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