21/11/2025
A post for the history buffs!
Today we honour Paul de Caen, the first Norman Abbot of what was then St Albans Abbey. It was under his leadership that the iconic tower—built using materials from the ruins of Roman Verulamium—rose to define the St Albans skyline.
Paul, nephew of Archbishop Lanfranc, was a monk before the Norman conquest, which perhaps explains why the Deeds of the Abbots notes his success in encouraging discipline among the monks at St Albans. The Deed of the Abbots does also express disapproval of Paul, however.
The Norman abbot disregarded the beliefs and relics of his Anglo-Saxon predecessors, even destroying the existing chapter house, including the relics of the earlier abbots. It does seem that history has a way of repeating itself, with Paul’s own tomb being purposefully destroyed during the Reformation. To this sentiment, hopefully we learn from history’s lessons, in this case by acknowledging and respecting the cultures of others and previous history.
If you would like to do this practically, you can actually adopt one of the very real bricks of the Cathedral, which helps ensure the Cathedral and all its past live on into the future:
👉 https://www.stalbanscathedral.org/appeal/adopt-a-brick - being able to point towards ‘your’ brick makes for a pretty great Christmas present!🎅
In a positive end to the story of Paul de Caen’s remains, the abbot’s bones were found during the development of the new Chapter House in the 1970s. They have been placed inside an ossuary, among others, underneath the memorial (See photo) inside the Cathedral. Come and see it for yourself.
The Norman tower really takes us back in time but so does this photo of it, doesn’t it look a lot warmer then?!
📸 Snjezana Boatswain
