Stotfold is a small town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. 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 in enclosures before continuing their journeys southwards. The River Ivel runs through the town. Stotfold covers and the population at the 2001 census was 6,190. Stotfold is close to the county border with Hertfordshire, and has a Stevenage postcode. In 2010 there was a campaign to have the town absorbed into North Hertfordshire District Council.
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. 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 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 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. 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 civil parish. 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 club Stotfold F.C., which plays at Roker Park.
