Stevenage | |
|---|---|
 Borough council coat of arms | |
| Motto: "The heart of a town lies in its people" | |
 Stevenage shown withinHertfordshire | |
| Coordinates:51°54′06″N00°12′07″W / 51.90167°N 0.20194°W /51.90167; -0.20194 | |
| Sovereign state |  United Kingdom |
| Constituent country |  England |
| Region | East of England |
| Ceremonial county | Hertfordshire |
| Admin HQ | Stevenage |
| Government | |
| • Type | Non-metropolitan district |
| • Governing body | Stevenage Borough Council |
| • Mayor | Myla Arceno[1] |
| • Council control | Labour |
| • MP | Kevin Bonavia (Labour) |
| Area | |
• Total | 10.02 sq mi (25.96 km2) |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 91,774 (Ranked 265th) |
| • Density | 7,980/sq mi (3,081/km2) |
| Ethnicity(2021) | |
| • Ethnic groups | |
| Religion(2021) | |
| • Religion | List
|
| Time zone | UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time) |
| Postcode areas | |
| Area code | 01438 |
| ONS code | 26UH (ONS) E07000243 (GSS) |
| OS grid reference | TL2424 |
| Police | Hertfordshire |
| Fire | Hertfordshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| Website | stevenage.gov.uk |
Stevenage (/ˈstiːvənɪdʒ/STEE-vən-ij) is a town andborough inHertfordshire, England, about 28 miles (45 km) north ofLondon.[3] Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of theA1(M), betweenLetchworth Garden City to the north andWelwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage was designated the United Kingdom's firstNew Town under theNew Towns Act. In 2021 it had a population of 94,456.[4]
"Stevenage" may derive fromOld Englishstiþen āc /stiðen āc /stithen ac (variousOld English dialects cited here) meaning "(place at) the stiffoak".[5]
The name was recorded asStithenæce inc. 1060 and asStigenace in theDomesday Book in 1086.
Stevenage lies near the line of theRoman road fromVerulamium toBaldock. SomeRomano-British remains were discovered during the building of the New Town, and a hoard of 2,000 silver Roman coins was discovered during housebuilding in the Chells Manor area in 1986. Other artefacts included adodecahedron toy, fragments ofamphorae for imported wine, bone hairpins, andsamian ware pottery associated with high-status families.[6] Archeological excavations have confirmed the existence of a small Roman farmstead, amalting kiln and a Celticround house in the Chells area, and a cemetery containing 25cremations.[7] The most substantial evidence of activity from Roman times isSix Hills, sixtumuli by the side of the oldGreat North Road that are presumably the burial places of members of a local family.[8]
The firstSaxon camp, a little to the east of the Roman sites, was in a clearing in the woods where the church, themanor house and the firstvillage were later built. Settlements also sprang up in Chells, Broadwater and Shephall. Before the New Town was established,Shephall was a separate parish, and Broadwater was split between the parishes of Shephall and Knebworth.
During the 9th and 10th centuries AD, the Saxon village in Stevenage faced frequent attacks fromViking raiders.[9] Stevenage was on the border of theDanelaw. A Viking spearhead was discovered by archaeologists at nearbyArdeley.[10]
According to theDomesday Book, in 1086 theLord of the Manor was theAbbot ofWestminster Abbey. The settlement had moved down to the Great North Road. In 1281 it was granted aRoyal Charter to hold a weekly market and annual fair, still held in the High Street.
The earliest part ofSt Nicholas's Church dates from the 12th century, but it was probably a site of worship much earlier. The list of rectors (parish priests) is relatively complete from 1213. Around 1500 the church was much improved, with decorative woodwork and the addition of aclerestory.
North of the Old Town is Jack's Hill, associated with the legendary archerJack O'Legs ofWeston. According to local folklore, Jack stole flour from thebakers ofBaldock to feed the poor during afamine, likeRobin Hood.
The remains of amedieval moated homestead in Whomerley Wood comprise an 80-yard-square trench almost five feet wide in parts. It was probably the home of Ralph de Homle. Pieces of Roman and later pottery have been found there.
