Stotfold is a small town and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Stotfold is thought to have gained its name from the northern drovers breaking their journey south at this point on the A1 Great North Road and penning their horses (stots) in enclosures (folds) before continuing their journeys southwards. The

River Ivel The River Ivel is a north-flowing river in the western part of east of England. It is primarily in Bedfordshire; it is a tributary of the River Great Ouse and has sources including in the Barton Hills. Course The river Ivel has four headwater ...

runs through the town. Stotfold covers and the population at the 2001 census was 6,190. Stotfold is close to the county border with

, and has a

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage 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, Stevena ...

postcode. In 2010 there was a campaign to have the town absorbed into

North Hertfordshire District Council North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

Landmarks

Stotfold Watermill

Stotfold Watermill stands on the River Ivel and is one of four mills in Stotfold that were recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

. It is the only working mill left in Stotfold and is a grade II listed watermill. The Mill was fully restored after being burnt down on 15 December 1992. The Mill opened to the public in May 2006 with the formal opening taking place October 2006 followed shortly after by a visit from the Duke of Edinburgh on 17 November 2006. It has a 4.4 metre wide overshot corn mill waterwheel which is the widest in the country and is currently open to the public with a tea room on alternate weekends in season (March to October) and on special event weekends. The Mill is a charity run by the Stotfold Mill Preservation Trust. All moneys raised are used for the continual upkeep and restoration of the Mill and of the local area. Its major fundraiser is the annual Stotfold Mill Steam and Country Fair which takes place in May and attracted around 8,500 visitors raising approximately £20,000 in 2010.

St Mary's Church

The parish church of St Mary the Virgin dates to about 1150 but was probably preceded by a series of wooden Saxon churches on the same site. The church is built of flint with Ashwell clunch stone dressings to the buttresses and is mainly in the Early Perpendicular style. In about 1450 the tower was added and the chancel widened and it is believed that the

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

also dates from this time and is octagonal and panelled. In about 1824 much work was done at the church which included plastering the roof of the north aisle and replacing both the mediaeval carvings and the 400 year-old pews, the latter being done by local contractor William Seymour of Arlesey. At the same time the old paintings on the walls were either destroyed or whitewashed over.

New estates

Building work continues to expand the town, with new areas such as Mill View and Fairfield. Fairfield is on the site of the old Fairfield Hospital, covering a very large area, south of Stotfold and to the east of

Arlesey Arlesey ( ) is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire. It is near the border with Hertfordshire, about three miles north-west of Letchworth Garden City, four miles north of Hitchin and six miles south of Biggleswade. Arlesey railway station pr ...

. The old hospital has been converted into luxury apartments, with hundreds of new homes being built in the grounds of the former mental health institute. Fairfield was formally split from Stotfold on 1 April 2013, when it became a separate

. Construction has also begun on 850 new homes in the 'Four Mills' development by Linden Hills developers. The first phase was completed in 2018 and comprised 55 properties. The development was called "an overdevelopment" by Tim Polston, representing some residents in Stotfold.

Sport and leisure

Stotfold has a

Non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

club Stotfold F.C., which plays at New Roker Park.

Famous residents

Kevin Gentle Kevin Gentle (born 31 October 1959) is a former English cricketer. Gentle was a left-handed batsman. He was born in Stotfold, Bedfordshire. Gentle made his debut for Bedfordshire against Suffolk in the 1979 Minor Counties Championship. He play ...

(born 1959), former cricketer *

Nicky Hunt Nicholas Brett Hunt (born 3 September 1983) is an English footballer who plays for and is first-team coach of club Ashton United. He is best known for his spell at Bolton Wanderers at the beginning of his career. Originally a right-back, he co ...

, Commonwealth Games Gold winner/Olympic hopeful (archery) * Olympic and world champion track cyclist

Victoria Pendleton Victoria Louise Pendleton, (born 24 September 1980) is a British jockey and former track cyclist who specialised in the sprint, team sprint and keirin disciplines. She is a former Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth champion. With two ...

was brought up in Stotfold. In 2007, the cycle track between Arlesey and Stotfold was renamed in her honour.There is also a golden post box in her honour
Bedfordshire County Council Press Release
*

Craig Vye Craig Vye (born 19 July 1983) is an English actor, best known for his role as Ethan Scott in teen soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. Early life Craig was born in Hertfordshire, England. Vye trained at RADA, graduating in 2005. He was a member of the B ...

, actor, most recently seen in ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...

'' playing Ethan Scott. Also seen in '' Aquila'', '' London's Burning'', ''

Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

'' and '' Skins''.

References

External links

Town Council
{{authority control Towns in Bedfordshire Civil parishes in Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire District