailfinderstravel agency is today. We have not beenable to identify all the ‘then’ occupants of

this historic part of the town so if you havetime to visit the exhibition and have infor-mation to add, do please let us know:e-mail: [email protected] or visit the website where the informa-tion sheet can be found in the ’HomeFront’ section – www.stalbanshistory.org

Sue Mann

This postcard may be older but was senton 6 March 1916 by Marjorie J. Danberryof 34 London Road to a friend in Dorsetwriting: ‘I have been to London for theweekend and have brought back my cakesand biscuits – thank you so much formaking them, they are delicious. We arehaving snow again today, when wethought it was well over; I hope it’s betterat Parkstone’. Image: © Sue Mann


THOMAS KINDER’S CHEQUERSTREET BREWERY

In 1822 Thomas Kinder mortgaged,amongst other properties, a breweryin the middle of St Albans. The prop-erties which stood on the site of thebrewery prior to its being built can beidentified.

The brewery stretched along today’sChequer Street from Sweetbriar Lane(Victoria Street) down to the bound-ary between the St Peter and Abbeyparishes, the area now occupied bythe Malting Shopping Centre. It wasopened by Kinder’s father and the firstbeer brewed in January 1777.

In 1747, the site of the future brewerywas occupied by six contiguous prop-erties, five of which were, or became,inns or alehouses. At either end of the

line of six properties stood an inn. Atthe northern end was the Bell Inn,formerly called the Blew Bell Inn. Atthe southern end was the Three HorseLoaves Inn, which spanned the parishboundary (see map). The parishboundary runs through the gateway,on the south side of what is currentlyJamie’s Italian Restaurant, which leadsfrom Chequer Street through to theMaltings. On the southern side of theBell Inn was a house, occupied byWilliam Marston, baker. Next to thistwo alehouses, the Three Gloves andthe Sun, formerly called the Pye, after-wards the Cock and Pye.

The Bell Inn was closed between1750 and 1752. After its closure MaryCanfield, who had been the landlady,opened an alehouse further down thestreet, which she named the Bell.This alehouse stood between the Sun

Andrews and Wren’smap of St. Albans, 1766


alehouse and the Three Horse LoavesInn.

By 1822 the Bell Inn had become aprivate house and was occupied byThomas Kinder. The Bell alehouse wasnow larger, having been extendedinto the northern half of the ThreeHorse Loaves Inn. Everything else wasnow part of the brewery.

Today Kinder’s house no longer exists,but the Bell alehouse remains onChequer Street. It is the buildingcurrently occupied by Jamie’s ItalianRestaurant.

Alan Smith

References:

A USEFUL RESOURCE FOR EARLYMODERN LOCAL HISTORY

H. C. F. Lanberry’s PhD thesis, ‘Politicsand Government in St Albans1685-1835’, which is available freeof charge in electronic format viathe British Library EThOS service(www.ethos.bl.uk), is an importantand often overlooked study. It is aUniversity of London thesis, completedin 1964. It provides unrivalled detailon the workings of the unreformedcorporation, the nature of politicalinfluence within the borough of StAlbans, and the growth of statutoryauthorities as acts of parliamentencroached on the powers of localgovernment in the century after 1750.

The last development, which waswidespread across England in thisperiod, was particularly important inSt Albans, whose corporation, in Lans-berry’s words (p. 60), ‘never learnedto live within their income [and]drifted from crisis to crisis’. For exam-ple, Paving and Lighting Commission-ers were appointed for St Albans byact of parliament in 1804, and thenew town hall was built under parlia-mentary authority. Lansberry’s thesisdescribes developments such as thesein great detail, and offers manyinsights into the wider history ofEnglish local government and politicalculture.

