Stopsley

Stopsley
240px Stopsley War Memorial
Stopsley  Stopsley shown within Bedfordshire
Population	7,760
OS grid reference	TL103235
Unitary authority	Luton
Ceremonial county	Bedfordshire
Region	East
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	Luton South
List of places UK England Bedfordshire

Stopsley is a ward in the north-east of Luton. 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.

After the Second World War, there was a severe shortage of accommodation and to save both time and money new building materials were employed. The majority were BISF Houses, which used sheetmetal for the upper parts of the construction, hence the local name for part of Stopsley being 'Tintown'. Most of these houses still stand today, although in recent years the local council (or private owners) of these houses have covered the original metal with cladding, and only a few of these properties still show the original characteristic painted metal.

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, 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.

There are two high schools in Stopsley, Stopsley High School and Putteridge High School.

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.

Politics

Stopsley 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

Dunstable Downs Chiltern Hills Leighton Buzzard Light Railway Luton Museum & Art Gallery The hat Factory Luton Hoo Mossman Collection Someries castle Stockwood Craft Museum Stockwood Park Wardown Park Waulud's Bank Whipsnade Tree Cathedral Whipsnade Wildlife Park Woodside Farm and Wildfowl Park Wrest Park Gardens

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. The singer Paul Young and actor Colin Salmon were educated at Ashcroft High School.

Local newspapers

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

• Herald and Post (Luton based) – Delivered every Thursday
• Luton on Sunday – Delivered every Sunday

Gallery

• Stopsley War Memorial.jpg

  Stopsley War Memorial

• The Sportsman.jpg

  The Sportsman Public House in Stopsley

• Luton Convservative Club.jpg

  Luton Conservative Club in Stopsley

• St.Thomas's.jpg

  Parish Church of St.Thomas in Stopsley

• StopsleyCommon.jpg

  Stopsley Common

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