nl 1602 ws fpp 2 feb - st albans history: history...

NEWSLETTER 199FEBRUARY 2016

ST ALBANS & HERTFORDSHIREARCHITECTURAL & ARCHAEOLOGICAL

SOCIETY

President’s MessageNew Year PartyGroup Reports

James GentleHome Front Project

Lecture Programme

SOME ITEMS INCLUDED IN THIS ISSUE

By 1850 it was clear that the title ‘Architectural Society’ did not fullydescribe all the things going on, and it was changed to

‘St Albans Architectural and Archaeological society’.

The Light of Other Days p. 5. Author: B.E. Moody

www.stalbanshistory.org SAHAAS NEWSLETTER 199

President’s Message 3Archaeology Group - New Leader Sought 3Library Report 4Library Notes 4Clock Tower 6SAHAAS Home Front Project 9Acquisition of a 1637 Map of Verulamium Park 10Enjoy St Albans Exhibition 11Hall Place Wall 12The Mayor’s Prize 13Coach Outing - Highgate Cemetery and Kenwood House 14SAHAAS visit to Wrotham Park - 5 November 2015 15Diary Date - SAARRG Conference 16Immigrants in 15�� Century St Albans 17Brian Moody 19Paul Barton 20James Gentle: A Victorian Sporting Entrepreneur 21The Grange - St Peter’s Street 23Hertfordshire Gardens Trust Study Day 24Lecture Secretary Organiser 25Lecture Programme February – May 2016 25Clockateers’ Party - 4 March 2016 31Editor’s Note - Newsletter 200 31

CONTENTS

Whilst every care has been taken in the preparation of this newsletter the publishers cannot be held responsible forthe accuracy of the information herein or any consequence arising from it

MEMBERSHIP

The Society welcomes the following new members:

Dr Adrian Francis Bristow St AlbansMargaret & Bob Grover St AlbansMrs Sue Lush St AlbansMrs Elizabeth Joan May St AlbansMrs Irene Patricia Barber St AlbansDr Anthony Berk HarpendenMrs Mary-Barr Le Messurier St AlbansMs Joyce Lusby St Albans

David SmithMembership Secretary


PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

The New Year brings hope andresolutions and there is much in theSociety to look forward to in 2016 –the publications of our First WorldWar Home Front book, to be pub-lished by the University of Hertford-shire, and the beginning of thedevelopment of the new museum inSt Albans as well as all the usual widerange of activities we enjoy.

The Society’s library will have to movewhen the builders begin work on theOld Town Hall this spring and our newlocation has not yet been finalised.This will involve a great deal of workand anyone who can help is asked tocontact the library team. (Stop press -see Page 5).

I would like to create a small ad hocfundraising group to help plan fund-raising events for the new museumand gallery this year. I have a corealready but would like to hear fromanyone else who is interested in this.

Thanks are dueto all those whocontribute theirtime, energyand enthusiasmto the Society,not least Royand DoreenBratby, who have organised andprogrammed our extensive lectureprogramme for many years. We areall indebted to them for the superbjob they have done and we are nowin the process of seeking successorsfor this very important work. (Seepage 25)

So there are opportunities of all kindsfor those members, old and new, tobecome more involved if they wish.Membership is buoyant and there aremany talented people in St Albans.New ideas for projects are alwayswelcome.

Greetings to all.Helen Bishop

President

ARCHAEOLOGY GROUP - NEW LEADER SOUGHT

Having led the Archaeology Group for some 30 years, Roger Miles would like to stepdown and pass the torch on to someone else. There have already been someexpressions of interest, but we are still ready to hear from anyone else.To discuss this, Roger may be contacted on 01727 865735


Continued on Page 5

LIBRARY REPORT

The library continues busy as usualwith eleven visitors through on anearly January Wednesday. The mostinconvenient loss in recent months ofthe Internet connection has beenpursued this with St Albans DistrictCouncil and we have been told thatthe connection will be restored beforethe end of January.

The library move. This is nowexpected to take place in March/April.The load-bearing capacity in theFrench Row property is proving prob-lematic and the alternative accommo-dation now offered there isconsiderably less convenient. Verygood spacious accommodation hasbeen offered at Sandridge Gate in theroom next to the Museum of St Albans(MoSTA) library and archive. Althoughat some distance from the city centre,from a research perspective thesecollections together would form astrong draw for local historians. IfFrench Row proves unsuitable for theLibrary, it may still be possible for us,in the absence of a central MoSTApresence, to operate a drop-inenquirer/local history informationdesk in a smaller room there on librarydays We are still talking with SADCabout the possibilities.

The Library Team are meeting in Feb-ruary to continue taking forward plan-ning the move. Please noteannouncement on Page 5.

Donald Munro

LIBRARY NOTES

Recent Acquisitions

History of the Jewish community in StAlbans: a talk given at VerulamiumMuseum on 5�� December 2013, byEdward Appleby and others. St AlbansJewish Community, 2014. 57pp, illus.The text is in several sections: Thehistory of Judaism in Britain up to1900; the clothing industry inFleetville; details from census returnsrelating to Jewish families in thatneighbourhood; the local communityfrom 1930 to 1980, and women’sinvolvement; and the present-daycommunity and its various syna-gogues.

England arise: the people, the King,and the Great Revolt of 1381, by JulietBarker. London: Little, Brown, 2014.506pp. bibliog, index. This accountof the misleadingly named Peasants’Revolt draws on court and judicialrecords rather than the chroniclers’versions of events more usually usedby historians. The legal and fiscal


Continued from PageContinued from Page 4

arrangements governing medieval lifeare described; their abuse by officialsfed the grievances and injustices feltby the insurrectionists. Revolts invarious places are recounted, includ-ing St Albans, the least violent andmost savagely punished.

The New Camp Estate, St Albans: ahandbook describing the rapid

development of a charmingresidential district. Godwin and Hart,Builders and Contractors. Gloucester:British Publishing Company, [1931?].28pp, illus. A pamphlet promoting a1930s new housing development,with illustrations and plans of severaltypes of house.

Tony Cooper

SAHAAS LIBRARY CLOSURE

Our Library in the Old Town Hallwill close to readers at the end of Februaryto prepare for the move to alternative accommodation.

Can you HELP us in preparing for this major operation?e.g. checking shelf order, packing books in crates, shifting crates (?).

Or are you a skilled joiner or D.I.Y practitionerready to dismantle and re-erect the fine book cabinets

which will move with us?

