Bishop's Stortford

Town in Hertfordshire, England, 47 km/29 mi northeast of London on the River Stort; population (2001) 35,300. Its main industries are brewing and malting. Stansted Airport lies to the northeast of the town. Cecil Rhodes was born here in 1853. His birthplace, The Old Vicarage, is now a museum.

In the late Saxon and early Norman period the town was the property of the Bishop of London; the ruins of the so-called Bishop's Prison can still be seen. St Michael's church dates from the 15th century.