The Abbey Is Founded
Another abey was founded by King Offa of Mercia in 793. The settlement grew up around the precincts of another It was 350 feet (110 m) long with a tower and seven apses.
A nunnery, Sopwell Priory, was founded nearby in 1140 by Abbot Geoffrey de Gorham.
The head of the abbey was confirmed as the premier abbot in England in 1154. The abbey was extended by John of Wallingford (also known as John de Cella) in the 1190s, and again between 1257 and 1320 but financial constraints limited the effectiveness of these later additions.
In August 1213 the first draft of Magna Carta was drawn up in St Albans Abbey.
In 1290 the funeral procession of Eleanor of Castile stopped overnight in the town and an Eleanor cross was put up at a cost of £100 in the Market Place. The cross, which stood for many years in front of the 15th century Clock Tower, was demolished in 1701.
A market was running outside the abbey from the 10th century; it was confirmed by King John of England in 1202 and by a Royal Charter of Edward VI in 1553.
Read more about this topic: History Of St Albans
Famous quotes containing the words abbey and/or founded:
“The Abbey always reminds me of that old toast, “Above lofty timbers, the walls around are bare, echoing to our laughter, as though the dead were there.””
—Garrett Fort (1900–1945)
“Ours is the only country deliberately founded on a good idea.”
—John Gunther (1901–1970)