Library news: May 2011
By Tony Cooper
The Library team mounted an exhibition of Stanley Kent photographs in the Public Library in March, a selection from those we showed in the Old Town Hall over Residents First weekend in January. We thought it would give the public a greater opportunity to enjoy these excellent photographs of St Albans between about 1895 and 1920, and to provide a little publicity for the Arc and Arc as well.
Brian Moody has been busy doing some research on the history of the Clock Tower, and has provided us with a short account of his findings. The tower was built by Thomas Wolvey, and was made over to the townspeople in 1426. It was built not to serve as a gesture of independence from the overbearing Monastery, as has been believed hitherto, but simply to house the new clock and the large bell. Rather disappointing to those of us who like to imagine the town as a radical place at that time. Brian brings the history up to date, including notes on the origin of the Arc and Arc’s involvement in keeping the Clock Tower open to visitors.
Among the documents we have in the library is a collection of scrapbooks containing copies of 19th century engravings of the Abbey. Most of them are well known to the Abbey library, but on examination recently it was found that several were not known there. They have now been photographed for that library’s collection.
Recently we have helped enquirers seeking information on a memorial formerly in St Peter’s Church, with the history of houses in Fishpool Street, and the source of the anecdote that grass grew two feet wide on the St Albans coach road after the coming of the railway. Sheila Green had indexed a newspaper cutting in an album compiled by Ridgway Lloyd in the 1870s. The cutting came from County Press (Hertford) in October 1842. It is not yet clear if this is the ultimate source of the story. We hope more will be discovered on this topic, and when it is it will be reported here.
Books recently added to stock
Hertfordshire’s geology and landscape,
edited by John Catt. Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire Natural History Society, 2010. 374pp, illus, maps, diagrams. Published jointly with Hertfordshire Geological Society, the book provides an account of the county’s geology, and relates it to the soil, ecology, agriculture, prehistoric archaeology, hydrology and mineral resources.
Verulamium Lake and Park, St Albans, 1927-1934,
by Janet Ouston. Friends of Verulamium Park, 2010. 30pp, photographs, refs. A history of the early years of the park, with photographs showing construction of the lake.
Britain after Rome: the fall and rise, 400-1070,
by Robin Fleming. Allen Lane, 2010. 458pp, maps, bibliogs. An academic study of the people of early medieval Britain and the communities in which they lived.
Hertfordshire Histories: roads,
by Tony Rook. Welwyn Heritage, 1991.20pp, maps.
The story of Welwyn Roman Baths,
by Tony Rook. Welwyn, Hertfordshire Histories, 2002. 50pp, illus, photographs, plans.
"I’ve come about the drains"; an adventure in architecture,
by Tony Rook. The author, 2005. 96pp, illus, photographs, diagrams. Concerned with the way Roman baths worked, but also discusses other ancient buildings.
Lockleys Roman Villas,
by J B Ward-Perkins and Tony Rook. Welwyn, Tony Rook, 2007. 175pp, plans, diagrams, photographs.
Reprints Ward-Perkins 1938 report in The Antiquaries Journal of his excavation of the villa, together with Rook’s paper on his excavation of the villa at Dicket Mead, Lockleys, Welwyn, from Herts Archaeology vol 9, 1967.
Beaumont School 1938-2008: 70th anniversary.
Various authors. 56pp, photographs. A compilation which includes Jean Brown’s account written for the school’s 50th anniversary, interviews with staff, and examples of correspondence with the local education authority during the period 1938-1942.
A history of St Dominic (sic) School, Harpenden: the first seventy-five years,
by Kevin A Rafferty. Privately published, 1996, 45pp.
The view from Church Green: memories of the Harpenden Free Press, 1936-1960,
by John Seabrook. Poole, The Author, 2010. 157pp, illus. Recollections of how Harpenden was seen and recorded by its own local paper. The author was a journalist on the paper from 1948 to 1959.
Recent journal articles
In British Archaeology January/February 2011,
pp 32-37. Names on terra sigillata: tracing the work of Roman potters, by Michael Fulford. Nearly fifty years after Brian Hartley started work on a record of individual potters of Samian ware, the project is nearing completion. Six of the nine volumes have been published, and a searchable online database is being completed.
In Rickmansworth Historical Society Newsletter December 2010,
pp 3-15.Woodwick:A Knights Fee Manor, by Adrienne Jacques. A history of the manor, which was awarded to St Albans by the Kings of Mercia. Now known as Woodoaks Farm, it lies in West Hyde, near Rickmansworth.
In Current Archaeology September 2010,
pp 28-35. Baldock and the end of Roman Britain, by Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthew and Gil Burleigh. New excavation evidence from Baldock suggests that Roman life continued there after the conventional date for the end of Roman rule.
In Harpenden and District Local History Society Newsletter December 2010,
pp 8-9. Rothamsted Allotments Club, by Eric Brandreth. John Bennet Lawes set aside ten acres of land in 1882 to provide allotments for agricultural labourers of the parish.
In Current Archaeology February 2011
pp 28-35. Mosaics and the end of Roman Britain, by Stephen Cash and David Neal. The authors have recorded all the known Roman mosaics in Britain, and reflect on what mosaics might tell us about the period when Cirencester was the capital of Roman Britannia.
In Hendon and District Archaeological Society Newsletter April 2011,
pp 5-6. The Roman wooden water pump; an ingenious machine, by Richard Stein. An account by Sue Willets of a lecture based on the author’s research at Reading University. Two of the 18 known force pumps were found in England.
In Current Archaeology May 2011,
pp 36-39. The Lord of the Rings: Roman rings and the cult of Toutatis, by Adam Daubeny. Toutatis was a Roman god popular with soldiers, but hardly known in Britain. In recent years more has learned about him, largely from evidence derived from a series of finger-rings, found mostly in the east Midlands.
In The Alban Link Spring 2011
pp 8-11. Abbots of the Abbey of St Alban: Richard of Wallingford, Abbot 1327-1336, by Sheila Green. Richard became Abbot at a time of turmoil within the monastery, and of problems with the town. He tackled these, whilst continuing with his scientific studies; he had built astronomical instruments as well as his great clock.
pp 18-23. Matthew Paris and Henry III’s elephant, by Richard Cassidy and Michael Clasby. Attempts to show why Matthew was interested in the elephant, what is known about it, and its significance to Matthew and Henry.
Journals received
British Archaeology
March/April, and May/June 2011
Current Archaeology
January, March and April 2011
C20: the magazine of the Twentieth Century Society
Winter 2010/2011
Hendon and District Archaeology Society Newsletter
January, February, March 2011
Hertfordshire People
March 2011
History Today
January, February, March, April 2011
Independent Archaeology
February 2011
London Archaeologist
Winter 2010/2011
Research News (English Heritage)
Autumn 2010
Rickmansworth Historical Society Newsletter
March 2011
Ver Valley Newsletter
January and April 2011