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Hitchin
Hitchin is a medieval market town with narrow streets and lanes, and a large market square surrounded by Tudor and Georgian buildings. Hitchin can trace its history back to the very earliest times and was known to prehistoric travellers along the nearby Icknield Way. The town prospered largely through the wool trade and retains its mediaeval plan.
One of the two largest towns in the North Hertfordshire District, Hitchin has a population of approximately 30,360. The town stands on the main railway line from Kings Cross to York and the North and is the junction for the branch line to Cambridge. The fast electrified commuter service to Kings Cross has added further impetus to the town's residential growth. Hitchin is well served by main roads, has flourishing industries and is the main shopping, market and commercial centre for a wide area in Hertfordshire and parts of Bedfordshire, whose boundary is very close.
Hitchin can trace its history back to the very earliest times and was known to pre-historic travellers along the line of the nearby Icknield Way. The Romans also knew this area, and excavations have revealed remains of their buildings, utensils and coins. Hitchin first emerged as a settlement in Saxon times, the earliest recorded mention being A.D. 758 when King Offa, after defeating his rival Beornred in battle, celebrated his victory by founding a Benedictine house that is the 'ancestor' of the present parish church. Little is known of the following years, but towards the end of the 10th century 'Hicche', as it was then spelled, became the possession of Tovi, the standard bearer of King Knut. Tovi had founded the great abbey at Waltham in the Lee Valley to which he gave 'Hicche', a gift later confirmed in a charter by Edward the Confessor.
The manor of Hitchin then passed into the hands of King Harold then, after his defeat at Hastings, into the hands of William I. From this time Hitchin was a Royal Manor, granted by a monarch to those who had excelled in his service. Those great barons of the north, the Baliols, included Hitchin as one of their estates, whilst during the reign of Edward III the Lady of the Manor was the notorious Alice Ferrers, the King's mistress and a woman of horrific wickedness. Other owners of the manor included William of Wykeham, noted Bishop of Winchester; Sir Hugh Seagrave, who fought at Crecy with the Black Prince; Richard, Duke of York, who was slain during the Wars of the Roses; Anne, the queen of James I, and Henrietta, the queen of Charles I.
Through these early years Hitchin prospered largely through the wool trade. The geographical situation of the town particularly favoured sheep farming on nearby hillsides, while flat land to the north meant affluence from growing wheat and barley, the latter being malted locally and exported profitably to large London breweries.
During the 18th and 19th centuries the town grew steadily. New and improved communications, such as the railway in 1850, led to its development as the natural business and commercial centre of North Hertfordshire, a position it has held ever since. Although redevelopment's and other changes have taken place in recent years, the town of Hitchin retains its mediaeval plan. On one side of the Market Place is the High Street and the church, and parallel to it, across the river, is Oueen Street. There are still, despite modern intrusions of new shops and offices, a number of half-timbered houses and 18th century brick dwellings.
As Nikolaus Pevsner remarked in his book on Hertfordshire, Hitchin is after St. Albans, the most visually satisfying town in the county. The most notable building is the Parish Church of St. Mary, which stands in the town centre near both the market place and River Hiz. Its size and richness of architecture represent the commercial wealth of a late mediaeval town and as such it has no rival in Hertfordshire. The woodwork in the west screens is also unrivalled in the county, whilst the fabric has something to show from every period - a tower of the 12th and 13th centuries; a 14th century roof to the north aisle and 15th century nave and chancel roofs, screens, font and pulpit. An important feature is the elaborate two-storey south porch and its staircase turret, lierne vault and arms of the Staple of Calais on the south wall. Interior features of special interest include the several screens; the south chapel with its roof resting on stone angels; numerous monuments of the 15th and 16th centuries; the 15th century stone font and pulpit and a 17th century Flemish painting of the Magi.
