An account of the collapse by the Abbey Chronicler The Deeds of the Abbots of St Albans

‘The terrible fall of the south side of the church during the time of Abbot Hugh

In the same year after the celebration of the Mass of the Blessed Virgin on the day of St Paulinus, Bishop, (10 October), there happened a catastrophe so horrific that previous disasters could be justly regarded as small or nonexistent compared with the magnitude of it.

For when a large crowd of men and women had gathered in the church to pray and hear Mass, two huge columns on the south side of the church crumbled from the base and fell down to the ground one after another with a great crash. It was awful. Monks and laymen, trembling with fear, rushed up from all sides to look at the dreadful sight.

Barely one hour had gone by when the wooden roof built on the columns with its ceiling panels and beams, the south aisle, and practically the whole of that part of the cloister also crashed down. In this sudden, dangerous collapse the hand of God was clearly seen in marvels or rather miracles – helped by the blessed Amphibalus, whose glorious relics lay nearby. For none of the many men and women who were standing by the collapsing building was badly hurt. That was a miracle, but a far greater one followed.

The monk who looked after the relics of the glorious martyr was celebrating at his altar at the time. He had completed the secret mysteries of the Mass, received the life-giving Sacraments and fortunately had done everything as far as the washing of the chalice, when he saw the columns tumbling above his altar and all around him.

He took a little step aside, and so was saved from danger of death and all physical harm by the help of him in whose service he was engaged and the merits of the Blessed Martyr. And then the pile of wood placed to hold up the ruin fell down on the Martyr’s shrine, but, although the marble columns of the tomb were smashed, no harm was done to the wooden box containing his remains.

Three days later a gang of workmen were trying to disentangle and take away the wood, stones, lead etc. which lay there all pressed together. One of them, holding a mattock, rashly dared to climb to the top of the wall, and was struggling to dig out and knock down a part of the wall which was hanging and about to fall, when the whole part on which he was standing collapsed under him and he himself followed it down with a great crash. Although, of course, his thigh was broken and he was very badly hurt, his wound was not mortal and so he had a miraculous escape from the danger of death.’