History of St Albans

Lock around the Clock your local locksmith is based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire (Herts) near the historic town of St Albans, Hertfordshire (Herts). St Albans, Hertfordshire or Roman St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts)(VERULAMIUM) has records dating back to BC when the local Celtic tribe built a settlement there.

In 43 AD the Romans invaded Britain. When they conquered Hertfordshire (Herts)they took over the settlement and called it Verulamium. Roman St Albans was burned by Boudicca in 61AD.


The name St Alban derives from  the first British Christian martyr, St Albans who was executed there in 305 AD.

St Albans Hertfordshire (Herts) was visited by St Germanus in 429 AD. Saxons from Germany invaded England. They arrived in St Albans Hertfordshire (Herts) in the 6th century and in the 7th century St Albans Hertfordshire was converted to Christianity. An abbey dedicated to St Alban was probably founded in the late 8th century. A village grew up by the abbey and it was called St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts).

Medieval Cathedrals were the most obvious sign of the wealth of the Church in Medieval England. St Albans cathedral or the Abbey was built by master craftsmen including Locksmiths and many trades such as stone cutters, masons, blacksmiths glass cutters. The medieval Locksmith would make Locks and keys in small workshops medieval locks and keys were similar to todays locks and keys but larger.

The locksmiths designed locks whose cost and strength linked to the value of what they were protecting. The need to protect from intruders remains the same today, not  much has changed. At Lock around the Clock we provide peace of mind by providing a professional service at a reasonable price. In the 14th century, the locksmiths guilds became prominent. In order to be accepted as a master locksmith, you had to create and submit a working lock and key to the guild. Today we have The British Locksmiths & Key Cutters Association. Today locksmiths sell, install, maintain and repair locks and other security devices. They also make copies of keys, replace lost keys and open locks when needed. They have to apply skills in metalwork, woodwork, mechanics and electronics.

How were such huge buildings like St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts)  built? Medieval workers worked with the most basic of tools. An architect for St Albans abbey in Hertfordshire (Herts) would employ the best master craftsmen and many highly skilled men were needed including locksmiths and master locksmiths.

In the middle of the 10th century an abbot decided to enlarge St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) and develop it into a town. St Albans lay near the old Roman road of Watling Street. In the 10th century an abbot closed Watling Street and diverted traffic through the town so more people spent their money there.

At the time of the Domesday Book (1086) St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) had a population of about 500. St Albans in Hertfordshire grew larger. By the 14th century it may have had a population of around 1,300. In 1077 the new Norman abbot demolished the old St Albans abbey in Hertfordshire and rebuilt it.

The new building was consecrated in 1136. In the Middle Ages there were the same craftsmen in St Albans in Hertfordshire that found in any Medieval town, like butchers, bakers, carpenters, locksmiths and blacksmiths who would make the keys and locks.

The main industry in St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) was the manufacture of woollen cloth.
The people of St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) were obliged to grind their grain to flour in the abbot's watermills. Again they resented this and wished to use handmills in their own homes in St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts)

Most of all the people of St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) wanted independence and resented being ruled by the abbot and his agents. Fairs in St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) would attract buyers and sellers from all over Hertfordshire (Herts) and from London. During the civil wars in the 15th century there were 2 battles at St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) . The two battles at St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) were in 1455 and 1461.

In 1539 Henry VIII closed St Albans abbey in Hertfordshire (Herts) St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) gained its first charter in 1553. (A charter was a document granting the townspeople certain rights it was simialar to the KEY of the city. In this case St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) it was given a mayor and corporation and its independence). In 1604 St Albans suffered an outbreak of plague.

Then in 1642 came civil war between king and parliament. In 1643 the High Sheriff of Hertfordshire (Herts) entered the Market Place with troops and called on the men of the town to join the king. However some troops led by Oliver Cromwell attacked and they fought in St Albans High Street. St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) remained in parliamentary hands for the rest of the war but the townspeople of St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) built  earthwork defences around the town.

In the 18th century St Albans inHertfordshire (Herts) remained a small market town with a population of perhaps 3,500. Many stagecoaches passed through St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) every day and there were several inns, including the Cross Keys.

In 1796 London Road was rebuilt to facilitate traffic. At the beginning of the 19th century the population of St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) was less than 4,000 but it quadrupled by 1900. In 1802 a silk mill opened in St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) . In 1822 St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) gained gas street lighting. In the early 1830s St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) gained a piped water supply but no sewers were built until the 1880s.In 1877 St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) became a city.

St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) was linked to London by train from 1869. The boundaries of St Albans inHertfordshire (Herts) were extended in 1835 and 1879.

The cinema in St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) was built in 1907. The first buses began running in 1906. In the 1920s the first council houses were built in St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) . A new civic centre was opened in St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) in  1961. The Abbey theatre in St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) opened in 1968. The Maltings shopping centre  in St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) opened in 1988. A new Crown Court in St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) was built in 1993. Today the population of  St Albans in Hertfordshire (Herts) is 67,000.

We cover the following areas:

For all your lockmith and emergency locksmith requirements in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire contact me today

For interesting websites for the history of Locksmiths:
click on the town below.

Hatfield: The history of locksmiths in Hatfield

St Albans : The history of locksmiths in St Albans

Watford: The history of locksmiths inWatford

Welwyn Garden City : The history of locksmiths in Welwyn Garden City

Lock Around the Clock is a local, mobile locksmith based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire covering Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinhamshire and surrounding areas. A well-established locksmith company, we pride ourselves on providing a quality locksmith service, with no call-out charge for our lock repairs. For a fast and efficient locksmith and a reliable locksmith for Hemel Hempstead, and surrounding areas including Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, and Buckinhamshire.
Contact me today.

We provide all types of locksmith services in Beds, Bucks and Herts.

If you require any locksmith services not listed here, just give us a ring today on 07968 301 732.