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Knebworth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Knebworth is a village in the north of Hertfordshire, England.
It lies on the old Great North Road, between Stevenage and Woolmer Green. There is evidence of people living here as far back as Neolithic times, and it is mentioned in the Domesday Book, where it is called Chenepeworde (the farm belonging to the Dane, Cnebba). The population of 150 in 1086 has now grown to over 4,000.
Ownership of the manor passed through various hands, until it was passed to Robert Lytton in 1492. The nearby Knebworth Park houses Knebworth House and St Mary’s Parish Church, parts of which date back to 1120. The village expanded in the late 19th century, mainly due to the arrival of the railway in 1884. The new community around the main road, and railway station is nowadays called Knebworth, and the old part near Knebworth Park is called Old Knebworth. The completion of the A1(M) motorway in 1962 relieved much congestion in the narrow High Street.
Knebworth also has a new church (St Martin’s) designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and consecrated in 1915, and a Roman Catholic church. Its oldest pub is the Roebuck (now in Stevenage) dating back to 1420, the Lytton Arms (in Old Knebworth) is early Victorian and the Station Hotel was built in 1883. There is a good variety of shops and other businesses in and around the High Street, a wide variety of housing, and a small cemetery.
The village has a well-regarded primary school, the Key Stage 2 results for which can be viewed on the DfES website.
The village is known to many because, since 1974, open air rock and pop concerts from musicians such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Queen, to a widely renowned two-night stand from Brit-pop band Oasis in 1996 have been taking place in the grounds of Knebworth House. In 2003 the Robbie Williams concert, reputedly the biggest UK pop concert ever, caused a huge traffic jam on the A1(M) as an estimated 130,000 cars tried to reach the venue.
The village is also home to the growing and successful Knebworth Youth Football Club who play at Knebworth Recreation Ground in Watton Road, Knebworth.