"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 was recorded as Stithenæce in c.1060 and as Stigenace

Slow growth in Stevenage continued until just after the Second World War, when the Abercrombie Plan called for the establishment of a ring of

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

A small community arts centre is located in the Roaring Meg Retail Park. The Boxfield and Foyer Gallery is situated in the Gordon Craig Theatre, which forms part of the large central Leisure

Pre-Conquest
Stevenage lies near the line of the Roman road from Verulamium to Baldock. Some Romano-British remains

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

Stevenage has a King George's Field named in memory of King George V, which boasts cricket and a bowls green, which is used by Stevenage Town Bowls Club. The field was the original pitch that Stevenage FC used to play on. The cricket ground is called