The oldest surviving house in Stevenage is Tudor House in Letchmore Street, built before 1500.[11][12] During the 16th century it was abutcher's shop owned by a man named Scott.[13] From 1773 onwards it served as the town'sworkhouse, and later became a school from 1835 until 1885.[14][15] It was the headquarters of the localtown gas company from c.1885 until 1936, when it was converted into a private dwelling.[16]
Chells Manor, a medievalhall house located three miles from the Old Town, was built in the 14th century for the Wake family on the foundations of a much oldermoatedmanor house[17] mentioned in theDomesday Book.[18][19] The site of thelost village of Chells was redeveloped during the extension of theNew Town in the 1980s, and a hoard ofRoman coins was discovered.[20] In the present day, Chells is a suburb of New Stevenage.[21]
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In 1558Thomas Alleyne, then the Rector of Stevenage, founded a freegrammar school for boys,Alleyne's Grammar School, which, despite becoming a boys' comprehensive school in 1967 (starting with the 1969 year), had an unbroken existence (unlike the grammar school in neighbouringHitchin) until 1989, when it was merged with Stevenage Girls' School to become the Thomas Alleyne School.Francis Cammaerts was Headmaster of Alleyne's Grammar School from 1952 to 1961. The school, which has been since 1989 a mixedcomprehensive school and is now anacademy as of 2013, still exists on its original site at the north end of the High Street. It was intended to move the school toGreat Ashby, but theCoalition government (2010–15) scrapped the move owing tobudget cuts.
The grade II listed Cromwell Hotel is a 16th centuryJacobean farmhouse once owned byOliver Cromwell's spymasterJohn Thurloe.[22] It was confiscated during theStuart Restoration of 1660 and became a hotel in 1925.[23] ThehangmanAlbert Pierrepoint frequently stayed here when travelling to London for an execution.[24][25]
During the 17th century, the Elizabethan[26] house at 37 High Street was the home of greengrocer andchurchwardenHenry Trigg.[27] Trigg was a philanthropist who donated another of his properties to serve as Stevenage's first workhouse.[15] When Henry died in 1724 his coffin was placed in the rafters of the adjoining barn to preventresurrection men from stealing his remains.[28] In 1774, Trigg's house became the Old Castlecoaching inn, and was used as astaging post by theRoyal Mail.[29] From 1999 until 2016 it served as a branch ofNatWest, and as of 2022 it has been converted into adentist'ssurgery.[30][31]
Stevenage's prosperity came in part from the Great North Road, which became aturnpike in the early 18th century, with a toll point on the site of the present dayMarquess of Granby pub. Many inns in the High Street served thestagecoaches, 21 of which passed through Stevenage each day in 1800. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the road now known asSix Hills Way was the haunt ofhighwaymen who would use the ancientburial mounds as a hiding place. James Whitney, the namesake of the Highwayman pub inGraveley, was hanged atNewgate in 1693 for robbing travellers in this area.[32] Whitney, aJacobite, was born in Stevenage c.1660 and was apprenticed to abutcher in Hitchin before opening aninn inCheshunt.[33] Due to the failure of his business, Whitney began robbing wealthy travellers and by 1690 he had a gang of over 50 men.[34][35][36]
On 10 July 1807, theGreat Fire of Stevenage[37] destroyed 42 properties in Middle Row, including Hellard'salmshouse of 1501.[38][39] The fire is believed to have been started when a young girl employed as achambermaid at one of thecoaching inns emptied embers from the fireplace into the street.[40] Sparks from the embers ignited the thatched roof of a nearbywheelwright's shop, and quickly engulfed the othertimber framed buildings in the north end of the Old Town due to a strong North wind.[41] The conflagration was only stopped from engulfing the entire street by demolishing a house to serve as afirebreak.[42] After the fire was extinguished by Stevenage'svolunteer firefighters using a hand-operatedfire engine made in 1763, the houses and inns were rebuilt with brick facades[43] and tiled roofs.[44][45] Troopers from theHertfordshire Yeomanry assisted the firefighters in the operation.[46]
In 1850 theGreat Northern Railway was constructed and the era of the stagecoach ended. Stevenage grew only slowly throughout the 19th century and a second church (Holy Trinity) was constructed at the south end of the High Street. In 1861 Dickens commented, "The village street was like most other village streets: wide for its height, silent for its size, and drowsy in the dullest degree. The quietest little dwellings with the largest of window-shutters to shut up nothing as if it were the Mint or the Bank of England."
