Eight stories that shaped 80 years of Stevenage

Stevenage is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year.

The Hertfordshire town is known for becoming Britain's first new town in November 1946, seen as a solution to London's post-war housing crisis.

But Stevenage's influence stretches much further than its own borders, all the way to Mars, in fact.

Here are eight stories that show why the town has mattered over the last eight decades.

A little bit of Stevenage will soon be boldly going where no Hertfordshire town has gone before.

Engineers at Airbus finished building the Rosalind Franklin rover in a specialist lab in the town in 2019.

The rover is designed to drill about two metres below the Martian surface to answer David Bowie's age-old question: Is there life on Mars?

Originally, the mission was due for 2022, but it was delayed due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

Touchdown is now planned for 2030 to avoid landing during the planet's global dust season.

In the early 18th Century, a warden at St Nicholas Church named Henry Trigg caught grave robbers digging up remains of recently buried locals.

Determined not to share the same fate, he told his lawyer he would bequeath everything he owned to the person who would keep his remains in their loft.

So when he died in 1724, his coffin was hoisted into the rafters of a barn at 37 High Street, where it remained in full view.

The property changed hands many times over the following centuries, but Trigg did not move; he was still there when inspectors visited in 1831 and 1906.

But in 1999, when Natwest later took over the building, his remains were removed and reburied with a plaque installed in his place.

Stevenage's football team have, on occasion, made life awkward for Newcastle United.

In 2011, League Two Stevenage smashed the Premier League side with a surprising 3-1 victory during the FA Cup third round.

But the more memorable clash may be the 1998 draw, watched by 8,040 fans, after which Magpies boss Kenny Dalglish complained the balls were too bouncy.

He said: "The conditions suited them more than us - the bumpy pitch, the wind, the bouncy ball."

It later emerged that the Newcastle boss had endorsed the very same ball when he was manager of Blackburn.

After World War Two, the government planned to build new towns to provide homes for people from poor or bombed-out houses. In 1946, Stevenage became the first of these to be officially designated.

New homes were planned for 60,000 people there, and Stevenage also became the first town in the country to have a completely pedestrianised town centre.

Architect Leonard Vincent told the website Talking New Towns that there was strong opposition to the then-radical idea.

He recalled: "I remember addressing the Multiple Traders Association on our proposals for Stevenage and they just thought I was round the bend."

Decades later, as more town centres became pedestrianised, he said he got a letter from one of his detractors admitting they were wrong.

Stevenage once produced a motorbike that is often described by enthusiasts as the world's first superbike.

The Vincent Black Shadow was designed and built at the Vincent factory on Great North Road.

After it launched in 1948, it was described by advertisements as the "world's fastest standard motorcycle", with a claimed top speed of about 125mph.

It quickly built a reputation for speed and power with Hunter S Thompson, author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, once writing: "If you rode the Vincent Black Shadow at top speed for any length of time, you would almost certainly die.

"That is why there are not many life members of the Vincent Black Shadow Society."

Even in this century, the bike is still revered; in 2013, a fully-restored 1952 model sold for £113,500 at a Bonhams auction.

Stevenage's relationship with speed does not end with terrifyingly fast superbikes.

Seven-time F1 champion Sir Lewis Hamilton was born and raised in the Hertfordshire town.

Though he drew a little bit of heat in 2018 after describing his childhood dream to "get out of the slums".

He's not the town's only F1 connection; commentator David Croft was also born and raised in the town.

He worked in PR at the Gordon Craig Theatre, and at the same time, he became a sports commentator on BBC Three Counties Radio.

He was paid just £6 for his first commentary when Stevenage Borough took on Altrincham in 1994.

Stevenage's most recent superstar was a little smaller (and a lot furrier) than either of its F1 heroes.

Ginger tabby Nala lived a short walk from Stevenage railway station, which she would often visit by herself in the mornings and evenings.

She'd greet commuters while sitting on the ticket barriers who stroked and took selfies with the feline star.

Her fame spread from the train platforms to the digital platforms in October 2023, when her owner set up a Facebook page to share pictures of her adventures.

Her popularity kept growing, and that year she released a Christmas single with proceeds donated to the RSPCA and local homelessness charity Feed Up Warm Up.

When Nala died in December 2025, her owners announced the news alongside plans for a memorial statue near the station.

The proposal has not yet been approved by the authority, but letters of support have come from as far as Australia.

When it comes to iconic UK concert venues, few can rival Knebworth House.

Some of the world's biggest acts have played there, including Elton John, The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney.

Freddie Mercury did his last concert with Queen at the venue in 1986, while Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson staged a World War One aerial dogfight above the site before taking to the stage in 2014.

Oasis famously played two nights at Knebworth in 1996, performances later immortalised in a live album and 2021 documentary.

Robbie Williams broke concert attendance records when 375,000 fans came to watch him over three nights in 2003.

The gigs were so significant to him that Knebworth features prominently in his biopic Better Man, where he is portrayed as a CGI chimpanzee.

In the film, midway through performing Let Me Entertain You, the singer uses a sword to violently battle an army of armed chimpanzees dressed as past and future versions of himself.

That didn't happen in reality; he actually ended the show with Angels.

Do you have a story suggestion for Beds, Herts or Bucks? Contact us below.

Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.