Michael’s church, you see foundations of houses and streets, gutters, floors, &c. under the hedge-rows. The ancient part of the monastic church and the steeple are intirely built of Roman brick, fetched by the abbots from the old city. March 1718–9 a Mosaic pavement was found. The Roman bricks are generally eighteen inches long, twelve broad, one and a half thick. I measured one in the south-wall of the school-house, by the east end of the abbey church, twenty-three inches long, three thick, which probably was made for hypocausts. Upon the walls of old _Verulam_ grows the _bee orchis_, a very curious plant. Many are the monuments, brasses, tombs, and inscriptions, in the abbey church: the vault of Humphry duke of Glocester was lately discovered: the high altar is a curious piece of Gothic work, which I have represented in two plates. Hard by is Sopwell nunnery, where they say Henry VIII. was married to Anna Bolen: part of it is standing. But to say any thing particular of religious antiquities, would be too tedious: they have lately been working hard at pulling up the old foundations of the abbey, and it is now levelled with the pasture, when three years ago one might make a tolerable guess at the ichnography of the place. In the heart of the town of the adjoining corporation stood another of queen Eleanor’s crosses, which they likewise intirely demolished, not considering that such kind of antiquities invite many curious travellers to come thither. This very year they pulled down the stone tower or gate-house on the north side of the abbey, within a month after I had taken a sketch of it. In St. Peter’s church I found this old inscription on a stone, *EDITHE : LE : UINETER : GIST : ICI : DIEU : DE SA : ALME : EIT : MERCI.* I shall add no more, than that my notion of the derivation of this town, and several others compounded of like words, is, a fair habitation, _Vrolân_, as it justly merits. [Illustration: 29·2ᵈ. _Prospect of_ Berghamsted _14. Sept. 1724._ +Dvrocobrivis.+ _Stukeley delin._ _E. Kirkall sculp._] [Illustration: 95 +Verolanivm+ Martino Folkes Ar. observantiæ ergo d. _W. Stukeley_ A. _To_ Suellaniacis B. _The Monastrey_ C. _Sopwell a Nunnery_ D. _Sᵗ Stephens_ E. _Q. Elenors-cross_ F. _Sᵗ Michaels_ G. _A Bell-tower_ H. _Sᵗ Marys chap_: _Stukeley delin._ _Parker Sculp_] [Illustration: 30 _The high Altar at Sᵗ. Albans. 28. Dec 1720._ _Stukeley d._] [Illustration: 31 _The back side of the high altar at Sᵗ. Albans_ _Stukeley d._] [Sidenote: +Suellaniacis.+]