St Albans Research Articles

London, Royal Opera House: ‘The Blackened Man’

Will Todd, born in Durham in 1970, has an extensive output of compositions to his credit, including highly-charged operas and oratorios, largely centred around themes from northeastern England, notably the workers' struggle against early 19th and 20th-century injustice and oppression. I had heard his emotive cantata The Burning Road performed at St Albans Cathedral in February 2002 – it depicts the relentless, footsore Jarrow Marchers of 1936 who stopped in the city en route to London – and was interested to hear the follow-up in his new opera on an allied theme: The Blackened Man.

Investigations into the biosynthetic pathways for classical and ring B-unsaturated oestrogens in equine placental preparations and allantochorionic tissues

In on-going studies of ‘classical’ and ring B-unsaturated oestrogens in equine pregnancy, the products of metabolism of [2,2,4,6,6- 2 H 5 ]-testosterone and [16,16,17- 2 H 3 ]-5,7-androstadiene-3β,17β-diol with equine placental subcellular preparations and allantochorionic villi have been identified. Using mixtures of unlabelled and [ 2 H ]-labelled steroid substrates has allowed the unequivocal identification of metabolites by twin-ion monitoring in gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Two types of incubation were used: (i) static in vitro and (ii) dynamic in vitro. The latter involved the use of the Oxycell™ cartridge (Integra Bioscience Systems, St Albans, UK) whereby the tissue preparation was continuously supplied with supporting medium plus appropriate cofactors in the presence of uniform oxygenation. [ 2 H 5 ]-Testosterone was converted into [ 2 H 4 ]-oestradiol-17β, [ 2 H 4 ]-oestrone and [ 2 H 3 ]-6-dehydro-oestradiol-17α in both placental and chorionic villi preparations, but to a greater extent in the latter, confirming the importance of the chorionic villi in oestrogen production in the horse. On the basis of GC–MS characteristics ( M + m/ z 477/ 482 (as O-methyl oxime-trimethyl silyl ether), evidence for 19-hydroxylation of testosterone was found in static incubations, while the presence of a 6-hydroxy-oestradiol-17α was recorded in dynamic incubations (twin peaks in the mass spectrum at m/ z 504/ 507, the molecular ion M +). It was not possible to determine the configuration at C-6. The formation of small, but significant, quantities of [ 2 H 4 ]-17β-dihydroequilin was also shown, and a biosynthetic pathway is proposed. In static incubations of placental microsomal fractions, the 17β-dihydro forms of both equilin and equilenin were shown to be major metabolites of [ 2 H 3 ]-5,7-androstadiene-3,17-diol. Using static incubations of chorionic villi, the deuterated substrate was converted into the 17β-dihydro forms of both equilin and equilenin, together with an unidentified metabolite (base peak, m/ z 504/ 506). The isomeric 17-dihydroequilins were also obtained using the dynamic in vitro incubation of equine chorionic villi, together with the 17β-isomer of dihydroequilenin. Confirmation of the identity of 17β-dihydroequilin and 17β-dihydroequilenin was obtained by co-injection of the authentic unlabelled steroids with the phenolic fraction obtained from various incubations. Increases in the peak areas for the non-deuterated steroids (ions at m/ z 414 (17β-dihydroequilin) and 412 (17β-dihydroequilenin) (both as bis-trimethyl silyl ether derivatives) were observed. Biosynthetic pathways for formation of the ring B-unsaturated oestrogens from 5,7-androstadiene-3β,17β-diol are proposed.

