Stopsley

Coordinates: 51°53′56″N 0°23′46″W / 51.899°N 0.396°W / 51.899; -0.396
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Stopsley
Bedfordshire and Luton
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Bedfordshire
51°53′56″N 0°23′46″W / 51.899°N 0.396°W / 51.899; -0.396

Stopsley is a suburb in the north-east of Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The area is roughly bounded by the edge of Luton to the north, Vauxhall Way and Turners Road North to the south, Bradgers Hill to the west, and Cannon Lane, Stapleford Road and Brays Road to the east.

Etymology

Frederick Davis, writing in 1965 believed the name of Stopsley to come from Scrobbale, (in Saxon;) Scrapes or Scroppeslie, (in Norman;) Shrubsley, (in English.;) meaning a hill covered with scrobbes (shrubs or underwood.) Most modern etymologists consider the name to be made up of two elements 'Stopp' and 'ley'. dating between AD 750 and AD 950. The ending comes from the Old English 'leah' meaning a wood or clearing in a wood. 'Stopp' was a personal name and indicated ownership of the wood or clearing. It appears as 'Stopeslegh in Soca de Luton' in a (Latin) law record, dated 1440.[2]

Originally a hill-top village settlement, on 1 April 1896 it became a

Streatley with Sharpenhoe.[3] In 1931 the parish had a population of 1474.[4]

Local area

The centre of Stopsley is made up of a variety of shops around a village church. From a distance the skyline is dominated by Jansel House, an office block built in 1961 which houses the Luton

VAT
office over a parade of shops at street level. One of Luton's two cemeteries, The Vale, is located nearby on the Hitchin Road.

Politics

Stopsley is part of the larger Stopsley ward which also includes

Ramridge End. The ward is represented by Cllr David Wynn (Liberal Democrats) and Cllr Richard Underwood (Liberal Democrats).[5]
The ward forms part of the
parliamentary constituency of Luton South and the MP is Rachel Hopkins (Labour Party
).

Luton
showing Stopsley

Local attractions

Key
Abbey/Priory/Cathedral
Accessible open space Accessible open space
Amusement/Theme Park
Castle
Country Park Country Park
English Heritage
Forestry Commission
Heritage railway Heritage railway
Historic house
Historic House
Places of Worship Places of Worship
Museum (free)
Museum		 Museum (free/not free)
National Trust
National Trust
Theatre
Zoo

Education

Stopsley includes the specialist Sports College, Stopsley High School. Notable alumni include professional cricketer Monty Panesar. In the 1960s, Stopsley Infant and Junior School pupils included Alec Jeffreys, who went on to discover the DNA genetic fingerprint. He is now Professor of Genetics at Leicester University and was Knighted in 1994. Another pupil, David Renwick, created the television series 'One Foot in the Grave' and 'Jonathan Creek'. Both went on to study at Luton Grammar School and Luton Sixth Form College.

Gallery

  • Stopsley War Memorial
    Stopsley War Memorial
  • The Sportsman Public House in Stopsley
    The Sportsman Public House in Stopsley
  • Luton Conservative Club in Stopsley
    Luton Conservative Club in Stopsley
  • Parish Church of St.Thomas in Stopsley
    Parish Church of St.Thomas in Stopsley
  • Stopsley Common
    Stopsley Common

References

  1. ^ Luton Borough Council, Population Estimates and Forecasts Archived 21 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, estimate for Stopsley ward in 2007. The count in the 2001 Census was 7,105.
  2. ^ Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; National Archives; CP 40/717; http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT1/H6/CP40no717/bCP40no717dorses/IMG_1635.htm
  3. ^ "Luton Registration District". UKBMD. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  4. A Vision of Britain through Time
    . Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  5. ^ "CMIS > Councillors".

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stopsley.
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