All Offers of help will be greatly appreciated.Please contact Donald Munro or Tony Cooper

[email protected]


Continued on Page 7

CLOCK TOWER

As I write this in mid-January we arelooking forward to the Clock Toweropening for Residents: Enjoy StAlbans weekend on the 23��/24��January 2016. We have gainedpermission from the Museum of StAlbans to borrow their pillory forvisitors to have the opportunity totake photos with their head andhands through the wooden holes ofthis punishment device! There will betwo information sheets giving somebrief details of where the St Albanspillory was located, near WH Smith’sat the top of Upper Dagnall Street,and what sort of crimes people hadto commit to be sentenced to thepillory. It is interesting to note thatthe pillory was last used in Hertford-shire when James Deaven was put init at St Albans for “unnatural assault”in 1812. We shall also be giving awayfree badges, colouring sheets andcrayons to any child who visits overthe weekend.

The last opening of the Clock Towerfor 2015 was on Sunday, 15�� Novem-ber for the turning on of the Christ-mas Lights. Despite a howling wind,Frank Iddiols did a fantastic job ofputting up the Clock Tower lights at

the top of the tower and Eric Roberts,from the Civic Society, hung the lightsaround the downstairs windows.Although we were open for only fourhours, we welcomed 250 visitors tothe tower.

On the same day we also presentedthe Grand Clock Tower Balloon Raceprizes to local sisters, Selina and TaliaJimenez outside the Clock Tower.One hundred balloons had been setoff from the roof of the Clock Towerover Heritage Weekend in Septemberwith a promise of prizes for the finderof the balloon that had travelled thefurthest and the purchaser of thatballoon. Two children from 60 milesaway in Thetford had returned thetag from the balloon that had beenbought for the St Albans girls. All thechildren won a bag of Clock Towermerchandise and a red-ribbonedscroll granting them and a guest freeentry to the Clock Tower for a year. Ashort article and photo of the girlsreceiving their prize appeared in localnewspaper, the Herts Advertiser.

We would like to thank all our Clock-ateers who turned shopkeeper lastyear and sold the Clock Towermerchandise; badges, postcards, cray-ons, pens, cardboard cut out model


Continued from Page 6

Clock Towers, binoculars, prints,framed prints and maps. The StAlbans Tourist Maps and pens sold sowell that we have reordered both andhave also added fridge magnets toour range of merchandise.

Another addition to the Clock Towerthis season will be a donations box.Our thanks go to Andy Lawrence fordesigning and making a large, funcharity box that will sit in theentrance room. Coins can be placedin the slot at the top which then rolltheir way in and out of a large photoof the Clock Tower, chiming a bell onits way down and ending up in thedonation box at the bottom. Hope-fully, our younger visitors will enjoyputting lots of coins in the donationbox!

Preparations are in progress for theClockateers’ Party to be held in theMuseum on Friday 4�� March 2016 at7.30pm. Invitations will be posted inFebruary to all our Clockateers butanyone thinking of becoming a Clock-ateer is welcome to come along tooand find out more about helping tokeep this iconic building open to thepublic.

The Clock Tower will be opened bythe Civic Society on Good Friday 25��March 2016 for the start of thesummer season - then will be mannedon alternate weekends by volunteersfrom SAHAAS and the Civic Society.

As always, Mike and I would like tothank all the Clockateers for givingtheir time to keep the Clock Toweropen for the public to enjoy and wehope to see you all at the ClockateersParty on Friday, 4�� March 2016.

Caroline Howkins and Mike Carey

We are always looking for more volunteersTo help man the Clock Tower.

If you can spare an hour or two please contactMike or Caroline

viaemail:

[email protected]

Your Clock TowerNeeds You.

Photo: Andy Lawrence


Continued on Page 9

New Year Party

The Society’s New Year party night atthe Verulamium Museum was held on8�� January. Val Argue and her teamhad arranged the buffet table and setout plates of comestibles while BryanHanlon and Pat Howe had set up theirbar with a selection of wines, hotpunch and fruit drinks. At 7.30 all wasready, the doors opened and theguests arrived.

Our principal guest was The RightWorshipful the Mayor of St AlbansCity and District, Councillor SalihGaygusuz, accompanied by theMayoress, Mrs Maureen Gaygusuz,and were amongst the first guests toarrive and be greeted by our President.

Other invited guests were those whohad been personally involved in thenew museum project and included:the Leader of the Council; the Chair-man of the Museum and GalleriesTrust; the Museum Manager; theMuseum and Galleries ProjectManager; and the Chairman of theCivic Society.

In a welcoming address, our Presidentthanked our guests and their partnersfor coming to our party. The Society,

she said, recognised all the work thathad gone into preparing the HeritageLottery Fund bid process by everyoneconcerned and its successful outcome.The Arc and Arc was instrumental inestablishing the first Museum of StAlbans in 1898 and provided bothfunds and support.

2015 has been an exceptionally busyyear for the Society, which has contin-ued with its many usual activities;research; publications; lectures andoutings, and has raised or given£12,000 towards the project this yearand we are all looking forward toseeing the new venue opening in thenext two years.

Photo: John Humphreys

The Mayor and Mayoress are greeted by our President



In reply the Mayor thanked themembers of the Society for the manyinitiatives over the past year, not onlyfor the museum but also for its publi-cations and advice.

Afterwards, our President led the wayto the buffet table where everyoneenjoyed the spread and lively conver-sation; with the added enjoyment ofboth the general knowledge quiz,compiled by Bryan Hanlon, and themystery objects quiz, compiled byCatherine Newley and Kate Warren.

International cellist, Jessica, daughterof Sheila and John Cox, played aselection of classical and contempo-rary music throughout the eveningand which was very much appreciatedby our guests and members. Since sheentertained us last year, Jessica hasmarried and we congratulate her and

her husband and wish them everyhappiness.

In conclusion, Val Argue has asked meto thank everyone who contributedsavoury or sweet plates. Val has onlyrecently taken over the reins of buffetorganiser from Doreen Bratby, whocarried out this role so successfullyover many years, but we all congrat-ulate Val on a job well done.

John Humphreys

SAHAAS HOME FRONT PROJECT

We are well into the home stretchnow, with the manuscript of StAlbans: Life on the Home Front, 1914-1918, due to go to the publishers inmid-February with publicationplanned for September. In this and thenext newsletters, we plan to give youa few tasters of what is to come.

In this issue we'd like to give you oneexample of cases considered by the StAlbans City Military Service Tribunal.

This photo on page 10 shows the Dayfamily in 1916. In the centre, verymuch the pater familias, sits GeorgeDay senior, managing director of the


Continued on Page 10



family's straw hat company, E. Day &Co. And he was a city councillor, anda member of the Tribunal from itsbeginning in March 1916. His threesons, Alfred, Arthur and Georgejunior, all department managers, arein the back row, far left to right. Farright is their brother-in-law ErnestRose.

In May 1916 George junior applied forexemption from conscription appar-ently on grounds of domestic hard-ship: his wife was pregnant with twins,due in July. He was given temporaryexemption until 3 August, when heand his brothers applied as essentialto the business.