Other places of worship in the town are of more recent origin. Holy Saviour was built in 1865 to the rich designs of Butterfield, one of the great church architects of his time. This is a striking red brick building in Early English style with much stained glass. In Tilehouse Street is the Baptist Chapel of 1844, a successor to the first 17th century chapel which had been under the pastoral care of John Bunyan. The present building contains a treasured possession, a chair given by John Bunyan, whilst a memorial tablet records the burial of one of his friends, Agnes Beaumont.
Not far from the market square is the late 18th century mansion known as Hitchin Priory, a handsome building with a Palladian facade from modified Adam designs. The north side incorporates a few fragments of the original priory founded in the 14th century by Carmelites or White Friars. After the Dissolution the Priory belonged for almost four centuries to the Radcliffe family. The courtyard is partly flanked by cloister arches and partly by the north front of the house, built in 1679. Also of interest are the 18th century brick coach house, stables and attractive little bridge over the Hiz.
Hitchin radiates from the Market Place. On the west side is the Corn Exchange, an Italianate style building of 1853. There are also 18th century buildings in the square as well as a 15th century half-timbered house with several steep gables. The parish church which stands close by has, grouped round it, several Georgian houses and the Biggin, founded in 1361 to house three Gilbertine canons. Despite subsequent alterations, the roof is substantially original. On one side, the church is flanked by grass a nd trees to the river, whilst beyond is St. Mary's Square, now a car park and formerly a slum area cleared in 1930.
Bridge Street, once noted for bull baiting, runs past the Priory and still retains a few 15th and 18th century houses. It leads into Tilehouse Street, an attractive cul-de-sac with a number of 16th and 17th century houses, including one with herringbone pargetting on its facade; at least one 15th century house and several brick buildings of the Georgian period. Here, too, is the Coopers Arms, a former coaching inn that still retains numerous mediaeval features and which may once have been the Guildha ll of the Tylers.
Back towards the Market Place are Sun Street and Bucklersbury, the latter with the George Inn, a timber-framed building with the remains of a gallery and an 18th century balustrade. Here, too, is the 16th century Red Hart with its high gable and overhanging upper floors whilst in Sun Street is, appropriately, the Sun Inn, an elegant brick three storey hostelry once the town's major coaching establishment. Other Sun Street features include the Conservative Club, a late Georgian-building; several 17th and 18th century houses and Roslyn House, which is a 19th century adaptation of a much older building.
North from the Market Place is the High Street with a few 18th century survivals and beyond is Bancroft, a wide thoroughfare with several Georgian houses with doorcases representative of the Tuscan, Doric and Corinthian orders of columns. The Skynner's Almshouses form two single storey blocks dating from 1670 and 1698. Brand Street, off the High Street, includes many new buildings. Of particular interest is the old Town Hall which dates from 1840 in the Italian Renaissance style.
Across the road is the new Town Hall (built in 1901). Off Brand Street runs Paynes Park where are found the Public Library and the Museum built in ]825 as a private house, which houses local history exhibits and paintings by Hertfordshire artists such as Samuel Lucas. The building also incorporates the Hertfordshire Yeomanry Regimental Museum and the County's main Costume Collection, a reconstructed Victorian Chemist's shop and the William Ransoms Physic Garden. The Museum is open every weekday, excluding Bank Holiday Mondays, from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.
Modern developments in Hitchin include offices and shops, several of the latter grouped near the Market Place. Several of the new commercial buildings are attractively designed, and the pedestrian-priority street areas are a much appreciated - and needed amenity.
Parks and open spaces are also a notable feature of Hitchin, several extending along the banks of the River Hiz as it winds its way through the town. Priory Park's one hundred acres define the southern edge of the town, while the Bancroft Recreation Ground at the northern end of the mediaeval town centre includes not only trees and massed flowers, but also facilities for bowls and tennis, and a bandstand. Other open spaces include Ransom's Recreation Ground, Walsworth Common (to the east of the railway lines) and, to the north west of the town centre, Butts Close - the mediaeval archery training ground which now contains the town's swimming pools and adjoins the football ground. lust cast of the town lie the natural slopes of Windmill Hill - its name another reminder of the town's former dependence on grain products - with panoramic views of the town and the surrounding countryside.