| Old Hatfield | |
|---|---|
 Horse And Groom public house on Park Street, Old Hatfield | |
  Old Hatfield Location within Hertfordshire | |
| OS grid reference | TL2308 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Hatfield |
| Postcode district | AL9 |
| Police | Hertfordshire |
| Fire | Hertfordshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
Old Hatfield, sometimes called Bishops Hatfield, is a historic village in Hertfordshire, England. It is in the town of Hatfield.
It grew up on the Great North Road, one day's journey from London by horse or coach and once had many coaching inns. It was a convenient place for the Bishops of Ely to have a lodging, giving access to both the cathedral in Ely to the north and the capital to the south. A village grew up adjacent to the estate of Bishops palace. The parish church of St Etheldreda's Church, Hatfield was named by the Bishops after their patron saint Æthelthryth.[1][2][3]
A market was once held in Fore Street.
When Hatfield was developed as a new town after World War Two, Old Hatfield was deliberately left unspoilt by development and through traffic and so retains an historic feel.
- ^ "Parishes: Hatfield | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. 1912. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
- ^ "Bishop's Hatfield | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. 1910. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
- ^ (www.communitysites.co.uk), Community Sites. "First published in the Bishops Hatfield Parish Magazine (May-June) 1904 | Hatfield As It was Five Hundred Years Ago | AD1501-1900 | History of Hatfield | Our Hatfield". www.ourhatfield.org.uk. Retrieved 9 May 2016.