St.Leonard’s plays a significant role in a recently published book about Marshalswick, once the site of the “big house” of Sandridge parish before it was subdivided. The Marten family, who occupied the house from about 1800 until the estate was sold for building the present housing estate in the mid-twentieth century, worshipped at St Leonard’s and are commemorated by monuments inside and outside the church and a memorial stained glass window, all illustrated in the book. Its fifty pages contain a fascinating history of the family, the district and many period photographs.

We've temporarily sold out of copies in church, but they should be available, price £6, from the City Museums and the Tourist Office in St. Albans.