When the case came up (Georgesenior absenting himself as required)the tribunal was faced with a difficultdecision. The men's father, managingdirector of the company involved, was

their friend and colleague. What couldthey do? Their answer was to throwthe problem back to the family – theyasked the brothers to retire toanother room and decide betweenthem who would go. What an agonis-ing few minutes they must havespent! By August news was filteringback to England about the lossesincurred at the Battle of the Sommeand the war was looking increasinglygrim. In the end, putting the needs ofthe business first, they decided it mustbe George junior, the youngest,whose twins had been born only afortnight earlier.

Thankfully, George survived and camehome to his wife and the twins.

Anne Wares, Jonathan Mein, andSue Mann

ACQUISITION OF A 1637 MAPOF VERULAMIUM PARK

The library has recently purchased adigital copy of a map showing muchof what is now Verulamium Park. Theoriginal, held by the Surrey HistoryCentre, forms part of the extensiveLomax family papers. This is the sameLomax family that owned the Child-wickbury estate for nearly 200 years.

photo courtesy of Pat Moore.



The full title of the map is: A Topo-graphical Description and Mensura-tion of St Germans nigh St Albansbeing part of the Ancient City Verolamand now possessed by Sir ThomasCotton of Conington Baronett. He wasthe son of Sir Robert Cotton, antiquar-ian and founder of the CottonianLibrary which later formed a founda-tion collection of the British Library.The surveyor appears to have beenHenry Lilly, Rouge Rose, one of theheralds at the College of Arms.

The map describes the St Germain’sestate showing the oratory of thatname only as ‘chapel yard’. Moreprominent is an illustration of thelarge house known from other sourcesas ‘Mary Magdalene’. This appears tohave been located on the site ofanother oratory of that name.

A search of the Society’s 17�� centurydatabase by Pat Howe revealed thatThomas Cotton was assessed for a12-hearth house in St Michael’s parishin the 1664 Hearth Tax. Until now wedid not know the location of thathouse. This map suggests one.

There is much to interest researchersand archaeologists, not least becauseit shows the post-Dissolution land-scape in fine detail and covers much

of Verulamium. It is also contempora-neous with Hare’s 1634 map of thetown. Please note that we are in theprocess of acquiring a copy of a 1692map of the same area together withone of same date of the St Julian’sestate close to St Stephen’s church.

Jonathan Mein

A copy of the map is at Page 32

ENJOY ST ALBANS EXHIBITION

For ‘Enjoy St. Albans’ weekend in January2016 I curated an exhibition in St. AlbansCathedral, of 75 images of the drawingsof Frederic George Kitton (1856-1904). Iarrived in St. Albans in 1962 and found aChristmas card in 1964 of one of hisdrawings. I wanted to know more aboutthe artist – and even now I haven’t foundout everything. Sadly he died, in his forty-eighth year leaving his widow virtuallydestitute. (His literary income in 1903 was£100!).

Born in Norwich he was apprenticed tothe owner of the Graphic newspaper in1873. He had grown up at a time in Victo-rian England when Charles Dickens’ novelswere being published in weekly instal-ments. Kitton subsequently publishedthirteen books about Dickens’ books andpoems. Whilst living in London he spent




his spare time sketching buildings. Hemarried Emily Lawford in 1889 and theymoved to St. Albans renting rooms untilthey moved to Pre Mill House in 1895.

He became a SAHAAS member in 1897and, when the Hertfordshire CountyMuseum opened, became an Hon. Secre-tary and Curator of Pictures. His incomewas determined by what he wrote ordrew. Many of his drawings werepublished by the Herts. Advertiser andother newspapers. His drawings ofStandon Church were published in theHertfordshire Illustrated Review of whichhe was an editor during its two-yearexistence in 1893-94. His reputation was‘cemented’ by the drawings he createdfor Charles Ashdown’s text on St Albans:Historical and Picturesque, 1893. He saved‘The Gables’ in the Market Place in 1898when Jesse Boot (Boot’s the Chemist)wanted to demolish it.

The exhibition included copies of picturesof St. Albans, Hertfordshire and Bedford

shire, London and South East England. Totell his life’s story I created a slide showpresentation, edited by Jonathan Mein,for visitors to view and which will now beadded to the Society web site.

John Cox

HALL PLACE WALL

Following our article in the last newsletter(198 p16), the more eagle eyed amongstyou will have noticed that the wall is nowcompletely down. Any materials that canbe re-used are now in storage. Theproposed restoration work will beginsometime around March/April due toweather temperatures.

One point of interest that came out of thewall was an original brick that had a handprint in it. It is thought that the brickmakers at the time did this as a “signa-ture”. SADC intend to have this brickplaced in the centre of the new wall as a“feature”. Within the wall were alsofound stone that had been cut by handand shaped – maybe due to repairs to thechurch? These have also been kept instorage.

In the hope that there will be suitable“wall re-building” weather in the earlyspring, we shall hopefully have more newson this subject in our next issue.

Bryan Hanlon


Photo: Frank Iddiols


THE MAYOR’S PRIZE

An invitation to enter

This annual prize, currently £100, is offered for an outstandingpiece of research which makes an important contribution tothe history of St Albans or Hertfordshire. Applicants must beeither in full-time education or working as amateur historians.The prize is administered by the Society on behalf of St AlbansCity and District Council.

Applicants are expected to demonstrate the originality oftheir work and critical usage of primary sources. Submissionscan be in the form of an essay of between about 5,000-10,000words, including any illustrations. The Society recognises thegrowing use of IT as an aid to research and will accept submis-sions with fewer words and various digital images and otherdata when appropriate.

Full details of procedures, instructions and guidelines, andapplication forms are available on the Society’s website athttp://www.stalbanshistory.org/page/the_mayors_prize_2016-2

The deadline for submissions is 30 April 2016. Any questionsabout the prize should be sent to the President at:

Helen Bishop7 Taylor CloseSt Albans AL4 9YBTel: 01727 730825Email: [email protected]


COACH OUTING

Highgate Cemetery andKenwood HouseThursday, 28�� April 2016

Highgate Cemetery is designated GradeI on the Historic England Register ofParks and Gardens of Special HistoricInterest in England. It is a place of peaceand contemplation. The cemetery'sgrounds are full of trees, shrubbery andwildflowers, most of which have beenplanted and grown without human influ-ence. The grounds are a haven for birdsand small animals. It has some of thefinest funerary architecture in the coun-try. A famous memorial is that of KarlMarx.

