St Mary's Church is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district of Hertfordshire, England. The town dates from at least the 7th century. It lies in the valley of the River Hiz at the north-eastern end of the Chiltern Hills ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, England. St Mary's Church is the largest parish church in Hertfordshire, and is remarkably large for a town of the size of Hitchin — this has been cited as evidence of how Hitchin prospered from the wool trade. The present church stands on the site of two previous churches and dates from the 14th and 15th centuries, with its tower dating from around 1190. The church has been Grade I listed since 1951. During the laying of a new floor in the church in 1911, foundations of a more ancient Saxon church building were found. In form, they appear to be a

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

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 (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

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 ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

s, perhaps added in the 10th century. These may have been the remains of a Benedictine monastery said to have been first on the site and to have been founded by

Offa Offa ( 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death in 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of ...

, King of

Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...

(r. 757–796).

History

In 910 the church and its adjoining palace were burnt down and the monks left Hitchin for

St Albans Abbey St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban, also known as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be an abbey follo ...

following which local people used stones from the ruined church to build a new parish church. In the

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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 St Mary's is listed as the most important church in the Deanery of St. Albans. The church was partially destroyed during the 'Great Wind' of 1115 after which the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

had to be completely rebuilt; the church was struck by lightning in 1292 which caused great damage, while in 1298 the centre of the church collapsed as the result of an earthquake. Six years later in 1304, possibly weakened by the earthquake, the roof collapsed damaging monuments and relics inside the building. The church was rebuilt with flint, rubble and stone from

Totternhoe Totternhoe is a village and civil parish in the Manshead hundred of the county of Bedfordshire, England. Overview Totternhoe is an ancient village in southern Bedfordshire, near Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard. Totternhoe Knolls has been a fo ...

in 1305.St Mary's Church, Hitchin - ''Domesday Reloaded''
-

BBC History ''BBC History'' is a British magazine devoted to both British and world history, and aimed at readers of all levels of knowledge and interest. There are thirteen issues a year, one each month and a Christmas special. The magazine is published, ...

website In 1220 the nuns and Bishop

Hugh of Lincoln Hugh of Lincoln ( – 16 November 1200), also known as Hugh of Avalon, was a Burgundian-born Carthusian monk, bishop of Lincoln in the Kingdom of England, and Catholic saint. His feast is observed by Catholics on 16 November and by Anglica ...

endowed a vicarage at the church. The present church building dates mostly from the 14th and 15th centuries and was originally dedicated to St Andrew, but came to be known as The Church of St Mary due to the powerful and influential Guild of our Lady founded in the 15th century.History of St Mary's, Hitchin - St Mary's Church website
/ref> The south porch, with its original door and described as "the chief glory of the church", was added in about 1450.

Features

Features surviving from the 15th century and of particular note are the

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

, which dates from about 1470 and around the base of which the figures of the Twelve Apostles were damaged by Puritan soldiers during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

when

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

garrisoned his troops in the church; the pulpit dates from about 1500 and no longer has its canopy, its ‘wine-glass‘ base or its clerk's desk. The Angel Screen is considered one of the finest in the country and on its eastern side can still be found the fraternity stalls used by the Guild of 'Our Blessed Lady St Mary the Virgin'. The

sundial A sundial is a horology, horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the position of the Sun, apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the ...

on the south east corner of the ancient tower was erected in thanksgiving for the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. The organ is a three-manual instrument built by J. W. Walker in 1871 and which was inaugurated by

John Stainer Sir John Stainer (6 June 1840 – 31 March 1901) was an English composer and organist whose music, though seldom performed today (with the exception of ''The Crucifixion (Stainer), The Crucifixion'', still heard at Passiontide in some Angli ...

. It has been rebuilt three times since then, most recently in 1958. The organ's carved oak case is by

Laurence Arthur Turner Laurence Arthur Turner FSA (9 July 1864 – 4 October 1957) was an English artisan and master craftsman. Career The brother of the architect Thackery Turner, was a leading figure in woodcarving and ornate stonemasonry, and undertook many presti ...

and was installed in 1913. Modern features include the altar rail with its trademark mouse carved by Robert 'Mouseman' Thompson.

Notable events

The funeral services were held here for the conductor

Sir Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hundr ...

, who died at the nearby Hitchin Hospital, and solicitor and Hitchin historian

Reginald Hine Reginald Leslie Hine (25 September 1883 – 14 April 1949) was a solicitor and historian whose writings centred on the market-town of Hitchin in Hertfordshire and its environs. He ended his life in 1949 by jumping in front of a train at Hitchi ...

. In August 2015 windows at the church and those at St Paul's church in

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 2021 census was 33,990. Letchworth ...

were smashed in what police called a "religiously motivated attack." The cost of repair at St Mary's came to £10,000. Christopher Battison, aged 38, from Letchworth, was charged with the attack.'Man charged in connection with criminal damages in Hitchin and Letchworth'
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Hertfordshire Constabulary Hertfordshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Hertfordshire in England. Its headquarters is in Welwyn Garden City. The current chief constable is Andy Prophet. As of March 2019, the force consist ...

website - 25 September 2015

Burials

Bernard I de Balliol Bernard I de Balliol (died 1154 x 1162), the second-known-ruling Balliol of his line, was a twelfth-century Anglo-Picard baron based for much of his time in the north of England, as well as at Bailleul-en-Vimeu close to Abbeville in northern Fran ...

Gallery

File:St Marys Hitchin - Porch.JPG, The South Porch of St Mary's Church File:St Marys Hitchin - Side.JPG, View from the side File:St Marys Hitchin - Tower.jpg, The Tower of St Mary's Church File:Hitchin Church back.JPG, St Mary's church from the River Hiz File:St Marys Hitchin Angel Screen.jpg, The Angel Screen is considered one of the finest in the country

Notes and references

References Bibliography *

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control

Buildings and structures in Hitchin