At the turn of the century, the twinpoachersAlbert and Ebenezer Fox were active in the area. While in jail, they were studied bypolice commissionerEdward Henry to confirm his theory on the usefulness offingerprinting inforensic science.
During the 1920s, Frank Dymoke (1893-1972) played forStevenage FC.[47] Frank was a sergeant in theBedfordshire Regiment duringWorld War I and witnessed theChristmas truce of 1914.[48][49][50]
In 1928, Philip Vincent bought theHRD Motorcycle Co Ltd out of receivership, immediately moving it to Stevenage and renaming it theVincent HRD Motorcycle Co Ltd. He produced the legendary motorcycles, including the Black Shadow and Black Lightning, in the town until 1955.
Slow growth in Stevenage continued until just afterWorld War II, when theAbercrombie Plan called for the establishment of a ring ofnew towns around London. On 1 August 1946, Stevenage was designated as the first New Town, under theNew Towns Act.[51]
The plan was not popular and local people protested at a meeting held in the town hall beforeLewis Silkin, minister in the Labour Government of Clement Attlee. As Lewis Silkin arrived at the railway station for this meeting, some local people had changed the station signs from "Stevenage" to "Silkingrad". Silkin was obstinate at the meeting, telling a crowd of 3,000 people outside the town hall (around half the town's residents): "It's no good your jeering, it's going to be done." Despite the hostile reaction to Silkin and a referendum that showed 52% (turnout 2,500) "entirely against" the expansion, the plan went ahead.[52] In 1947, the first significant building demolished was the Old Town Hall, in which the opposition had been expressed, to make way for aroundabout.[53]
The inaugural chairman of the Stevenage Development Corporation was the architectClough Williams-Ellis, appointed by Lewis Silkin in 1946, with the radical town planner DrMonica Felton as his deputy. In 1949, she became chairman but was sacked within two years. There were a number of reasons for her dismissal by the government but a lack of hands-on town planning leadership, and her opposition to theKorean War (for which she was later awarded theLenin Peace Prize), sullied her reputation. Felton was replaced first by Allan Duff and laterThomas Bennett, who carried the project to completion.Gordon Stephenson was the planner,Peter Shepheard the architect, and Eric Claxton the engineer. Claxton took the attitude that the new town should separate bicycles from the automobile as much as possible. Mary Tabor was the Housing Director of Stevenage New Town from 1951 until 1972.[54] Tabor was a member of the Society of Women Housing Managers, which was founded by women trained underOctavia Hill. Mary Tabor, with the support of more than 40 housing management staff by 1960, provided a notably personal and caring service to tenants of the town. Many early residents of the town would recall with gratitude how much she had done for them and the town as a whole.[55]
In May 1953, Sir Roydon Dash took over the chairmanship from Bennett. In 1962, Sir Arthur Rucker was appointed Chairman of the Stevenage Development Corporation, retiring from the position in 1966. He was succeeded byEvelyn Denington, who joined the board in 1950.[56] Denington remained the chairman until the dissolution of the Corporation in 1980.[57] Having become a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1974, Denington was elevated to the peerage in 1978, choosing to assume the title of Baroness Denington of Stevenage.[58]
In keeping with the sociological outlook of the day, the town was planned with six self-contained neighbourhoods, each to house between ten and twelve thousand people.[59] The first two estates to be occupied were the Stoney Hall and Monks Wood estates, in 1951. The Twin Foxes pub, on the Monks Wood estate, was Stevenage's first new public house and was named after local notorious identical-twinpoachers (Albert and Ebenezer Fox). It closed in 2017. At least two other public houses have a direct relationship to local history. The Edward the Confessor pub (closed 2006) could have had a connection to St Mary's Church in nearbyWalkern asKing Edward reigned from 1042 until his death in 1066 and Walkern's church dates from this period. The second pub with a link to local history is the Our Mutual Friend in Broadwater. The name of the pub is the title ofa novel byCharles Dickens. Dickens was an occasional guest ofSir Edward Bulwer-Lytton in nearbyKnebworth House and knew Stevenage very well.
