Misplaced Pages

#83916

80-707: The company was founded in 1871 by John Kay Macdonald (1837–1928) in Toronto, then established operations in the UK in 1906 (with a head office at Stevenage , Hertfordshire ) and later into the United States with offices in Atlanta . Macdonald retired in 1920 and was succeeded by Charles Strange Macdonald from 1921 to 1946 and then John Kenneth Macdonald from 1946 to 1969. John Kenneth MacDonald's daughters, Peggy Latimer and Ann Macintosh, never were operationally involved in

160-511: A boys' comprehensive school in 1967, had an unbroken existence (unlike the grammar school in neighbouring Hitchin ) 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 mixed comprehensive school and is now an academy as of 2013, still exists on its original site at

240-484: A combined bus and rail interchange , high-density town-centre living, substantially improved civic facilities, increased office space and an improved 'public realm'. YMCA Space Stevenage (a youth and community centre) was evicted and replaced by Paddy Power (a betting shop). Other well-known stores, such as Maplin Electronics , and Marks & Spencer have also disappeared from Stevenage town centre. The town has

320-534: A direct relationship to local history. The "Edward the Confessor" pub (closed 2006) could have had a connection to St Mary's Church in nearby Walkern as King 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 of a novel by Charles Dickens . Dickens

400-467: A draw at Broadhall Way, before losing the replay 2–1 at Newcastle. 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. The following season , Stevenage held Tottenham Hotspur to a 0–0 draw at home in the fifth round, before losing the subsequent replay 3–1 at White Hart Lane . Shephall Shephall ( SHEP -all )

480-401: A group insurance plan through the company. During the liquidation process, CompCorp , by then called Assuris , was able to guarantee the assets of all policyholders, and the process cost the compensation fund only CA$ 5 million. The various blocks of business of the company were taken over by various Canadian and American insurance companies. The liquidator was KPMG . As of 2010, the process

560-653: A large central library 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 at the northern end of the High Street in the Old Town. There is also a public library in nearby Knebworth, located in St Martin's Road. The town

640-519: A neighbourhood of the new town. In 1951 the parish had a population of 432. The civil parish of Shephall was absorbed into Stevenage Urban District on 1 April 1953. The area north of Broadhall Way, including the old village green and the buildings around it, became the Shephall neighbourhood, and the area to the south, including the manor house and its surroundings, became the Broadwater neighbourhood. The modern district council ward of Shephall covers

720-413: A new neo-Gothic house built, designed by T. Roger Smith . It was completed in 1864. The old house was demolished and a rose garden was planted on the site. A new village school was built in Shephall at the same time as the new Shephall Manor, to replace the cottage that was previously used as a school. The Red Lion inn, opposite the church, was built in the 18th century or earlier. Other buildings in

800-448: A purpose-built homeless shelter, which will serve a large part of Hertfordshire. The primary industrial area is in a location that is separate—but adjacent to—the residential areas of town. British Aerospace (now MBDA ) was the largest employer in this area, but it has now been replaced by GSK . The firm occupies a large complex, hosting one of GSK's two global R&D hubs. Airbus Defence and Space (previously British Aerospace)

880-853: Is a Grade 2 listed building. It is also the largest parish church to have been built in England since World War Two. Her late Majesty 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 Reverend Michael Gresford-Jones , on Advent Sunday 27 November 1960. The frame is constructed from a continuous pour of concrete into moulds, creating interlacing arches and leaving no apparent joints. There are twelve Purbeck-marble columns around

SECTION 10

#1732801176084

960-671: Is a neighbourhood of the new town of Stevenage in Hertfordshire. It was formerly a separate village and parish , being absorbed into Stevenage in 1953. Spellings of Shephall have included: Scepa-halh (before 1066); Escepehale (in the Domesday Book of 1086); Sepehale (in the St Albans Abbey rolls for 1077–93); Sepehalle, Scephale and Shephale (11th and 12th centuries); Schephale, Shepehale and Chepehale (15th century); and Shepehalle and Shepholde (16th century). It

