St. Albans Cathedral and the Romans



St. Albans Cathedral



Today dawned with much pain!  I woke up very stiff and sore from all that exercise walking around London yesterday.  So after resting a bit in the morning posting yesterday's activities I headed across the street to St. Alban's Cathedral. 

They are not sure when the first church was established here, but it is the oldest place of worship in England going back over 1700 years.  The location is where St. Alban was executed by the Romans for having sheltered a Christian Priest and helping him escape by disguising him in his cloak.  While the priest was hiding with him, Alban was so impressed with his faith that he had converted to Christianity.  After the priest escaped, Alban was tried and because he would not renounce his faith, executed.  He is the first Christian martyr of Britain.

No one knows when the first church was constructed on this site, which had been visited by Christians in Britain for hundreds of years.  They do know that King Offa built larger Abby Church for the Benedictine monks in 793.  A much larger church, the hard of the current  Cathedral was first constructed on the site between 1077 and 1115 using bricks and stones harvested from the ancient Roman city nearby. 



Roman Theater

It is quite an impressive building, and I liked reading about the interconnection of the various periods of Britain's history.  From the Romans, Saxons, and Normans all having their influence on the place.  I went inside and it was quite cool from the thick walls.  Inside there is a large number of artifacts and documents on display.  In the center is the Quire with the Bishop's Throne and an impressive pipe organ.  I'm looking forward to hearing it play during the Organ Music festival coming up next month. 

I left the Cathedral and headed down my favorite street, yes Fishpool.  I followed this down across St. Michael's bridge to the Roman Theater.  While many old Roman towns in Britain had theaters, this is the only one that is visible today.  The Romans used to hold plays, animal baiting and gladiator fights.  I went back across the street to the Verulamium Museum. 

Roman Mosaic





I arrived there at 4:00 and since it closes at 4:30 decided not to pay as I would not have enough time to enjoy it fully.  So I decided to head into the park and see the Hypocaust which has a very large mosaic.  It was impressive.  Even 2000 years ago the Romans had advanced systems of heating their homes very similar to the forced air heating systems of today.

Once the doors closed there I headed back through the park to my hotel.