Old Camp Track
Old Camp Track

Follow the former track between Camp Road and Grimston Road.

Oaklands
Oaklands Mansion SE view HALS



The country house turned agricultural college tucked away from the road beyond Wynchlands.


Wartime East End
Collection van


How many circumstances changed during times of conflict.

Dell Cottage
Dell Farm Cottage

A secluded cottage next to the railway in Sandpit Lane.

Turnpike Road
Ellenbrook turnpike marker

The Reading & Hatfield Turnpike road finally closed in 1881.

Beaumonts Manor
Jane Marten second Beaumonts Manor

Fleetville's very own Manor House, though it is no longer visible.

Butterwick Wood
Dunelm at Butterwick

The woodland east of Oaklands now factory and retail space.

Streets catch-up
Bramley Way street plate

Of over six hundred streets in the East End. Here are a few more.

Marshalswick
St Mary's through the grasses

Old and New – with different spellings – created residential areas from a park and its farms.

Mile of Shops
Fowler's sweet shop Hatfield Road

Well, not quite a mile, but plenty of retail opportunity!

Camp Hill
Camp Hill settlement

The hamlet from which Camp grew at the top of the hill.

The Rats' Castle
Rats' Castle with flowers

From the site of a turnpike toll house to a thriving Fleetville pub.

Cambridge Road
Carnival float Cambridge Road

The story of a road on the original Camp estate.

Hill End Hospital
Hill End remaining ward block

A former mental hospital in Hill End Lane, and now a residential area named Highlands.

Cell Barnes Hospital
Walking through Highfield Park

A former mental colony in Highfield Lane, now part of a new residential area called Highfield.

Fleetville Cinema
Fleetville Cinema entrance

Could have been St Albans' fourth cinema – had it opened.

Clarence Park
Clarence Park vista

For a century and a quarter St Albans people have enjoyed the colour and activity of this open space.

Alban Way
Blue sign Alban Way

A walking and cycling route between Hatfield and Abbey Station.

Hatfield Road east
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Residential development ribboned its way eastwards from Ashley Road towards the former Butterwick Farm.


Rec and nursery
Rec at Larks 2012

The gift of a field and what happened next; the arrival of a nursery, eventually a cafe, and soon a new purpose-built community centre.

Evacuees
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A key page about a few years in which thousands of St Albans people played host to children in the biggest upheaval ever experienced in Britain. This is a MUST-READ.


Ballito Hosiery Mill
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Ballito Hosiery Mill – "the Ballito Works" – opened in 1925 and was closed by the new owners, Courtauld, in 1967. This is the story of Ballito in a single page.

Sander, the Orchid King
orchid 5

A man from Bremen arrived in the UK and fell in love with orchids. He leased a shop and then purchased some land. The result was Sander's Orchid Nurseries. Through his descendants his name and his love live on.

Marconi Instruments
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Collaboration in 1936 of Marconi Wireless and EKCO of Southend led to the formation of world-renowned Marconi Instruments of St Albans. The early story.

de Havilland
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The story of the former de Havilland Aircraft Company is now a topic. The Company was one of two major aircraft manufacturers in the district, becoming part of Hawker Siddeley and then a contributor to British Aerospace.