Hatfield

Town in Hertfordshire, southeast England, on the River Lea, 8 km/5 mi east of St Albans; population (2001) 32,300. Designated a new town in 1948, it has light engineering industries. It was the site of the 12th-century palace of the bishops of Ely, replaced by the Jacobean mansion Hatfield House (1607–11). The University of Hertfordshire (previously Hatfield Polytechnic) was established here in 1992.

Hatfield grew as a modern new town around the aircraft industry, close to its historic original town. British Aerospace was the district's largest employer until it closed in 1993; the site is now undergoing redevelopment.

Hatfield House The palace of the bishops of Ely was seized by Henry VIII and inhabited by Edward VI and Elizabeth I before their accession. James I gave it in part exchange to Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, who replaced the building with the existing Hatfield House. In its grounds is a surviving wing of the old royal palace.

Hatfield

Village in South Yorkshire, England, about 11 km/7 mi northeast of Doncaster; population (2001) 13,900. Hatfield Main colliery is a key local employer.

Hatfield Chase, the area around the village that lies between the rivers Don, Idle, and Thorne, was once a forest and royal hunting ground. A considerable part of it was marshland, which was drained in 1626 by Dutch engineers under the direction of Cornelius Vermuyden (1595–1683). This and later drainage projects have produced a rich agricultural soil.

Hatfield

Town in Hampshire County, western Massachusetts; population (1998 est) 3,200. Hatfield is situated on the Connecticut River, 29 km/18 mi north of Springfield and adjoining Northampton. For many years, Hatfield made brooms, cider, and linseed oil, and was a major producer of onions and tobacco; the latter crop has been superseded by other vegetables. It was settled from 1660.

Hatfield was the target of Indian attacks in 1675 and 1677, and was involved in Shays Rebellion of 1786.

The town was the birthplace of the prominent 18th- and 19th-century educators Sophia Smith, founder of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts; Colonel Ephraim Williams, founder of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts; Jonathan Dickinson, first president of Princeton University; and Elisha Williams, president of Yale University.