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Hitchin is dominated by its parish church, the largest in the
county and only slightly smaller than St Albans Abbey. It sits across
the River Hiz, close to the stunning Medieval Biggin and the ancient
Market Place, where people have gathered for centuries to rally,
celebrate and trade.
The history of Hitchin and St Mary’s Church are closely linked.
The town’s modern origins stretch back to AD792 when King
Offa of Mercia founded a religious house on land once occupied by
the Hicce tribe, which gave its name to the present settlement.
The church flourished and grew, with the present building dating
mainly from the 14th Century, replacing an earlier church destroyed
in an earthquake.
Hitchin was a prosperous community thanks to the wool trade and
its rich agricultural land. Villagers poured in from miles around
to its thriving market, which still runs on Tuesdays and Saturdays,
with bric-a-brac stalls on Fridays. Shops and homes grew up around
the central Medieval Market Place, which remains at the heart of
the town and is home to a monthly farmers’ market, numerous
charity events, al fresco cafes, buskers and activities for children.
The Market Place is surrounded by streets packed with fine timber-framed
buildings dating back centuries, many with their own fascinating
histories and even ghosts.
One of the charms of Hitchin is the close link between the bustling
centre, open green spaces and the nearby countryside. Windmill Hill
provides a panoramic view across the town, the Dell outdoor theatre
is hidden behind a canopy of trees and Butts Close, off Bedford
Road, is the ideal place for family games of cricket, strolls down
the tree-lined central path and trying out rides and stalls at the
regular funfair.
Further afield lie Purwell and Oughtonhead Commons, both close to
housing estates, easily accessible to walkers and yet providing
valuable habitats for a wide range of plants, insect life and animals.
North Hertfordshire College’s Hitchin site lies close to Purwell
Common, soon to be rebuilt to provide 21st Century facilities, particularly
for sport and the performing arts. Hitchin is also fortunate in
its primary and secondary schools, with many families choosing to
send children from nearby villages to the long-established Hitchin
Boys’ and Hitchin Girls’ schools as well as to the newer
Priory School on Bedford Road.
The town has strong musical links and adults travel from across
the country to study at Benslow Music School, set in the beautiful
old house that was once home to William Ransom. His brother lived
nearby, in what is now Benslow Rise, and his house was used for
three years as the first site of Girton College - Cambridge itself
was considered too daring a place for young ladies to lodge!
The Ransom family ran what is now the country’s oldest pharmaceutical
company, importing herbs and plants from all over the world as well
as growing them in nearby fields. Up until recently people were
paid to pick elderflowers from the hedgerows and Hitchin was famed
for its lavender until the early years of the 20th Century. Ransom’s
has recently moved out of its town centre site, which is being converted
into housing, and is now in the industrial area.
No-one can visit Hitchin without becoming aware of its strong community
and the commitment shown by many traders, businessmen and residents
to its future. It finances its own town centre manager with support
from North Hertfordshire District Council. Hitchin businesses and
residents raise the money for the annual stunning display of festive
lights in the town’s distinctive blue and gold colours. Volunteers
run the two-day Rhythms of the World event, the largest free open-air
concert of its kind in the country. The town’s annual cultural
festival, organised by local individuals and groups, is so successful
that it is stretching from two weeks into four.
It was the efforts of volunteers that saved the unique British Schools
educational complex in the early 1990s and now they are turning
it into one of the country’s premier tourist attractions.
The unique site, dating back to 1810, includes the only remaining
Lancasterian room in the world, where once 330 boys were taught
by one master in one room. Visitors are taken on guided tours and
learn about the rigours of Victorian schooling, what happened to
evacuees, how the headmaster and his family lived in the 1880s and
dozens of other fascinating details.
Hitchin also has a thriving town museum and art gallery, run by
North Hertfordshire District Council. It includes an authentic Victorian
chemist’s shop, with fittings, fixtures and contents, saved
when the High Street store of Perks and Llewellyn was demolished.
Among the exhibits is the poison book, Victorian apothecaries’
jars and original Hitchin lavender products. Lavender is once again
being grown on the edge of the town, at Cadwell Farm, Ickleford,
and visitors can join one of the regular summer walks.
A large painting over the stairs at the museum, depicting the Market
Place, is by the town’s well-known 19th Century artist Samuel
Lucas, part of a wealthy brewing family. Like many other prominent
18th and 19th Century citizens, they were Quakers, philanthropists
and entrepreneurs who helped establish Hitchin’s special identity
as a caring, community town.
The Lucases lived in Tilehouse Street, one of the finest Mediaeval
roads in the country, which curves down to the Priory. It was once
a Camelite foundation, dating from 1317, and after the dissolution
of the monasteries in the 1530s it became the private home of the
Delme-Radcliffe family, staying in their possession until the 1960s.
It was remodelled by Robert Adam, extensively restored more than
20 years ago and is now a conference centre and popular wedding
venue as well as being open to the public for occasional concerts.
Hitchin is not a town frozen in aspic. It continues to grow with
developments both in the town centre and on the outskirts, with
plans to provide new facilities for shoppers and to encourage the
individual traders who give the town its special identity. It is
culturally diverse and the communities are well integrated, united
in their affection for a town where its residents care deeply about
what happens and want to be involved.
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