Historically the parish covered part of the city (town before 1877) and the rural hinterland to the north-west of it.

On 1 April 1974 the parish of St Michael Rural was split, with the small part within the designated area for the New Town of Hemel Hempstead going to the unparished area in Dacorum and the remainder (the majority of the area) becoming the parish of St Michael in the St Albans district.

[3][4][5] It comprises a wholly rural area to the west of St Albans and is bounded on its western side by Hemel Hempstead.

Settlement is dispersed across a number of small and isolated hamlets: Much of the parish is covered by the estates of two large country houses; Childwickbury Manor to the east (home of film director Stanley Kubrick from 1978 until his death in 1999),[6] and Gorhambury House to the west, seat of the Earls of Verulam.

The parish council meets at the old school room adjoining St Mary's Church at Childwick Green.