It is, of course, well known that StAlbans’s parliamentary politics were

Jamie’s Italian Restaurant

HALS - 37963, 73081, SBR 742,D/P93/11/2-6, D/P90/11/4, D/P93/8/2,PRO - PROB 11/669/94, PROB11/793/359, TNA W.O. 30/49, SAHAASDeeds - Bundle 20/2 and Bundle 28


riddled with corruption in this period.Lansberry’s study ends with thereform of the municipal corporationsin 1835, and therefore does not con-sider the notorious events of 1850-1,when the borough was disfranchised.However, he provides the bestaccount of local politics during theeighteenth century, when the Grim-ston, Churchill and Spencer familiesdominated the borough’s elections.With a restricted electoral franchise,the creation of honorary freemen tovote in elections could easily swingthe result, and caused resentmentwithin the town. By the late eight-eenth century, a new group known as‘The Party’ had emerged to challengevested interests, led by the PaineiteSamuel Ferrand Waddington; likeother places in England, St Albans sawbread riots in the 1790s.

Lansberry’s thesis should be the firstport of call for any historian interestedin the political history of St Albans inthis period, and also offers manyinsights into its economic, social andcultural history. It is unfortunate thatthe thesis – along with many others –was never published as a book. (Lans-berry did publish four articles basedon his research, and later wrote abook on Kent: details are appended.)The growing availability of retro-digi-tised doctoral theses is a boon to local

history of all kinds, and Lansberry’svaluable study is an excellent example.

Mark FreemanAppendixH. C. F. Lansberry, ‘James McAdam andthe St Albans Turnpike Trust’, Journal ofTransport History, vol. 7 (1965), pp. 120-7.This article considers one of the mostimportant statutory authorities estab-lished in and around St Albans in thisperiod.

H. C. F. Lansberry, ‘St Albans Canal’, HertsPast & Present, series 1, issue 7 (1967),pp. 3-8. He assesses the abortive attemptsto build a canal linking the town to thedeveloping national network in the 1790s.

H. C. F. Lansberry, ‘A Whig Inheritance’,Bulletin of the Institute of HistoricalResearch, vol. 41 (1968), pp. 47-57. Thisdescribes the Spencer family’s struggle tocontrol the parliamentary seats of StAlbans and Northampton.

H. C. F. Lansberry, ‘The Building of StAlbans Town Hall’, Herts Archaeology, vol.1 (1968), pp. 92-97. Lansberry evaluatesthe many difficulties surrounding thedevelopment of the landmark Town Hallin St Peter’s Street.

H. C. F. (Frederick) Lansberry, Governmentand Politics in Kent 1640-1914 (Rochester,NY: Boydell, for Kent County Council,2001).


ROMAN VERULAMIUMNEW DISCOVERY

Currently, the National Grid is carryingout essential work to re-lay a gas mainrunning through Verulamium Park.This involves running new pipes insidethe existing pipeline and so has mostlyrequired only re-excavation of sec-tions of existing trench. However,small extensions were required to twoholes, providing a rare opportunity toexamine what lies underground inareas of the Roman town normally notaccessible to hand digging, as the siteis scheduled to protect it fromdamage.

The reopened trench section close tothe Inn on the Park has providedevidence for a wealthy town house.The backfill of the original gas mainincluded evidence for a mosaic. Inaddition, a series of floors wereobserved on either side of the gasmain. One of these may have been anOpus Signinum floor made up ofbroken tiles and mortar. The finalphase of this masonry buildingappears to have been some time inthe third century AD, based on prelim-inary dating of the recovered potteryfrom the floor surface. However,there is evidence from above thefloors that that the very last phaseswere associated with a much cruderform of architecture, the dating of

which may have continued for sometime afterwards.

A trench close to the London Gate hasexposed the corner of the city wall. Atthis point there was no evidence of atower as may have been expected.The absence of a corner tower issignificant as it probably indicates thatthe city walls were built as much forshow as for defensive purposes.

These discoveries follow on from KrisLockyear of UCL’s magnetometrysurvey of the park conducted with theaid of members of SAHAAS and othervolunteers from 2013 onwards. Thoseof you who have seen the surveyresults will remember the large black

Gas Pipe

Backfill

Photo courtesy St Albans Museums


THOUGHTS ON POST-BOUDICCAN VERULAMIUM

Recent excavations in the Walbrook area of London found over 400 remains ofRoman writing tablets, of which 87 were able to be read. One of these was ofboth local and general historic importance. Written on 21 October AD62 it statedthat:

I Marcus Rennius Venustus, have contracted with Gaius Valerius Proculus thathe bring from Verulamium by the Ides of November [13 November AD62] 20loads of provisions at a transport charge of one-quarter of a denarius for each.