1040-453: Is also being regenerated with new bars, restaurants, flexible working facilities and shops being introduced to the area. The plans are based on the local government authority's Local Plan which was given approval on 26 March 2019. The town is also introducing a new public services hub which will consolidate services that are currently spread across Stevenage into one central space A new Bus Interchange opened on Sunday 26 June 2022, closer to

1120-412: Is believed to have been started when a young girl employed as a chambermaid at one of the coaching inns emptied embers from the fireplace into the street. Sparks from the embers ignited the thatched roof of a nearby wheelwright 's shop, and quickly engulfed the other timber framed buildings in the north end of the Old Town due to a strong North wind. The conflagration was only stopped from engulfing

1200-518: Is called Ditchmore 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 (formerly Roaring Meg), its former name being taken from a stream (a tributary of the River Beane ) that runs under it. The river can be seen along the western edge of

1280-583: Is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M) , between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage was designated the United Kingdom's first New Town under the New Towns Act . "Stevenage" may derive from Old English stiþen āc / stiðen āc / stithen ac (various Old English dialects cited here) meaning "(place at) the stiff oak ". The name

1360-440: Is located in a smaller industrial park. This is the same area that both Matra Marconi Space and Astrium , a prime contractor and equipment supplier of spacecraft, previously occupied. There are also small- to medium-sized firms such as Stevenage 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. The pedestrianised town centre

1440-645: 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 development is Great 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

1520-562: The Conference Premier title during the 2009–10 season, having previously been denied promotion to the Football League due to insufficient ground facilities in 1996. During Stevenage's first season as a Football League club, they secured back-to-back promotions to League One , the third tier of English football, after beating Torquay United 1–0 in the 2010–11 play-off final at Old Trafford . Stevenage also won

1600-561: The FA Trophy in 2007, beating Kidderminster Harriers 3–2 at Wembley Stadium in front of a crowd of 53,262. It was the first competitive club game and cup final to be held at the new stadium. Stevenage reached the final again in 2009, beating York City 2–0. The club has also enjoyed several runs in the FA Cup , raising the town's profile in the process. During the 1997–98 campaign, Stevenage held Premier League side Newcastle United to

1680-756: The Vincent 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 after the Second World War , when the Abercrombie Plan called for the establishment of a ring of new towns around London. On 1 August 1946, Stevenage was designated the first New Town under the New Towns Act . The plan

SECTION 20

#1732801176084

1760-432: 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 a clerestory . North of the Old Town is Jack's Hill, associated with the legendary archer Jack O'Legs of Weston . According to local folklore, Jack stole flour from the bakers of Baldock to feed

1840-647: The 1950s neighbourhood and Shephall Green, but is smaller in area than the former parish. In September 1947, Shephall Manor was commandeered by the Stevenage Development Corporation, who leased it to the Inner London Education Authority . The grounds were then opened for public recreation. Development of the Shephall neighbourhood started in 1953, with new buildings surrounding the old ones. Four cottages built on Shephall Lane for Corporation staff were among

1920-845: The Highwayman pub in Graveley , was hanged at Newgate in 1693 for robbing travellers in this area. Whitney, a Jacobite , was born in Stevenage c.1660 and was apprenticed to a butcher in Hitchin before opening an inn in Cheshunt . Due to the failure of his business, Whitney began robbing wealthy travellers and by 1690 he had a gang of over 50 men. On 10 July 1807, the Great Fire of Stevenage destroyed 42 properties in Middle Row, including Hellard's almshouse of 1501. The fire

2000-813: The Hitchin Rural Sanitary District in 1872, which in turn became the Hitchin Rural District in 1894. Records indicate that the population of Shephall was less than 100 in 1700, 120 in 1801, 265 in 1841 and 194 in 1921. After Unwin Unwin Heathcote died in 1893, Colonel Alfred Unwin Heathcote was the last of the family to live at the manor. After his death in 1912, the house was let to Colonel Woods, then to David Augustus Bevan in 1926 and Lieutenant Colonel Morgan Grenville Gavin in 1937. The Heathcotes remained

