Stanstead Abbotts (alternatively Stanstead Abbots) is a village and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire, England; it lies on the county boundary with Essex. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,983. The village is situated approximately two miles (three kilometres) south-southeast of Ware, four miles (six kilometres) southeast of Hertford, two miles (three kilometres) north-northeast of Hoddesdon and five miles (eight kilometres) west of Harlow. The village is separated from the village of Stanstead St Margarets by the River Lea.