Hatfield Town Profile


Hatfield is situated on the main road and rail routes to the east coast of Scotland 20 miles (32 kilometres) north of London.


Hatfield, as Hetfelle, was recorded in the Doomsday Book and the right to hold a market in the town was granted by Henry III in 1226.

The manor was then owned by the Abbots (later the Bishops) of Ely, hence the later name for the town of "Bishop's Hatfield" and the inclusion of "Bishop's" in building names and locations around the town to this day. The Bishops built a palace located near the parish church of St Etheldreda's - the Great Hall of 1480(now known as the Old Palace) still stands.

From 1538 after the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII the town became known as King's Hatfield. Princess Elizabeth was resident at Hatfield House when the death of Queen Mary in 1558 resulted in her accession to the throne as Elizabeth I. She held her first Council of Ministers in the Great Hall.


Elizabeth I later appointed William Cecil, as her principal secretary. In 1607 James I exchanged the Cecil residence of Theobalds (near Enfield) for other properties including Hatfield House. Robert Cecil, the first Earl of Salisbury started building the current Hatfield House at the end of that year. His descendants occupy the house to this day.


Hatfield continued as an important town on the Great North Road until the 20th century when Geoffrey de Havilland moved his aircraft manufacturing business to Hatfield in 1933, developing a range of civil aircraft. World War II forced a change to military aircraft, which resulted in the Mosquito. Hatfield's aviation heritage is recorded at the Mosquito Museum located at London Colney 4 miles (6 kilometres) from Hatfield.

Prototype Mosquito

De Havilland's, later British Aerospace, became the town's largest employer of over 8,000 people. However the plant closed in 1992. The development of the site into a major business park has progressed significantly in recent years, with the arrival of major firms including T-Mobile, Computacenter and Ocado.

The rapidly growing and highly respected University of Hertfordshire has also centralised its activities in Hatfield and is now the town's major employer.

University of Hertfordshire