In AD60-61, Tacitus tells us that Colchester, London and Verulamium were laidwaste by the troops lead by Boudicca but obviously the contract shows thatboth Londinium and Verulamium were back in business about a year later. Thisseems to imply that the damage must have been less than generally imagined.

Mike NorthSource: Current Archaeology, issue 317 (August 2016), pp. 36-40

and white line running across theRoman town and generated by themagnetic signal of the gas main thatis currently being worked upon. Sadlyfor us, the old main is not being lifted,as the magnetic signal was powerfulenough to mask readings immediatelyaround it and its removal would allowfor more data on the Roman town tobe recorded.

This work continues to add to ourknowledge of Roman Verulamium.Much of its roads and city blocks ofinsulae have long been known fromaerial photographs, while excavationshave provided details of the forumand basilica complex that lies under

St Michael’s Church and vicarage, andthe second century theatre (a recon-struction image of which features onthe front of this newsletter). Of themajor public buildings only the bathcomplex remains largely unknown,although its location is clear andlimited excavations took place on thesite in the 1980s. While recent oppor-tunities to excavate have beenlimited, work on projects such asthis allows us to continue to recoverinformation about the town.

David ThoroldCurator, Prehistory to Medieval

Verulamium Museum


COACH OUTING TO THE SAMUEL PEPYS LIBRARYM�� C��, C��

25 OCTOBER 2017

The Pepys Library came to the Magdalene College only after the death ofhis nephew, John Jackson, who made a significant contribution to its finalorder. The 3,000 volumes are arranged by size, from No. 1 (the smallest)to No. 3,000 (the largest), and housed in twelve stately late seventeenth-century oak bookcases. Their fine bindings, mostly done for Pepys, are ofmuch interest. The library desk, perhaps Pepys's own, is also an integralpart of the arrangement. There is a studio-copy of the Kneller portrait ofPepys here.

The Library continues to fascinate tourists, and to attract scholars fromall over the world, as it has done ever since Macaulay discovered itsimportance. Among the Library's treasures are some sixty medievalmanuscripts, some important early printed books (including seven incun-abula by Caxton, eight by Wynkyn de Worde, and seven by Pynson), anda naval collection, notably the 'Anthony Roll', illustrating the ships of theRoyal Navy c. 1546, such as The Mary Rose, and Drake's autographednautical pocket almanac. In addition, there are special collections ofprints, ballads, music, maps, and calligraphy, all of them now the subjectof comprehensive published catalogues.

Pepys's own diary covering the years 1660 to 1669 is preserved in sixvolumes, written in Shelton's shorthand, which only looks superficiallylike Pitman's. This too has recently been definitively edited by RobertLatham, C.B.E., F.B.A., Fellow and Pepys Librarian (1972-82).


The coach will leave Westminster Lodge car park at 9.30. At 11 am we willbe given a talk by the Deputy Librarian, Catherine Sutherland, and thenhave an opportunity to look around. The cost of the visit will be £3.50 forthe over 60s. Full price is £7.50. Total cost with coach travel will be £21.00for seniors, £25.00 full price. Numbers for this visit are limited to 25.

Please note that there are 25 stairs to climb to reach the Library.

When the visit is over you will have free time to enjoy Cambridge until 3.30when you should rejoin the coach.

Please send your cheque for the appropriate amount made payable toSAHAAS to Pat Howe, 7 Cranmore Court, Avenue Road, St Albans, AL1 3QS.

Pat Howe

Photo courtesy of the Samuel Pepys Library


EXPLORATIONS IN GARDENHISTORY

The Society’s first classes in gardenhistory took participants on a grandtour of landscape design from theRomans to the Arts and Craftsinspiredgardens of the 19�� and early 20��centuries. (Photo Page 32)

Kate Harwood, lecturer and writer ongarden history, led the course withsupport from a number of Societymembers including Liz Rolfe, Liz Rose,Frank Iddiols and Jon Mein.

