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Hatfield
Coordinates: 51.7627° N 0.2284° W
Population	27,883 [1]
OS grid reference	TL234086
District	Welwyn Hatfield
Shire county	Hertfordshire
Region	East
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	HATFIELD
Postcode district	AL9, AL10
Dial code	01707
Police	Hertfordshire
Fire	Hertfordshire
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	Welwyn Hatfield
European Parliament	East of England
List of places: UK • England • Hertfordshire

Hatfield, originally Bishop's Hatfield, is in the Welwyn Hatfield district of Hertfordshire, in the south of England. It forms part of the Welwyn Hatfield constituency which also includes Welwyn Garden City, and has been twinned with the Dutch port town of Zierikzee since 1953. Its MP is Grant Shapps (Con.). It is known as the town where the first production-line jet airliner, the De Havilland Comet was built, and as the site of a tragic rail crash in 2000.

Contents 1 Modern development 2 Culture and recreation 3 Places of interest 4 Hatfield memorial garden 5 Nearby towns and villages 6 See also 7 References 8 Trivia 9 Gallery 10 Gallery

The town is the site of the original campus of Hatfield Polytechnic, which has since become the University of Hertfordshire. It is also the location of the de Havilland aircraft factory with an associated airfield where airliners such as the Dove, Heron, Comet, Trident and HS146 were built. Production of the latter type was transferred to Woodford in Cheshire during the 1990s by which time it was known as the British Aerospace 146 "Whisperjet". An early bizjet, the DH125, was also developed here although mass production took place at Hawarden in Cheshire. Some components of wind turbines were also developed here prior to the airfield's closure.

Until the early 1990s British Aerospace maintained a substantial presence within the town. Their vacated premises and surrounding grounds served as a film set for some of the night-time scenes of the BBC/HBO television drama Band of Brothers, which followed on from significant use of the site in the filming of the Steven Spielberg movie Saving Private Ryan. Subsequently, a large section of the land was purchased by the University of Hertfordshire and the £120 million de Havilland Campus, incorporating a £15 million Sports Village, was opened in September 2003. The university has closed its sites at Watford and Hertford, and faculties situated there have been relocated to the de Havilland Campus. The university maintains its campus at St Albans, which houses law students.

In addition to the new university campus, part of the former BAe land was also due to be the site of a £500 million new hospital to replace the Queen Elizabeth II hospital in Welwyn GC. Controversially the project has now been cancelled and the Queen Elizabeth II hospital is also under threat of closure.

The university is looking to expand its Nursing and Physiotherapy departments to accommodate and utilise the extra facilities available to it. Redevelopment of Hatfield town centre is also being planned. This will involve the construction of 275 flats and retail units and is forecast to finish by the end of 2009. Welwyn Hatfield Council. Hatfield Town Centre Redevelopment has now been granted planning permission subject to a section 106 legal agreement.

Hatfield's aerospace and military production history remains today mainly in the form of name only — streets such as Comet Way and Mosquito Way; pubs such as the Airfield and The Harrier; the previously mentioned university buildings along with the massive A1 motorway junction (named Olding's Corner), the land being gradually turned over to retail, offices, and housing.

Hatfield has one swimming pool, two sports/leisure centers, one nine-screen cinema, a factory outlet shopping center called The Galleria, situated above the A1(M), and two supermarkets - ASDA in the town centre and Tesco at the northern end of the town. Hatfield is most famous for being the location of Hatfield House (or Royal Palace of Hatfield), it is also regarded as being the birthplace of the jet airliner (the ill-fated De Havilland Comet).

• College Lane Campus and de Havilland campus of University of Hertfordshire are located in Hatfield.
• Hatfield House is where Queen Elizabeth I spent her childhood.
• A local history museum located at Mill Green, just off the A414-A1000 junction.
• Also at Mill Green is the Mill Green Watermill which still produces flour which can be bought there. There is also a café open Easter to September. The water mill is one of a very few in Hertfordshire. Regular events suitable for families are held at the mill.
• Tesco, ASDA, T-Mobile (UK) Limited, Computacenter, BDO Stoy Hayward and Porsche offices are also located in here.
• Green Lane Allotments located between Hatfield Garden Village and the A1(M)

The area contains the site of a fatal rail crash on October 17, 2000. The incident brought track maintenance deficiencies to public attention, to the severe detriment of Railtrack, the company established to manage rail infrastructure, and set in motion the events that led to its insolvency. It is five miles north of Potters Bar, scene of a later fatal train derailment.

• Welwyn Garden City
• St Albans
• Stevenage
• London Colney
• Watford
• Welham Green
• Brookmans Park
• Potters Bar
• Colney Heath
• Lemsford
• Hertford

• University of Hertfordshire
• Hatfield House
• Hatfield railway station

1. ^ United Kingdom Census 2001 [1]

The British 1970s rock band Hatfield and the North was named after the first road sign on the A1 motorway going North from London. Babe Ruth, a 1970s rock band came from Hatfield.

College Lane Campus, Main Building	Learning Resource Centre, De Havilland campus	The main hall of Hatfield House	The north front of Hatfield House, 1880
Saint Peter Church, on Bishop Rise	The Air Field, on Comet Way	Hatfield Business Park	Porsche garage
T-Mobile offices	The Galleria	Ocado distribution centre	Rail crash memorial.
Onslow St Audrey's School	The A1(M) in Hatfield.

College Lane Campus, Main Building	Learning Resource Centre, De Havilland campus	The main hall of Hatfield House	The north front of Hatfield House, 1880
Saint Peter Church, on Bishop Rise	The Air Field, on Comet Way	Hatfield Business Park	Porsche garage
T-Mobile offices	The Galleria	Ocado distribution centre	Rail crash memorial.
Onslow St Audrey's School	The A1(M) in Hatfield.