Hitchin () is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

and

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unpa ...

in the North Hertfordshire

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842.

History

Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce people, a tribe holding 300 hides of land as mentioned in a 7th-century document,Gover, J E B, Mawer, A and Stenton, F M 1938 ''The Place-Names of Hertfordshire'' English Place-Names Society volume XV, 8 the

Tribal Hidage Image:Tribal Hidage 2.svg, 400px, alt=insert description of map here, The tribes of the Tribal Hidage. Where an appropriate article exists, it can be found by clicking on the name. rect 275 75 375 100 w:Elmet rect 375 100 450 150 w:Hatfield Ch ...

. Hicce, or Hicca, may mean ''the people of the horse.'' The tribal name is

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

and derives from the Middle Anglian people. It has been suggested that Hitchin was the location of ' Clofeshoh', the place chosen in 673 by

Theodore of Tarsus Theodore of Tarsus ( gr, Θεόδωρος Ταρσοῦ; 60219 September 690) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 668 to 690. Theodore grew up in Tarsus, but fled to Constantinople after the Persian Empire conquered Tarsus and other cities. Afte ...

the Archbishop of Canterbury during the Synod of Hertford, the first meeting of representatives of the fledgling Christian churches of Anglo-Saxon England, to hold annual synods of the churches as Theodore attempted to consolidate and centralise Christianity in England. By 1086 Hitchin is described as a

Royal Manor The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

: the feudal services of avera and inward, usually found in the eastern counties, especially

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

and Hertfordshire, were due from the sokemen, but the manor of Hitchin was unique in levying inward. Evidence has been found to suggest that the town was once provided with an earthen bank and ditch fortification, probably in the early tenth century but this did not last. The modern spelling of the town first appears in 1618 in the ''"Hertfordshire Feet of Fines"''. Hitchin History - geograph

The name of the town also is associated with the small river that runs through it, most picturesquely in front of the east end of St. Mary's Church, the town's parish church. The river is noted on maps as the River Hiz. Contrary to how most people now pronounce the name, that is to say as spelt, the 'z' is an abbreviated character for a 'tch' sound in the Domesday Book (as in the name of the town). It would have been pronounced 'River Hitch'. ''The Hicca Way'' is an walking route along the River Hiz Valley, believed to have been used for trade between the Danes and English in the Anglo-Saxon age. It is also likely that Hitch Wood, which lies some south of the town also derives its name from the Hicce tribe, who gave their name to Hitchin. St. Mary's Church is remarkably large for a town of its size and was once a Minster. The size of the church is evidence of how Hitchin prospered from the wool trade. It is the largest parish church in Hertfordshire. Most of the church dates from the 15th century, with its tower dating from around 1190. During the laying of a new floor in the church in 1911, foundations of a more ancient church building were found. In form, they appear to be a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...

n church of a 7th-century type, with a later enlarged

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

and

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

s, perhaps added in the 10th century. This makes the church older than the story (not recorded before the 15th century) that the church was founded by Offa, king of

Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879) Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era= Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ...

757-796. In 1697, Hitchin (and the nearby village of

Offley Offley is a civil parish in the English county of Hertfordshire, between Hitchin and Luton. The main village is Great Offley, and the parish also contains the nearby hamlets of Little Offley and The Flints. In the south-west of the parish, ...

) were subject to what is thought to have been the most severe hailstorm in recorded British history. Hailstones over 4 inches in diameter were reported The town flourished on the wool trade, and, located near the

Icknield Way The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern and eastern England that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills. Background It is generally said to be, wi ...

, by the 17th century was a staging post for coaches coming from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. By the middle of the 19th century the railway had arrived, and with it a new way of life for Hitchin. The

corn exchange A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in the United States these buildings were called grain exchange. Such trade was common in towns ...

was built in the

market place A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from the Arabic), '' ...

and within a short time Hitchin established itself as a major centre for grain trading. The latter half of the 20th century has also brought great changes in communication to Hitchin. Motorways have shortened the journey time and brought

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...