The Egyptian Avenue and the Circle ofLebanon feature tombs, vaults andwinding paths dug into hillsides. For itsprotection, the oldest section, whichholds an impressive collection of Victo-rian mausoleums and gravestones, pluselaborately carved tombs, allows admis-sion only in tour groups. The easternsection, which contains a mix of Victorianand modern statuary, can be touredunescorted.

A guided tour of the western section hasbeen arranged for us to commence at 11a.m. and will last for 90 minutes. Thecost £14.00 per person

At 12.30 pm our coach will pick us up andtake us to Kenwood House where we canget lunch in The Brew House Café.

Kenwood House, on the edge of London’sHampstead Heath, was probably firstbuilt in the early 17th century. Between1764 and 1779 Robert Adam transformedit into a neoclassical villa for WilliamMurray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, and theinteriors include some of Adam’s finestsurviving schemes. Kenwood is nowhome to the 1st Earl of Iveagh’srenowned collection of Old Master andBritish paintings, which includes worksby Rembrandt and Vermeer.

A tour of Kenwood has been arrangedwhich will begin at 2.00 pm on the theme“Above and Below Stairs” and will last forone hour. This will provide an insightinto the separate but intertwined worldsof the Mansfield family and the servantsat Kenwood. The cost will be £9 perconcession (£12.00 full price).

The total price with coach transport allday will come to approximately £36.00per person.

Please let me know, preferably by email,[email protected], if you areinterested.

For those not on email my telephonenumber is 01727 857274.

Pat Howe



WROTHAM PARK

On Thursday 5�� November, a groupof SAHAAS members were privilegedto spend an hour's guided tour atWrotham Park, near Barnet. This wasa sparkler of a morning rather than adamp squib, despite the drizzle.Privileged? Yes, because this neo-Palladian mansion set in 2,500 rollingacres is not generally open to thepublic. Our intrepid outings organiser,Pat Howe, successfully seized theopportunity of a talk to SAHAAS by theWrotham Park archivist, Charles Dace,during last season, to seek agreementto a group of members visiting thehouse.

Charles gave the group a detailedguided tour of the ground floor. Thewalls of nearly every room are linedwith large portraits of the Byng familythrough the generations. There werevery many of them, and it was not allthat easy to follow the connectionsdescribed by Charles as, typically for

such a family, most of the first nameswere used in each generation. Thecurrent owner is Robert Byng, and,charmingly, there were family photo-graphs of the family in the sittingroom.

The mansion was designed by IsaacWare in 1754 and built by Admiral SirJohn Byng, fourth son of Admiral SirGeorge Byng. It was named in honourof family connections to Wrotham inKent. It is doubtful whether Sir Johnever lived in the house as he wasexecuted for treason, famously “toencourage the others”, in 1757. Thehouse was completed and a line ofByngs stretching to the present dayoccupied it.

In 1883, a disastrous fire broke out atthe top of the house, and, despite thebest efforts of four London fire bri-gades, the house was gutted. Fortu-nately, the fire burned slowly enoughto enable the important contents tobe saved. The interior of the housewas rebuilt by 1886 and was almostidentical to the original, with theexception of two bay windows beingadded on the ground floor as well asthe addition of a third floor. This floorwas to house the female servants,while the men lived in the basementrooms. The symmetry and characterof the house were unchanged.

Photo: Roy Bratby



We heard this story standing in thebeautiful and well-appointed library,the shelves of which were filled withmany books which had been savedfrom the fire. The oldest book heldhere dates from 1609. Wrotham iskept in a marvellous condition by thecurrent owner. The books in thelibrary, we were told, have now allundergone conservation treatment;Charles told us that he was nowcontent that they were all good for atleast the next 50 years. The woodenfloors in the large sitting room havebeen replaced and all the rooms arein excellent decorative order. It is thecurrent 'occupations' of the house, asa venue for filming a variety of produc-tions as well as events and weddings.that makes this level of conservationand improvements in the housepossible.

Once again, we thank Pat Howe fororganising another fascinating andmost interesting visit.

Christine McDermott

DIARY DATE -1�� October 2016SAARRG Conference

St Albans Archaeological Research andRescue Group (SAARRG), a section ofSAHAAS during the period 1966 to1972, is to hold a conference on‘Archaeology in St Albans and thesurrounding area’.

The conference will celebrate the50�� Anniversary of the founding ofSAARRG and be held at theVerulamium Museum.

Speakers include Kris Lockyear, Direc-tor of the Welwyn Society and SeniorLecturer in Archaeology at UCL, IsobelThompson, co-author of Alban’sBuried Towns and HertfordshireHistoric Environment Officer at Hert-fordshire County Council andmembers of SAARRG.

For more information on SAARRG seethe page in the Our Society section ofthe Society's website:

http://www.stalbanshistory.org/page/the_st_albans_archaeological_rescue_and_research_group_saarrg_1966-72?path=0p30p82p

For more information on the confer-ence contact Denley Lane on email:[email protected] telephone: 07847 430022.


Continued on PageContinued on Page 18

IMMIGRANTS IN 15TH CENTURYST ALBANS

England’s Immigrants, 1330 – 1550(www.englandsimmigrants.com/) is afully searchable database of over64,000 people who migrated to Englandin a period spanning the Hundred Years’War and the Reformation. It is theproduct of a project funded by the Artsand Humanities Research Council(AHRC) and managed by the Universityof York in collaboration with TheNational Archives, and the HumanitiesResearch Institute, University of Shef-field. The website is full of interestingand accessible articles and information.

The project investigates who the immi-grants were, their role in England’seconomy, how the government regu-lated immigration and whether integra-tion took place. The data presentedcomes from two main sources: taxationrecords known as alien subsidy returns,and letters of denization and oaths offealty, when a migrant took an oath ofallegiance to the crown. The survival ofboth categories is patchy.

Did St Albans have any immigrants (alsodescribed as aliens) in this period? Asearch of the database for residents of

St Albans produces 72 records, relatingto 51 people. The earliest St Albansrecord is in 1394 (a ‘licence to remain’for the Irishman Andrew Love) and thelatest is 1470 (a tax assessment for HansHayman). At this time the populationof St Albans was c.2,500.*

The vast majority of the St Albansrecords are from the 1430s and 1440s.Eight aliens from the Low Countries wholived in St Albans took an oath of fealtyto the English crown in 1436. There wassignificant anti – alien feeling in Englandat this time, partly a result of commer-cial rivalry with the Low Countries.Fears for national security followed thebreakdown of the Anglo-Burgundianalliance in 1436, and all aliens from theLow Countries were required to take anoath of fealty.

English reverses in the Hundred Years’War contributed to the introduction ofa tax on aliens in 1440 and this wasrenewed by later Parliaments. Twenty-one aliens from St Albans were taxed in1440; it was also recorded that a furtherseven aliens had died and nine movedaway. Twenty-two were taxed in 1441,including 13 residents from 1440.However, only four aliens are recordedfrom 1450 to 1470. This apparent



decrease may be the result of patchydocumentary survival, with immigrantmobility or government failure tocollect the tax as other factors.