Next to be built and occupied were the neighbourhoods of Bedwell in 1952, and then came Broadwater and Shephall (1953), Chells in the 1960s and later Pin Green andSymonds Green. Another new development to the north of the town is Great Ashby. As of 2014[update] it was still under construction. The Government gave almost £2 million for a purpose-built homeless shelter, which will serve a large part of Hertfordshire.[60]
Stevenage Development Corporation zoned an area for industry between the East Coast railway line and the A1 road, which came to be known as Gunnels Wood Industrial Area. An additional area for industry has since been developed at Pin Green.[61]
The primary industrial area is in a location that is separate—but adjacent to—the residential areas of town.British Aerospace (nowMBDA) was the largest employer in this area, but it has now been replaced byGSK. The firm occupies a large complex, hosting one of GSK's two global R&D hubs.[62]
Airbus Defence and Space (previously British Aerospace) is located in a smaller industrial park.[63] This is the same area that bothMatra Marconi Space andAstrium, a prime contractor and equipment supplier of spacecraft, previously occupied.[64][65] The site is used to assemble a number of spacecraft and rovers includingRosalind Franklin[66] and theSolar Orbiter,[67] and conduct analysis on others such as theMars Earth Return Orbiter.[68][69]
There are also small- to medium-sized firms such asStevenage BioScience Catalyst (SBC), a new science park aimed at attracting small and start-up life-sciences enterprises, opened in 2011 on a site next to GSK.[70]
The pedestrianised town centre was the first purpose-built traffic-free shopping zone inBritain, taking its inspiration from theLijnbaan in Rotterdam,[71] and was officially opened in 1959 by theQueen.[72] A landmark in the town centre is theclock tower and ornamental pool. Nearby isJoyride, a mother and child sculpture byFranta Belsky.
Next to the Town Garden, the Church of St Andrew and St George is an example of modern church design and has housed Stevenage Museum in its crypt since 1976. The church is a Grade 2 listed building. It is also the largest parish church to have been built in England since World War Two. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother laid the foundation stone in July 1956 and was also present at the consecration of the Bishop of St Alban's, the Right ReverendMichael Gresford-Jones, on Advent Sunday 27 November 1960. The frame is constructed from a continuous pour of concrete into moulds, creatinginterlacing arches and leaving no apparent joints. There are twelvePurbeck-marble columns around the high altar and the external walls are clad in panels faced with Normandy pebble. The campanile houses the loudspeakers for an electro-acoustic carillon. A popular sculpture, 'The Urban Elephant' byAndrew Burton, was commissioned in 1992.
Although revolutionary for its time, the town centre began showing signs of age and, in 2005, plans were revealed for a major regeneration to take place over the next decade. Details are still being debated by the council, landowners and other interested parties. The multimillion-pound plan to redevelop Stevenage town centre was scrapped owing to the2008 financial crisis and the lack of interest from private-sector partners.[73] On 24 May 2012, Stevenage Borough Council announced that a £250m scheme for the shopping area has been pulled by Stevenage Regeneration Limited (SRL) because of the continuing adverse economic conditions.[73] The plans, which included realigning streets, moving the bus station, and building a new department store, cinema, hotel, restaurants, and flats, had been given council planning approval in January 2012.[73]
Stevenage holds a number of annual events, including Stevenage Day[74] and Rock in the Park. In past years Stevenage Carnival has also been held, with a number of attempts to revive it.[75] In June 2022, Stevenage Day returned to the King George Playing Fields to celebrate theplatinum jubilee of Elizabeth II.[76] It was the first carnival held in Stevenage since 2019, due to thecoronavirus pandemic.[77][78]
In 2016, Stevenage "celebrated" its seventieth anniversary as a New Town.[79]
The Town Centre Regeneration Strategy (2002) called for better-quality shops (including a major department store), improved public transport with a combinedbus and rail interchange, high-density town-centre living, substantially improved civic facilities, increased office space and an improved 'public realm'.[80] YMCA Space Stevenage (a youth and community centre) was evicted and replaced by Paddy Power (a betting shop).[81] Other well-known stores, such asMaplin Electronics, and Marks & Spencer have also disappeared from Stevenage town centre.[82]
The town has a large central library[83] in Southgate, at the southern end of the pedestrian precinct, with facilities including printing, fax and photocopying, children's events, study space, a carers' information point and a large public computer suite, as well as a small branch library[84] at the northern end of the High Street in the Old Town. There is also a public library in nearby Knebworth,[85] located in St Martin's Road.