Comparison of summer‐ and winter‐time suburban energy fluxes in Christchurch, New Zealand

AbstractKnowledge of the surface energy balance is fundamental to understanding the boundary layer meteorology and climatology of urban areas. This study reports some of the first direct measurements of energy fluxes over the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, during both summer and winter. Observations of the surface energy balance were made over two mainly residential suburbs: St Albans and Beckenham. Net all‐wave radiation Q* was measured with a net radiometer, the eddy covariance approach was used to measure the turbulent heat fluxes (sensible heat QH, and latent heat QE), and the heat storage flux ΔQS was estimated as the energy balance residual. During the predominant northeasterlies and unstable conditions in summer, the fetch at St Albans includes a commercial warehouse as well as residential areas. In summer, on a daily basis, QH is the dominant heat sink followed by ΔQS and QE. However, during daytime ΔQS can be considerable and may approach the magnitude of QH. Evaporation is low because the turbulent flux source areas are mainly centred over the commercial warehouse and yard, which have little greenspace. In winter the flux source areas are mainly residential for both sites, and the small daily surplus of Q* is partitioned mostly into ΔQS, with some QE and a small QH that may be directed either towards or away from the surface depending largely on the synoptic conditions. Under strong inversion conditions, which occur frequently in Christchurch during winter, the turbulent heat fluxes are very small and QH may be directed towards the surface for many hours overnight and early in the morning. During foehn events the energy partitioning is significantly altered, particularly in winter. Net radiation may be substantially decreased, evaporation is usually markedly increased and in winter QH may be directed towards the surface for much of the event. The results highlight the importance of seasonal and synoptic controls in energy partitioning at this location, although difficulties with fetch complicate the analysis. Copyright © 2002 Royal Meteorological Society

Manipulating incantation texts: Excursions in Refrain A

On 9 October 1851 the British Museum purchased eight incantation bowls from Col. Henry Rawlinson. Of these, seven were written in Aramaic. They were recorded by the Minutes of the Trustees of the British Museum as coming from “a tomb at Babylon”, per se a most unusual provenance since incantation bowls are usually associated with domestic loci. The seven incantation bowls all name the same male client, one Mahperoz son of Hindo. Palaeographic studies on the typical Babylonian Aramaic script in which they were written reveal that they were the product of the same hand. The physical typology of the incantation bowls (hemispherical in form with simple rims measuring 0.6 cm thick and shaved bases) suggests that all seven were selected from the same workshop, and possibly even from the same batch of pottery. In such a situation, where the incantation bowls clearly form a group and were written for a single client, one might expect the texts to be duplicates.Four of the seven bowls purchased from Rawlinson were inscribed with a common incantation text that Ben Segal has designated as Refrain A. This commences with a distinctive call for the overthrow of the world and heavenly order as well as the reversal of female cursers. Over the past one hundred and fifty years a dozen examples of this text have have come to light in a variety of international museums and private collections. The largest group is that of the British Museum which has no less than eight examples, including the four Rawlinson bowls as well as a small flat-bottomed stopper that Hormuzd Rassam obtained from Sippar during the excavations which the British Museum conducted at that site between 1881 and 1882. The remaining four examples of Refrain A are in the Iraq Museum, Baghdad, the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and in collections of antiquities that are owned by the Churchs' Ministry amongst the Jewish People, St Albans, England, and Near Eastern Fine Arts, New York, U.S.A.

John ("Hans") Horton

Former general practitioner St Albans (b 1916; q St Mary's Hospital 1946), died peacefully on 30 October after a long illness. Hans studied medicine in Vienna before going to St Mary's, where he received glowing testimonials and was advised to pursue an academic career. But as he was a mature student with a young family, a career in general practice beckoned. Hans practised in St Albans for more than 30 years, doing sessions in minor surgery, and serving on the local medical committee. He could turn his hands or his mind to anything, building his own boat to sail in and his own classical guitar to learn on. Predeceased by his first wife, Anny, he leaves his second wife, Edith; two children; and three grandchildren.

A Neolithic dugout from a multi-period site near St Albans, Herts, England

With contributions by N. Brown, V. Fryer, R. Holgate, P. Murphy, I. Thompson and R. Wiggins In December 1988 rescue excavations on a multi-period gravel site 5km south-east of St Albans revealed the charred remains of a probable logboat containing cremated human and animal remains. Radiocarbon dating indicated a date in the early 4th millennium BC. The site continued to be used sporadically until the Late Iron Age, and there is some indication that it may have continued to have a ritual significance. The excavation also recorded one (possibly two) Early Saxon sunken floor huts, and ovens and ditches associated with medieval Parkbury.