2080-647: The Hitchin Board of Guardians. The following year the town voted to become a Local Government District governed by a Local 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. The first meeting of the Stevenage Local Board

2160-643: The King (and later to Edward VI , Mary I , and Elizabeth I ), and was already farming the manor. The manor passed through the Nodes family, and eventually, George Nodes' great-great-nephew, Charles Nodes, became Lord of the Manor in 1634. In 1664, another George Nodes also inherited the manors of Holwell and Langford . The Nodes family lived in the original, small manor house known as Shephalbury Manor . The house had twelve rooms and domestic offices. The Lordship of

2240-482: The King George Playing Fields to celebrate the platinum jubilee of Elizabeth II . It was the first carnival held in Stevenage since 2019, due to the coronavirus pandemic . In 2016, Stevenage "celebrated" its seventieth anniversary as a New Town. The Town Centre Regeneration Strategy (2002) called for better-quality shops (including a major department store), improved public transport with

2320-571: The Lords of the Manor and retained interest in village affairs until 1939 when the manor was sold by Michael Heathcote to William Harriman Moss. During the Second World War, the house was used to house children who had been evacuated there by the Waifs and Strays society. When they left, it became a convalescent home for Polish officers, and then a school for Polish children. The building of

2400-513: The Manor of Shephall remained in the Nodes family until 1761, when John Nodes died. No male heirs could be found, so the estate was split between his three daughters. After 1782, one of the daughters, Sarah Jacques sold her share to Michael Heathcote of London. Heathcote's grandson, Samuel Unwin, inherited this share in 1818, and the rest was later sold to him. Now Lord of the Manor, he changed his name to Samuel Heathcote Unwin Heathcote. His son, Unwin Unwin Heathcote, succeeded him in 1862, and had

2480-596: The Mint or the Bank of England." At the turn of the century, the twin poachers Albert and Ebenezer Fox were active in the area. While in jail, they were studied by police commissioner Edward Henry to confirm his theory on the usefulness of fingerprinting in forensic science . In 1928 Philip Vincent bought the HRD Motorcycle Co Ltd out of receivership, immediately moving it to Stevenage and renaming it

Confederation Life - Misplaced Pages Continue

2560-673: The Stevenage College of Further Education. The original core of the village was designated as the Shephall Green conservation area in 1973. As well as St Mary's, Shephall contains two further places of worship: St Hilda's Church (Roman Catholic) and Grace Community Church ( Newfrontiers ). After the New Towns Act 1981, Shephall Manor and most of its land was owned by the New Towns Commission, and

2640-515: 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. The programme is formed of a number of individual schemes including the £350m ‘SG1’ programme being led by Mace and the £50m redevelopment of Queensway North, the former site of Marks & Spencer. In addition, Stevenage's Town Square

2720-579: The Town and Country Planning Act 1971 as a building of special architectural and historic interest and achieved Grade II listed status. The house was bought by the Coptic Orthodox Church and the grounds were opened to the public as one of Stevenage's district parks. The well canopy in the green, dating to the early 20th century, that covers a medieval well, was scheduled to be removed and not replaced by Stevenage Borough Council in 2012, but

2800-504: The United Kingdom. There are two tiers of local government covering Stevenage, at district and county level: Stevenage Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council . Stevenage was an ancient parish in the hundred of Broadwater . From 1835 Stevenage was included in the Hitchin Poor Law Union . As such it became part of the Hitchin Rural Sanitary District in 1872, with local government functions passing to

2880-635: The Wake family on the foundations of a much older moated manor house mentioned in the Domesday Book . The site of the lost village of Chells was redeveloped during the extension of the New Town in the 1980s, and a hoard of Roman coins was discovered. In the present day, Chells is a suburb of New Stevenage. In 1558 Thomas Alleyne , then the Rector of Stevenage, founded a free grammar school for boys, Alleyne's Grammar School , which, despite becoming

