Stopsley

Stopsley

Stopsley War Memorial
Stopsley
Stopsley shown within Bedfordshire
Population 7,760 [1]
OS grid reference TL103235
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town LUTON
Postcode district LU2
Dialling code 01582
Police Bedfordshire
Fire Bedfordshire and Luton
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England
UK Parliament

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 1855, believed the name of Stospley 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]

History

Originally a hill-top village settlement, most of the urbanised part of the civil parish of Stopsley became part of Luton when the boundaries were extended in 1933, with the rural areas going to Hyde and Streatley.

Local Area

The centre of Stopsley is made up of a series of local 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 including a Greengrocer, Chemist, Charity Shop. Estate Agent, hairdresser and cafe. One of Luton's two cemeteries, The Vale, is located nearby on the Hitchin Road.

The centre of Stopsley Village contains many shops on either side of the road including a Barclays branch (now closed), Co-Operative supermarket, Henderson newsagents, Cafe, Tesco Express, Chemist, Hardware, charity shops, Sandwich stores and Off licences/Wine stores. There are also several takeaways and restaurants such as; Ashuka, Stopsley Surma, May Sek Oriental, Jay Raj Indian Cuisine, Pankaj Sor. The HSBC branch that was based in Stopsley closed its doors in September, 2015.

Many estate and lettings agents are also situated in the Stopsley Village and Jansel House area, Connors, Haart, Taylors and Acorn Residential Lettings.

Stopsley High School is also in the area.

Politics

Stopsley is part of the larger Stopsley ward which also includes Putteridge and part of Ramridge End. The ward is represented by Cllr Jenny Davies (Liberal Democrats) and Cllr Michael Dolling (Liberal Democrats). The ward forms part of the parliamentary constituency of Luton South, and the MP is Gavin Shuker (Labour). Stopsley is situated within the East of England.

Map of Luton showing Stopsley

Local attractions

Education

Stopsley includes the specialist Sports College, Stopsley High School. Notable alumni include Monty Panesar, "the Python", cricketer. 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.

Local newspapers

Two weekly newspapers are delivered free to all houses in Stopsley, with news about Luton and the surrounding area.

References

  1. ↑ Luton Borough Council, Population Estimates and Forecasts, 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

Further reading

  • James Dyer, The Stopsley Book, Book Castle, 2nd Edn. 2005, ISBN 1-903747-65-1.
  • James Dyer, The Stopsley Picture Book, Book Castle. 2002, ISBN 1-871199-94-8.
  • Keith T. Norcott, Chalk on my Shoes, Book Castle, 2006, ISBN 1-903747-68-6
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