We can glean some information aboutthe immigrants. Simon Scarlet, fromLeiden in Holland, took the oath offealty in 1436. He appears to havestayed in St Albans for nearly 20 yearsas he was taxed in 1440, 1441, 1450 and1455. In each case he was described asa householder, and in 1450 his occupa-tion was given as a weaver. Two othermen who took the oath of fealty in 1436were also taxed in 1440 and 1441; onewas John Scarlet, also from Leiden andpossibly a relative of Simon.

Two women are listed; one came fromBrussels but little is known of themotherwise.

There is some information on nation-ality. Nine immigrants are stated tohave come from the Low Countries, inparticular Holland; a further six can beassumed to be from here also as theyare surnamed Ducheman. There wasone known Frenchman and one fromIreland. Many other names are angli-cized and origins are unclear.

Occupations are sometimes given. Wefind a cobbler, a falconer, a tailor, a

weaver and nine servants. There aretwo servants of the Abbot of St Albans,including John of the Kechyn – was hea menial kitchen servant or an exoticforeign cook? Other masters of serv-ants are named, two of whom may alsohave been immigrants. It is tempting tothink that surnames may reflect occu-pations; as well as Walter of the Stable,surnames include Barbour, Clerk,Cobeler, Cook, Dyer and Glover.However the men identified as acobbler and a falconer by occupationwere both surnamed Cook, so this doesnot necessarily follow.

The website provides a fascinatinginsight into immigration in this periodand is well worth further investigation.Local sources were not used in theproject and may provide furtherinsights.

This article is based on material fromthe website, with further contextualinformation on aliens in this period fromR.A.Griffiths, The Reign of Henry VI (AlanSutton, 1981).

Ailsa Herbert

*Mark Freeman, St Albans (CarnegiePublishing, 2008), 103.



BRIAN MOODY

Brian held the position of our exaltedsecretary for some quarter century andpassed away on 19�� December lastyear.

Born in St Albans, and a pupil of StAlbans School, Brian volunteered for thearmy in 1943 and, after artillery trainingat Edinburgh University (where helearnt to play the bagpipes), he wascommissioned into the Royal HorseArtillery the day before Hitler commit-ted suicide – Brian always said that thiswas cause and effect. On a troop shipto the Far East, Brian learnt that Japanhad now surrendered, so most of hisarmy service was spent in India, largelyon ceremonial duties for the Nizam ofSecunderabad.

A talented amateur musician - Brianspent his demob gratuity on two qualityclarinets and, over the years, performedwith several different orchestras. Fromthe army, Brian went to EmmanuelCollege, Cambridge to study NaturalSciences with Part II Physics, where hemet Kathleen who was studying theidentical subject. They married in 1951.

Employment came in the form of aresearch position at United Glass,where he spent all of his working life,

becoming Secretaryof the LondonSection of theSociety of GlassTechnology, andwas the Britishrepresentative on several international“glass” committees, including a monthin the Soviet Union.

In the early ‘60s, the company movedtheir research department to St Albansso Brian came, as it were, full circle andhe joined our Society in 1968, havingbeen inspired by the “Wheeler” archae-ological digs as a schoolboy. WhenFrank Kilvington became President, heautomatically suggested Brian as ourSecretary – a post he held from 1979until 2005. During this period, hesomehow found the time to write both“The Light of Other Days” and “A historyin all men’s lives” recording the historyof our Society, for which of course theSociety is indebted and both publica-tions are still available from the Society.In 2005 he was given an award by theBritish Association for Local History forhis services to local history in the area.

Perhaps the aspect of history that inter-ested Brian the most was archaeology,and he and Kathleen spent many holi-days cruising to sites from Skara Brae toLeptis Magna, and beyond, often on the

Photo courtesy of:Kathleen Moody



MV “Minerva”, where they liked thefact that drinks were served in the“Wheeler” bar.

As his successor of “only” ten yearsstanding, I can only marvel at Brian’sachievements – there is no doubt thathe will be missed by many, many,friends both within our Society andbeyond.

Bryan Hanlon

PAUL REECE BARTON

Paul passed away after a long battlewith Parkinson’s Disease aged 84. Hewill be missed by his family and themany friends made over the 50 years ofliving in St Albans. A member ofSAHAAS, the Civic and Choral Societies,he began the local Footpaths Societyand was a founder member of theAssociation of St Albans Tour Guides.Local history, archaeology and walkingplayed a major part in his life.

Born in October 1931, the family wasevacuated to Cornwall during WW2,where, as a teenager, he and a friendenjoyed cycling around the countryside.After leaving Devonport School, andNational Service in the R.A.F., Paulmoved to London in 1957, beginninghis working life as a civil servant. Hefound himself drafting letters andspeeches for Harold Macmillan, thenthe Minister of Housing.

Now married, with a family, he movedto Walton Street where he lived forsome 40 years.

Having gained Diplomas in History andManagement Studies, much of hisbusiness life was spent with ThomasCook and Arthur Andersen, in thetourism industry. He became a Fellowof the Tourism Society, later settingexam papers for City and Guilds.

Paul was profoundly interested inresearch which resulted in an excellentin-depth study of “Shenley and itsParish”. His articles published in HertsPast & Present included: Matthew Lambof Brocket Hall, 1705 – 1768 and Eben-ezer Sadler, Receiver General to theCecils. His love of the country-sideresulted in a book on woodlandmanagement.

His last ten years were spent at VerulamHouse Nursing Home, where he contin-ued his research. We will rememberPaul with great affection, for his enthu-siasm, knowledge, friendship and hischarm, sitting in his room surroundedby his many books

To Katherine, Kevin, Linda and Juliet wesend you our sincere sympathy.

Ann Dean, Stuart Henderson



JAMES GENTLE: A VICTORIAN

SPORTING ENTREPRENEUR

In the November 2015 newsletter, SueMann described the background to thecricket match consisting of one-armedand one-legged players sketched by JohnHenry Buckingham. The match waspromoted by James Gentle in 1868. Nowforgotten, this St Albans publican wouldhave been familiar to our Victorian pred-ecessors. So significant was he that theeditor of the local Herts Standard news-paper devoted a 1000-word obituary tohim when he died in 1899, a tributeusually reserved for a local worthy. Whathad Gentle done to merit this?

