Stevenage history · History of Stevenage
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History of Stevenage
History of Stevenage
People have lived in the environs of Stevenage since the Roman times, and a hoard of Roman coins was found in the mid-1980s when Chells Manor was built. One of the most 'famous' landmarks in Stevenage is the 'six hills', which were burial mounds for a wealthy Roman family. Later on, Saxons settled nearby to what is now the Great North Road, subsequently bypassed by the A1(M) motorway. The Saxons gave their new village the name 'Stigenace' or 'Stithenac', which means 'at the strong oak'. Over the following centuries, various hamlets and farmsteads sprung up around the village of Stevenage, the largest ones being Shephall and Broadwater. Stevenage was probably affected by the Danish invasions in the late 9th century as several places very close by have the name Dane End, which usually marks the edge of 'Dane-law'.
Stevenage became more stable during the 11th century, and the Domesday Book records the existence of Stevenage, and many nearby hamlets such as Chells, Shephall, Woolenwick, Whomerley, and Broadwater. Things progressed slowly and steadily for the following centuries, when Stevenage grew from a village to a very small and attractive market town centred around the High Street. Stevenage was frequently visited by people travelling on the Great North Road (that used to run through Stevenage), including Samuel Pepys.
In the mid 19th century the population grew to 2,100 as a result of the new railway station built in the town. During the 19th century Charles Dickens and Edward Bulwer Lytton founded the Guild of Literature and Arts on London Road, Stevenage. E.M. Forster also lived at Rooks Nest near St Nicholas Church.
The most dramatic change came in the 1946 when Stevenage became the location for the First New-Town. There were some disgruntled inhabitants of the Old Town who believed Stevenage was only their town, and that they were being swamped by the newcomers from London and Essex. In the next twenty years the population rocketed from roughly 7,000 to around 60,000.
Since then a number of other large housing developments have been built, the biggest being Chells Manor, Poplars, St Nicholas, and Great Ashby. This year the town celebrates its 60th anniversary of becoming a new town.
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Stevenage Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.