The books listed below are not necessarily in print. However, they may be available on loan or for reference at the St Albans Libraries, through the Inter-library loan service, or at Hertfordshire Archives & Local Studies.

Childwickbury
Christine Aitken
Childwickbury

If you want to know anything about the private Childwickbury estate you will find its entire history in this book.

ISBN 979-0-9567930-3 Published 2011

Please Sign Here
Percy Corfmat
Please sign

The story of Percy Corfmat who came to live on the east side of St Albans. He was the hearing son of deaf parents, and his life's work to evangelise on behalf of deaf people everywhere is told in this book.

Out of print.

Fleetville
Brian Adams and others
fleetville

Through the resources of St Albans Museums we discover what has made this busy suburb of the city tick.

St Albans Museums. Published 2009

St Albans: a History
Tom Doig
history/celebration

A briefly told story of St Albans; its stand-out feature being a number of period photographs in large format.

ISBN 1-90493-845-0. Published 2004

I'm Afraid He's Doing His Best
John and David Sidnell
doing his best

The joint autobiography of twins David and John Sidnell who spent their entire careers as teachers and head teachers in a number of local schools.

Troubadour Publishing Ltd.

ISBN 978-1848765-726 Published 2011

The River Ver
Jacqui Banfield-Taylor
river ver

Subtitled A Meander Through Time, from source to confluence, this is the story of a chalk stream and the people who have been associated with it.

Halsgrove Publishing.

ISBN 978-0-85704-160-9 Published 2012

Life on the Home Front
Edited by Jon Mein and others
life on home front

Turning the clock back over one hundred years, the editorial team re-discovered how the people of the city continued their lives during the First World War.

St Albans & Hertfordshire Architectural & Archaeological Society.

ISBN 978-1-909291-74-4 Published 2016

St Albans: a History
Mark Freeman
st albans a history

Mark's book, covering a full 2,000 years, shines as it gives as much weight to modern times as Medieval. Fleetville also takes its rightful place!

Carnegie Publishing Ltd.

ISBN 978-1-85936-139-9 Published 2008

Marshalswick
Edited by Brian Adams and others
marshalswick

A privately published booklet by Brian Adams, Clare Ellis, Elizabeth Gardner and Helen Leiper, telling the story of Marshalswick House and its estate.

ISBN 978-0-9558813-0-5 Published 2008

Milestones: 105 years of Hertfordshire Scouting
Frank Brittain
milestones 105

An updated version of 100 Years of Hertfordshire Scouting. Notable events in Hertfordshire's scouting world from 1908 to 2013.

Hertfordshire Scouts.

Nick Allen and the Lost Boy
Allen Nicklin
lost boy

A novel based on the growing up of a young footballer in a fictional St Albans in the 1960s.

Published by the author.

ISBN 978-1519262-011-8 Published 2012

Winning the Benevolent Cup
Allen Nicklin
benevolent cup

A further novel blending accounts of teenage life in a fictional 1960s St Albans.

Published by the author.

ISBN 978-148128-413-4 Published 2015

The Oaklands Story, part 2
Brian Cox
oaklands part 2

The Oaklands Story Part 1 from 1921 to 1971 by E C Pelham is now out of print. Part 2 takes the story forward from 1971 to 1996.

Published by the Institute and the Oaklands Association, 2013

The Remarkable Trees of St Albans
Kate Bretherton
trees of st albans

This is the initial title which reminds us what outstanding individual trees and stands we have in and around the city.

Published by the author.

ISBN 978-0-9567399-0. Published 2010

50 Golden Gardening Years
Roger Aylett
50 golden years

The delightfully recorded account of the life of Roger Aylett and the business he nurtured. And it wasn't just dahlias!

Burrall Floraprint Ltd.

ISBN 0-903001-73-X Published 2005

St Albans' Own East End volume 1
Mike Neighbour
saoee outsiders

Subtitled Outsiders.The first of two volumes about the east side of St Albans, mainly the period before the city boundary was extended. It covers the period 1880 to 1930. This book is out of print.

Published by the author.

ISBN 978-0-9571691-0-4. Published 2012

St Albans' Own East End volume 2
Mike Neighbour
saoee insiders

Subtitled Insiders. The second of two volumes relating the story of the east side of St Albans, from 1931 to 1960. This edition is out of print.

Published by the author.

ISBN 978-0-9571691-1-1 Published 2013

Victoriana
Tony Billing
victoriana

Subtitled A St Albans Streetscape, this is a tour around a number of Victorian buildings in various parts of St Albans.

Published by the author.

ISBN 0-9548769-3-8 Published 2006

Tominey's City Ices
Sharon Tominey
tomineys

An ice cream business, begun in Italy, then Dundee and Durham – and we were then fortunate that Tominey's City Ices pitched up and put down roots in St Albans.

Published by the author.

ISBN 978-0-9566630-0-9 Published 2010

Sopwell
Sandy Norman
sopwell

Subtitled A collection of Memories, this book is the result of a community project led by Sopwell Residents' Association.

Sopwell Residents' Association.

ISBN 978-0-9566630-0-9 Published 2012

J H Buckingham
St Albans' Museums
j h buckingham

Subtitled A Window on Victorian St Albans, this is the book with a window cut into the cover. It illustrate works by one of the city's Victorian artists, John H Buckingham.

