The name St. Alban arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The St. Alban family lived in Devon. Their name, however, is a reference to St. Albine de Terregatt, Normandy.
"Mauger de St. Albyn witnessed the foundation charter of Barnstaple Abbey in the time of the Conqueror, and his posterity remained for many generations in Devonshire. Their earliest recorded residence was Pickwell, in the parish of George Ham, where Sir Mauger de St. Albino was seated in the latter days of Henry III." [1]
"This knight and his lady are interred in the church, under a fair monument of free stone, with their representations neatly cut ; and he lying in his armour makes show of large stature, something more than ordinary. The inhabitants report from their ancestors that he was of giant-like stature, and therefore named Major St. Aubyn, mistaking Major for Mauger or Maugis, a common name in those days. He was of so great and extraordinary strength that he was able to cast a huge main stone a very large length. The stone is yet there to be seen, and the throw marked out by two erected monuments yet extant, and the stone is so weighty that two strong men of this age are but able to lift it." [1]
The surname St. Alban was first found in Devon and neighbouring Cornwall. "The manors of Berripper and Penpons, [in Camborne] which are now the property of Sir John St. Aubyn, have long been in the possession of his family. His grandfather, who was born in this parish, and who represented this county in parliament, has rendered his name memorable by his eloquence and independence." [2]
"The manor of Trelowith, together with that of Trenhale, [in the parish of St. Erth, Cornwall] has long been in the St. Aubyn family, where it still remains. Hals says, that from Trenhayle was denominated an old family of gentlemen that became extinct so early as the reign of Edward III. when the heiress of this family married Tencreek, whose heiress married Budeoxhed, which family also became extinct in the reign of Elizabeth. It appears however, from the parish register, that some of the Trenhayle family remained so late as the seventeenth century." [2]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our St. Alban research. Another 121 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1613, 1684, 1640, 1645, 1687, 1670, 1714, 1702, 1744, 1726, 1772, 1641 and 1819 are included under the topic Early St. Alban History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled St. Albyn, St. Awbyne, St. Aubyn, St. Alban and many more.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir John St. Albyn; John St Aubyn (1613-1684), English politician in the House of Commons (1640), Colonel in the Parliamentary Army in the English Civil War...
Another 33 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early St. Alban Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the St. Alban family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 48 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.