years. When completed, it was certainly one of the noblest and largest
structures in the kingdom. The length of this cruciform Norman church
was 426 feet. (The extreme length is now 550, due to additions presently
mentioned.) On the E. side of either transept were two apsidal chapels,
the one adjoining the presbytery aisle being in each case the larger of
the two; there was also an apse at the E. end of the presbytery. A
square, battlemented tower flanked the W. front on either side; but the
chief glory of Abbot Paul's church was undoubtedly the enormous Norman
tower of four stages, triforium, clerestory, ringing-floor and belfry,
surmounted by parapets and flanked by angle turrets, of which such
considerable portions yet remain. Visitors who saw the Abbey thirty
years ago saw the E. portion of the nave, the transepts and the tower
substantially as built by Abbot Paul de Caen. The new Abbey was
dedicated 1115.
Geoffrey de Gorham, sixteenth abbot (1119-46), placed the relics of St.
Alban in a new shrine.
Robert de Gorham, eighteenth abbot (1161-67), erected the _Chapter
House_ and _Locutory_ (Abbot's Cloister); his successor, Symeon
(1167-83), completed the erection and embellishment of the _Shrine of
St. Alban_, raising its height so that it could be seen from the _High
Altar_. During his abbacy the relics of St. Amphibalus were brought to
St. Albans, and the shrine of that saint was eventually erected in the
E. aisle. The _Chapel of St. Cuthbert_ in the _Baptistery_, built by
Abbot Richard de Albini (1097-1119), was also dedicated about this time.
Warren de Cambridge, twentieth abbot (1183-95), placed the relics of St.
Amphibalus in a feretry, enriching it with gold and silver
ornamentation. He placed it behind the High Altar, near the feretry of
St. Alban.
John de Cella, twenty-first abbot (1195-1214), commenced to rebuild the
W. front, notably the three fine E.E. porches now replaced by those of
Lord Grimthorpe, but the work was completed by his successor William de
Trumpyntone (1214-35), who added the two flanking towers. This abbot
erected the rood screen between the nave and choir, added the octagon
above the tower after removing the Norman turrets and parapets, and
probably built those E.E. bays on each side of the nave which are
nearest to the W. front. He also restored portions of the S. transept
and S. aisle, and rebuilt _St. Cuthbert's Chapel_ on the spot now partly
occupied by the _Rood Screen_.
The E. end of the Abbey next received the attention of these
architect-abbots. Commencing at the second bay E. from the tower, John
de Hertford (1235-60) almost entirely replaced the Norman and E.E. work
of his predecessors by work which merged into a graceful E. Dec. The
work was carried on by his immediate successors, doubtless sadly
hindered by the turbulent state of the times. John de Norton (1260-90)
built the S. aisle of the _Retro-choir_, and part of the _Lady-chapel_,
but his work was supplemented by that of John de Berkhampstead
(1291-1302). John de Marinis (1302-8) removed the feretry and tomb of
St. Alban to the position which it occupied until about the time of the
Dissolution and spent 820 marks in the erection of a tomb of Purbeck
marble. Hugh de Eversden (1308-26) built the five moulded Dec. bays of
the S. aisle, replacing the Norman work, which had given way, and
completed the _Lady-chapel_ at the extreme E., thereby greatly
increasing the length of the entire building. There was subsequently,
however, for a long period, a passage between the _Retro-choir_ and the
_Lady-chapel_.
Abbot Michael de Mentmore (1335-49) completed the restoration of the S.
aisle and repaired the _Cloister_. His successor, Thomas de la Mere,
paved the W. floor, and no doubt minor restorations were almost
continually in progress during the latter half of the fourteenth
century; but a new chapter in the story of the Abbey commenced when John
de Wheathampsted became abbot (1420-40 and 1451-64). This celebrated
man, during the two periods of his abbacy, hardly rested in his efforts
to beautify the Abbey. It is stated in a Cottonian MS. that this abbot
constructed a little chapel near the shrine of St. Alban; this was
perhaps the _Watching Loft_ (N. of _Saint's Chapel_) in which the keeper
of the holy shrine and relics (Custos Feretri) spent much of his time.
John de Wheathampsted also built the tomb of Humphrey, Duke of
Gloucester (d. 1447), on the side of the chapel opposite the _Watching
Loft_ (a few steps lead down to the coffin); prepared his own tomb W.
from that of the duke; built the great Perp. window over the W. porches,
now replaced by one Dec. in design, and the nine N. windows of _Nave_
and _Ante-Choir_; and was probably responsible for the paintings
discovered on the choir ceiling, and for many of the embellishments of
the _Lady-chapel_. Perhaps, however, his fame chiefly rests on the _High
Altar Screen_, which he designed, but which was erected by the
thirty-sixth abbot, William Wallingford (1476-84).