, a few miles away on the M1, and the A1 (M) even closer. By the close of the 20th century, Hitchin had developed a strong commuter interest being midway between London and Cambridge. Hitchin also developed a fairly strong Sikh community based around the Walsworth area. During the medieval period, both a priory (Newbigging, now known as The Biggin) and a friary (now known as Hitchin Priory) were established, both of which closed during Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. They were never reformed, although The Biggin was for many years used as almshouses. The

British Schools Museum The British Schools Museum is an educational museum based in original Edwardian and Victorian school buildings in Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. The museum complex is made up of Grade II listed school buildings housing infants, girls an ...

in Hitchin is home to the world's only surviving complete Lancasterian Schoolroom, which was built in 1837 to teach boys by the Lancasterian method ( peer tutoring). This unique community project demonstrates the foundation of education for all. Girton College – a pioneer in women's education – was established on 16 October 1869 under the name of College for Women at Benslow House in Hitchin, which was considered to be a convenient distance from Cambridge and London. It was thought to be less 'risky' and less controversial to locate the college away from Cambridge in the beginning. The college moved to Cambridge a few years later and adopted its present name,

Girton College Girton College is one of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1 ...

Governance

Hitchin is in the

of North Hertfordshire. There is no town council in Hitchin, which is an

, administered directly by

North Hertfordshire District Council North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

, with higher order functions provided by

Hertfordshire County Council Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England, the United Kingdom. After the 2021 election, it consists of 78 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, ...

. Residents elect 13 members to the

. There are five electoral wards in Hitchin: Bearton,

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was sit ...

, Oughton, Priory and Walsworth. The 13 Hitchin councillors on the district council meet as the Hitchin Committee. The town is represented in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

by the constituency of Hitchin and Harpenden. The incumbent Conservative Party MP

Bim Afolami Abimbola "Bim" Afolami (born 11 February 1986) is a British Conservative Party politician. He has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hitchin and Harpenden since the 2017 general election. Early life Afolami was born and brought up ...

was elected in 2017. Between 1983 and 1997 Hitchin was included in the constituency of North Hertfordshire. Before that it was in the constituency of Hitchin.

Parish

The ancient parish of Hitchin covered an extensive rural area as well as the town itself, including Langley and Preston. The parish of Hitchin was administered by its

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

, in the same way as most rural areas; no borough corporation was established for the town, despite some limited moves in that direction in the thirteenth century. Hitchin also gave its name to one of the hundreds of Hertfordshire. The Hitchin Poor Law Union was established in 1835, covering the parish of Hitchin and many of the surrounding parishes in north-western Hertfordshire, plus the parish of Holwell which was in Bedfordshire. In 1891 the parish had a population of 9510.

Local Board

In 1850 a

local board of health Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environmenta ...

was established for the town. Such boards were created under the Public Health Act 1848, and were focussed on improving public health in towns. The first election to the Hitchin Local Board was held on 2 May 1850. The board proceeded to build a waterworks and install new sewers for the town, which had previously used the River Hiz as a public sewer. However, the board quickly became embroiled in legal disputes with Joshua Ransom, owner of Grove Mill, who complained about the flow of water and sewage at his mill. No solution could be found which would allow the board to continue to operate, and gradually all the board members resigned. By December 1857 the board only had three members, at which point it effectively ceased to function. New members were elected in March 1858, but none was prepared to take the declaration of office unless Ransom accepted an offer of settlement which had been put to him. He did not accept the offer and so the board became defunct, and the town was once again governed by the parish vestry alone. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' was scathing of the Hitchin Local Board's inability to negotiate a solution, saying "...they simply resigned, like rustics of unfertile brains...". Legal action continued for some years afterwards trying to resolve who was liable for the old board's debts. In August 1872

sanitary district Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures: *Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies *Rural sanitary dis ...

s were established, with public health and local government responsibilities being given to boards of guardians of the poor law unions for all areas which did not have urban authorities (including local boards). As Hitchin's previous local board was defunct, the town therefore became part of the Hitchin Rural Sanitary District, governed by the Hitchin Board of Guardians. On 31 October 1872 a meeting was held in the town with the aim of securing a new board to allow the town to govern itself independently. A new board was eventually granted, with the first meeting being held on 24 December 1873 at the (old) Town Hall.