A Neolithic dugout from a multi-period site near St Albans, Herts, England

In December 1988 rescue excavations on a multi-period gravel site 5 km south-east of St Albans revealed the charred remains of a probable logboat containing cremated human and animal remains. Radiocarbon dating indicated a date in the early 4th millennium BC. The site continued to be used sporadically until the Late Iron Age, and there is some indication that it may have continued to have a ritual significance. The excavation also recorded one (possibly two) Early Saxon sunken floor huts, and ovens and ditches associated with medieval Parkbury.

Exhumation Reconsidered

In an article in this journal published in 1998 entitled ‘Digging Up Exhumation’, Rupert Bursell, Chancellor of the Dioceses of Durham and St Albans, surveyed the then existing case law on exhumation and identified divergencies of approach between the cases. He concluded: ‘A definitive decision from the Court of Arches and Provincial Court may, therefore, seem to be called for […]’. Shortly afterwards the Chancery Court of York had occasion to consider the matter in Re Christ Church, Alsager. This article considers that case as well as two cases subsequent to it where the impact of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights has fallen to be considered.

Student mobility on the map: Tertiary education interchange in the Commonwealth on the threshold of the 21st Century, report of a joint working group of the Council for Education in the Commonwealth and UKCOSA: Published by UKCOSA Council for International Education, 9–17 St Albans Place, London N1 0NX, July 2000, 86 pages, ISBN 1 870679 33 4, £20

Student mobility on the map: Tertiary education interchange in the Commonwealth on the threshold of the 21st Century, report of a joint working group of the Council for Education in the Commonwealth and UKCOSA: Published by UKCOSA Council for International Education, 9–17 St Albans Place, London N1 0NX, July 2000, 86 pages, ISBN 1 870679 33 4, £20

Religious Patronage in Anglo-Norman England 1066-1135

Although the Norman Conquest of 1066 swept away most of the secular and ecclesiastical leaders of pre-Conquest England, it held some positive aspects for English society, such as its effects on Anglo-Saxon monastic foundations, which this study explores. The first part deals in depth with five individual case studies (Abingdon, Gloucester, Bury St Edmunds, St Albans and St Augustine's, Canterbury) as well as Fenland and other houses, showing how despite mixed fortunes the major houses survived to become the richest in England. The second part places the experiences of the houses in the context of structural changes in religious patronage as well as within the social and political nexus of the Anglo-Norman realm. Dr Cownie analyses the pattern of gifts to religious houses on both sides of the Channel, looking at the reasons why they were made. EMMA COWNIE gained her Ph.D. from the University of Wales at Cardiff; she currently holds a research fellowship at King's College, London.

Preventing Home Health Nursing Assistant Back and Shoulder Injuries

Franklin County Home Health Agency (St Albans, Vermont) undertook a performance improvement project in 1996 to reduce employee injuries. A review of recent injuries led to the prevention of licensed nursing assistants' (LNAs') back and shoulder injuries as the first priority. Root causes of injuries were agency communication, employee training, patient home environment, nursing assistant body mechanics, and failure to use safety measures. Given that injury causality is complex and multifactorial, a variety of improvement strategies were implemented over the following two to three years. IMPLEMENTATION OF POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS: Short-term (a few months), mid-term (six months), and long-term (one year) potential solutions to the LNA back and shoulder injury problem were charted. Safety and health training was the major focus of the team's short-term plan. Risk management forms were to be used to identify and follow up on hazardous situations. Project plans that were successfully implemented included revision of LNA plans of care, standardization of the return-to-work process after injury, development of guidelines for identifying unsafe patient lifts and transfers, improved follow-up of employee reports of injury-risk situations in patient homes, improved body mechanics screening of new employees, and a stronger injury-prevention training program for current employees. A less successful initiative was aimed at collecting more data about injuries and causal factors. Employee injuries were gradually reduced from 4-10 per quarter to 0-3 per quarter. Injury prevention requires commitment, persistence, and patience--but not expensive improvements. Multiple interventions increase the chances of success when there are many root causes and lack of evidence regarding the effectiveness of various approaches.

