St Albans Saints Celebrate 160th Birthday

In June, Saints in St Albans, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom marked the 160th anniversary of an organized branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

June 13, 2009, marked the 160th anniversary of an organized branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in St Albans, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.

June 13th and 14th was a momentous time for Latter-day Saints in St Albans, Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield as they remembered the early years when the St Albans Branch was officially organized in the area. Over 270 people, members and their friends attended the weekend’s activities some traveling from as far afield as Cheshire and the Isle of Wight.

During the festivities, Deputy Mayor of Welwyn and Hatfield Howard Morgan, who attended the event, learned that the first missionary to serve in the area had been born in Welwyn. Deputy Mayor Morgan was delighted to hear how a man from Welwyn Garden City had been such an influence in the early years of the Church and was impressed at the history the Church has in this area. He spoke with several members from the ward and congratulated them on their efforts to improve their local community.

The celebrations commenced with a presentation of ward history over the last 160 years and grandchildren and great grandchildren of the very first members were there to share stories of their pioneering ancestors.

The first recorded history in the St Albans area was in June 1849 when the branch was officially organized at a conference in London. Although records show there were already Mormon families living in the St Albans area, by Christmas 1851 the branch had grown to include 54 members and by 1854 had baptized 134 people.

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The Church faced many difficulties in the early 1850’s when almost all of its members heeded the call of President Brigham Young to emigrate to Salt Lake City. Most members in the UK left their possessions behind and spent what little money they had to make the arduous and sometimes dangerous journey. It is recorded that nearly all the St Albans members left for Salt Lake City resulting in the closure of the branch.

Proselyting work still continued in the area and in 1873 the aforementioned Elder Squires was dispatched by President Brigham Young to England. (Though Elder Squires was an Englishman by birth, he had emigrated to America, where one of his many duties was as a barber to President Brigham Young.)

Dressed in his Prince Albert coat, derbie, umbrella and satchel – standard for missionaries at the time – he recorded in his journal that upon visiting St Albans, he felt the Spirit tell him to stay so he rented a four-room house. Elder Squires preached to the saints in Hemel Hempstead and St Albans and became a somewhat familiar sight as he made his journey between towns on foot.

The Church would not have its own building or baptismal font until many years later, so baptisms were carried out in the River Ver, even in the depths of winter. Baptism in the river was necessary to avoid the anti-Mormon protests of local townspeople who it is said guarded the river by day. One member, Polly Osborne, who was baptized in the river in 1901 at age 8, would later be tarred and feathered along with other members due to their beliefs.

In August 1900 they held a conference in the open air in the Market Place St Albans, with over 1,000 people gathered to listen, but members were hurriedly escorted to safety by police as angry mobs broke through the crowds in an attempt to stop the meeting. In 1953 the branch moved into the Abbey Restaurant, situated behind the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Albans.

The restaurant was also used by a cycling club, who could be seen during meetings, patiently waiting outside for their cups of tea. The preachers would take advantage of their captive audience and would leave the windows open for the cyclists to hear, at times directly preaching to them, as well as serving them cups of tea as they waited. Then in 1959 church leaders located and acquired a three-story Victorian property on Ridgmont Road from Hertfordshire District Council.

As the membership grew internal walls had to be knocked down to make more room for activities until 1974 with the aid of member Rowland Elvidge of St Albans, planning permission to build a new chapel was granted, and a ground breaking ceremony took place on the 7th May 1974. The St Albans Branch of the Church has been located at 21 Ridgmont Road ever since.

Photo: Deputy Mayor of Welwyn and Hatfield Councillor Howard Morgan and Bishop Ian Miller of St Albans Ward.

Information supplied courtesy of Claudio Duran and Rowland Elvidge, Salt Lake Historical Library, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.