IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Chaucer Close, Sandridge Road, ST. ALBANS, AL1 4FJ

A modern cul-de-sac

1930s housing on what was once an ancient country lane, possibly even of pre-Roman origin. The wide open verges are historic. Known as the Sandridge Road Wastes, they are strips of common land originally used for resting and grazing animals prior to market, with the right to use them free of charge having been granted following the Peasants' Revolt in 1381. They are now managed by St Albans City Council - see Image for a sign further along the road. The trees are flowering cherries planted in 1935 in commemoration of George V's Silver Jubilee. They make a striking display in spring when in flower, with the flowering colours being alternately red and white. These represent the colours of the Lancastrians and Yorkists in the War of the Roses, Sandridge Road and the adjacent Bernards Heath being the site of the Second Battle of St Albans in 1461.

Built in 1903, this building replaced a temporary school established in 1888, serving the childeren of the "Sandridge New Town" area, between Sandridge Road and Sandpit Lane. Locally listed.

Towards Sandridge.

Housing in the mainly late 19th/early 20th Century development of "Sandridge New Town", an area of land between Sandpit Lane and Sandridge Road, originally outside the boundaries of St Albans and in the parish of Sandridge, prior to the extension of the municipal area in 1879, just south of where Boundary Road was laid out. Upper Culver Road is the extension of Culver Road north of Boundary Road.

The road has wide grassy edges along this stretch.

Looking along Sandridge Road.

A road of large mainly detached houses, developed in the 1920s and 1930s. The name commemorates the Second Battle of St Albans in 1461, fought on nearby Bernards Heath.

The three rows of stone blocks or setts forming the channel make a pleasing contrast with the tarmac: warm cream against purplish dark grey; coarse texture against fine-grained. The setts are the colour of Clunch but it seems unlikely that a form of chalk would be able to withstand wetting and the passage of vehicles. Page 23 of the glorious Hertfordshire Strategic Stone Study from Historic England https://www2.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsuk/download/EHCountyAtlases/Hertfordshire_Building_Stone_Atlas.pdf illustrates a similar construction in St Michael's Street, St Albans. Upper Heath Road is unlikely to be different. The kerb (which could be mistaken for concrete) is identified as Sarsen Stone, probably from Buckinghamshire, and the setts as Granodiorite, an igneous rock well able to withstand wear and tear, possibly from the Newry area of County Armagh; 'Newry Granite', according to Wikipedia.