Hitchin Urban District

Under the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

, urban sanitary districts became urban districts on 31 December 1894. Hitchin Local Board therefore became Hitchin Urban District Council. The act also stipulated that a parish could not be partly in an urban district and partly outside it. The old parish of Hitchin was therefore split, with the parts outside the urban district becoming the three separate civil parishes of Langley, Preston, and Walsworth with effect from their first parish meetings on 4 December 1894. The three new rural parishes were all included in the Hitchin Rural District. The Urban District Council took over the existing Town Hall on Brand Street, which had been built in 1840. In 1900 the council built a new Town Hall on the opposite side of the street, incorporating a large public hall. The older building became known as Old Town Hall, but continued to serve as office space for the council in addition to the new Town Hall. On 1 April 1921, Walsworth parish was abolished and the area was incorporated into Hitchin Urban District. Hitchin Urban District Council was granted a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

on 25 November 1936. Hitchin Urban District was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972, becoming part of the district of North Hertfordshire on 1 April 1974. No

successor parish Successor parishes are civil parishes with a parish council, created in England in 1974. They replaced, with the same boundaries, a selected group of urban districts and municipal boroughs: a total of 300 successor parishes were formed from the ...

was created for the town, and so it became an

Transport

Rail

Hitchin railway station is on the East Coast Main Line Great Northern Line, and is also on the Cambridge Line as the last stop before it diverges towards Cambridge, to the north east of Hitchin. The station is a call on services provided by

Govia Thameslink Railway Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is a train operating company that operates the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) rail franchise in England. Within the franchise, GTR runs the Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Expr ...

under its Great Northern and Thameslink brands. These provide direct connections to

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

Letchworth Garden City Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249. Letchworth ...

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

and London Kings Cross; as well as St Pancras International,

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...

, Three Bridges and Brighton. Journeys to London and Cambridge typically take 33 minutes. Journeys to Stevenage take 5 minutes, Peterborough 45 minutes, and Gatwick Airport 78 minutes. Hitchin Rail Users Group serve as the local voluntary group actively consulting with train companies on behalf of local people.

Road

The A505, A600 and A602 roads intersect in Hitchin, which is about from the A1(M) motorway and about from the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which ...

Aviation

Hitchin is about from Luton Airport, with a direct bus service linking the two. The connections are provided by National Express (number 787) or Arriva in Herts and Essex (100 Saphire services).

Buses

Hitchin is well served by local buses including Arriva, Centrebus, Grant Palmer, Stagecoach and Uno.

Education

There are several primary schools in Hitchin. Secondary education is provided at

Hitchin Girls' School Hitchin Girls' School (HGS) is a secondary school with academy status in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England. The school has 1079 students and is in a consortium for sixth form teaching with Hitchin Boys' School and The Priory School. It gained ac ...

, Hitchin Boys' School and the Priory School. There is a campus of the

North Hertfordshire College North Hertfordshire College ("NHC") is a further education and higher education college operating in Stevenage, Hitchin, and Letchworth Garden City. NHC was established on 1st April 1991, through the amalgamation of Stevenage College, Hitchin ...

in Hitchin, and it is also the home of the Benslow Music Trust which provides music education for adults, while North Herts Music School adjoined to Hitchin Girls' School delivers music lessons & activities for children & young people. The

Emil Dale Academy Emil Dale Academy is a musical theatre school in England. The Hitchin campus offers a Bachelor of Arts degree awarded by the University of Bedfordshire, BTEC Level 3 diploma, and foundation and sixth form courses for full-time students (16+). ...

is located on Wilbury Way in Hitchin. EDA is a drama school where students train and study for a BA (hons) degree in Musical Theatre in partnership with the University of Bedfordshire. The school also has a sixth form and a weekend school. North Hertfordshire Museum has an extensive collection that tells the story of the town and wider area from prehistoric times. The

is housed in original Edwardian and Victorian school buildings.

