to the then most prestigious steeplechase in England. The Great St Albans chase attracted the best horses and riders from across Britain and Ireland in the 1830s and was held in such high esteem that when it clashed with the 1837 Grand National the top horses and riders chose to bypass Aintree. Without warning the race was discontinued in 1839 and was quickly forgotten. St Albans was once home to Samuel Ryder, the founder of the Ryder Cup. He ran a very successful packet seeds business in the 1890s which at one time he ran from a packing warehouse on Holywell Hill (currently Café Rouge). His interest in golf and sponsorship led to his donation of the now famous Ryder Cup. He is buried in Hatfield Road Cemetery, where in July 2012 the Olympic Torch Relay passed by to honour him. Education St Albans has many state primary and secondary schools, and a number of independent schools. The law school of the University of Hertfordshire used to be based in Hatfield Road in St Albans until it moved to the university's De Havilland campus in Hatfield in 2011. Hertfordshire County Council purchased the site. The interior of the former law school building has since been refurbished and now forms part of Alban City School, a state-funded Free School for primary aged children, which started taking reception class children in September 2012. A campus of Oaklands College, a further education college, is also located in Smallford in St Albans. International relations Twin towns – sister cities Odense, Syddanmark, Denmark Nevers, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Nyíregyháza, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Hungary Fano, Pesaro and Urbino, Marche, Italy Notable people See also Kingsbury Watermill Museum St Alban and St Stephen's Church, St Albans St Albans Museums St Albans (UK Parliament constituency) Sopwell Priory Sopwell House Verulam House, St Albans Verulamium Museum References External links St Albans council website Once Upon a Time in St Albans – a graphic journey to St Albans past enjoystalbans – visitor website for St Albans – what's on, where to go, what to see, accommodation, etc allaboutstalbans – events and leisure website for visitors to St Albans Herts Advertiser newspaper St Albans & Harpenden Review newspaper Radio Verulam – St Albans based community radio station, covering West Herts on 92.6FM St Albans Museums St Albans Remarkable Heritage Towns in Hertfordshire Unparished areas in Hertfordshire Former civil parishes in Hertfordshire City