History of St Albans - Quiz
History of St Albans
  • 1. What was St Albans primarily known as before the 20th century?
A) A rural market town and Christian pilgrimage site
B) A maritime trading port
C) The capital of England
D) A major industrial manufacturing hub
  • 2. How did the population growth of St Albans compare to London between 1801 and 1861?
A) It grew at the exact same rate
B) It grew slower than London
C) It experienced a population decline
D) It grew faster than London
  • 3. What road was created in 1833 as part of Thomas Telford's improvements?
A) London Road
B) Sweetbriar Lane
C) Verulam Road
D) Hatfield Road
  • 4. Which street was known as Sweetbriar Lane until 1876?
A) College Street
B) Holywell Hill
C) London Road
D) Victoria Street
  • 5. When did the St Albans Abbey railway station open?
A) 16 October 1865
B) 1 October 1868
C) 5 May 1858
D) 23 July 1894
  • 6. Which railway company opened the St Albans City station?
A) Southern Railway
B) Midland Railway Company
C) Great Northern Railway
D) London and North Western Railway
  • 7. Which railway station in St Albans closed to passengers in 1951?
A) St Albans City
B) St Albans Abbey
C) St Albans (London Road)
D) Clarence Park Station
  • 8. In what year did Queen Victoria grant city status to St Albans?
A) 1869
B) 1891
C) 1877
D) 1905
  • 9. Who was the dominant member of the Abbey restoration committee?
A) The Earl of Verulam
B) Samuel Ryder
C) Sir George Gilbert Scott
D) Edmund Beckett
  • 10. What architectural style was used in the restoration of the Abbey from 1880–1883?
A) Neoclassical
B) Romanesque
C) Baroque
D) Neo-Gothic
  • 11. Who donated the land for Clarence Park?
A) Samuel Ryder
B) The Earl of Verulam
C) Sir John Blundell
D) Edmund Beckett
  • 12. What was the occupation of Samuel Ryder?
A) Railway engineer
B) Poet
C) Seed merchant
D) Architect
  • 13. Where were the original offices and seed hall of Samuel Ryder located?
A) Victoria Street
B) Holywell Hill
C) London Road
D) College Street
  • 14. Which sport was Samuel Ryder advised to take up for his health?
A) Golf
B) Tennis
C) Cricket
D) Football
  • 15. Who was the poet and printer that lived on College Street?
A) Ralph Chubb
B) Charles Williams
C) Edmund Beckett
D) Samuel Ryder
  • 16. How much money did Edmund Beckett contribute to the Abbey's restoration?
A) £130,000
B) £50,000
C) £250,000
D) £100,000
  • 17. In which English county is St Albans located?
A) Hertfordshire
B) Essex
C) Surrey
D) Kent
  • 18. What was the original Celtic name of the settlement that became St Albans?
A) Verulamium
B) Camulodunum
C) Verlamion
D) Londinium
  • 19. Which Celtic tribe founded the original settlement?
A) Catuvellauni
B) Brigantes
C) Trinovantes
D) Iceni
  • 20. Around what year was the settlement granted the rank of municipium?
A) AD 275
B) AD 50
C) AD 61
D) AD 155
  • 21. What was the Anglo-Saxon name for the town?
A) Verlamacaestir
B) Albanbury
C) Verulamium
D) St Albanchester
  • 22. What was the third largest town in Roman Britain?
A) Eboracum
B) Verulamium
C) Camulodunum
D) Londinium
  • 23. Beside which river was Verulamium built?
A) River Thames
B) River Lea
C) River Ouse
D) River Ver
  • 24. What specific rights did citizens of a municipium have?
A) Colonia status
B) Celtic rights
C) Latin Rights
D) Full Roman citizenship
  • 25. Who ordered the sacking of Verulamium in AD 61?
A) Germanus
B) Boudica
C) Martin Biddle
D) Alban
  • 26. In what year was Verulamium encircled by gated walls?
A) AD 61
B) AD 155
C) AD 250
D) AD 275
  • 27. What evidence confirmed the Roman written record of Verulamium being sacked?
A) A theatre foundation
B) A Roman inscription
C) A black ash layer
D) A burial site
  • 28. What is the approximate area Verulamium covered by the early 3rd century?
A) 200 acres
B) 125 acres
C) 300 acres
D) 50 acres
  • 29. Which of these structures existed in Roman Verulamium?
A) A colosseum
B) A theatre
C) A palace
D) A library
  • 30. In what year did one of the fires that damaged the forum and basilica occur?
