Pin Green
Pin Green has probably got its name from the old English word ‘Pynd’ which meant ‘enclosure’. It was farmland until the New Town development began. A document has been recovered which has been dated to 1323/24 called ‘Candlemass’, which listed the arable land in Stevenage and includes a field named ‘the land called John Gyles’. In a separate document recorded in 1836 the field was listed as ‘Giles Field’ and eventually in 1970 the Giles Junior and Infant schools were opened in Durham Road and named after the field.
At the end of Sish Lane there used to be a group of large houses and cottages dating back to 1409 or even earlier. There is a reference in a 1409 document to ‘Shusshgrene’, and later in 1451, to ‘Shussbys Land’. In the early 20th century Julius Bertram, MP for the Hitchin Liberal Party, took up residence in the Sishes. When he left, his house eventually came into the hands of the Development Corporation after passing through the hands of many private individuals. For 15 years afterwards it was leased to the Stevenage Youth Trust and in 1967 opened up as a club and hostel for young people. Eventually in 1978 it was closed due to lack of funding; the building was demolished by the Development Corporation, and housing was built on the site.
