St Albans, Hertfordshire

ST ALBANS

St Albans is a cathedral city, in Hertfordshire dating back thousands of years.  The city was once inhabited by Romans and originally named Verulamium.  The name was changed to St Albans after a Roman solder named Alban was crucified for turning to Christianity.  There is a shrine in his honour in St Albans Abbey.

There are many Roman artefacts remaining today, including parts of the original Verulamium city wall and St Albans Museum houses a beautiful Roman mosaic and many other artefacts from this time, including two skeletons!

 

Listed Buildings

St Albans has countless listed buildings, many of note including The Court House (usually more commonly known as the Old Town Hall), The Abbey Gatehouse by St Albans Abbey, St Michael’s Manor House and a number of pubs/restaurants, including The White Hart, The Tudor Tavern and the Crown and Anchor.

Many of the buildings are in Conservation Areas, such as St Michael’s Village, Watling Street, Park Street etc.  There are 18 Conservation Areas in St Albans, the local authority will have a list of all of these.

White Hart Inn

White Hart Inn

Buying a Listed Building?

Buying a listed building, or a property in a Conservation Area, can be a daunting prospect.  There are three kinds of listing: Grade I, Grade II and Grade II*.  Most properties tend to be Grade II listed.

It is important to have building survey (often known as a structural survey) carried out on the property before you commit to legally purchase it, so you can get to understand what you are buying and to see if there are any major issues which may lead to a reduction in the purchase price, or, in the worst case, may mean you decide not to carry on with the purchase.

All our Surveyors are Chartered Surveyors who are members of the RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) and have years of surveying experience of listed buildings.

We encourage you to meet the Surveyor at the property during the survey so they can explain to you exactly what purchasing a listed building means and what work you can/cannot do.  You should always remember that any work you intend to carry out on a listed property externally or internally should be agreed by your local Conservation Officer and may need planning permission/building regulations.

Holywell Hill

St Michael's Village

 

Things To Do

St Albans is a vibrant city, with many shops, cafes, restaurants and bars to while away the hours.  There is a good sized theatre, which attracts many popular acts, cinema, a large leisure centre, and golf courses.

St Albans has good schools, many with Outstanding Ofsted awards.  St Albans School, next to the Abbey, has alumni including world renowned physicist Stephen Hawking, Pope Adrian IV (Britain’s only Pope), musician Rod Argent from the 60’s group The Zombies, and Tim Rice, English lyricist, known for working with Andrew Lloyd Webber on musicals such as Evita, Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar.

If you enjoy history, there are local walking tours of the city, including a ghost tour, where you may meet some interesting people along the way!

 

Freephone 0800 298 5424 to book a building survey

 

St Albans Abbey

Cathedral at St Albans

Good Transport Links

St Albans is close to both the M1 and M25 and there are two train stations; Thameslink which goes direct into London St Pancras and also runs on to Gatwick Airport and all the way to Brighton.  The other trainline is smaller, going to Watford, known locally as the Abbey Flyer.

Art Deco Architecture