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 major industrial manufacturing hub
C) The capital of England
D) A maritime trading port
  • 2. How did the population growth of St Albans compare to London between 1801 and 1861?
A) It experienced a population decline
B) It grew slower than London
C) It grew faster than London
D) It grew at the exact same rate
  • 3. What road was created in 1833 as part of Thomas Telford's improvements?
A) Sweetbriar Lane
B) Hatfield Road
C) London Road
D) Verulam Road
  • 4. Which street was known as Sweetbriar Lane until 1876?
A) Victoria Street
B) London Road
C) Holywell Hill
D) College Street
  • 5. When did the St Albans Abbey railway station open?
A) 1 October 1868
B) 16 October 1865
C) 5 May 1858
D) 23 July 1894
  • 6. Which railway company opened the St Albans City station?
A) Southern Railway
B) Great Northern Railway
C) Midland Railway Company
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 City
D) St Albans Abbey
  • 8. In what year did Queen Victoria grant city status to St Albans?
A) 1877
B) 1869
C) 1905
D) 1891
  • 9. Who was the dominant member of the Abbey restoration committee?
A) Sir George Gilbert Scott
B) Samuel Ryder
C) Edmund Beckett
D) The Earl of Verulam
  • 10. What architectural style was used in the restoration of the Abbey from 1880–1883?
A) Neo-Gothic
B) Baroque
C) Romanesque
D) Neoclassical
  • 11. Who donated the land for Clarence Park?
A) Sir John Blundell
B) The Earl of Verulam
C) Edmund Beckett
D) Samuel Ryder
  • 12. What was the occupation of Samuel Ryder?
A) Seed merchant
B) Railway engineer
C) Architect
D) Poet
  • 13. Where were the original offices and seed hall of Samuel Ryder located?
A) Victoria Street
B) College Street
C) London Road
D) Holywell Hill
  • 14. Which sport was Samuel Ryder advised to take up for his health?
A) Football
B) Cricket
C) Tennis
D) Golf
  • 15. Who was the poet and printer that lived on College Street?
A) Charles Williams
B) Edmund Beckett
C) Ralph Chubb
D) Samuel Ryder
  • 16. How much money did Edmund Beckett contribute to the Abbey's restoration?
A) £130,000
B) £250,000
C) £50,000
D) £100,000
  • 17. In which English county is St Albans located?
A) Hertfordshire
B) Kent
C) Surrey
D) Essex
  • 18. What was the original Celtic name of the settlement that became St Albans?
A) Verlamion
B) Verulamium
C) Camulodunum
D) Londinium
  • 19. Which Celtic tribe founded the original settlement?
A) Iceni
B) Trinovantes
C) Brigantes
D) Catuvellauni
  • 20. Around what year was the settlement granted the rank of municipium?
A) AD 275
B) AD 61
C) AD 50
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) Camulodunum
C) Londinium
D) Verulamium
  • 23. Beside which river was Verulamium built?
A) River Ouse
B) River Lea
C) River Ver
D) River Thames
  • 24. What specific rights did citizens of a municipium have?
A) Full Roman citizenship
B) Latin Rights
C) Celtic rights
D) Colonia status
  • 25. Who ordered the sacking of Verulamium in AD 61?
A) Boudica
B) Alban
C) Germanus
D) Martin Biddle
  • 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 burial site
C) A Roman inscription
D) A black ash layer
  • 28. What is the approximate area Verulamium covered by the early 3rd century?
A) 200 acres
B) 300 acres
C) 125 acres
D) 50 acres
  • 29. Which of these structures existed in Roman Verulamium?
A) A library
B) A theatre
C) A colosseum
D) A palace
  • 30. In what year did one of the fires that damaged the forum and basilica occur?
A) 300
B) 155
C) 210
D) 180
  • 31. Where is one of the few extant Roman inscriptions in Britain found?
A) On the remnants of the forum
B) In the cathedral
C) On the town walls
D) In the theatre
  • 32. According to medieval sources, when was St Alban martyred?
A) Third or fourth century
B) Second century
C) Fifth century
D) First century
  • 33. Who wrote an account of Alban being beheaded on a hill?
A) Germanus of Auxerre
B) Martin Biddle
C) Bede
D) John Morris
  • 34. Who visited the church dedicated to St Alban in 429?
A) Martin Biddle
B) Bede
C) Germanus of Auxerre
D) John Morris
  • 35. Who directed the 1978 archaeological excavation at the abbey chapter house?
A) John Morris
B) Germanus of Auxerre
C) Martin Biddle
D) Bede
  • 36. What has recent investigation uncovered near the cathedral?
A) A theatre
B) A basilica
C) A Roman forum
D) A wall
  • 37. Who founded the three pilgrim churches in the ninth century?
A) Henry VIII
B) George Tankerfield
C) Abbot Ulsinus
D) John Lockey
  • 38. In what year did Henry VIII close the Abbey?
A) 1461
B) 1765
C) 1539
D) 1553
  • 39. What was the Great Gatehouse used as until the 19th century?
A) A town hall
B) A prison
C) A market stall
D) A church
  • 40. Who was burnt to death on Romeland in 1555?
A) Henry VIII
B) Abbot Ulsinus
C) John Lockey
D) George Tankerfield
  • 41. During which conflict was the town largely unaffected despite siding with parliament?
A) The Roman conquest
B) The dissolution of the monasteries
C) The Second Battle of St Albans
D) The English Civil War
  • 42. In what year does the current bridge over the River Ver date from?
A) 1461
B) 1555
C) 1505
D) 1765
  • 43. What was the bridge recorded as in 1505?
A) Kingsbury Bridge
B) Pons de la Maltemyll
C) The Roman Crossing
D) St Michael's Bridge
  • 44. Which site is traditionally believed to be Alban's crossing point to his execution?
A) Romeland
B) The Great Gatehouse
C) The market square
D) The ford alongside the current bridge
  • 45. How many burgesses assisted the mayor in the new borough government?
A) Five
B) Twelve
C) Ten
D) Twenty
  • 46. In what year was Arthur Melbourne-Cooper born?
A) 1908
B) 1874
C) 1916
D) 1931
  • 47. What was the name of the production base established in 1908?
A) De Havilland
B) Marconi Instruments
C) Alpha Production Works
D) Handley Page
  • 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) Art Deco building
B) St Albans District Council hall
C) Marconi plant
D) Odyssey Cinema
  • 50. When did the Odyssey Cinema open after restoration?
A) 2014
B) 1995
C) 2011
D) 2021
  • 51. What was brought down over England in September 1916?
A) German Airship SL 11
B) De Havilland plane
C) A hot air balloon
D) Handley Page Aircraft
  • 52. Which company became St Albans' largest employer until the 1990s?
A) Handley Page
B) De Havilland
C) Marconi
D) General Electric
  • 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) Radlett
B) St Albans
C) Hatfield
D) Harpenden
  • 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) 1995
B) 2011
C) 1931
D) 1974
  • 57. What was the population of St Albans City and District in 2011?
A) 135,000
B) 129,005
C) 140,664
D) 148,700
  • 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 south-east
C) To the north-east
D) To the south
  • 60. How many main plants did Marconi have in St Albans?
A) Two
B) Three
C) One
D) Four
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