The answer lies in his cricketing prowessin particular as well as his general contri-bution to the burgeoning sporting scenein this small market town in the 1860s andbeyond. Cricket matches, as Bucking-ham’s sketch shows, were then a summerhighlight often drawing enthusiasticcrowds to the grounds on Bernards Heathand Verulam Road. Though Gentle playedagainst W.G. Grace on several occasions,his obituary writers focused on his timeplaying for the successful St Albans club.Competing against touring teams, as wellas those from local villages and towns, theSt Albans club brought together men from

a variety of backgrounds. Certainly it hadits share of attorneys and vicars but therewere others, like Gentle, cut from differ-ent cloth. His father was a labourer andJames had been a straw hat presser. Thestalwart Westell brothers came fromsimilar stock.

Gentle was an all-rounder with a reputa-tion as an obdurate batsman and acapable lob bowler or ‘under-handtrundler’ as one of the obituariesdescribed his action. What thrilled thecrowds though and set him apart was hisfielding. At this time wicketkeepers’ skillswere restricted by poor quality gloves. Itwas the role of the long-stop, a playerfielding directly behind the ‘keeper on orclose to the boundary, to clear up any-thing that escaped them. Gentle was theteam’s long-stop and his short, rotundstature made him ideal for this position.Writing some fifty years later about hismemories of St Albans cricket, Rev. HarryWard McKenzie still recalled him as being‘wondrous in that position’. Gentle’s obit-uary writer confirmed this and we caninfer from the following extract that hisreckless style, more familiar to modernspectators, was what excited contempo-raries:

It would be an exaggeration to say thathe never missed a ball, but those who



remember the games in which he playedwill bear out our statement when we saythat he was a very miserable man if a ballshould get by him. If he could not stopthem with his hands he did so with hisbody.

Gentle was also the club’s caterer. Thequality of the cricket tea was as importantthen as it is today . Gentle’s were fondlyremembered by McKenzie:

Cold beef we had, cold lamb, new pota-toes, peas, lettuce … gooseberry pie, cus-tard, cheese and beer, or bettershandygaff*. There was [Gentle] handingyou everything, determined that youshould have plenty, beaming with smilesand good fellowship…

It comes as little surprise to learn thatGentle provided a catering service for civicand social events. He developed othercommercial interests as well, for examplein the straw hat trade and also sportingequipment sales for which his adverts inthe local papers were a weekly fixture.These businesses were based at theCrystal Palace public house on LondonRoad which he ran for eighteen years

Under Gentle’s management, the pubbecame an informal clubhouse for localsportsmen: the town’s cricket and footballteams met there as did the bicycle club.What must have been a spectacular sight,the departure from the pub of over 100cyclists on a tour of the town, wasrecorded in the Herts Advertiser in 1878.

The Buckingham sketch of Gentle’s matchreminds us of his contribution to thesocial life of this small town. It is a shameBuckingham did not record Gentle’s nextpromotion, a St Albans XI versus 16clowns.

Jonathan MeinNotes* Shandygaff was a mixture of beer and ginger beer

Extracts from Rev. McKenzie’s memoir from Cricket inHertfordshire, R.G. Simons, Herts County CricketAssociation (1996).

The Crystal Palace, c.1970 (HALS, Acc 3883)


THE GRANGE

‘To be let and entered upon immediatelyfor the term of three years, a ready fur-nished mansion situate in the most pleas-ant and healthy part of the Borough of StAlbans in the county of Herts, the resi-dence of the late John Osborn Esq, consist-ing of a spacious entrance hall, library,well furnished with useful books, parlour,drawing room, four best bedrooms, serv-ants rooms, kitchen, pantries, brewhousewith a well of excellent water in it, and areservoir for rain water above it; threestalled stable with coach house, and manyother buildings for pigs, fowls, dogs, woodetc., pleasure ground enclosed on threesides, with brick wall planted with fruittrees and shrubs of various kinds, a goodkitchen garden, melon ground, orchard,and about two acres of pasture landadjoining and every other convenience forthe accommodation of a genteel family.’London Courier and Evening Gazette,26/10/1809.

This advertisement of October 1809,itemises the desirable features of a houseto be let in St Peter’s Street, St Albans. Itis thought to describe The Grange, nowthe Nationwide offices, which was one oftwo substantial neighbouring propertieslocated centrally on the east side of thestreet.

The advertisement pays equal attentionto the house and to the grounds which,despite a central location and suiting ‘agenteel family’, are as utilitarian as aes-thetically pleasing. A pleasure ground,contained by walls high enough for fruittrees, is private and relatively quiet. Thiswas an isolated ‘garden’ area in which toenjoy flowers and display good taste.

Beyond the wall, however, lay a produc-tive area of pigs, poultry and vegetablebeds generating noise and smells of a kindthe high wall was designed to exclude.And there was a melon ground.

Melons and their cultivation have beendescribed by garden writers since the latemedieval period but in a climate ill-suitedto exotic fruits they were demandingplants. The necessary heat could only beachieved in confined areas heaped withfresh, rotting horse manure or tanning

Photograph © John Humphreys




bark. Hardly surprising, then, at evenlarge estate gardens such as Lamer inWheathampstead or Tewin Water nearWelwyn to find them banished to the spotfurthest from the house.

Challenging plants can inspire rather thandeter. The three varieties of melon seedavailable in London in 1685 had swollento 28 varieties in Ryder’s seed catalogueof 1919. Spurred on by the advent ofsuperior and cheaper glass structures andthe Victorian competitive spirit, thou-sands attempted the growing – and theshowing – of melons, though for theamateur the results often made pooreating.

The nobility expected better. At Ashridge,in 1825, four different varieties of home-grown melon could be served even inJanuary and Holywell House boasted amelon ground in 1814 that had been inuse since before 1724. The Grange wasto be let to a ‘genteel family’ however; itwas not the country retreat of a city-weary aristocrat. This melon ground tellsus that the person letting and the personrenting were in agreement that melonswere a social signifier.

The grounds generally may have been acombination, on a relatively small site, ofthe practical and the pleasant but themelon ground indicated a class of peopleaspiring to the luxuries previously associ-ated with their social betters. By paying

attention to the garden we are givenanother insight into the gentrification ofSt Albans and the evolution of a cityscapewhich continues to exercise fascinationthe more we learn of it.

Liz RolfeEditor’s note: Kate Morris believes the site ofthis 18th century melonry to be the originalgrange of St Peter’s. Can you help her checkthe evidence and tell the story of this citycentre site? Phone 01727 868434 or [email protected].


HERTFORDSHIRE GARDENSTRUST STUDY DAYcelebrating Capability Brown2016 (tercentenary of his birth)

This study day will explore the links anddifferences between the various practi-tioners. It will be held at Woodhall Park(Heath Mount School), Watton-at-Stone,an ‘English’ 18th century landscape, onSaturday April 16�� 2016, 0930-1700.The programme of events is at:http://www.hertsgardenstrust.org.uk/hgt-events-and-outings.html

Lancelot Brown’s name is inextricablylinked with the ‘English’ landscapegarden known throughout the world.

