Surrounding the central train station that connects St Albans to London and the rest of the country, central St Albans benefits from its shopping amenities, tourist destinations such as the ancient Benedictine St Albans Cathedral and the Roman ruins, quaint streets paved with cobble stones, and its abundance of character. Situated in between Welwyn Garden City and Harlow Town in Essex, this Hertfordshire Cathedral city is one of the oldest settlements in the entirety of the UK, dating back over 2,000 years ago! This town with Celtic and Roman history and its proximity to London (via the rail system and major motorways) has long made St Albans a destination for commuter families. The centre of St Albans, directly surrounding the rail station, is a small district dotted with conservation areas; therefore most development occurs on the outskirts of the city.

St Albans’ recorded history begins with the Celtic tribe of Catuvellauni, who settled in the St Albans region in the 1st century BC, where it was known as Verlamion, the name presuming to come from the phrase ‘settlement on the marsh’. When the Romans invaded Britain in 42 AD, they subdued the Celtic Verlamion - turning it into the Roman city of Verulamium. Verulamium was the third biggest city in Roman Britain - after Londinium (London) and Camulodunum (Colchester). Remnants of the Roman history are still found today, namely in Verulamium Park to the south. After the Romans left Britain in 410 AD, the Saxons took over the settlement, naming it Verlamacaestir. It wasn’t until some time later that the town developed the name of St Albans, linking the settlement to its association with the first British Christian martyr venerated in the Catholic Canon, who was persecuted by the Romans in 304 AD in St Albans.

St Albans’ population is around the 150,000 people, a fraction of the population of London. However, St Albans does boast to have more pubs per square mile than anywhere else in the whole of the UK!

The central section of St Albans, owing to its paved cobble streets and ancient histories; is largely slow to develop. Most development, especially housing development, occurs in the outer-reaches of the St Albans locale. However, the housing market for purchasing property in St Albans is generally robust, with over 400 homes on the market right now!St Albans council is currently drafting their Local Plan which should provide the St Albans ten-year road map in regards to housing and infrastructural development in the area.