The Black Death and a Poll Tax were just two of the factors leading to the Peasants' Revolt in the late 14th century. Stephen de Silva looks at the uprising and its consequences in St Albans.
Our guide to the Cathedral and its history explores the time when a Monastery and Abbey were at the heart of the town - but also frequently in conflict with the townspeople.
Stephen de Silva, a guide and former warden at the Cathedral, is a regular contributor. In this conversation, he tells Rob Pearman about the new Visitor Centre then under construction (but opened in June 2019) and the discovery of the remains of the famous Abbot John of Wheathampstead.
Stephen de Silva takes us on a tour of the Cathedral - from the main door at the Western End, along the Nave and through all the key areas - and explains the meaning of the names of many parts of the building. Did you know, for instance, that 'nave' means 'boat'?
'Poppyfields' was an installation at St Albans Cathedral (on the evenings of Friday 26th and Saturday 27th October 2018) using projection, music and video in commemoration of the end of WWI in November 1918. Project Manager Helena O'Sullivan told Rob Pearman about this creative use of our City's most famous building. Poppies floating down across the nave and shrine, candles in the choir, a music soundtrack in all parts of the Cathedral, a video of Eddie Redmayne reading war poems - all this and more in a unique experience.
As Stephen de Silva, a guide at St Albans Cathedral, explains, the restoration work undertaken by Lord Grimthorpe in the 19th century has its supporters and also those who are less than effusive in their praise.
Stephen de Silva, St Albans Cathedral Guide (and a former Warden), tells Rob Pearman about Magna Carta and the role of St Albans Cathedral leading up to the meeting at Runnymede over 800 years ago.
