Stevenage: Britain's First New Town and the Hertfordshire Experiment
Stevenage was designated as the first new town under the New Towns Act 1946. The plan was to move Londoners out of bomb-damaged, overcrowded housing and into a purpose-built town with separated pedestrian and vehicle routes, neighbourhood units, and generous green space. The pedestrianised town centre, opened in 1959, was the first traffic-free shopping precinct in the country. The clock tower at the centre of the square became the symbol. The original plan targeted a population of 60,000; the town now houses around 90,000 and has outgrown the boundaries the planners drew.
The old village of Stevenage survives at the northern end of the High Street, separated from the new town by the railway line. The contrast is sharp: medieval timber-framed buildings and a Norman church on one side, post-war planned development on the other. The old town was a coaching stop on the Great North Road. The Cromwell Hotel claims the spot where the highwayman Dick Turpin supposedly stayed. Stevenage station sits on the East Coast Main Line, with fast trains to London King's Cross in under 25 minutes.
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Stevenage was designated as the first new town under the New Towns Act 1946. The plan was to move Londoners out of bomb-damaged, overcrowded housing and into a purpose-built town with separated pedestrian and vehicle routes, neighbourhood units, and generous green space. The pedestrianised town centre, opened in 1959, was the first traffic-free shopping precinct in the country. The clock tower at the centre of the square became the symbol. The original plan targeted a population of 60,000; the town now houses around 90,000 and has outgrown the boundaries the planners drew.
The old village of Stevenage survives at the northern end of the High Street, separated from the new town by the railway line. The contrast is sharp: medieval timber-framed buildings and a Norman church on one side, post-war planned development on the other. The old town was a coaching stop on the Great North Road. The Cromwell Hotel claims the spot where the highwayman Dick Turpin supposedly stayed. Stevenage station sits on the East Coast Main Line, with fast trains to London King's Cross in under 25 minutes.
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