The inspiration for the course, the firstof its kind in the Society’s recenthistory, came from a fascinating talkgiven to members last September byKate on the influence of CapabilityBrown on the landscape of Hertford-shire. She has a deep knowledge ofher subject and a lifetime of informa-tion at her fingertips, so that everyclass was enriched with wonderfulasides and pithy comments aboutsome less than heroic garden ownersand designers, not to mentionpresent-day developers. Kate is a tire-less campaigner for the preservationof historic gardens in Hertfordshire.

The study of mapswas a key element inthe classes. It wasfascinating to learnthat the draughts-men of yore didnot lovingly drawevery little tree butcleverly cut a die and stamped out thenecessary foliage, men on horsebackand other features to more quicklypopulate their landscape designs. ‘Axi-ality’, we learnt, was a key element inunderstanding the relationshipbetween the grand house and itsequally grand landscape and also,when studying Victorian gardens, welearnt a new meaning for the word‘understanding’ – under-pinnings.

All those who took part went awaywith copious notes written by Kate, alengthy reading list and for my part atleast, a desire to visit more gardensarmed with a little more knowledge.

Sue Mann

Notes: Kate Harwood contributed toHertfordshire Garden History VolumesI and II. She is the ConservationCo-ordinator for the HertfordshireGardens Trust.

Photo © Frank Iddiols


SUBSCRIPTIONS

Subscriptions for the coming year June 2017 - May 2018 become dueon 1 June 2017.

There has been no change to subscription rates remain at:

Individual members. £15.00

The spouse or partner of a member livingat the member’s address £7.50Children of a member and under the age of 16living at the Member’s address. Free

Students aged 16 or over who provide evidencethat they are in full-time further orhigher education. £7.50

Note: A change in the Constitution adopted at the last AGM amended theavailability of free or reduced rates of a Member’s subscription of childrenand students from 18 to 16 years of age.

Those already paying by direct debit need take no action as payment willbe collected automatically. Anyone wanting to switch to this method ofpayment please contact the Treasurer by e-mail for a direct debit form [email protected]

Payment can also be made by standing order to the Society’s bank accountor cheque to the Membership Secretary by post:

David SmithSAHAAS Membership SecretaryKestrel Lodge, 12 Sutton Mill Road, Potton, Sandy, Beds, SG19 2QB

David Smith


PASSCHENDAELE

At 4pm on Saturday, 17 June 2017 aSpecial Service will take place in St.Albans Cathedral to commemoratethe St Albans men who died on 31 July1917, the first day of the 3�� Battle ofYpres (otherwise known as Passchen-daele). This special event has beenarranged as a result of our President’sdiscussion with the Very ReverendJeffrey John, Dean of St Albans. It isunderstood that Lady Verulam, one ofthe SAHAAS Patrons, will attend thisservice to which all are welcome toattend.

In the War Memorial Chapel in theCathedral (now situated at theeastern end of the north Nave aisle)there is a three-sided lectern,surmounted by the figure of StMichael. Three illuminated books listthe 16,000 individual names of themen of St Albans Diocese (made up ofHertfordshire, Bedfordshire andBarnet) who died in the First WorldWar, 1914-1918.

Of those listed, 850 served in theHertfordshire Regiment during thatwar a hundred years ago. They tookpart in the First Battle of Ypres, 1914,joining regular soldiers of the 4��Guards Brigade led by a HertfordshireGeneral, the 10�� Earl of Cavan, who

at that time lived at Wheathamp-stead. The regiment was later recog-nised for its service in twenty-sixbattles during the war, ten of whichwere recorded on their colour stand-ard, which is now “laid-up” in AllSaints’ Church, Hertford.

Research led by the Home FrontGroup has produced a ‘matrix’ of thenames listed on the St Albans City WarMemorial at St Peter’s Green, near theBlacksmith’s Arms public house. Ofthose, 19 men died on 31 July 1917.They are:-Pte Percy Buck (Upper Culver Rd);Sgt Gilbert Callow, Military Medal (Campfield Press);Pte Frederick Fellows (Fishpool St);Pte Claude Garment (Bernard St);Pte Alfred Hardy (Clifton St);Pte Charles Hester (Prospect Rd)Pte Albert Hyde (Bernard St);Pte Ernest Izzard (Kimberley Rd);Pte Charles Javaleau (Orchard St);Lt Lionel Kent* (Holywell Hill);Lt Frank Lake (St. Albans School);L/Cpl William Meyer (Albion Rd);Sgt William Payne (Camp View Rd);Pte Sidney Powell (Sandridge Rd);Pte George Rose (Glenferrie Rd);Pte Albert Rust (Camp View Rd);L/Cpl James Skinner (Holywell Hill);Cpl Joseph Taylor, Military Medal (Arthur Rd);Cpl Frederick Warren (Folly Ave);Pte Frederick Waters, Military Medal

(Westbourne Terr).