Brown was not the only designer workingin this style. Others such as NathanielRichmond, Richard Woods, SamuelLapidge also worked in Hertfordshire.

Further details [email protected]

Kate Harwood



LECTURE SECRETARY ORGANISER

Roy and Doreen Bratby have advised Council of their intention torelinquish their responsibility for arranging the Tuesday and FridayLectures as from 31 May 2017.

Council would like to hear from members who would be interested infulfilling these roles.

The Lecture Secretary/Organiser will be a member of the Society’sProgramme Development Committee.

The lecture programme for 2016/2017 will be completed by Roy andDoreen. Their successor will need to plan for 2017/2018.

If you feel that you could serve the Society in this way, please write inconfidence to:Roy Bratby, Chairman, Programme Development Committee, SAHAAS,26 The Park, St Albans, AL1 4RY by Saturday 27 February 2016.

LECTURE PROGRAMMEFEBRUARY – MAY 2016

Tuesday 9 FebruaryMetro-Land – The arrival of the

underground in HertfordshireGraham Boseley

The coming of the MetropolitanRailway to Hertfordshire only involvedthe South West corner of the countybut caused significant change. Gra-ham’s talk looks briefly at the devel-opment of the railway and its arrivalin the county, before considering the

period of Metro-land from 1915 to1932.

The building of a large part of NorthLondon originally known as Middlesexoccurred then but did it extend toHertfordshire and if so in what form?The talk looks at the areas round fivestations and discovers the demise oflarge estates and the creation of avariety of housing and other enter-prises.

One of our own members, Graham readElectrical Engineering at King's CollegeLondon and spent his working life in thecomputer industry specialising in the




developing communications networks.Graham’s interests include railways andarchitecture. He has researched the fol-lowing:-

● Windmills, with a particularstudy into the family’s SmockMill in Kent.

● Railways in Hertfordshire for theHertfordshire Atlas.

● The St Albans Revival 1861 –1864 and the people and placesinvolved.

● World War 1 and the familyinvolvement resulting in a visitto a cemetery in France andrecently a trip to the battlefieldsof Gallipoli.

Ongoing research involves his fatherand the 21�� Signals Company RoyalEngineers deployment in France.

Tuesday 16 February 2016Nouveaux Riches to Nouveaux Pau-vres. The Story of the Macalpine-LenysIan Macalpine-Leny

Ian will describe how beginning in 18��Century Scotland, the story goes firstto Moghul India, then 19�� CenturyDumfriesshire, the Boer War, Arabia,the First War, Colonial Kenya, WorldWar II and finally Lincolnshire. NoPrime Ministers or Archbishops ofCanterbury (yet) but an amazing arrayof characters that have got up to allsorts of fascinating things. Fortu-

nately, despite house fires and thenomadic existence forced on militaryfamilies, a large number of originalrecords and photographs have sur-vived to paint a very clear picture ofhow this family lived, and the fun theyall had doing it.

Ian Macalpine-Leny was educated atUppingham and read Biological Sci-ences at the University of Birmingham.After doing research in Zoology, hejoined international insurance brokerWillis Faber in 1972. Seconded toJohnson & Higgins in New York asWillis’ first resident representative, hebecame one of the strongest advo-cates of the resulting UNISON net-work, and a familiar figure throughoutthe network. He retired in 1999.Married to an American with twosons, he now lives mainly in the Lin-colnshire countryside. His main inter-ests are natural history, fly fishing,game shooting and family, past,present and future. He has publishedtwo books.

Friday 26 February 2016When the British ruled Germany afterthe end of the Second World WarChristopher Knowles

After the end of the Second WorldWar, Germany was divided by thevictorious Allies into four zones of


occupation. The country was in chaosand the scale of destruction, ofhouses, factories, roads and railwayshad to be seen to be believed. Thewhole fabric of the Nazi state hadcollapsed. This talk looks at how threeimportant and influential British indi-viduals - Field Marshal Montgomery,Harold Ingrams and Henry VaughanBerry - set about the task of recon-struction, political renewal, and per-sonal reconciliation with their formerenemies.

Christopher Knowles studied history as anundergraduate at Gonville and Caius Col-lege, Cambridge, from 1971-74. After acareer in electronic publishing and compu-ter software, he resumed his academicstudies at the Centre for ContemporaryBritish History (CCBH) at the University ofLondon in October 2005. His PhD thesis,‘Winning the Peace: The British in occu-pied Germany, 1945-1948’, was awardedthe annual prize of the German HistoricalInstitute, London, for 2014. He is now avisiting research associate at Kings CollegeLondon.

Tuesday 8 March 2016The ‘Boffins’ of World War OneTaylor Downing

The First World War is usually seen asa war of trenches, poets and futilesacrifice. However, there was anotherside. Scientists came forward to dotheir bit for the war effort and in

aviation, intelligence gathering andcode breaking, in medicine, psychol-ogy and propaganda huge advanceswere made. The foundations of muchof the scientific progress of the rest ofthe century were laid in the war years.This talk promises some fascinatingrevelations about a little knownaspect of the Great War.

Taylor Downing is a bestselling author andhistorian and an award winning televisionproducer. His most recent book SecretWarriors tells of the key scientists of theFirst World War and received tremendousreviews when published in 2014. His pre-vious books include Spies in the Sky andChurchill’s War Lab and he has writtenabout the making of the epic TV series TheWorld at War. Taylor is currently finishinga book about shell shock in World WarOne. His website is:www.taylordowning.com

Friday 18 March 2016Motives of the First Crusaders: A NewPerspectiveProfessor Jonathan Phillips

In November 1095 Pope Urban IIcalled on the knights of westernEurope to capture the holy city ofJerusalem from the Muslims. Fired bya blend of religious zeal and a wish forearthly glory, many thousands tookthe cross and, in July 1099, seizedJerusalem to mark the climax of theFirst Crusade. Most historians’ atten-






tion has focused on the militaryclasses, ignoring the crucial contribu-tion of the Italian maritime cities whotend to be regarded as greedy, mon-ey-grabbing traders. This paper willreview this assessment and draw outa wider understanding of why peopletook part in the crusades.

Professor Jonathan Phillips is Professor ofCrusading History at Royal Holloway, Uni-versity of London. He is the author ofnumerous books on the subjectincluding Holy Warriors: A Modern Historyof the Crusades (2009) and The SecondCrusade: Extending the Frontiers ofChristendom (2007). He was the leadpresenter in the History Channel’s TheCross and the Crescent and recentlyhosted the six-part series Ancient Roads:From Christ to Constantine on AmericanPublic Television. At present he is workingon a major history of the Third Crusade.

