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