During the first part of the twentieth century, Sopwell House was owned by the Grimston family of Gorhambury From the early 1920s it was occupied by Major Geoffrey Barnett (1880-1957) and family. They lived there until the end of the… More about ‘The eccentric Lady Aline Barnett’»
Category: Timeline
Bernard Knight: Sharing memories of living in Nuns Lane
Bernard, interviewed on 25th July 2024, is the son of Jack Knight who was interviewed for the project in August 2013. The family lived in Nuns Lane from 1948 until 1967. Bernard now lives on the Gorhambury Estate. Bernard remembers… More about ‘Bernard Knight: Sharing memories of living in Nuns Lane’»
Horse Chestnut tree at St Stephens
The magnificent horse chestnut tree, a well known landmark in St Stephens churchyard, is no more. It was dying having succumbed to various tree diseases over several years, the main one being the horse chestnut leaf miner which causes the… More about ‘Horse Chestnut tree at St Stephens’»
Jenny Lane
In January 2024, Jenny Lane a small residential development of seven three-bedroomed properties was officially opened in a naming event by the mayor of St Albans, Councillor Anthony Rowlands. The land on which the houses were built was formerly occupied… More about ‘Jenny Lane’»
Some interesting Vicars of St Stephen’s
Marcus Richard Southwell is well-known for establishing the vicarage in Watling Street adjacent to the church. The funding for this came from a Mrs Martha Shippery of Watford who, in 1736, set up a deed to give £7pa to the… More about ‘Some interesting Vicars of St Stephen’s’»
Woad Mead
Most people turning into Griffiths Way would never guess the origins of the land on the corner stretching from the Abbey View office development through to Sainsbury’s supermarket. Some may remember the gasworks which occupied the site before the retail… More about ‘Woad Mead’»
Footpaths in Sopwell
If we look at some of the older maps of the Sopwell area we can see clearly where some of the footpaths were. A few of these paths are still in existence. Many of the later estate roads followed the… More about ‘Footpaths in Sopwell’»
Memories of Glebe House
Glebe House, 5 Watling Street was the home of Peter Gardner (1925-98) and his wife Barbara who lived there with their two sons, Andrew and Timothy from 1956 until 1999. His granddaughter, Louisa Pauley, nee Gardner has fond memories of… More about ‘Memories of Glebe House’»
The Cedar tree
The magnificent cedar tree in St Stephen’s field on the edge of the churchyard was rumoured to have been around at the time when Henry VIII was courting Anne Boleyn. In 1921 it was thought to be the largest cedar… More about ‘The Cedar tree’»
Hunting in Sopwell
In medieval times Sopwell was part of a wood called Eywood. As well as providing timber and fuel the woods were also used for hunting – at that time mainly deer. The Abbey monks and the nuns from Sopwell Priory… More about ‘Hunting in Sopwell’»