Tuesday 5 April 2016The Gresham Ship - an armed Eliza-bethan Merchantman wrecked in theThamesGustav Milne

In 2003-4, dredging a deep waterchannel for modern cargo shippingheading for the new London Gatewaycontainer port exposed the substan-tial remains of a robust 16th-centurytrading vessel. It has been armed withseveral guns, including one embel-lished with the mark of Thomas Gre-

sham, the famous Elizabethanfinancier and gun-founder. The Portof London Authority raised thesurviving sections which wererecorded by Wessex Archaeology. Thehull fragments were then studied bya team based in the University ofSouthern Denmark led by Jens Auer,while the artefacts from the wreck sitewere conserved and researched by ateam at University College London.

Gustav Milne worked on a series ofRoman, Saxon and Medieval harbour siteson the Thames for the Museum of Londonfrom 1973 before transferring to the UCLInstitute of Archaeology in 1993, where hestill teaches a course on London Archaeol-ogy. He was the co-director of thePLA's Gresham Ship Project (with DeanSully) and also led the Thames DiscoveryProgramme and then the CITiZAN commu-nity archaeology project, both for theHeritage Lottery Fund.

Tuesday 12 April 2016The Rev Henry Small and the missing£20,000Jonathan Mein

In 1815 Rev Henry Small wasappointed rector of the Abbey parishin St Albans. Late in 1834 he fled toFrance leaving behind substantialdebts out of kilter with his income.Based on new research, this talkexplores a surprising story thatattracted the attention of the then




Prime Minister and involved an inspir-ing resolution. It also considers Small'sactions as part of a series of localscandals that affected everyone in StAlbans - rich and poor - in the 1820-1850 period.

Jonathan Mein has a degree in History andLaw. Having worked in the computerindustry advising large organisations howto negotiate with major software vendorssuch as Microsoft and IBM and then takentime off. He is currently looking for a job.He has found time to research and writeabout such disparate topics as the 19thcentury history of St Albans and the coal-mining community of Pembrokeshire! Jonhas been joint leader of the Society's FirstWorld War Home Front Project for the lastthree years and is really looking forwardto seeing the resulting book publishedlater this year. Jon has recently started anMA at the University of Hertfordshire.

Friday 22 April 2016London’s Lea Valley – Britain’s bestkept secretDr James Lewis

In November 1904, after much exper-iment, Professor Ambrose Flemingregistered his patent for the diodevalve, the world’s first thermionicdevice. This inspired invention notonly paved the way for today’s multi-media electronics industry, but alsocreated the delivery platform for

space travel, e-mail and the Internet,not to mention computers.In November 1936, the world’s firsthigh definition public service televi-sion broadcasts were commenced bythe BBC from the Alexandra Palacetransmitter, positioned on the crestof the Lea Valley’s western slopes.

Centring the 2012 Olympic andParalympic Games in London’s LeaValley provided a unique opportunityto remind the world that the technol-ogy developed in the region dictatedthe way we live today - but did thishappen?

Dr. James Lewis spent most of his careerin the consumer electronics industry,apart from a three-year spell in the RoyalAir Force servicing airborne and groundwireless communications equipment.When working in the Lea Valley for ThornEMI Ferguson. Currently he is a Consultantto Terry Farrell & Partners on the historicaldevelopment of London’s Lea Valley anda Workers’ Educational Association (WEA)tutor teaching industrial history. He alsoteaches students within the CommunityProgramme who have learning difficulties.A freelance writer, researcher and broad-caster for his specialist subject – London’sLea Valley, James also has a genuinepassion for encouraging partnershipprojects within the local community,which in the long term, are planned tohelp stimulate social and economic regen-eration.



Tuesday 10 May 2016The Girls who went to WarDuncan Barrett and Nuala Calvi

Duncan Barrett and Nuala Calvi sharesome of the extraordinary stories theyheard in the course of researchingtheir Sunday Times bestseller The GirlsWho Went to War. Over severalmonths in 2014 they interviewed overa hundred former servicewomen fromWW2, across all three branches of thewomen’s forces - the ATS, WAAF andWRNS. This illustrated talk offers anilluminating glimpse into the lives ofthese extraordinary women and thecrucial role they played in helping towin the war.

Duncan Barrett and Nuala Calvi are theco-authors of a trio of best selling narra-tive non-fiction books. In 2012, their firstcollaboration The Sugar Girls shot into theSunday Times top-ten, spending eightweeks in the chart and finishing as thesecond highest history bestseller of theyear. It was followed in 2013 by GI Brides,which was both a Sunday Times and NewYork Times bestseller. Their most recentbook, The Girls Who Went to War, waspublished in 2015.

Friday 20 May 2016Pompeii and Herculaneum – Their Lifeand DeathDr Paul Roberts

In AD 79, in southern Italy at the veryheart of the Roman Empire, a cata-

strophic eruption of Mount Vesuviusdestroyed and buried Pompeii andHerculaneum. But this disastercreated an archaeologist’s dream, atime capsule of artefacts, buildingsand even people, suspended in time.Public buildings, theatres, templesand baths, and in a Roman house.beautiful sculptures, mosaics and wallpaintings, jewellery, glass, woodenfurniture and even food were miracu-lously preserved. Finally, we see thesad remains of the people who livedin this house, ordinary people just likeus.

Having studied Classics at Cambridge andClassical Archaeology at the universitiesof Sheffield and Oxford, Paul lived andstudied for several years in Italy. He tookpart in excavations in Libya, Turkey Greeceand Italy, where he was co-director of anexcavation at Forum Novum in the SabineHills above Rome. In 1994 Paul joined theGreek and Roman Department of theBritish Museum, becoming Senior Curatorof Roman art and archaeology in 2008. Hewas involved in several exhibitions and in2013 he was curator of the exhibition ‘Lifeand Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum’.In 2015 he was appointed Sackler Keeperof Antiquities at the Ashmolean Museum,Oxford and is working on a new exhibition‘Storms, War and Shipwrecks – Sicily andthe Sea’ the history of Sicily through ship-wreck finds, due to open in June 2016.


One of the Spitalfield Nippers shown by theGentle Author in his lecture

on 8 December 2015.Used with permission of the Gentle Author.

EDITOR’S NOTE

The May edition of this newsletter willbe the 200�� - the first edition beingpublished in 1960. As always I welcomecontributions to be considered forpublication. Closing date for copy is18 April 2016. Please forward by email:[email protected] or bypost: 12 Church Crescent, St Albans,AL3 5JD,

John HumphreysEditor


1637 MAP OF VERULAMIUM PARK ACQUIRED BY SAHAAS

Reproduced by permission of Surrey History Centre

For story of the map, see Page 10

nl 1602 ws fpp 2 feb - st albans history: history...

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