A Whole World in a Single Street: The Story of King's Road

Judy Sutton is giving an illustrated talk on the history of King's Road at Dagnall Street Baptist Church on Tuesday 17 November, from 19:45. It's a local history evening that takes one street and uses it to look at the wider story of St Albans.

King's Road was built in the early 20th century as rented terraced housing for manual labourers and their families. Its fortunes have shifted over the decades, and the talk argues that those changes reflect the broader story of the city itself. Sutton draws on the childhood recollections of former residents and an archive she's built living on the street for more than forty years. She's a recently retired nurse, a sociology graduate, and a member of SAHAAS, and she's written two books about King's Road in the last five years. She also led the project that put up the street's Great War memorial in 2023, which commemorates fifteen King's Road men who died in the First World War.

The talk covers what the land was used for before the housing went up, how the houses were built, and a look at the 1921 census. It's an illustrated session, so you'll see the street as it was as well as hear the stories that come from the people who lived there. It runs for an hour and a half, starting at 19:45 at Dagnall Street Baptist Church, 1 Cross Street, St Albans, AL3 5EE. Entry is by donation — free or pay-what-you-can.