A) 155
B) 210
C) 180
D) 300
  • 31. Where is one of the few extant Roman inscriptions in Britain found?
A) On the town walls
B) In the cathedral
C) In the theatre
D) On the remnants of the forum
  • 32. According to medieval sources, when was St Alban martyred?
A) First century
B) Fifth century
C) Second century
D) Third or fourth century
  • 33. Who wrote an account of Alban being beheaded on a hill?
A) Bede
B) John Morris
C) Martin Biddle
D) Germanus of Auxerre
  • 34. Who visited the church dedicated to St Alban in 429?
A) Germanus of Auxerre
B) Martin Biddle
C) John Morris
D) Bede
  • 35. Who directed the 1978 archaeological excavation at the abbey chapter house?
A) Bede
B) Martin Biddle
C) Germanus of Auxerre
D) John Morris
  • 36. What has recent investigation uncovered near the cathedral?
A) A theatre
B) A Roman forum
C) A basilica
D) A wall
  • 37. Who founded the three pilgrim churches in the ninth century?
A) George Tankerfield
B) Abbot Ulsinus
C) John Lockey
D) Henry VIII
  • 38. In what year did Henry VIII close the Abbey?
A) 1765
B) 1553
C) 1461
D) 1539
  • 39. What was the Great Gatehouse used as until the 19th century?
A) A market stall
B) A church
C) A town hall
D) A prison
  • 40. Who was burnt to death on Romeland in 1555?
A) George Tankerfield
B) John Lockey
C) Henry VIII
D) Abbot Ulsinus
  • 41. During which conflict was the town largely unaffected despite siding with parliament?
A) The Second Battle of St Albans
B) The Roman conquest
C) The dissolution of the monasteries
D) The English Civil War
  • 42. In what year does the current bridge over the River Ver date from?
A) 1461
B) 1765
C) 1555
D) 1505
  • 43. What was the bridge recorded as in 1505?
A) St Michael's Bridge
B) Pons de la Maltemyll
C) Kingsbury Bridge
D) The Roman Crossing
  • 44. Which site is traditionally believed to be Alban's crossing point to his execution?
A) The Great Gatehouse
B) The ford alongside the current bridge
C) Romeland
D) The market square
  • 45. How many burgesses assisted the mayor in the new borough government?
A) Five
B) Ten
C) Twelve
D) Twenty
  • 46. In what year was Arthur Melbourne-Cooper born?
A) 1908
B) 1916
C) 1874
D) 1931
  • 47. What was the name of the production base established in 1908?
A) Marconi Instruments
B) Handley Page
C) Alpha Production Works
D) De Havilland
  • 48. When did the Alpha Picture House open?
A) September 1916
B) 1995
C) 27 July 1908
D) 1931
  • 49. What was the name of the building that replaced the original cinema in 1931?
A) Odyssey Cinema
B) St Albans District Council hall
C) Art Deco building
D) Marconi plant
  • 50. When did the Odyssey Cinema open after restoration?
A) 2021
B) 2014
C) 2011
D) 1995
  • 51. What was brought down over England in September 1916?
A) A hot air balloon
B) De Havilland plane
C) Handley Page Aircraft
D) German Airship SL 11
  • 52. Which company became St Albans' largest employer until the 1990s?
A) De Havilland
B) Handley Page
C) General Electric
D) Marconi
  • 53. Where was the Handley Page Aircraft Company based?
A) Hatfield
B) Radlett
C) Mile House
D) Cottonmill
  • 54. Which town became home to de Havilland?
A) Harpenden
B) Radlett
C) St Albans
D) Hatfield
  • 55. Which housing estate was built to the south of the city after WWII?
A) Marshalswick
B) Cottonmill
C) New Greens
D) Mile House
  • 56. In what year were the local councils merged to form St Albans District Council?
A) 1931
B) 2011
C) 1995
D) 1974
  • 57. What was the population of St Albans City and District in 2011?
A) 129,005
B) 140,664
C) 148,700
D) 135,000
  • 58. Which cinema name was NOT used for the building on London Road?
A) The Poly
B) The Odyssey
C) The Capitol
D) The Regent
  • 59. Where was the New Greens housing estate located?
A) To the south-east
B) To the north-east
C) To the north
D) To the south
  • 60. How many main plants did Marconi have in St Albans?
A) Two
B) Three
C) Four
D) One
Created with That Quiz — a math test site for students of all grade levels.