2960-557: 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. Stevenage FC , formerly known as Stevenage Borough, is the town's major football team, playing their home matches at Broadhall Way . Founded in 1976, the club were promoted to the Football Conference , the highest tier of non-league football, in 1994. After sixteen seasons in this division, Stevenage won

3040-419: The boundary with Aston in the south, was Broom Barns, containing about six houses and a farm. Other farms in Shephall were Home Farm, whose farmhouse still exists, though considerably rebuilt, as number 40 Shephall Green, and Half Hyde, of 600 acres. Half Hyde was a separate manor from that of Shephall. The parish of Shephall was included in the Hitchin Poor Law Union from 1835. It therefore became part of

3120-580: The continuing adverse economic conditions. 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. Stevenage holds a number of annual events, including Stevenage Day and Rock in the Park. In past years Stevenage Carnival has also been held, with a number of attempts to revive it. In June 2022, Stevenage Day returned to

3200-557: The entire street by demolishing a house to serve as a firebreak . After the fire was extinguished by Stevenage's volunteer firefighters using a hand-operated fire engine made in 1763, the houses and inns were rebuilt with brick facades and tiled roofs. Troopers from the Hertfordshire Yeomanry assisted the firefighters in the operation. In 1850 the Great Northern Railway was constructed and

3280-434: 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

Confederation Life - Misplaced Pages Continue

3360-520: The existence of a small Roman farmstead, a malting kiln and a Celtic round house in the Chells area, and a cemetery containing 25 cremations . The most substantial evidence of activity from Roman times is Six Hills , six tumuli by the side of the old Great North Road that are presumably the burial places of members of a local family. The first Saxon camp, a little to the east of the Roman sites,

3440-617: The firm, but they did inherit ownership from their father. In 1969, J. Craig Davidson became president and for the first time, the firm was no longer led by a member of the Macdonald family. Confederation Life was forced into liquidation in 1994, with the process beginning on August 11. The international operations of the company made the liquidation process somewhat complex. The company had financial obligations to 260,000 individual policyholders in Canada and to another 1.5 million members of

3520-499: The first houses to be built in the New Town. Two estates, Leaves Spring and Loves Wood, were named after existing features of the landscape. The neighbourhood was completed in 1959. Several parts of the original Shephall survived, including the village green, church, Old Red Lion public house, and some cottages and other buildings, but they were cut off from their former surroundings by Broadhall Way. A neighbourhood shopping centre

3600-401: 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' by Andrew Burton , was commissioned in 1992. Although revolutionary for its time, the town centre is showing signs of age and, in 2005, plans were revealed for a major regeneration to take place over

3680-506: The hostile reaction to Silkin and a referendum that showed 52% (turnout 2,500) 'entirely against' the expansion, the plan went ahead. The first significant building to be demolished to make way for a gyratory system was the Old Town Hall, in which the opposition had been expressed, in 1974. The inaugural chairman of the Stevenage Development Corporation was the architect Clough Williams-Ellis , appointed by Lewis Silkin in 1946, with

3760-491: The neighbouring parish of Shephall . 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

3840-402: The new town of Stevenage was approved in 1946 and started in the early 1950s. The new town was initially developed as six neighbourhoods, each with its own facilities including shops and schools. Surrounding parishes, such as Knebworth , Datchworth and Aston , lost some of their land to the designated development area, but Shephall was entirely engulfed and lost its separate identity, becoming

3920-435: The next decade. Details are still being debated by the council, landowners and other interested parties. Multimillion-pound plans to redevelop Stevenage town centre were scrapped owing to the financial crisis of 2007–08 and the lack of interested private-sector partners. 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

4000-559: The north end of the High Street. It was intended to move the school to Great Ashby , but the Coalition government (2010–15) scrapped the move owing to budget cuts . During the 17th century, the Elizabethan house at 37 High Street was the home of greengrocer and churchwarden Henry Trigg . Trigg was a philanthropist who donated another of his properties to serve as Stevenage's first workhouse. When Henry died in 1724 his coffin

4080-588: The poor during a famine , like Robin Hood . The remains of a medieval 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. During the 16th century it