The Conclusion of Christina of Markyate's Vita

The Vita of Christina of Markyate has been celebrated as ‘perhaps the twelfth century's most effective and revealing personal history of a woman’. Indeed, the Vita's account of Christina's early career is vivid and remarkably detailed: one can read at length of Christina's saintly childhood, her efforts to escape an unwanted marriage, her ascetic hardships living with the hermit Roger and her intimate spiritual friendship with Abbot Geoffrey of St Albans. But while we know a great deal about Christina's early career, more than for almost any other contemporary woman, we know almost nothing about her later life. Her Vita is incomplete, its text known only from a single fire-damaged fourteenth-century manuscript, BL, MS Cotton Tiberius E i. Christina's Vita is the very last item in the Tiberius manuscript. On the final folio, as Christina is reproving Geoffrey for incorrect behaviour, the text breaks off at the bottom line in the middle of a word: ‘que minus recte videbatur gerere sapienter increpando, sa…’. As the last datable reference in the Vita is to 1139, and Abbot Geoffrey died in 1146, the existing text of the Vita appears to cover events no later than the early 1140s.

The Promotion and Demotion of Whole Relics

There are indications that some whole relics of saints in England, who had never been canonized officially, were subjected to a change in status during the Middle Ages, being demoted and sometimes promoted again. Some of these demotions follow the fourth Lateran Council of 1215 when it was decreed that relics newly found could not be venerated without papal permission. In this article a few of these cases are examined, in particular those of St William of Norwich, St Amphibalus and his companions at St Albans, and the Venerable Bede at Durham; and in the light of these, the movements of the relics of St Swithun and St Birinus at Winchester are also examined. The site of the last resting place of St William of Norwich is discussed in an Appendix.

Local information for primary care: the St Albans WAX Project (STAPCIS).

The St. Albans Primary Care Information Service (STAPCIS) is a database of locally focused information designed to be of use for GPs and the Primary Care team as a whole in a particular area. It is currently being used by practices in the St. Albans, Dacorum and Watford & Three Rivers Primary Care Groups. STAPCIS developed from a project initiated in late 1997 to pilot the use of the WAX software to improve access to directory-type and full-text material needed for easy access by primary care staff and traditionally difficult to manage. The database is updated centrally by the STAPCIS Librarian who distributes the new editions to the practices. The WAX software itself was developed by the Cambridge Centre for Clinical Informatics. STAPCIS contains locally and nationally produced relevant information from a variety of sources, including full-text clinical guidelines and directories of Trusts. Decisions on new content are made by a Steering Group and the GPs and Primary Care teams are particularly encouraged to make suggestions regarding new content. The service is financially supported by the three primary care groups. The STAPCIS Librarian is project-managed by the Library & Information Development Unit (North Thames <http:¿www.nthameshealth.tpmde.ac.uk/rliu/ ntrliu.htm>), which also provides additional equipment and expertise. A new software company, WaX Info Ltd (<http:¿www.waxinfo.com/>), will soon be releasing a new version of the software, WaX. WaX consists of a WaX client and WaX ActiveLibrary server software. With the new version, the 'books' of information will still be stored on the user's PC, retaining the speed of access, but the server will enable users to 'borrow' books from remote locations and will provide automatic updates of all books. The new software will improve the management and distribution processes of STAPCIS once all of the practices have Internet connectivity.

James Corbett, A History of St Albans. Chichester: Phillimore, 1997. xiii + 162pp. 121 illustrations. Bibliography. £14.99. Rex Marchant, Hastings Past. Chichester: Phillimore, 1997. xi + 132pp. 157 illustrations. £14.99. Sandy Macfarlane and Chris Kingham, Princes Risborough Past. Chichester: Phillimore, 1997. xii + 124pp. 159 illustrations. £14.99. Evelyn Lord, Derby Past. Chichester: Phillimore, 1997. x + 134pp. 148 illustrations. Bibliography.

