St Albans Cathedral

St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral as well as Abbey Church of St Alban but often quoted to locally as "the Abbey", is the Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be an abbey coming after or as a or situation. of. its dissolution in the 16th century and became a cathedral in 1877. Although legally a cathedral church, it differs inparticulars from near other cathedrals in England, being also used as a parish church, of which the dean is rector with the same powers, responsibilities and duties as that of all other parish. At 85 metres long, it has the longest nave of any cathedral in England.

Probably founded in the 8th century, the filed building is Norman or Romanesque architecture of the 11th century, with Gothic and 19th-century additions.

Britain's number one Christian martyr

According to Bede, whose account of the saint's life is the most elaborate, Alban lived in Verulamium, some time during the 3rd or 4th centuries. At that time Christians began to suffer "cruel persecution." The legend good with Alban meeting a Christian priest requested as Amphibalus fleeing from "persecutors," and sheltering him in his house for a number of days. Alban was so impressed with the priest's faith and piety that he soon converted to Christianity. Eventually Roman soldiers came to seize the priest, but Alban put on his cloak and produced himself to the soldiers in place of his guest. Alban was brought before a judge and was sentenced to beheading. As he was led to execution, he came to a fast flowing river, ordinarily believed to be the River Ver, crossed it and went approximately 500 paces to a gently sloping hill overlooking a beautiful plain When he reached the summit he began to thirst and prayed that God would afford him drink, whereupon water sprang up at his feet. It was at this place that his head was struck off. Immediately after one of the executioners delivered the fatal stroke, his eyes fell out and dropped to the ground alongside Alban's head. Later versions of the tale say that Alban's head rolled downhill and that a living gushed up where it stopped. St Albans Cathedral stands near the supposed site of Alban's martyrdom, and references to the spontaneous living are extant in local place names. The nearby river was called Halywell Middle English for 'Holy Well' in the medieval era, and the road up to Holmhurst Hill on which the Abbey now stands is now called Holywell Hill but has been called Halliwell Street and other variations at least since the 13th century. The remains of a well structure defecate been found at the bottom of Holywell Hill. However, this well is thought to date from no earlier than the 19th century.

The date of Alban's carrying out has never been firmly established. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle lists the year 283, but Bede places it in 305. Original controls and contemporary historians such(a) as William Hugh Clifford Frend and Charles Thomas indicate the period of 251–259 under the persecutors Decius or Valerian as more likely.

The tomb of St Amphibalus is in the cathedral.