Marcus Richard Southwell is well-known for establishing the vicarage in Watling Street adjacent to the church. The funding for this came from a Mrs Martha Shippery of Watford who, in 1736, set up a deed to give £7pa to the… More about ‘Some interesting Vicars of St Stephen’s’»
Category: 19th century
Woad Mead
Most people turning into Griffiths Way would never guess the origins of the land on the corner stretching from the Abbey View office development through to Sainsbury’s supermarket. Some may remember the gasworks which occupied the site before the retail… More about ‘Woad Mead’»
Footpaths in Sopwell
If we look at some of the older maps of the Sopwell area we can see clearly where some of the footpaths were. A few of these paths are still in existence. Many of the later estate roads followed the… More about ‘Footpaths in Sopwell’»
Hunting in Sopwell
In medieval times Sopwell was part of a wood called Eywood. As well as providing timber and fuel the woods were also used for hunting – at that time mainly deer. The Abbey monks and the nuns from Sopwell Priory… More about ‘Hunting in Sopwell’»
The Godman family of St Stephen’s
According to Noel Godman, the Godman family have been involved with St Stephen’s for over 500 years. The Godman family were a family of skilled engineers. John Godman (1828-1908) was born in the St Stephens area and was baptised at St… More about ‘The Godman family of St Stephen’s’»
The Railway Tavern – a forgotten Sopwell Pub
The following item has been written by Jonathan Mein, a member of the St Albans and Hertfordshire Architectural and Archaeological Society (SAHAAS) and an authority on St Albans pubs. In a city where many of the remaining pubs have histories… More about ‘The Railway Tavern – a forgotten Sopwell Pub’»
Hatfield – St Albans Railway (Alban Way)
The Great Northern Railway (GNR) line from St Albans to Hatfield was opened on 16th October 1865 but there had been plans to construct this branch line much earlier than that. Local landowners were encouraged to form an independent company… More about ‘Hatfield – St Albans Railway (Alban Way)’»
William Longmire
William Longmire (1812 – 1887) was a builder. His business was in London but he had connections with St Albans and at one point owned two houses in Prospect Road, numbers 23 and 25. He lived on and off in number 25,… More about ‘William Longmire’»
Lydia Lightfoot of Holywell Hill
Lydia Lightfoot was born in St Albans in 1875. Her father was George Lightfoot born in 1844 in St Albans and christened at St Peter Church. He started out as a labourer to a bricklayer eventually becoming a builder in later… More about ‘Lydia Lightfoot of Holywell Hill’»
Mercer Chronometers
Mercers was a family run marine chronometer manufacturing business. The firm started in 1858 in Clerkenwell London by the founder, Thomas Mercer. Thomas was born in St Helen’s Lancashire in 1822. St Helen’s was said to be the centre of… More about ‘Mercer Chronometers’»
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