SECTION 50

#1732801176084

4160-427: The population exploded in the 1950s and 1960s. By the start of the 21st century, the 2001 population had grown to 79,715 reaching 83,957 a decade later (2011). As of 2016 the population is estimated at 87,100. As of the 2021 census, the religious makeup was: King George's Field , named in memory of King George V , hosts Stevenage Cricket Club, Stevenage Hockey Club and Stevenage Town Bowls Club. The cricket ground

4240-577: The position in 1966. He was succeeded by Evelyn Denington, Baroness Denington , who joined the board in 1950. Denington remained the chairman until the dissolution of the Corporation in 1980. 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. In keeping with

4320-575: 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. Tabor was a member of the Society of Women Housing Managers, which was founded by women trained under Octavia Hill . Mary Tabor, with

4400-564: The radical town planner Dr Monica Felton as his deputy. In 1949 she became chairman but she 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 the Korean War (for which she was later awarded the Lenin Peace Prize ) sullied her reputation. Felton was replaced first by Allan Duff and later Thomas Bennett , who carried

4480-459: The rest was already owned by Hertfordshire County Council . The Inner London Education Authority was disbanded so the Manor was no longer required as a school. The Shephalbury Manor Action Committee was formed to save the site from development, as the Manor was not listed and the trees were not subject to preservation orders. Their campaign was successful, and in November 1988, it was listed under

4560-406: The same date and has been governed by Stevenage Borough Council since. 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 a new town under the New Towns Act of 1946 ,

4640-599: The sociological outlook of the day, the town was planned with six self-contained neighbourhoods. The first two of these 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-twin poachers ( Albert and Ebenezer Fox ). It closed in 2017. At least two other public houses have

4720-436: 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. In May 1953, Sir Roydon Dash took over the position of chairman from Bennett. In 1962, Sir Arthur Rucker was appointed Chairman of the Stevenage Development Corporation, retiring from

4800-401: The train station, and adjacent to the Gordon Craig Theatre . 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. Stevenage experiences an oceanic climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfb ) similar to almost all of

4880-403: The village were the Vicarage (later the Rectory), Bury Farmhouse and cottages, many of which were situated on the village green. Shephall parish contained part of the hamlet of Broadwater, while the parts of the hamlet on the west side of the Great North Road were in Knebworth parish. Broadwater House was also in Shephall parish, but has since been demolished. Also within the parish, close to

SECTION 60

#1732801176084

4960-451: The whole manor of Shephall was then owned by St Albans Abbey for 450 years. In this time, Shephall was brought into the Hundred of Cashio . Shephall was closely associated with its neighbour, Aston , which was larger and more prosperous than both Shephall and Stevenage. A small wooden church, St Mary's, was built in Shephall in the 12th century, and was replaced in the late 14th and early 15th centuries by one of brick and stone. The church

5040-399: Was a butcher 's shop owned by a man named Scott. From 1773 onwards it served as the town's workhouse , and later became a school from 1835 until 1885. It was the headquarters of the local town gas company from c.1885 until 1936, when it was converted into a private dwelling. Chells Manor , a medieval hall house located three miles from the Old Town, was built in the 14th century for

5120-446: Was an occasional guest of Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton in nearby Knebworth 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 and Symonds Green . Another new development to the north of the town is Great Ashby. As of 2014 it was still under construction. The Government gave almost £2 million for

5200-403: Was built at The Hyde, 0.5 miles (0.80 km) east of the old village. In August 1956, Shephall received a community centre, the Broadwater Centre, which was opened by Dame Evelyn Sharp . New schools were needed, so Shephalbury Secondary Modern School, Homefield School, Heathcote School and Barnwell School were built. Shephalbury Secondary Modern School closed in the 1980s and was annexed by

5280-431: Was built in a corner of the parish, close to the parish of Aston , possibly in a "no man's land" between manors, and people soon moved close to it. At this time, the entire manor of five hides , made up of arable land, meadows, woodland and pasture, was held by the Abbot of St Albans . After the conquest, two of the hides were obtained by the Archbishop of Canterbury . The Domesday Book of 1086 shows that "Escepehale"