There were apparently few important features added to the Abbey, and but
little restoration effected during the rule of the last four abbots
(1492-1539). A few brief paragraphs concerning its modern restorations
and present appearance must now be added.
Those modern restorations date largely from the middle of last century.
Its condition, internally and externally, was at that time certainly
discreditable to everybody concerned in its welfare. In 1856 a National
Committee placed the matter in the hands of Sir Gilbert Scott, under
whose direction the building was in part restored; but public funds
presently failed and in 1879 the direction of the workers was undertaken
by one who had at once the inclination and the funds necessary to its
completion--Lord Grimthorpe.
The _Abbey_, from the W. porches to the E. end of the _Lady-chapel_ and
the _Chapel of Transfiguration_, measures inside 520 feet, outside 550
feet; the entire _transept_ length from N. to S., on the floor, 177
feet; the _nave_, the longest Gothic one in the world, 292 feet × 75
feet 4 inches; the _Lady-chapel_, 57 feet × 24 feet; the great _Screens_
are rather less than 170 feet apart; the height of the _tower_ is 144
feet. Visitors will find some slight discrepancies as to measurements in
the several guides which have been compiled; but the foregoing figures
will assist them to realise the vast dimensions of the building. Its
area is approximately 40,000 square feet. Of special interest are:--
(1) _The Tower_, which is seen to greater advantage since Sir Gilbert
Scott removed the exterior plaster, thus exposing the wonderfully
preserved Roman tiles with which it was faced by Abbot Paul de Caen. The
four enormous piers upon which it rests were weakened by the ignorance
of early restorers, who cut into them freely, and dug graves in such
manner as to imperil their foundations. The most arduous work of Sir
Gilbert Scott was the strengthening of these piers, effected piecemeal
by partial reconstruction of the piers themselves and by laying a
durable substratum of cement right down to the chalk. The fine ring of
eight bells was rehung. Visitors will find the ascent of the spiral
staircase long and arduous, but will be rewarded by the almost
unrivalled view from between the merlons on its summit.
[Illustration: The Shrine of St Alban]
(2) _St. Alban's Shrine_ (in the Saint's Chapel between the Altar Screen
and the Lady-chapel), already referred to (p. 188), disappeared about
the time of the suppression of the monastery (1539), and all traces of
it were lost except the fragment of Purbeck marble marking its former
site on the chapel floor. Yet that shrine, its genuineness unquestioned,
stands to-day on the site which it occupied centuries ago! Hundreds of
fragments of Purbeck marble were discovered when the central arches of
the Lady-chapel were opened by Dr. Nicholson previous to the
restorations of Sir Gilbert Scott. Subsequently, other fragments were
discovered and the whole collection, the importance of which was
suspected, was pieced together with indefatigable ingenuity by the late
John Chapple. The _feretry_ itself, mentioned by Matthew Paris, which
was supposed to contain the relic of the martyr, has not, and probably
never will be, discovered. The vaulted niches are of clunch, but the
rest of the shrine is of Purbeck marble. Note the beautiful tracery of
these groined niches, the cusps of the arches and crocketted
pediments, and the carvings in the tympana, representing scenes from
the martyrdom of SS. Alban and Amphibalus.
(3) _Shrine of St. Amphibalus_ (in N. aisle of presbytery). This was
discovered in fragments and pieced together in the same manner as that
of St. Alban. The whole, however, is of clunch, and, unfortunately,
incomplete. Note the fret-like sculpture round the basement, and the
name of the saint (imperfect) in carved capitals.
(4) _High Altar Screen_, or screen of Abbot Wallingford (restored at the
expense of Lord Aldenham); is in point of size, as in beauty, perhaps
unique in England. Note its resemblance to that at Winchester. It was
much dilapidated, its many statues having been entirely destroyed at the
time of the Reformation; but its restoration has been admirably
executed, the figures of SS. Alban and Amphibalus being especially
noticeable: the latter wears a _Celtic_, not a Roman tonsure. Note also
the figures of our Lord and His apostles in alabaster, and those of
Adrian IV., Bede, Hugh of Lincoln, St. Edmund and many others.
(5) Chantry Tombs of _Abbot Ramryge_ and _Abbot John Wheathampsted_,
occupying respectively the last arches of N. and S. side of the
Sanctuary. Note the fine late Perp. work of the former, and the
Wheathampsted arms, three wheat-ears, on the latter.