The town is still growing. It is set to expand west of the A1(M)motorway and may be further identified for development. The main area of more recent[when?] development isGreat Ashby to the north-east of the town (but actually in North Hertfordshire District). A considerable amount of in-borough development has been undertaken at Chrysalis Park on the old Dixon's Warehouse site adjacent to the Pin Green Industrial Estate.
The town and the Stevenage First partnership has now launched a new, £1bn, 20-year regeneration programme designed to transform central spaces and introduce new residential, commercial and retail facilities, amongst others.[86] The programme is formed of a number of individual schemes including the £350m ‘SG1’ programme being led by Mace[87] and the £50m redevelopment of Queensway North, the former site of Marks & Spencer.[88][89] In addition, Stevenage's Town Square is also being regenerated with new bars, restaurants, flexible working facilities and shops being introduced to the area.[86] The plans are based on the local government authority's Local Plan which was given approval on 26 March 2019.[90] The town is also introducing a new public services hub which will consolidate services that are currently spread across Stevenage into one central space[91] A newBus Interchange opened on Sunday 26 June 2022, closer to the train station, and adjacent to theGordon Craig Theatre.[92] A number of other developments, including the conversion of a series of commercial spaces into residential facilities, are already completed or underway with a series of additional programmes set to launch in the coming years.[93]
Stevenage experiences anoceanic climate (Köppen climate classificationCfb) similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.
| Climate data for Stevenage | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7 (45) | 8 (46) | 11 (52) | 13 (55) | 17 (63) | 19 (66) | 22 (72) | 23 (73) | 19 (66) | 14 (57) | 10 (50) | 7 (45) | 14 (57) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2 (36) | 2 (36) | 4 (39) | 4 (39) | 7 (45) | 10 (50) | 12 (54) | 12 (54) | 10 (50) | 8 (46) | 5 (41) | 3 (37) | 7 (45) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 45.1 (1.78) | 33.9 (1.33) | 28.7 (1.13) | 43.9 (1.73) | 34.9 (1.37) | 46.6 (1.83) | 42.1 (1.66) | 46.9 (1.85) | 54.9 (2.16) | 56.8 (2.24) | 48.0 (1.89) | 49.8 (1.96) | 531.6 (20.93) |
| Source:[94] | |||||||||||||
Bedwell,Bragbury End, Broadwater, Chells, Chells Manor, Pin Green, Poplars, Old Town, Great Ashby,Shephall andSymonds Green.[95]
| Stevenage | |
|---|---|
| Local Government District (1873–1894) Urban District (1894–1974) | |
| Population | |
| • 1891 | 3,309[96] |
| • 1971 | 66,585[97] |
| History | |
| • Created | 2 October 1873 |
| • Abolished | 31 March 1974 |
| • Succeeded by | Stevenage Borough Council |
| • HQ | Stevenage |
| Contained within | |
| • County Council | Hertfordshire |
There are two tiers of local government covering Stevenage, at district and county level:Stevenage Borough Council andHertfordshire County Council.
Stevenage was anancient parish in thehundred ofBroadwater.[98] From 1835 Stevenage was included in theHitchinPoor Law Union. As such it became part of the HitchinRural Sanitary District in 1872, with local government functions passing to the Hitchin Board of Guardians.[99] The following year the town voted to become a Local Government District governed by aLocal Board, which would have the effect of also making the town an Urban Sanitary District, independent of the Hitchin Rural Sanitary District. The Stevenage Local Government District took effect on 2 October 1873, covering the whole parish of Stevenage.[100] The first meeting of the Stevenage Local Board was held on 4 December 1873 at the recently built Town Hall on Orchard Road. The first chairman of the board was George Becher Blomfield, who was the rector of the town's parish church of St Nicholas.[101]
Under theLocal Government Act 1894, the Local Board became Stevenage Urban District Council on 31 December 1894. Stevenage Urban District was enlarged several times, notably in 1953 when it absorbed the neighbouring parish ofShephall. Until 1964 the council met at the Town Hall on Orchard Road. With the designation of the New Town, several plans for a civic centre in the new town centre were put forward, but none came to fruition. In September 1964, the council moved its offices and meeting place to a recently built office building in the new town centre called Southgate House (later renamed Vista Tower). The old Town Hall was demolished shortly afterwards to make way for Lytton Way. The council was based at Southgate House until 1980, when it moved to Daneshill House, which had previously been the headquarters of the New Town Corporation.[102]
TheLocal Government Act 1972 abolished Stevenage Urban District[97] and merged it with the parts ofAston andDatchworth that were within the designated area of Stevenage New Town fromHertford Rural District to form a Stevenagenon-metropolitan district with effect from 1 April 1974.[103] Nosuccessor parish was formed so it becameunparished.[104] The town was awardedborough status on the same date and has been governed byStevenage Borough Council since.[105] The borough's coat of arms consists of a shield and crest. On the shield is a sword running through an oak tree with acorns. The oak tree represents surrounding woodland and the acorns symbolise the steady growth of the town. The sword is from theArms of the Bishops of London, former landowners. A redfesse depicts theGreat North Road and upon the fesse are six stars representing the neighbourhoods of Old Stevenage, Bedwell, Broadwater, Shephall, Chells and Pin Green. Thehart on the crest is from the arms of the county of Hertfordshire; one of itshooves rests upon a cogwheel, a symbol of the town's industry. The gold crown atop a helmet represents a planned area.[106]
The population of Stevenage increased significantly during the 20th century. Little more than a large village at the start of the 19th century, the population in 1801 was 1,430. By 1901, Stevenage opened the 20th century with a population of 4,048.
