St
Albans is a very ancient borough, twenty-one miles from
London in the early nineteenth century, situated on a
spot of ground that was formerly a wood called Holmhurst.
St Alban's grew rich on a nearby medieval Benedictine
abbey, little of which now remains due to the "rapacity
of Henry VIII and the marauding industry of his reforming
commissioners" who levelled the stately buildings
save the abbey church, which was rescued from impending
destruction and purchased by Edward VI for four hundred
pounds. The abbey further suffered under the hands of
Cromwell in the seventeenth century, but by the nineteenth
century still stood at the approaches to the town, "arresting
the traveller's attention" who "beheld with
awe" one of the most ancient structures in England.
Regency
st Albans' ad several alms houses within its boundaries,
the largest of which was one endowed by Sarah, the Duchess
of Marlborough. It consisted of nine different houses,
each divided into four apartments for the residence of
thirty-six old decayed tradesmen. Some of the apartments
were apparently very pleasant enjoying a fine prospect
from the east to the south.
The
town also had four meeting houses, for Independents, Quakers,
Anabaptists and Presbyterians - the latter established
a school for the education and clothing of thirty boys
and ten girls.
The
centre of the town boasted a clock tower of unknown antiquity.
It was a lofty square tower, with sides of flint and the
corners of freestone, raised on strong arches of stone,
the lower part of it having been used for some time as
the local pot office. The upper part of the clock tower
had a large bell, rung for curfew and other stated times.
The
town hall held the court of quarter sessions, and was
also used as a ball room and for public dinners such as
the mayor's feast on St Matthew's Day when three hundred
could dine there in comfort.
near
the town hall stood the market house. Even in the early
nineteenth century the stall holders still obeyed an ancient
law which stated that no 'foreigner' (out of towner) could
buy anything from the stalls before the ring of a bell
at ten of the clock at which time local farmers were allowed
to untie the bags of their grain. The market was also
well supplied with butter, poultry and eggs. The market
cross stood on the site of one of the Eleanor Crosses
(erected by Edward I about 1290 at each nightly stop on
the journey back to London with his wife's body - Charing
Cross is another Eleanor Cross).
By
1800 the town boasted two common breweries, a cotton factory
and an oil mill which afforded employment for many of
St Alban's inhabitants.