(6) _The Lady-chapel_ (enter through Retro-choir). This formerly
contained much of the finest work in the Abbey and traces of it are
still retained, despite its repeated and entire restoration. The present
vaulted roof of real stone replaces that of imitation stone built by
Abbot Hugh de Eversden. In post-Reformation days it was long used as the
Grammar School; but since the removal of the school to the Old Gate
House (1869) the chapel has gradually been brought into its present
state. Many of its most beautiful features--tracery, mouldings,
statuettes, carvings, etc.--had, however, been completely destroyed by
the boys. The marble pavement is new; the stained glass in the E. window
was presented by the Corporation of London. Note the wonderful variety
of carved flowers and fruits with which this chapel is embellished.
From Grose's _Antiquities_ (vol. viii.) I quote the following:--
"Mr. Robert Shrimpton, grandfather, by the mother's side, to Mrs.
Shrimpton of St. Albans, was four times mayor of that town; he died
about sixty years since, being then about 103 years of age. He lived
when the Abbey of St. Alban flourished before the Dissolution and
remembered most things relating to the buildings of the Abbey, the
regimen of the house, the ceremonies of the church ... all of which he
would often discourse in his life-time. Among other things, that in the
Great Hall there was an ascent of fifteen steps to the abbot's table, to
which the monks brought up the service in plate, and staying at every
fifth step, which was a resting-place, at every of which they sung a
short hymn. The abbot usually sat alone in the middle of the table; and
when any nobleman or ambassador or stranger of eminent quality came
thither they sat at his table towards the end thereof. When the monks
had waited a while on the abbot, they sat down at two other tables,
placed on the sides of the hall and had their service brought in by
novices, who, when the monks had dined, sat down to their own dinner."
_First Battle of St. Albans._--On _May 23rd_, 1455, the forces of King
Henry VI. assembled in the neighbourhood of St. Peter's Street, and were
attacked by those of the Duke of York and Warwick the Kingmaker.
Advancing from the fields E. of the town, Warwick's men appear to have
approached from Key Fields and Sopwell Lane, and, finally, having fought
their way into Holywell Hill, to have united with those of the Duke of
York, who had forced the town barriers farther N. The battle was
desperately contested; the bowmen, as usual in those times, playing a
conspicuous part; Henry VI. was wounded in the neck, Humphrey Earl of
Stafford in the right hand, Lord Sudley and the Duke of Buckingham in
the face--all with arrows. The wounded king took refuge in the cottage
of a tanner; here he was made prisoner and conducted by the Duke of York
to the Abbey. The town was at the mercy of the Yorkist soldiers during
the latter part of the day; many houses were looted and the Abbey was
probably spared only because the royal prisoner had been conducted
thither. Several illustrious persons slain in this battle were buried in
the Lady-chapel: (1) Henry Percy, second Earl of Northumberland; (2)
Edmund Beaufort, first Duke of Somerset; (3) John, Lord Clifford. Sir
Robert Vere, Sir William Chamberlain, Sir Richard Fortescue, Kts., and
many squires and other gentlemen also perished.
_Second Battle of St. Albans._--On Shrove Tuesday, 17th February, 1461,
Queen Margaret defeated the Earl of Warwick, who retreated with
considerable loss, the battle being mostly fought out on Bernard's
Heath, N. from St. Peter's Church. This engagement also was stubbornly
fought out. According to Stow and Hollinshead, the Lancastrians were
thwarted in their efforts to pass through the town from S. to N., being
repulsed by arrows in the Market Place, and eventually reached Bernard's
Heath by a circuitous route from the W. If this is so, visitors who
ramble down the High Street, turn right into Katherine Lane, coming out
of Wellclose Street near St. Peter's Church, will probably tread in the
footsteps of the troops of Margaret. After the fight had been decided
the victorious Lancastrians poured back into the town, which was again
plundered, and the Abbey also partially stripped. This was during the
second abbacy of John Wheathampsted, and Stow records that the day after
the battle Queen Margaret, and the King (Henry VI.) were led by the
abbot and monks to the High Altar of the Abbey, where they returned
thanks for the victory.
ST. MARGARET'S, on the river Lea, has a small church with several
unimportant memorials. It was probably formed from one aisle of an older
edifice.
_St. Margaret's_ is also the name of a few cottages a little N.W. from
Great Gaddesden, near the site of the Benedictine convent of _Muresley_,
the refectory of which was almost intact early last century.