Culture and community

In March 2013 a poll in ''

'' voted Hitchin the 9th best town in the UK in which to live. Hitchin hosts an annual Arts and Music Festival with over 100 events taking place during the month. Hitchin Festival includes picnics, concerts, theatre, ghost walks, art exhibitions, comedy club, talks, summer fetes and fireworks. Since 2014, Hitchin has hosted a yarn festival. Music plays a very big part all year round with many venues hosting regular gigs. Hitchin Folk Club is one of the longest running and most respected clubs in the country meeting at The Cricket Pavilion, Lucas Lane on Sunday evenings; Hitchin Light Orchestra, Hitchin Symphony Orchestra and Hitchin Chamber Orchestra give regular concerts often in St Mary's Church and Hitchin Band perform around the country in brass band championship competition as well as the home town. An independent music venue, Club 85, hosts an "eclectic mix of contemporary bands and DJs" in the area. There are three theatres in the town. The Factory Playhouse is located on Wilbury Way and is the theatre of

. They host several full-scale musicals each year with professional producers, directors, choreographers and West End musicians. The Market Theatre, Hitchin is a professional theatre, has a year-round programme including comedy plays, thrillers, historical shows, jazz nights and cocktail evenings. The Market Theatre is known for its annual Adult Panto (running between December and May) which also tours nationally. Additionally, the Queen Mother Theatre hosts the town's Bancroft Players, Big Spirit Youth Theatre and occasional visiting companies as well as Hitchin Films in the Richard Whitmore Studio. Hitchin Market remains one of the largest in the area with general markets every Tuesday and Saturday, a bric-a-brac and collectables market on Fridays, and a Sunday Car Boot. There are also Local Produce and Crafts specialist markets on the last Saturday of each month. A Lifestyle market is held on every second Saturday of the month, while infrequently there are occasional Art Markets. Hitchin Markets is also the venue for the annual Duck Race during Hitchin Festival. The town centre has a wealth of independent retailers in food and drink and fashion and the historic core is a place to find niche boutiques. Since 1995, Hitchin has benefited from award-winning town centre management and in 2009 established one of Hertfordshire's first Business Improvement Districts. In 2019 the town's centre was a finalist for England in the

Visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

UK Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

Great British High Street Awards. There are a number of organisations for young people, including 1066 Hitchin Squadron ATC, Hitchin Army Cadets, Sea Cadets Letchworth and Hitchin, as well as various scouting groups. The main burial ground for the town is Hitchin Cemetery on St. John's Road. Hitchin is twinned with: * Flag of France

Nuits-St-Georges,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Bingen am Rhein Bingen am Rhein () is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The settlement's original name was Bingium, a Celtic word that may have meant "hole in the rock", a description of the shoal behind the ''Mäuseturm'', k ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Sport in Hitchin

Rugby Union

Hitchin Rugby Club Hitchin Rugby Club is a rugby club based in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northw ...

was founded in 1954 and competes in

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

at all age levels within the Hitchin area. This includes teams at ages 7 to 12, 13 to 17, under 19s, seniors, over 35s, and a Ladies side. The club's highlights have included playing at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

in the final of the national Junior RFU Cup in 1993 and the establishment of the country's first Academy. Currently membership stands at over 500 people. The club are also active as a voluntary group with their community development programme.

Association Football

Hitchin Town F.C. Hitchin Town Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. They are currently members of the . Founded in 1865 and known as 'The Canaries', Hitchin Town have been based at Top Field since their ...

was established in 1865 and later reformed in 1928. It is one of only three clubs who competed in the inaugural

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

, paying the then £25 entry fee (£2,892 in 2019 adjusted for inflation), and continue to compete. They claim to be the second oldest club in English football, but some dispute this due to the reformation in the 1920s. The side currently compete in the Southern League Premier Division Central, the seventh tier of English football. The club play at 4,554-capacity ground Top Field, in the north of the town, and came close to achieving promotion in the late 2010s, but have recently come into a more troubled spell. Their highlights include wins in the F.A. Cup against higher ranked sides Hereford United in 1994 and Bristol Rovers in 1995 during which period they developed a reputation for "giant-killing". The side count Hitchin-born England international

Jack Wilshere Jack Andrew Garry Wilshere (born 1 January 1992) is an English football coach and former professional player who played as a midfielder. He is the current head coach of the Arsenal U18s. Wilshere came up through Arsenal's youth academy and i ...

among their supporters. Wilshire studied at the Priory School in the town and now runs a youth scheme called the Jack Wilshere Soccer School. The club were featured by

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

during their coverage of Non-League Day 2019 (taking place on 12 October each year), with the broadcaster following the match day experience at the club.