5360-416: Was built, Shephall existed as a village, separated from the old town of Stevenage by three miles of fields and woodlands. Shephall was connected to the main road from Stevenage to Hertford by Shephall Lane, at the hamlet of Broadwater. Shephall has a distinct history from the rest of Stevenage. Sometime before the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, a church was built in "Scepa-halh", probably of wood. It

5440-406: Was confirmed to the monastery of St Alban by Pope Honorius III in 1218, and a vicarage was ordained and endowed. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries , specifically that of St Albans Abbey in 1539, the manor of Shephall was granted to George Nodes in 1542 by King Henry VIII , together with a pension of five shillings . Nodes was a Serjeant at Arms and Serjeant of the Buckhounds to

5520-400: 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. The Local Government Act 1972 reconstituted Stevenage Urban District as a non-metropolitan district with effect from 1 April 1974. The town was awarded borough status on

5600-405: 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. Under the Local 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

5680-443: Was in a clearing in the woods where the church, the manor house and the first village 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 from Viking raiders. Stevenage

5760-534: Was in the Hundred of Broadwater, and it lists 11 villagers, two cottagers and one slave in 1086, though the actual population is unsure as each individual listed may have represented a household, and the entry may not include the entire population. The population could have been around 56 people. Some time after 1086, the hides owned by the Archbishop of Canterbury were re-acquired by Abbot Paul of St Albans , and

5840-542: Was not popular and local people protested at a meeting held in the town hall before Lewis 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 signs '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

5920-473: Was often called Sheephall in the 19th century. The English Place-Names Society translates the name as "a corner of land where sheep are pastured". The meaning "ash-tree slope" has also been supported, but evidence from the nearby Fairlands, which has origins in the Scandinavian word faar , meaning "sheep", makes it more likely that "Shephall" does mean "a sheep pasture". Before the new town of Stevenage

6000-664: Was on the border of the Danelaw . A Viking spearhead was discovered by archaeologists at nearby Ardeley . According to the Domesday Book , in 1086 the Lord of the Manor was the Abbot of Westminster Abbey . The settlement had moved down to the Great North Road. In 1281 it was granted a Royal Charter to hold a weekly market and annual fair, still held in the High Street. The earliest part of St Nicholas's Church dates from

6080-535: Was placed in the rafters of the adjoining barn to prevent resurrection men from stealing his remains. In 1774, Trigg's house became the Old Castle coaching inn , and was used as a staging post by the Royal Mail . From 1999 until 2016 it served as a branch of NatWest , and as of 2022 it has been converted into a dentist 's surgery . Stevenage's prosperity came in part from the Great North Road, which

6160-693: Was recorded as Stithenæce in c. 1060 and as Stigenace in the Domesday Book in 1086. Stevenage lies near the line of the Roman road from Verulamium to Baldock . Some Romano-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 a dodecahedron toy, fragments of amphorae for imported wine, bone hairpins, and samian ware pottery associated with high status families. Archeological excavations have confirmed

6240-491: Was still ongoing. It was the third liquidation of an insurance company in Canada in consecutive years, following Les Coopérants in 1992 and Sovereign Life in 1993. and was followed in 2012 by Union of Canada Life . Stevenage Stevenage ( / ˈ s t iː v ən ɪ dʒ / STEE -vən-ij ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire , England , about 27 miles (43 km) north of London . Stevenage

6320-820: Was the first purpose-built traffic-free shopping zone in Britain , taking its inspiration from the Lijnbaan in Rotterdam, and was officially opened in 1959 by the Queen . A landmark in the town centre is the clock tower and ornamental pool. Nearby is Joyride , a mother and child sculpture by Franta 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

6400-403: Was turnpiked in the early 18th century on the site of the present day Marquess of Granby pub. Many inns in the High Street served the stagecoaches , 21 of which passed through Stevenage each day in 1800. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the road now known as Six Hills Way was the haunt of highwaymen who would use the ancient burial mounds as a hiding place. James Whitney, the namesake of

#83916