After Stevenage was designated anew town under theNew Towns Act of 1946, the population exploded in the 1950s and 1960s. By the start of the 21st century, the 2001 population had grown to 79,715[107] reaching 83,957 a decade later (2011).[108] The2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses recorded the population at 89,495.[109]
As of the 2021 census, the religious makeup was:
| Area | All people | Christian (%) | Buddhist (%) | Hindu (%) | Jewish (%) | Muslim (%) | Sikh (%) | Other (%) | No religion (%) | Not stated (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 56,490,048 | 46.3 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 6.7 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 36.7 | 6.0 |
| Stevenage | 89,495 | 43.26 | 0.44 | 1.56 | 0.18 | 3.15 | 0.34 | 0.58 | 44.87 | 5.60 |
King George's Field, named in memory ofKing George V, hosts Stevenage Cricket Club, Stevenage Hockey Club and Stevenage Town Bowls Club. The cricket ground is calledDitchmore Lane. The nearby Stevenage Leisure Park has a multiplex cinema, clubs, and restaurants. The main shopping area is around Queensway and the Westgate. At the south of the town, there is a retail park called 9Yards[110] (formerly Roaring Meg), its former name being taken from a stream (a tributary of theRiver Beane) that runs under it. The river can be seen along the western edge of the area. There is also shopping in the Old Town. 9Yards once had an ice rink and bowling alley, but these were demolished in 2000 to allow the construction of more stores.[111]
Stevenage FC, formerly known as Stevenage Borough,[112] is the town's majorfootball team, playing their home matches atBroadhall Way. Founded in 1976, the club were promoted to theFootball Conference, the highest tier of non-league football, in 1994. After sixteen seasons in this division, Stevenage won theConference Premier title during the2009–10 season, having previously been denied promotion tothe Football League due to insufficient ground facilities in 1996.[113] During Stevenage's first season as a Football League club, they secured back-to-back promotions toLeague One, the third tier of English football, after beatingTorquay United 1–0 in the2010–11 play-off final atOld Trafford.[114]
Stevenage also won theFA Trophy in 2007, beatingKidderminster Harriers 3–2 atWembley Stadium in front of a crowd of 53,262.[115] It was the first competitive club game and cup final to be held at the new stadium.[116] Stevenage reached the final again in 2009, beating York City 2–0.[117] The club has also enjoyed several runs in theFA Cup, raising the town's profile in the process. During the1997–98 campaign, Stevenage held Premier League sideNewcastle United to a draw at Broadhall Way, before losing the replay 2–1 at Newcastle.[118] The club would go one better in 2010, securing a 3–1 home victory over Newcastle in the third round of the competition – the first time the club had beaten first tier opposition.[119][120][121] Thefollowing season, Stevenage heldTottenham Hotspur to a 0–0 draw at home in the fifth round, before losing the subsequent replay 3–1 atWhite Hart Lane.[122][123]
The town also has a number of other successful sports clubs, including a women's football team (Stevenage Borough Ladies FC) and Stevenage Town Rugby Club. Many top class sporting heroes have come from Stevenage, including footballersKevin Phillips andAshley Young, seven-timeFormula One World ChampionLewis Hamilton, and golferIan Poulter.
