St Albans has a wide variety of distinctive buildings and structures from different periods of its history. You can read about some of them here; we will be adding more in future.
Ever wondered about the origins of some well-known local place names, such as Harpenden, Berkhamstead, Letchworth, and Hertford? One of our earliest members, the Rev. H. Hall, delivered a paper to the Society on his interpretation of Hertfordshire place names on 17 June 1858.
The original purpose of Beech Bottom Dyke remains a source of speculation, but in the 19th century it was used in part as a rifle range.
The Society's contribution to the preservation of important historic buildings in the city.
Kingsbury Barn is one of an exceptional group of barns built to serve the estates of St Albans Abbey.
For hundreds of years, an Eleanor Cross stood in the market place of St Albans. Find out why, and what happened to it.
How Mrs Worley's fountain moved from Market Cross via Waterend Barn to Victoria Street.
How the Society acquired and dated the earliest known photograph of St Albans.
For most of the history of this area, the principal local administrative units were not boroughs but parishes, centred on ...
The old Mission Room was built to offer workers constructing the city's sewage system a more sober place than pubs in which to spend their spare time. But is there anything original in the current structure?
The chapel in Tyttenhanger House offers an intriguing glimpse into the character of its owner, Sir Henry Blount.
This article, based on a lecture given by Wendy Klein to the Society in March 2005, documents the rise and fall of Adelaide Street.
Dr Tony Berk discusses the unusual 'white' bricks used in the construction of the Corn Exchange, one of many built around the country following the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846.
Designed by George Smith and built in 1830, the Town Hall with its Neo-Classical style presented the inhabitants of St Albans with an edifice totally new to this country town.
The long history of Kingsbury Manor.
Everyone in St Albans is familiar with the name of the Westminster Lodge estate (which never included the land occupied by the eponymous leisure centre at the bottom of Holywell Hill). But what about its history?
The redoubtable Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, commissioned the Marlborough Almshouses which still stand on Hatfield Road.