Emily's St Albans History Fragments Pendant

Emily's Story

Our St Albans shop and studio hosted a pendant design competition, with "Fascinating St Albans" as the brief.

Emily's favourite part of St Albans is the ‘vast range of mesmerising and significant sites’, where excavation is ‘fundamental for uncovering history, ancestry and origins; to confirm whether events have occurred and to potentially enhance knowledge on a period and lifestyle." Her dream is to continue studying and ‘unravelling’ more artefacts, and therefore became the inspiration for her own design.

It is split into 3 parts, influenced by three high rarity artefacts from a variety of time periods.

Part one

There is a snippet of a 14^th century tile which was destinated in the Cathedral precinct however was originally from a St Albans Abbey. I really appreciate the intricate and ornate patterns as it's exceptionally advanced for the time! The majority of these fragments were lost when the Abbey permanently shut, it is stated that it might have been on a bible.

Part two

Another extract depicts a renowned figure regarded as Emperor Arcadius, who featured on a predominantly gold coin, that was initially produced in Milan. It is confirmed that its origins date back to circa 394-408 AD and portrays someone who possessed Roman blood. I selected this coin to project that even though there is evident history, there is more than meets the eye.

Part three

The last portion showcases a fragment of a 12^th century ivory book cover. From this we can spectate how designs have evolved over time. The original was located in the precincts of St Albans Cathedral in 1921. This book cover has such incredible craftsmanship that the original is currently in the British museum.