St Alban's night walk and the finding of Amphibalus

In 1178 Britain's first martyr appears to a local man at night and leads him across the fields to a secret grave.

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Saint

Finding Amphibalus

A dead saint led a sleepless man to the bones of his teacher.

Stand where it happened

What's there: An open village common
Legend from: 1178
Tone: Curious

SaintsVisions

Before you go

Redbourn Common is open public land. The saint's cell was somewhere on the common, but the exact spot is unknown.

Redbourn Common (site of the cell of St Amphibalus)
Near North Common / High Street, Redbourn
The pin is approximate.
Date25 June (traditional feast of St Amphibalus; no Redbourn observance verified)

Here on Redbourn Common, a man led by a vision of St Alban dug up the bones of a martyred priest in 1178.

In 1178, the story goes, St Alban appeared one night to a St Albans man named Robert and said he wished to reveal the grave of Amphibalus, the priest who had converted him. The saint led Robert out to Redbourn and showed him where Amphibalus and his companions lay. Robert marked the spot, and Alban vanished when they returned to his church. Abbot Simon set a guard over the ground, where miraculous cures were reported, and digging uncovered several bodies, one identified as Amphibalus. The relics were carried to the abbey, and a small priory cell was founded on Redbourn Heath over the grave.

St Alban's night walk and the finding of Amphibalus

Finding Amphibalus

Before you go

Sources