Fairlands Valley is a large area of parkland with boating lakes. It is home to aParkrun.[124] The town is a very green town, with avenues of trees (typically Norway Maple) throughout but also large woods such as Monks & Whomerley Wood, which is ancient semi-natural woodland. Indeed, theWoodland Trust ranks it as one of the best places in the UK for ease of access to large woodland, with 99.9% of the population having access to woodland over 2 hectares (5 acres) within 4 km (2.5 mi), only slightly behind those living in theForest of Dean orNew Forest.[125] There are also many playing fields (e.g. St. Nicholas playing fields near Ripon Road). The town's schools all have a substantial amount of ground; key examples are Ashtree Primary School, Moss Bury Primary School, Longmeadow Primary School and Barnwell.[126]
Stevenage also has a basketball team: East Herts Royals (Formerly known as Stevenage Scorpions)
The town is surrounded by the Stevenage Outer Orbital Path (STOOP), a 27-mile (43 km) circuit walk established by the North Herts Ramblers Group in 2008. The circuit provides an informal, active recreational leisure amenity readily available to the residents of Stevenage and the surrounding villages. The STOOP is split into several sections, accessible via a series of links from the town. The route passes throughGraveley,Walkern,Beane Valley,Datchworth,Woolmer Green,Knebworth Park,St Ippolyts andLittle Wymondley. It was launched on 20 September 2008.[127][128]
A small community arts centre is located in the Roaring Meg Retail Park.[129] The Boxfield and Foyer Gallery is situated in theGordon Craig Theatre, which forms part of the large central Leisure Centre.[130] Stevenage Museum is located under the St. Andrew and St. George's church on St George's Way.[131]
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC East andBBC London on BBC One andITV Anglia andITV London on ITV. Television signals are received from either theSandy Heath orCrystal Palace transmitters.[132][133]
Local radio stations areBBC Three Counties Radio on 90.4 FM andHeart Hertfordshire on 106.7 FM.
The Comet is the town's weekly local newspaper.[134]
North of Stevenage Old Town, near St Nicholas' Church, liesRooks' Nest ("under the bigwych-elm"), home of the novelistE. M. Forster from 1884 to 1894. Forster used Rooksnest and the surrounding area as the setting for his novelHowards End. In the preface to one paperback edition ofHowards End there is information about landmarks of Stevenage and their relationship to the story of the novel, such as Stevenage High Street and theSix Hills. The land north of St Nicholas' Church, known as Forster Country, is the last remaining farmland within the boundary of Stevenage borough.[135] Forster was unhappy with the development of new Stevenage, which would, in his words, "fall out of the blue sky like a meteorite upon the ancient and delicate scenery of Hertfordshire".[52]
In the spring of 2023,Forster Country was threatened by housing development. 2,000 people petitioned the council to rethink plans to build a car park, landfill site and power station in the country park.[136]
To the south of Stevenage isKnebworth House, agothic stately home and venue of globally renowned rock concerts since 1974. The house was once home toSir Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Victorian English novelist and spiritualist.
Astonbury Wood, south-east of Stevenage, is a nature reserve ofHerts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. It isancient woodland, area 54 hectares (130 acres).[137]
Six Hills Brewing, established in 2019, has areal ale taphouse called the Broken Seal and workingbrewery in Basils Road, Old Town.[138][139] Guided tours are available for visitors as of 2025.[140] Each beer produced by Six Hills Brewery is named after a figure from Stevenage's history such as the footballerFrank Dymoke, actressEllen Terry,roundheadsecretary of stateJohn Thurlow and thehangmanAlbert Pierrepoint who stayed at what is now theCromwell Hotel.[141][142][143]
A distinctive feature of Stevenage is its urban landscape. There are manyroundabouts,[144] fewtraffic lights, a network of completely segregatedcycleways, and some of the talleststreet lights in Britain. Eric Claxton was chief engineer of Stevenage from 1962 to 1972, and the comprehensive separate cycle network was planned and implemented by him during that period. Despite this network, the bicycle's modal share is 2.7%.[145][146] Claxton was also of the view that Stevenage should contain as few traffic lights as possible, hence his preference for roundabouts to regulate traffic flow. He was so adamant about roundabouts that he had a house built for himself on the gyratory system in the Old Town.