James Corbett, <i>A History of St Albans</i>. Chichester: Phillimore, 1997. xiii + 162pp. 121 illustrations. Bibliography. £14.99. Rex Marchant, <i>Hastings Past</i>. Chichester: Phillimore, 1997. xi + 132pp. 157 illustrations. £14.99. Sandy Macfarlane and Chris Kingham, <i>Princes Risborough Past</i>. Chichester: Phillimore, 1997. xii + 124pp. 159 illustrations. £14.99. Evelyn Lord, <i>Derby Past</i>. Chichester: Phillimore, 1997. x + 134pp. 148 illustrations. Bibliography.

Employment on the Priory of Durham Estates, 1494–1519: The Priory as an Employer

THE CENTRAL ROLE played by the monasteries in the economic life of their localities, throughout the Middle Ages and up to the Dissolution, has long been a commonplace of urban history. Indeed, it is probable that it was the temporal activities of major monastic foundations, in their roles as influential local landlords, rather than their spiritual endeavours, which made the greater impact upon the everyday working lives of their local tenantry. Moreover, the servicing of such institutions inevitably made a considerable impact upon the mechanisms of economic life in the local community. In the North, Hexham and Durham were towns of this sort. In southern England there are numerous examples: the very names of Bury St Edmunds, St Albans, and Peterborough signify the monastic core of the urban communities there. Malmesbury and Ramsey are other instances. None of these towns had more than a few thousand inhabitants, and in each case the presence of a monastic house may be assumed important in creating trade and employment in the local community. Just how important, it is usually impossible to assess. Given their socio-economic prominence in the host community, it is commonly assumed that abbeys played a major role in providing employment in such places. At one extreme, these might be envisaged as having self-contained and mutually supporting systems of exchange in which a monastery created employment for the local inhabitants and generated a demand for traded goods to be supplied by local enterprise. It is rare, though, to be able to test to what extent this perception is appropriate; few places have the quantitative evidence needed to assess the monastic contribution to the local economy in any but the most impressionistic way.2 Durham, however, is exceptional in this respect. It was

Reformation and reaction at St Albans Abbey, 1530-58

Reformation and reaction at St Albans Abbey, 1530-58 Get access JG Clark JG Clark Brasenose College, Oxford, UK Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The English Historical Review, Volume 115, Issue 461, April 2000, Pages 297–328, https://doi.org/10.1093/ehr/115.461.297 Published: 01 April 2000

Reformation and reaction at St Albans Abbey, 1530-58

Reformation and reaction at St Albans Abbey, 1530-58

Propaganda and the First Battle of St Albans, 1455

It is the awesome responsibility of historians to depict the past and the characters of the past as they really were, warts and all. Is this not a rather presumptuous exercise now that we realize that it is seldom the real president, prime minister or secretary-general that appears on our television screens, but rather a product or an image that has been artificially manufactured? Richard M. Nixon’s deleted expletives, Kurt Waldheim’s expurgated past, and the modifications to Margaret Thatcher’s voice, John Major’s teeth, and Tony Blair’s hair are aspects of the processes of adaptation, creation, and re-creation that now employ whole teams of public relations officers, speech-writers, couturiers, coiffeurs, spin-doctors and advertisers. What we see is not reality. It is an image designed to appeal to and shape public opinion and win elections. Fortunately for democracy, there are today many others professionally concerned to dispel and discredit such images. They give access to alterna­ tive official and journalistic sources almost as each image is created.

Pupils with Severe Learning Difficulties as Personal Target Setters

Richard Rose, Senior Lecturer at University College, Northampton, and Will Fletcher and Gaynor Goodwin, Watling View School, St Albans, argue that although many schools have attempted to enable pupils with special educational needs to play an active part in their own planning procedures and assessment, few have identified and analysed the skills required by both pupils and teachers. Theydescribe a one‐year small‐scale action‐research project, in a school for children with severe learning difficulties, which resulted in the development of procedures for the assessment of ‘pupil readiness’ for full involvement in the target‐setting process.