12 of those listed were serving in the1�� Battalion, Hertfordshire Regiment.

135 officers and other ranks of theHertfordshire Regiment who have noknown grave are listed on panels 54and 56 at the Menin Gate Memorial,Ypres and on Panel 153 at the TyneCot Memorial.

On Monday 31 July 2017 a memorialto the men of the Hertfordshire Regi-ment will be unveiled at St Julien,Belgium, by the Countess of Verulam,Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire. StJulien is the village where the 1��Battalion of The Hertfordshire

Regiment lost its greatest number ofmen in a single day.

The memorial, funded by donations,has been organised by the ‘Herts atWar project’, based in Letchworth ledby Dan Hill. In addition a servicewill be be held at the Hertford WarMemorial, Salisbury Square led by theVicar of All Saints Church, Hertford(the Revd Canon Jo Loveridge).

John G.E. Cox

Note: * His brother, 2ⁿ� Lt HaroldKent, died on 4 August 1917 nearYpres.

Tyne Cot Cemetery where many of our fallen soldiers lie or whose namesare listed on wall panels.

Photo: Courtesy of Passchendaele 17


LECTURE PROGRAMME

19 May 2017The Long Weekend: Life in the EnglishCountry House Between the WarsAdrian Tinniswood OBEVenue: St Albans School

Adrian Tinniswood uncovers the truthabout a world half-forgotten, drapedin myth and hidden behind stiff upperlips and film-star smiles. Drawing onhundreds of memoirs, and unpub-

lished letters and diaries, he bringsthe stately homes of England to life,giving us an insight into the gilt andthe gingerbread, and showing how theimage of the country house was care-fully protected by its occupants aboveand below stairs, and how the realitywas so much more interesting thanthe dream.

Adrian Tinniswood is the author offourteen books on social and architec-tural history, including the SundayTimes bestseller, The LongWeekend. Born in 1954, his careerhas combined work with heritageinstitutions such as the National Trustand the Heritage Lottery Fund withlecturing for English and Americanuniversities. Adrian lives in Bath andis a Senior Research Fellow at theUniversity of Buckingham. In 2013 hewas awarded an OBE for services toheritage.

Doreen and Roy Bratby

The lecture on 19 May is the last ofthis season’s lectures and also thelast of the many lectures over theyears selected and facilitated byDoreen and Roy Bratby (see Presi-dent’s Message on page 3).

The new season begins in Septemberand details will be published in theAugust Newsletter and printed onmembership cards.

Photo © Frank Iddiols


EMAIL ADDRESSES

We have found that some of the members’ e-mail addresses we have on filefor the SAHAAS (Arc & Arc) e-news are bouncing.

If you either change your email address or you think that you are not receivinge-news when you should be, please can you notify the society providing thefollowing information by e-mail to [email protected] so that we canupdate our records and make sure that you are kept up to date.

Thank you.Roderick Douglas

SAHAAS e-news UpdateNameHome Address(For reference)Old email addressNew email addressPlease email thesedetails to

[email protected]

A few tickets are still available (as at 1�� May). A short waiting listfor cancellations will be opened. For more information

contact Val Argue at: [email protected]

FRIDAY 9TH JUNE 2017

7pm (prompt) - 10pm(Doors open 6.30pm)

Kingsbury Barn, Branch RoadSt Albans. AL3 4SE

QUIZ NIGHT AND SUPPERIn aid of St Albans New Museum and Gallery


PUBLICATIONS LIST

A summary of titles published by the Society since its inception in 1845 andavailability of publication content in digital format on our website.