ST. PAUL'S WALDEN (4 miles S.W. from Stevenage Station, G.N.R.) is a
large and scattered parish; much of it is very picturesque. The church,
which was restored twenty years ago, is of several styles, but contains
little worthy of comment. Note the tablet on the W. wall of the chapel
to Henry Stapleford and Dorothy his wife. "The said Henry was servant to
Queen Elizabeth, King James and King Charles" (d. 1631). The manor was
formerly called first _Waldene_, then Abbot's Walden, being the property
of the abbots of St. Albans. _St. Paul's Walden Bury_, ½ mile S.W. from
the church, is the seat of Lord Strathmore. Note the fine avenues in the
park, commanding good views of the house. The walk S. to Whitwell,
through the steep and twisted lane and across the bridge over the Maran,
keeping the "bog" and cress beds on the right, is very pretty.
SANDON (3½ miles S.E. from Ashwell Station, G.N.R) has a flint church,
probably late fourteenth century. Several features should be noted: (1)
Perp. screen (oak) between nave and chancel; (2) old stained glass in
windows of both aisles; (3) fine Jacobean oak pulpit; (4) old brass,
with inscription which was imperfect 200 years back, to "Johannes Fitz
Geoffery, Armiger" (d. 1480); (5) piscina in each aisle; (6) pinnacled
and crocketted arches in chancel, over triple sedilia. The church was
partially restored in 1875. The manor of _Sandone_ was owned by Saxon
kings; Athelstan gave ten houses in the _vill_ to St. Paul's, London.
The Old North Road to Royston is 2 miles E.
SANDRIDGE (2½ miles N.E. from St. Albans) is on the road to
Wheathampstead, and is a thoroughly typical English village consisting,
for the most part, of one street, with the parish church near its N.E.
end. The parish stretches northwards to the Lea, and is very ancient;
the _vill_ was given by Egfrith, a son of Offa, to St. Alban's Abbey. It
owes its name to the nature of its soil. The church, one of the most
ancient in the county, has known much restoration, but still retains
Norman work. It was consecrated as a chapel a few years after the
consecration of St. Alban's Abbey (1115); the chancel was rebuilt by
Abbot John Moote (_circa_ 1400). The tower fell towards the end of the
seventeenth century and the structure which took its place was pulled
down and reconstructed in 1887. Note the old material in the apex, the
Perp. windows in the aisles, the clerestoried Norman nave and the Norman
font. There are N. and S. porches.
Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, derived his first title, Baron
Sandridge, from this parish; the Jennings family, from which his wife
Sarah was descended, possessed the manor for several generations.
_Sandridge Bury_, N.W. from the village, is beautifully situated.
SARRATT (1½ mile N. from Chorley Wood Station, Met. Extension) is near
the river Chess, on the Bucks border. The church is late Norman and is
remarkable for the saddle-back roof of its tower, running N. and S., the
only tower roof of its kind in Herts. The building is cruciform, of
flint, dressed with Totternhoe and Caen stone, and has a square ambry, a
very old piscina, and a double sedilia; the latter is E.E. Richard
Baxter is said to have preached from the Jacobean pulpit. There are a
few old memorials. The church is prettily situated, and a picturesque
walk may be taken N.W. to Sarratt Bottom, thence N.E. to
SARRATT GREEN, which during the last two or three centuries has
gradually outgrown Sarratt. Note the many fine old cottages on either
side of the village green. Sarratt owes its name to Syret, a Saxon.
SAWBRIDGEWORTH (formerly Sabysford, Sabridgeworth, Saybrichesworth and
now often called Sapsworth) lies at the S.E. extremity of the county, 4
miles S. from Bishop's Stortford. The district is not very diversified,
but is open and pleasant. The history of the several old manor houses
in the neighbourhood would fill a large volume; those of _Hyde Hall_
(E.) and _Pishiobury_ (S.) are engraved in Chauncy; the present mansion
in Pishiobury[n] Park was built by Wyatt, and has a fine adjoining
rosery. The church stands between the town and the station (G.E.R.); it
has a good Perp. screen between the clerestoried Dec. nave and the
chancel, and a large canopied piscina in the N. aisle. The brasses are
numerous: note (1) to Sir John Leventhorpe (d. 1433) and Katherine his
wife (d. 1431); the former was an executor to King Henry V.; (2) to
several other members of the Leventhorpe family, too numerous to
mention; (3) to Calpredus Jocelin (d. 147-), and his wives Katherine and
Joan; (4) inscription on brass, which was long ago transcribed as
follows:--
"Of your Charite
Sey a Pater Nostre and an Ave
For the Sowl of William Chaunce
On whose Sowl Jesu have Mercy".
