• Skip to content
 
  • Log in
  • Contact us
Talking New Towns
Talking New Towns
Oral histories of Hatfield, Hemel Hempstead, Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City
  • Home
  • About
  • Towns
  • Topics
  • Galleries
  • Learning
  • Contribute
You are here: Home>Towns>Stevenage

Stevenage

Stevenage was the first designated new town in 1946. The first buildings to be constructed were 20 prefabricated aluminium houses at Aston, to house staff and engineering workers. All in all the population grew from 6200 in 1946 to over 75.000 in the 1980s.

  • Barbara and Peter Metcalf

    Barbara and Peter Metcalf (9)

    The Metcalf's moved to Stevenage around 1960 and worked for the Borough Council and were active in the Labour Party in town
  • Winnie Hampson

    Winnie Hampson (2)

    Winnie Hampson was a Stevenage new town pioneer.

  • Susan Church and Derek Bradnick

    Susan Church and Derek Bradnick (2)

    Both moved to Stevenage as young teenagers.

  • Marjorie Galliers

    Marjorie Galliers (2)

    Marjorie Galliers moved to Stevenage with her husband, and still lives in the same house she moved into in the 50s.
  • Donne Buck

    Donne Buck (6)

    Donne Buck moved to Stevenage in 1967 to lead the work on Bandley Hill adventure playground, where he worked until 1970.
  • Eric Claxton engineer

    Eric Claxton engineer (3)

    Eric Claxton was engineer for the planning of the new town from 1946, and Chief engineer 1963-1972.
  • Sharon Taylor

    Sharon Taylor (2)

    Sharon Taylor talks about her childhood in Stevenage.
  • Clare Marsh

    Clare Marsh (2)

    Clare Marsh is an artist who grew up in Stevenage in the 60s and early 70s
  • Richard Edleston

    Richard Edleston (1)

    Mr Edleston was an architect with the Stevenage Development Corporation from 1951 to his retirement in 1972.
  • Raymond Gorbing

    Raymond Gorbing (5)

    Planner and Architect Raymond Gorbing worked at the Stevenage Development Corporation from 1950-1963.
  • Andrea Cataldo and Maureen Ringer

    Andrea Cataldo and Maureen Ringer (6)

    Andrea Cataldo and Maureen Ringer are cousins and grew up in the family run Spencer's Nurseries who flourished in Stevenage as the new town was growing, supplying plants and pets for gardens and families.
  • Leonard Vincent

    Leonard Vincent (14)

    Mr Vincent Leonard was a key planner and architect in Stevenage, from when he joined the Stevenage Development Corporation in 1949 until he retired in 1980.
  • Colin Killick

    Colin Killick (5)

    Colin Killick moved to Stevenage in 1960 and moved into a flat in Penn Road. With a strong interest in photography and film making he joined the Stevenage Cine Film Club and co-produced films including Stevenage Carnival and Stevenage Day.
  • Jill Bullen

    Jill Bullen (2)

    Jill Bullen went to Barclay School in Stevenage in the 50s
  • Mr R. B. Lenthall

    Mr R. B. Lenthall (19)

    Lenthall was a Chief Engineer of the Stevenage Development Corporation
  • Brian Foster

    Brian Foster (8)

    Brian Foster moved to Stevenage with his family as a child in the 50s.
  • Lillian Cowdery

    Lillian Cowdery (5)

    Lillian Cowdery was a district nurse in Stevenage in the 50s.
  • Michael Cotter

    Michael Cotter (7)

    Mr Cotter moved to Stevenage as a builder in the early 50s with his wife and three children.
  • Mr and Mrs Arnold

    Mr and Mrs Arnold (4)

    Mr and Mrs Arnold moved to Stevenage with their young children during its early days.
  • Mr B. Alford

    Mr B. Alford (7)

    Mr Alford moved to Stevenage with his wife as an architect during the 50s. He went on to become the Chief Architect of the Stevenage Development Corporation.
  • Anne Cotter

    Anne Cotter (4)

    Mrs Anne Cotter moved to Stevenage in the early 50s with her husband Mike Cotter and their three children.
  • Baroness Denington of Stevenage

    Baroness Denington of Stevenage (1)

    Portrait of Evelyn Denington (1907-98) who was a board member of Stevenage Development Corporation from 1950 to 1980, serving as Chairman from 1966. In 1974 she became a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and in 1978 she was elevated to the peerage, choosing the title of Baroness Denington of Stevenage.
  • John Balchin

    John Balchin (5)

    John Balchin was general manager of the Stevenage Development Corporation, and also the author of "First New Town - An Autobiography of Stevenage Development Corporation 1946-1980".
  • Mr and Mrs Nunn

    Mr and Mrs Nunn (5)

    Mrs Delores Nunn moved to Stevenage with her father in 1954. Mr Henry Nunn followed later once the two were engaged.
  • Paul Robertson

    Paul Robertson (7)

    Paul Robertson moved to Stevenage when he was 13 in 1969. He worked in the Mecca from age 16, and eventually became a DJ.
  • Videos of Stevenage

    Videos of Stevenage (6)

  • The Charter Fair

    The Charter Fair (6)

  • Jack Franklin

    Jack Franklin (1)

  • Miss Farris

    Miss Farris (1)

  • Ken Ellis

    Ken Ellis (1)

  • Bert Lowe

    Bert Lowe (2)

  • Connie Rees

    Connie Rees (4)

  • Ken Poole

    Ken Poole (1)

  • Pat Akehurst

    Pat Akehurst (3)

  • Denzil Oulton

    Denzil Oulton (6)

  • Mary Tabor

    Mary Tabor (3)

  • Miss Lenton

    Miss Lenton (1)

  • Maria Kasyan

    Maria Kasyan (1)

  • Jean Galer

    Jean Galer (1)

  • Sheila Waters-Hughes

    Sheila Waters-Hughes (2)

  • Richard Burling

    Richard Burling (1)

  • Umesh Sachania

    Umesh Sachania (1)

  • Mr Udell

    Mr Udell (1)

  • Mr Norman

    Mr Norman (2)

  • Tony Lopez

    Tony Lopez (5)

  • Eddie Messant

    Eddie Messant (2)

  • Margaret Cox

    Margaret Cox (1)

  • Jez Evans

    Jez Evans (1)

Towns
  • Hatfield
  • Hemel Hempstead
  • Stevenage
Explore by keyword

These are the most common keywords on the site.

  • Hemel Hempstead (43)
  • The Dacorum Heritage Trust Ltd (43)
  • moving (24)
  • Hatfield (20)
  • New House (17)
  • Arriving (16)
  • architecture (15)
  • Shopping (14)
  • housing (12)
  • Welwyn Hatfield Museum Service (11)

View all keywords

Explore by decade
  • 1940s (12 pages)
  • 1950s (130 pages)
  • 1960s (30 pages)
  • 1970s (4 pages)
Heritage Lottery Funded (opens in new window) Welwyn Hatfield Museum Service (opens in new window) Dacorum Heritage Trust (opens in new window) Stevenage Museum (opens in new window)
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy and cookies
  • Accessibility
  • Website by CommunitySites