EARLY PUBLICATIONS, 1848 to 1961

Description of the Roman Theatre of Verulam, Lowe, RG, 1848On some Roman Sepulchral Remains in the Churchyard of St Stephens, Bloxham, MH, 1848The Two Langleys, Gee, R, n.d.Bricks and Brick-buildings, Gee, R, 1855Names of Places in Herts, Hall, Rev. H, 1859The Story of an Illustrious Neighbour - Lord Bacon, Gee, R, 1863The Boundary Wall of the Monastery of St Alban, Fowler, Rev. H, 1876The Paintings on the Choir Ceiling of St Albans Abbey Church, Lloyd, RR, 1876The Restoration of the Abbey Church of St Alban, Chapple, J, 1876The Choir of St Albans, Davys, Rev. OW, 1876Brief review of the restoration work, since 1877, in St Albans Cathedral, Davys, Rev. OW, 1881A Plan of the town of St Albans drawn by Benjamin Hare in 1634, Wilton, C, 1900Report on the Muniments of the Gape family, Lyle, JV, 1905Records of the old Archdeaconry of St Albans, 1575-1637, Wilton Hall, HR, 1908, n.y.d

The above titles are available in digital format on our website.

TransactionsThe Transactions journal was published off and on between 1883 and 1961 when therun finished. The full set of over 180 articles is available in digital format on ourwebsite.

PUBLICATIONS, 1966 ONWARDS

The Antiquities of Verulam & St Albans, [manuscript 1631], John Shrimpton, SA1, 1966, o/pSt Albans c. 1820 ‘The Town’, David Dean et al, SA2, 1982, o/pThe Goat Inn, Kathleen Goad (editor et al), SA3, 1984, o/pAround St Albans with Geoff Dunk, Geoff Dunk, SA4, 1985, o/pThe Street Memorials of St Albans Abbey Parish, Alice Goodman, SA5, 1987, o/pSt Albans Ghost Lore, Muriel Thresher & Beryl Carrington, SA6, 1987, o/pSt Albans c 1820 The People, David Dean et al, SA7, 1990, o/p


Education by Election. Reed's School, Clapton and Watford, Norman Alvey, SA8, 1990, £2The Story of the Abbey School - a nineteenth century National School,

Alice Goodman, SA9, 1991, £2The Light of Other Days, a short history of the St Albans & Hertfordshire Architectural & Archaeological Society, 1845 to 1995, Brian Moody, SA10, 1995, £1A History in all Men's Lives, Brian Moody (ed), SA11, 1999, £2St Albans 1553 [celebrates 450th anniversary of granting of borough charter], SA12, 2003, £2St Albans 1650-1700, A thoroughfare town and its people, JT Smith & M North (eds), UHP, 2003, £12The Pemberton Almshouses, Clare Ellis & Pat Howe , SA13, 2005, £2Lord Grimthorpe and Other Dragons: The career of Walter Lawrance, Gillian Harvey, 2011, £3.75The Street Memorials of St Albans Abbey Parish: new edition, John Cox &

Ann Dean, 2015, £8St Albans: Life on the Home Front 1914-1918, Jonathan Mein, Anne Wares &

Sue Mann (eds), UHP, 2016, £14

Hertfordshire Archaeology and History (HAH)First published in 1968, this title is published jointly with the East Herts ArchaeologicalSociety. It replaced the Transactions to become the journal of record for the county’sarchaeology. Seventeen volumes have been published and two separate supplementsto volumes 14 and 15. A full list of articles is on our Journals Database. The articleshave not yet been digitised. Volume 17 (published 2016) costs £5 (75% reduction onfull price).

In PreparationThe Old Town Hall: St Albans, Chris Green. More details soon.

How to purchase copiesCopies of recent publications can be ordered from

[email protected] or from Patricia Broad, tel 01727 863340.Copies of HAH (and subscriptions) can be ordered from Christine McDermott at [email protected] visiting our library at Sandridge Gate can purchase copies from the library team.Prices quoted are members’ rates. There will be a p&p charge for orders that need posting.

o/p = out of print. n.y.d = not yet digitised.


Photos © Frank Iddiols

SAHAAS COURSE INGARDEN HISTORY

SAHAAS COUNCIL MEETING

MAKING USE OF OUR NEW LIBRARY AT SANDRIDGE GATE

Documents

1705 ws Version - St Albans History