Several monuments and brasses are to the memory of persons buried
elsewhere. Note the marble altar-tomb in chancel to John Jocelin or
Jocelyn (d. 1525) and Philippa his wife.
_Shafton End_ and _Shafton-Hoe_ lie a little E. from the Cambridge Road,
on the Essex border, about 4 miles S.E. from Royston.
_Shaw Green_ is 4 miles S.E. from Baldock, near _Julians Park_.
SHEEPHALL (2 miles N.N.E. from Knebworth Station, G.N.R.) is a little
E. from the Great North Road. It is a small village. The church, E.E.,
is approached through a good lich-gate, and contains many memorials,
including two sixteenth-century brasses to members of the Nodes family,
one of which was Sergeant of the Buckhounds to Henry VIII., Edward VI.,
Mary and Elizabeth (d. 1564).
SHENLEY (2 miles E. from Radlett Station, M.R.) is of interest to many
for its fine old "lock-up," or cage, in the centre of the village. We
are on high ground here, and the tower of St. Alban's Abbey is well seen
above the trees to the N.W. The village is scattered along several
converging roads, and the surrounding country is undulating and
beautifully wooded. Turn down the lane opposite the Black Lion to reach
the old church of St. Botolph, 1 mile N.N.W. from the cage. Note the
venerable yews, and the quaint old grave-boards in the graveyard; also
the altar-tomb to Nicholas Hawksmoor, a pupil of Wren, and the architect
of St. Mary Woolnoth, Lombard Street (d. at Shenley, 1736). The church
was partly rebuilt in the middle of the eighteenth century, when the
tower was demolished and a structure of timber, with quadrangular tiled
roof, eventually erected in its stead. This has disappeared, and the
"old parish church" is now an oblong building of flints, chalk-faced,
with tiled roof. _Porters_, in the park, a little W., was the residence
of Admiral Lord Howe. _Salisbury Hall_, a gabled manor house with
massive chimneys, surrounded by a moat, is Jacobean, and stands on the
spot occupied successively by the older houses of the Montacutes, and of
Sir John Cutts, Treasurer and Privy Councillor to Henry VIII. Eugene
Aram visited the neighbourhood.
_Sleap's Hyde_ (½ mile S.E. from Smallford Station, G.N.R.) is a hamlet
in the parish of Colney Heath.
_Smug Oak_, a few cottages, lies on the E. confines of Bricket Wood, ½
mile N.E. from that station, L.&N.W.R.
_Smyth's End_ adjoins Barley on the S. (_q.v._).
_Solesbridge Lane_, on the river Chess, is close to Chorley Wood.
_Southend_ and _Southend Green_ are hamlets, (1) adjoining Stevenage on
the S., (2) ½ mile E. from Rushden.
_Spellbrook_ is a hamlet nearly midway between Sawbridgeworth and
Bishop's Stortford.
_Stanborough_, on the Hatfield-Welwyn road, is midway between Hatfield
and Brocket Hall Parks. The road which branches N.W. from the hamlet
leads to the modern church at Lemsford (_q.v._).
STANDON has several claims to notice. It is a large village, 1 mile E.
from the Old North Road. A little W., and on the other side of the
railway, is the mansion which occupies the site of _Standon Lordship_, a
fine old manor house, of which hardly a vestige remains. It was long
owned by the Sadleir family, most illustrious of whom was Sir Ralph
Sadleir (d. 1587), who fought at Pinkie. (See below.)
The church, largely Dec., still retains some Saxon foundations, and has
singular features worthy of comment. The embattled tower is separate
from the main structure, standing on the _S. side of the chancel_; the
chancel is raised much higher than the nave, from which it is approached
by a flight of steps; note the hagioscope on either side of the chancel
arch. Within the chancel, on the S. side, stands the fine monument to
Sir Ralph Sadleir, consisting of altar-tomb and marble effigy in armour,
recumbent beneath a canopy supported by Corinthian pillars; note the
relieved figures of his sons and daughters on the lower part of the
tomb, also, suspended above, two helmets and other relics. The standard
pole captured at Pinkie rests beside the effigy. There are also several
old brasses. Close to the village, at Old Hall Green, are the Roman
Catholic College, Chapel and Cemetery; the college was founded at
Twyford, Hants, late in the seventeenth century, from whence it was
removed, first to Standon Lordship, and then (1769) to Old Hall. The
library is large and valuable.