The Hitchin Museum and Art Gallery was a local

history museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England, with an extensive collection that told the story of the town’s social history and of the rural industries that contributed to its prosperity.

History

Hitchin Museum was founded in 1939 by the Hitchin & District Regional Survey Association in a house given by Ralph & Hubert Moss, grocers in the town. The house, formerly known as Agadir and subsequently as Charnwood, was built in 1825. The building opened in 1939 as a Public Library and in 1941 the top floor opened as a Museum. The Library, run 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, ...

since the late 1960s, is now in an extension next door. Although it was initially run by Hitchin Urban District Council, since its dissolution in 1974, the Museum has been run 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 ...

, together with Letchworth Museum and Art Gallery and, during the late 1970s and early 1980s, Royston Museum and the First Garden City Heritage Museum.

Closure

In 2004–5, North Hertfordshire District Council undertook a Fundamental Service Review of its Museum Service. Although it found that visitors greatly valued all aspects of the service (Hitchin Museum and Art Gallery, Letchworth Museum & Art Gallery, the Education Service with its School Loans scheme, the Archaeology and the Natural History Services), the two museums were both described as unfit for purpose and the Museums Resource Centre at Burymead Road in Hitchin as outdated and inefficient. The review had five main recommendations, one of which was to close the two existing museums at

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 ...

and at Hitchin, and instead run a museum and gallery on a single town-centre site. A feasibility study was commissioned to investigate the possibility of converting

Hitchin Town Hall Hitchin Town Hall is a municipal structure in Brand Street, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Hitchin Urban District Council, is a Grade II listed building. History The first town hall in Hitchin w ...

to museum use. The North Hertfordshire Museum, which was designed by Buttress with museum layout by Mather & Co., opened in July 2019.

References

External links

Museum site

{{Coord, 51.9482, -0.2816, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Local museums in Hertfordshire Museums established in 1941 Museums disestablished in 2012 Art galleries established in 1941 Defunct museums in England

History

Closure

See also

References

External links