TheA1(M) motorway bypasses the town to the west. Work on the 7.5-mile bypass was started on Monday 30 May 1960 at Langley Sidings, byErnest Marples. 54 miles of dual carriageway, on the A1, had been opened, with 75 miles under construction. It would cost £1.8m, to take 19 months.[147] The southern end started from a roundabout at the Clock restaurant near Welwyn. The bridges were built bySimon Carves of south Manchester, and the main contractor was Martin Cowley Ltd, ofClay Cross, in Derbyshire. The oldGreat North Road, in part classified as theB197, runs through the town and the Old Town's High Street has several pubs that were formerlycoaching inns. TheA602 connects the town toHitchin,Watton-at-Stone, Hertford andWare.
The main bus operator isArriva Herts & Essex,[148] which have a depot situated on Babbage Road. They run over 10 routes in and around the town, with intercity services toLuton (on the 100/101),St Albans (on the 301),Welwyn Garden City (on the 908), andLetchworth Garden City (on the 55), among others.Another operator in the town isunō, who run the 635 betweenWatford andHitchin via Stevenage, which provides discounted travel toUniversity of Hertfordshire students.[149]Centrebus also operate some services out of their Luton depot, including the Connect Herts branded routes 390 and 907, toHertford andCheshunt respectively.Vectare, formerly Central Connect, also operate.
On Sunday 26 June 2022,[150] the new Stevenage Interchange opened, replacing the former bus station as that land needed to be repurposed for redevelopment. The new bus station has toilets, a heated and air conditioned waiting room with a help desk, a small shop and a small café. It has 10 stands lettered A to K, skipping I. On Lytton Way, there is a coach stand, lettered L.
Currently, the only coach service to operate to Stand L is the 006 betweenCambridge andLondon, operated byFlixBus.
Stevenage railway station on theEast Coast Main Line has regular commuter services toLondon King's Cross (taking 24 minutes) andCambridge (taking 37 minutes), as well as connections to northern England and Scotland.
Many schools were built in the 1950s/60s due to an influx of Londoners to affordable terraced housing in areas such as Shephall, Broadwater, Chells and St Nicholas. The town has around 23 primary schools (see below). Some go to the surrounding villages ofAston,Benington,Walkern,Datchworth for their schooling. Stevenage also has a number of secondary schools and the central campus for North Hertfordshire College.
Stevenage has an active network of Christian churches of many denominations. Many of the churches work together for town-wide projects under the banner of "Churches Together in Stevenage".[189] Stevenage also has amosque and a Liberal JewishSynagogue. Alongside "Churches Together in Stevenage", Stevenage also has an "Interfaith Forum" dedicated to dialogue between different religious presences in the town.[190]
Some of the places of worship include:
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Stevenage was the setting for two feature films,Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (1967) andBoston Kickout (1995). Stevenage was the filming location, though not the on-screen setting, for two other films,Serious Charge (1959) andSpy Game (2001), standing in as theWashington, D.C. area for the latter film.[233] The 2009psychological horrorfound footageshort film andweb seriesNo Through Road by Steven Chamberlain follows four seventeen-year-old teenagers en route to Stevenage who find themselves trapped in atime loop along tworoad signs marking anintersection betweenBenington andWatton.[234][235] The 2015 BBC One comedy seriesThe Kennedys is set on an estate in New Town Stevenage.[236]Saxondale a critically acclaimed 2007 situation comedy starring Steve Coogan as a divorcee and ex-roadie with anger management issues. The 2018Channel 4 comedy series,Lee and Dean, is filmed and set in Stevenage.[237] In one episode of UK quiz showOnly Connect, one of the contestants made what could be seen as a frivolous mention of Stevenage, playfully suggesting that that could be where the literary character Mrs Malaprop comes from. Coincidentally, the title of the quiz show is taken from theE. M. Forster novelHowards End, which Forster based on a house he lived in Stevenage between 1883 and 1893.[238]
Stevenage woman has been profiled as a crucial swing voter for the2024 general election.[239]
| City | Country | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Ingelheim am Rhein | Germany | 1963 |
| Autun | France | 1975 |
| Kadoma | Zimbabwe | 1989 |
| Shymkent | Kazakhstan | 1990 |
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