Stanstead St Margarets
village in Hertfordshire, England, UK
Stanstead St Margarets, often abbreviated to just St Margarets, is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is located halfway between the towns of Hoddesdon and Ware. It lies on the west bank of the River Lea, which separates it from Stanstead Abbotts on the east bank. Stanstead St Margarets is now classed as part of the Stanstead Abbotts built up area by the Office for National Statistics, and has Stanstead Abbotts postal addresses. It is served by St Margarets railway station. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 1,576.
History
The area which became the parish of Stanstead St Margarets appears to have anciently formed part of the parish of Great Amwell. Stanstead St Margarets is not mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. From the 12th century onwards, references to a place called Thele start appearing, which also became known as Pons de Thele (Bridge of Thele) from its bridge over the River Lea. By the mid-13th century Thele had become a separate parish from Great Amwell.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Stanstead St Margarets” as village in Hertfordshire, England, UK. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as village in Hertfordshire, England, UK. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2347568. Authority coordinates are 51.790, 0.000. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2021 and 1086.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Stanstead St Margarets”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Stanstead St Margarets primary sources, Stanstead St Margarets archive and Stanstead research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Stanstead St Margarets”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Stanstead St Margarets” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.