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Talking New Towns
Talking New Towns
Oral histories of Hatfield, Hemel Hempstead, Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City
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Hatfield

Old Hatfield, was focussed around Hatfield House and its estate and land holdings and the town was largely agricultural. With the coming of the railway in the mid 19th century there was a gradual movement westwards until 1934 when the Barnet-by-pass had been completed. The railway had been the town’s biggest employer, but it had started to fade in the 1920s.

In 1934, de Havilland Aircraft Company came to Hatfield, and quickly took over as the town’s biggest employer, later taken over by Hawker Siddeley and BAe. The vast majority of de Havilland employees lived in Hatfield. House building began in earnest for its workers i.e. Ellenbrook, Hatfield Garden Village, St. Albans Road West and Birchwood.

Expansion increased after the Second World War when Hatfield was included in the nationwide development of new towns.  It was chosen as a new town in partnership with nearby Welwyn Garden City in 1948. The population of Hatfield in 1934 had been 4,500 whilst in 1954 it had risen to 25,000.  Hatfield new town began to be built in South Hatfield in 1951, with many of the new houses going to de Havilland employees. Hatfield was largely dependent on de Havilland and its successors for its prosperity.

  • Jessie Axford

    Jessie Axford (7)

    Jessie Axford moved with her husband to a new house in Robin's Way Hatfield in September 1956, this is her story.
  • Ken Wright

    Ken Wright (1)

    Ken worked for the Development Corporation for many years as a photographer.
    His photos brilliantly capture the new towns of Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City.
  • Gerald Model

    Gerald Model (2)

    Gerald Model came to Hatfield in the late 1950s from St. Albans. He established his chiropody business in the new town.
  • Donald Hodson

    Donald Hodson (7)

    Donald Hodson came to Hatfield in the late 1950s from Burnley and established his new Pharmacy shop in the new town area of Hatfield.
  • Barbara Latham

    Barbara Latham (1)

    Barbara Latham came to Hatfield in the late 1950s. Here she tells of her First Christmas in the town.
  • Jim Parker

    Jim Parker (1)

    Jim Parker came to live in Hatfield in 1960 and worked for de Havilland. He recounts his first experiences of living in the New Town of Hatfield in the early 1960s, including his first Christmas in the town.
  • Boomtime: Hatfield Voices Recordings

    Boomtime: Hatfield Voices Recordings (7)

    Audio clips from interviews recorded in 1999 as part of the Boomtime / Hatfield Voices project. Every effort has been made to identify the contributors, however in the cases of those recordings contained, this hasn't been possible as yet.
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