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Hertfordshire (United Kingdom)

St Albans
About St. Alban

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St. Albans

by Ivan Sache, 5 March 1998

St Albans is an English town located in Hertfordshire. The city flag, a yellow saltire on a blue field, is hoisted over the town hall. The corresponding shield can be seen on several municipal buildings.
Ivan Sache, 5 March 1998

This flag is flown over the city and cathedral of St. Albans in Hertfordshire, England. The golden saltire represents the first British martyr St. Alban, a Romano-British soldier.
John Windle, 12 March 1999

The traditional arms of St Albans derive from St Alban being the first British martyr, hence the cross. It is diagonal as he was not crucified, but beheaded. Hence he was entitled to the cross of martyrdom, but not in the usual form. These arms were assigned to St Alban along with those assigned to many other early Christian saints and figures.
Michael Faul, 5 October 2001

The association of St. Alban with a gold saltire on blue seems to have some reality. A quick web search shows "azure a saltire or" as the arms of St. Alban's Parish in Kooringal, New South Wales; and St. Alban's School in Washington, DC, has as its coat of arms "azure a saltire or on a chief gules a Jerusalem cross argent." (I know this violates the law of tincture and may have the field and saltire reversed, but I don't think so.) Also www.magnolialodge.org/MLblazon.htm which is the site of a US fraternal organization, says the gold saltire on blue is the traditional coat of arms of St. Alban. What I haven't found is why.
Joe McMillan, 17 January 2001

About St. Alban

[Note: this was originally written for an Anglican audience. There was no intention to offend or exclude people of other faiths, merely to inform people within a particular church context. An updated version of this article can be found at the Saints and Seasons webpage.]

The fugitive's convert

The 19th-century founders of the Anglican Church in South Africa had a great regard for St Alban, the first Christian martyr in Britain, whose saint's day (in English tradition) falls on June 17⁽¹⁾. Pretoria's Anglican cathedral and diocesan college are named for him, as is the chapel at Draaifontein, west of Port Elizabeth, which gave its name first to a railway halt and then to a prison. The Natal town of Verulam is named for his Roman-British hometown, but that, strangely, has no Anglican church of St Alban⁽²⁾.

Unfortunately, like many saints of early times, Alban has had myths and legends weaved about his name until we are not sure what it true and what is fantasy. However, at the core of the legend there is enough hard fact for us to appreciate what the man did and what its value is for us. His name was Albanus⁽³⁾ and he was