St Albans is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England located at the east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, 20 miles (32 km) north-west of London. St. Albans, which later became the Roman city of Verulamium, was the first significant settlement for travelers traveling north on the ancient Roman Watling Street. It is located in the Greater London Built-up Area and the commuter belt of London.

St Albans‘ numerous historic inns can be attributed to its past as a small rural market town, a Christian pilgrimage place, and the first coaching stop on the route to and from London. Small and lacking in industry, St. Albans was in the Victorian era.