St Albans' Museums

ISBN 0-902781-0202 Published1988

First Battle of St Albans 1455
Andrew Boardman
first battle

The feud between two families was played out on the streets of St Albans, and marked the beginning of the Wars of the Roses.

Tempus.

ISBN 0-7524-2983-3. Published 2006

St Albans 1650 - 1700
SAHAAS
st albans 1650 to 1700

An intensive study of St Albans' life over a short period of time. The result of a research group project by SAHAAS.

St Albans & Hertfordshire Architectural and Archeological Society.

ISBN 0-9542189-3-0 Published 2003

The Book of Colney Heath
Bryan Lilley
book of colney heath

Subtitled Out of the Wilderness. This is Colney Heath from the time when the Parish of St Mark was formed.

Halsgrove Publishing.

ISBN 1-84114-159-3 Published 2002

Samuel Ryder
Peter Fry
samuel ryder

The biography of the man who came to St Albans to launch a successful seed company. He was, of course, also behind the international golf championship and its cup named after him.

Wright Press.

ISBN 978-0-9539087-1-4. Published 2010

A History of St Albans
James Corbett
a history corbett

The work of James Corbett relating an outline history of St Albans, from Verulamium to the 1980s.

Phillimore & Co Ltd.

ISBN 1-86077-048-7. Published 1997

The Old Town Hall, St Albans
Chris Green
old town hall

The definitive account of the Old Town Hall (now St Albans Museum + Gallery) from its opening in 1832.

St Albans & Hertfordshire Architectural & Archaeological Society.

ISBN 978-0901194-20-6. Published 2017

Sky Fever
Geoffrey de Havilland
sky fever

The autobiography of Sir Geoffrey de Havilland and his pioneering experiences of flight, through to the eventual formation of the de Havilland Aircraft Company.

Softback edition Airlife Publishing Ltd.

ISBN 13-978-1840371-48-2 First published 1979

St Albans in 50 Buildings
Kate Morris
50 buildings

An exploration of the city through a selection of its most interesting buildings and architectural treasures.

Amberley Publishing.

ISBN 978-1-44567739-2. Published 2018

The Remarkable Trees of St Albans Revisited
Kate Bretherton
trees revisited

Revisiting and updating the original title (above), describing and illustrating a selection of wonderful trees in and around St Albans.

Published by the author.

ISBN 878-0-9927994-6-5. Published 2018

The City at War
David Tavener & Peter A Taylor
sacfc at war

A tribute to nine players of St Albans City FC who lost their lives in the two world wars, and the background to the Club during these periods.

St Albans City Football Club

No ISBN available.

St Albans' Architect Percival Blow
SAHAAS
percival blow

Biography and work of St Albans' architect Percival Cherry Blow. Richly illustrated with examples of his buildings, most of which are still standing.

St Albans & Hertfordshire Architectural & Archaeological Society.

ISBN 978-0-901194-22-0. Published 2019

From the Valleys to Verulamium
George & Carrie Dunn
valleys to verulamium

George left a Welsh mining village for St Albans. This is his story and that of his family.

The History Press.

ISBN 978-0-7524-6508-1. Published 2011

The Pageants of St Albans
Mark Freeman
pageants of stalbans

How the people of twentieth century St Albans performed scenes from the city's past, not just once but on three separate occasions.

Regents Court Press, St Albans.

ISBN 978-1-916308-40-4. Published 2020

Independency in St Albans
F A J Harding
independency

Tracing the history of Independency in the city and the story of Spicer Street Church. From the original typescript by Rev F A J Harding. Edited by Paul Nicholson.

Amazon Fulfilment.

ISBN 9781709110375. Published 2020

Secret St Albans
Kate Morris
secret st Albans

Episodes in the Charter Borough's social life, together with lesser events and characters of the Early Modern Period.

Amberley Press.

ISBN 978-1-4456-9073-5. Published 2020

Mistress of Gorhambury
Deborah Spring
mistrees of gorhambury

Lady Anne Bacon, Tudor courtier and scholar. This Concise History is the first in a series.

St Albans & Hertfordshire Architectural & Archaeological Society.

ISBN 978-0-901194-23-7. Published 2021

St Michael's Village
Kate Morris
Image

Full title: St Michael's Village, from Rural Settlement to Residential Suburb, 1700-1930.
Concise Histories number 2.

St Albans & Hertfordshire Architectural & Archaeological Society.

ISBN 978-0-901194-24-4 Published 2022

The Story of St Albans
Elsie Toms
Image

First published in 1962 this title has become the standard work on the history of St Albans.

A & C Black, London

Pre ISBNs. Copies available through Abe Books.

de Havilland and Hatfield
John Clifford
Image

Sub-titled 1910 to 1935, this is the story of gliders and powered flight through Geoffrey de Havilland's experience. It covers the period up to settling in at the Hatfield Airfield site and the flying clubs which buzzed their way to success there.

ISBN 13-978-1-78155-360-2 Fonthill, published 2015.

Story of the Abbey School
Alice Goodman
Image

The story of a National School in the Abbey Parish and published by St Albans & Hertfordshire Architectural & Archaeological Society in 1991.

ISBN 0-901194-12-3

The Oaklands Story 1921-1971
E C Pelham
Image

Part one of the two-volume book covering the story of Hertfordshire Agricultural Institute at Oaklands, St Albans.

Hertfordshire College of Agriculture & Horticulture.

ISBN

What you don't know would make a great book.
Sydney Smith