St ALBANS CATHEDRAL

St Albans Cathedral is known as the oldest site of continuous Christian worship in Britain and stands over the place where Alban, Britain's first saint, was buried after the Roman gave his life for his faith more than 1700 years ago. A church was built over the grave and it became a place of pilgrimage.  King Offa of Mercia is said to have founded a monastery here in 793 AD.

William the Conqueror appointed Paul of Caen as the first Norman abbot of St Albans and Paul set about building a new church, using material from the Roman city of Verulamium. Today, St Albans is the only cathedral in Britain with a Norman crossing tower that is still standing – and built of Roman bricks.  It also has the longest nave in England, with medieval paintings on its pillars and wonderful stained glass in its windows. St Albans Abbey was dissolved in December 1539, most of its buildings were destroyed and its valuables disappeared – along with St Alban’s relics.  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 poor condition.  Wealthy Victorian benefactors paid for the building to be repaired, which 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.