Other sports

Hitchin is also home to Blueharts Hockey Club, a leading club since 1946, with 7 men's teams and 7 women's team plus a thriving junior section. It also houses

Hitchin Cricket Club Hitchin Cricket Club Ground is a cricket ground in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England. The first recorded match on the ground was in 1877, when Hertfordshire played Essex. Hertfordshire played their first Minor Counties Championship match on the ...

, which has been an important cricket club within the area since 1866. Hitchin Swimming Club are based locally and competes at local, county and regional level. The Hitchin Nomads Cycling Club, which caters for many competitive and non-competitive cycling disciplines, was formed in the town in 1931. It is affiliated to British Cycling, the Cyclists' Touring Club, Cycling time trials and local cycling associations. Notable former members include pre-eminent cycling

travel writer The genre of travel literature encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. One early travel memoirist in Western literature was Pausanias, a Greek geographer of the 2nd century CE. In the early modern per ...

Harold Briercliffe and Max Pendleton, father of Olympic gold-medallist and track cycling World Champion Victoria Pendleton. Formed in 2003 and known as FVS TRI until November 2009, Team Trisports is a Hitchin-based triathlon club. In addition to triathlon, the club an England Athletics and British Cycling affiliate. Hitchin Running Club was formed in 2008 and is one of the most popular clubs in the town. They enjoy a large fan base and many local people of all abilities take part in the social activities. They are based at the rugby club and are a not for profit organisation.

Districts of Hitchin

* Bearton * Benslow * Poets Estate * Purwell * Sunnyside * Walsworth *

West Hitchin West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

Westmill Westmill is an English village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, with an area of 1036 hectares. A population of 264 was recorded in the 2001 National Census. It lies just to the south of Buntingford, beside ...

Nearby settlements

Ickleford Ickleford is a large village situated on the northern outskirts of Hitchin in North Hertfordshire in England. It lies on the west bank of the River Hiz and to the east of the main A600 road. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 1, ...

is a village situated on the northern outskirts of Hitchin, and to the south are

St Ippolyts St Ippolyts (or St Ippollitts) is a village and civil parish on the southern edge of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. It has a population of approximately 2,000. Governance North Hertfordshire District Council St Ippolyts is located within th ...

, Charlton and

Gosmore Gosmore is a hamlet in the parish of St Ippolyts (where the population at the 2011 Census was included) near Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. One interesting feature is Bunyan's Dell, a natural amphitheatre deep inside Wain Wood where the au ...

. The nearest towns are

Letchworth Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249. Letchworth ...

Baldock Baldock ( ) is a historic market town and unparished area in the local government district of North Hertfordshire in the county of Hertfordshire, England, where the River Ivel rises. It lies north of London, southeast of Bedford, and north n ...

, Stevenage and

Notable people

Filmography

Mike Leigh's 1982 film ''

Home Sweet Home Home Sweet Home may refer to: Film * Home, Sweet Home (1914 film), ''Home, Sweet Home'' (1914 film), a film about the life of John Howard Payne * Home Sweet Home (1917 film), ''Home Sweet Home'' (1917 film), a British silent film * Home Sweet ...

'' for BBC Television was set in Hitchin. Hitchin Market Square 2018

Part of the 2010 BBC TV series '' Just William'' was filmed at the

. Scenes from the BBC drama series '' Doctor Foster'' were filmed in Hitchin. The

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

science fiction TV series ''

Humans Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

'' was also filmed in the town.

References

External links

Hitchin Historical Society

Hitchin Society

Historical Map of Hitchin Pubs
an interactive map of Hitchin public houses both current and closed. * {{Authority control Towns in Hertfordshire Market towns in Hertfordshire Unparished areas in Hertfordshire Former civil parishes in Hertfordshire North Hertfordshire District