The Liberty of St Albans (also known as the Hundred of Albanestou or Cashio) was a liberty situated within Hertfordshire, but enjoying the powers of an independent county. It was originally associated with the abbey of St Albans, and later with the borough corporation. It was absorbed by Hertfordshire in 1874. It was also known as the Hundred of Cashio.
The origins of the liberty are unclear, but the abbots of St Albans claimed that the privileges had first been granted by King Offa of Mercia, who founded the abbey in 793. [1] The Liberty appears to have been formed from parts of the Dioceses of London and Lincoln. [2]
At the time of the Domesday Book the liberty was known as Albanestou. The boundaries of the area expanded over time, including at times parts of Buckinghamshire.
Exactly what powers the liberty possessed previous to the twelfth century are not known. Edward I gave the abbot of St Albans palatine powers equal to those enjoyed by the bishops of Durham and Ely.
With the dissolution of the abbey the Borough of St Albans was granted a charter of incorporation as a free borough, having previously been under the control of the abbot. The liberty was henceforth placed under the corporation of the borough. Palatine status was discontinued, although the borough and liberty retained its own quarter sessions. The administration was headed by a high steward chosen by the corporation.
The liberty was merged with the county of Hertfordshire in 1874 by Act of Parliament, [3] which divided the county into two divisions, the eastern part of the county to be the Hertford division and the western part to be known as the Liberty of St Albans Division, each maintaining separate quarter sessions, but being a single commission of the peace. The Act made clear that, despite its name, the St Albans division was not to be deemed a liberty in any future legislation.
In 1889 the Local Government Act 1888 created an elected Hertfordshire county council which covered both divisions. For some time after its creation, the county administration was divided between Hertford and St Albans.
By the nineteenth century the liberty contained all or part of the following parishes: [4]
Hertfordshire is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For government statistical purposes, it forms part of the East of England region.
St Albans is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, 20 miles (32 km) north-west of London, 8 miles (13 km) south-west of Welwyn Garden City and 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman road of Watling Street for travellers heading north and became the city of Verulamium. It is within the London commuter belt and the Greater London Built-up Area.
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The Bishop of St Albans is the Ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of St Albans in the Province of Canterbury. The bishop is supported in his work by two suffragan bishops, the Bishop of Hertford and the Bishop of Bedford, and three archdeacons.
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The London Traffic Area was established by the London Traffic Act 1924 to regulate the increasing amount of motor traffic in the London area. The LTA was abolished in 1965 on the establishment of the Greater London Council.
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Hertfordshire was a county constituency covering the county of Hertfordshire in England. It returned two Knights of the Shire to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1800 until 1832. The Reform Act 1832 gave the county a third seat with effect from the 1832 general election.
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