Saint Alban is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, for which reason he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorded at an early date from Roman Britain. He is traditionally believed to have been beheaded in Verulamium sometime during the 3rd or 4th century, and has been celebrated there since ancient times.
Saint Alban
Stained glass in St Albans Cathedral in England, showing the death of Saint Alban
The martyrdom of St Alban, from a 13th-century manuscript written and illustrated by Matthew Paris, now in Trinity College Library, Dublin; note the executioner's eyes falling out of his head
Martyrdom of Amphibalus from the Trinity College Life of St Alban
Julius and Aaron were two Romano-British Christian saints who were martyred around the third century. Along with Saint Alban, they are the only named Christian martyrs from Roman Britain. Most historians place the martyrdom in Caerleon, although other suggestions have placed it in Chester or Leicester. Their feast day was traditionally celebrated on 1 July, but it is now observed together with Alban on 20 June by the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches.
The Romano-British amphitheatre in Caerleon, the settlement where Julius and Aaron were reportedly martyred
View toward the Bristol Channel at Goldcliff, with the site of Goldcliff Priory (Hill Farm house and outbuildings) in the distance
SS Julius and Aaron Church, Newport
