Hatfield, originally Bishop's Hatfield, is in the Welwyn Hatfield district of Hertfordshire, in the south of England. It forms part of the Welwyn Hatfield constituency which also includes Welwyn Garden City, and has been twinned with the Dutch port town of Zierikzee since 1953. Its MP is Grant Shapps (Con.). It is known as the town where the first production-line jet airliner, the De Havilland Comet was built, and as the site of a tragic rail crash in 2000. he population of Hatfield has expanded to over 30,000 and is still growing. Situated in the south of Hertfordshire, Hatfield is 20 miles to the north of London and separated from the city by the Green Belt. The town has excellent transport links with the nearest airport at Luton only 14 miles away. The A1(M) and, a few miles to the South, the M25 make for easy access to Heathrow and Gatwick by car. The main railway link from London to York runs through the district and there is a 22-minute commuter service to London. The town is the site of the original campus of Hatfield Polytechnic, which has since become the University of Hertfordshire. It was also the location of the de Havilland aircraft factory with an associated airfield where airliners such as the Dove, Heron, Comet, Trident and HS146 were built. Production of the latter type was transferred to Woodford in Cheshire during the 1990s by which time it was known as the British Aerospace 146 "Whisperjet". An early bizjet, the DH125, was also developed here although mass production took place at Hawarden in Cheshire. Some components of wind turbines were also developed here prior to the airfield's closure. More on Hatfield 

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