Stevenage, Hertfordshire Genealogy

England   Hertfordshire   Hertfordshire Parishes

Parish History
STEVENAGE (St. Nicholas), a town and parish, in the union of Hitchin, hundred of Broadwater, county of Hertford, 12 miles (N. W. by N.) from Hertford, and 31 (N. N. W.) from London; containing 1725 inhabitants. The ancient name was Stigenhaght, signifying the hills by the highway, and evidently derived from six barrows, or hills near the road-side, half a mile south of the town: about the time of the heptarchy the place was called Stigenhace, and in Domesday book Stavenach or Stevenadge. It formed a part of the demesne of the Saxon kings, and was given by Edward the Confessor to the abbey of Westminster, on the suppression of which it was granted by Edward VI. to the see of London, to which the manor still belongs. The town is pleasantly situated on the great road from London to Edinburgh, and consists of one long and spacious street, with two or three smaller ones, comprising some well-built brick residences: it is amply supplied with water. The trade is chiefly that of carcase-butchers, who dispose of the slaughtered cattle principally at Hertford, and in the London market; the platting of straw furnishes employment to many of the females in the town and its vicinity. In the reign of James I., Monteine, Bishop of London, procured the grant of a weekly market, and three fairs annually, which was confirmed by a charter of William and Mary; but from the contiguity of other towns in which large markets take place, the market of Stevenage has fallen into disuse; and the fairs, except one on Sept. 22nd, have also been nearly discontinued. Petty sessions for the division are held here, and a manorial court annually by the Bishop of London. The parish comprises by admeasurement 4434 acres, of which 2887 are arable, 900 pasture, 524 wood, and 123 waste. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £33. 6. 8., and in the gift of William Baker, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £1023. 7.; there is a glebe-house, and the glebe comprises 26½ acres. The church is situated on a chalky eminence about half a mile from the town, approached by a fine avenue of trees, and is a neat well-built edifice, with a square tower surmounted by a spire covered with lead; attached to the chancel are two small chapels. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. The Rev. Thomas Alleyn, in 1558, devised all his estates to Trinity College, Cambridge, in trust for charitable uses, among which was the founding of a grammar school at Stevenage, with an annual income of £13. 6. 8. Shortly after the testator's demise, a free English school was established by the inhabitants of Stevenage, which was endowed with some land by Robert Gynne in 1614, and a rent-charge of £12 by Edmond Woodward in 1659; and this school was eventually placed under the master of the grammar school: the total income is £37. 6. 8. A national school has been founded; and there are various bequests, amounting to about £50 per annum, distributed among the poor. The six barrows supposed to give name to the town have been generally referred to the Danes, several battles having been fought between them aud the Saxons in this county, and some fields at the distance of about three-quarters of a mile still retaining the name of Danes' Blood. In a wood half a mile eastward from the barrows, called Humbley Wood, are the apparent remains of an intrenched camp, or fortification, consisting of a large and perfectly square area, surrounded by a deep moat containing water, with only one entrance on the north side. Richard de Stevenage, abbot of St. Alban's at the Dissolution, was a native of this place.

From: Lewis, Samuel A., A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848)

Civil Registration
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Church records
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Census records
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Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Hertfordshire Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

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Web sites
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