Stevenage is a town and district in Hertfordshire, England. It is between Letchworth Garden City to the north, and Welwyn Garden City to the south. Its population was 1,430 in 1801, 4,049 in 1901 and 79,724 in 2001. The largest increase occurred in the 1950s and 1960s after becoming a new town. However, to be more accurate Stevenage was a new town - created just after the Second World War under the New Towns Act of 1946. A little to the east of the Roman sites the first Saxon camp was made in a clearing in the woods. This is where the church, manor house and the first village were later built. Similar settlements sprang up in the nearby areas of Chells, Broadwater and Shephall.