The Corn Exchange, 31 Market Place, Hitchin

The Corn Exchange is a beautiful listed building that stands proudly in Hitchin’s Market Place. It was built at a cost of £2000, and designed by William Beck a local architect who submitted his design free of charge. It opened in 1853, when traders and dealers came from far afield to buy and sell.

On market days the Corn Exchange was filled with a maximum of 30 tables, and corn dealers and seedman rented the tables. The newly formed 'Market Company' helped with the running cost and leased the market tolls from the Crown for 31 years.

To celebrate the wedding of The Prince of Wales to Princess Alexandra of Denmark, in

1863, Hitchin were given free gas to light up The Corn Exchange, which I think shows what an important building it was to the town at that time.

In December 1941 The Corn Exchange was opened as a British Restaurant, and catered for 600 people a day.  Daily 'crocodiles' of children could be seen heading there from a local school, as food was rationed during the war.

By the 1950s and 1960s the building was used as a skating rink, and many young romances began there.  My mother recalls everyone would bring their own skates, and girls would wear short skating skirts.  Not everyone would skate. Many would stand round the edge listening to the music and watching others roll around the wooden floor. 

A Hitchin resident has told me that during the 1970s The Hitchin Historical Society buried a time-capsule in The Corn Exchange.

During the 1980s and 1990s, The Corn Exchange Craft and Antique Centre became a popular venue.  There were plenty of stalls selling arts and crafts, and a small café.

The Corn Exchange eventually opened as a bar and night club, and later became known as Que Pasa.

The Pitcher and Piano took over the lease in August 2013 

Prior to The Corn Exchange being built, The Red Lion Public House stood on that site. It was demolished in 1852, but had stood at No. 31 Market Place from 1612 - 1852.  The Red Lion then moved to No, 36 Bucklesbury.   In the early years of The Red Lion cock fights took place in the public house, and in 1767 there was a  2d wax works show at the Red Lion Craft.   The town crier would call out the news from the steps of The Red Lion Inn on market days.
Amanda.
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My best selling ebook Her Last Lie is available HERE  All ebook royalties go to Cancer Research UK in memory of my amazing sister. Her Last Lie is a psychological thriller, with a  chapter devoted to Hitchin, and the main character lives in Letchworth.

The Hermitage Cinema, Hitchin

The Hermitage Cinema opened in Hermitage Road in Hitchin on 29th February 1932, and offered film-goes two matinees a week.  It was one of the best equipped cinemas of its time in England. The first film to be shown there was Michael & Mary staring Edna Best and Herbert Marshall.

The cinema could seat almost 1400 people and had 3 box offices. It had a spacious foyer and a tea lounge, and many people recall it with affection, and were never quite sure why it was, in the end, replaced by The Regal in Bancroft.

The venue was also used by The Thespians who performed there during the 1930s.


The Hermitage closed in 1964, the final film shown there was in September 1963 and was Heavens Above! staring Peter Sellers







My mum was an usherette at the cinema in the fifties, and I had an interesting comment added below and thought I'd add it to the post:

My Dad was projectionist there both pre and post war,he is 98 now as of Feb. 2016.Dad has often said that the deceased Manager could often be seen wandering around the Cinema in the mornings with the bag containing the previous nights takings!When the Cinema was demolished and replaced by a block of flats he could be seen wandering around the flats!

Amanda

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My best selling ebook Her Last Lie is available HERE  All ebook royalties go to Cancer Research UK in memory of my amazing sister. Her Last Lie is a psychological thriller, with a  chapter devoted to Hitchin, and the main character lives in Letchworth.

The First British Bacon Factory & The IEE, Hitchin

Building work for The First British Bacon Factory (Later the Herts and Beds Bacon Factory) began in June 1912.  And the factory opened a hundred years ago in 1913. The produce was popular, but it must have been horrendous for those living nearby, and there were protests at the time about it opening, and I can't say I'm surprised.  I've heard some horror stories about the sounds and smells that came from that place, and it makes me sad to think about it - so I'm not going to dwell on it here.

The building was demolished in 1970 (good riddance) and replaced by an office block called Station House, that housed The Institution of Electrical Engineers. (The IEE).

I worked at the IEE around 1977, and recall tapping away on what must have been one of the first electric Olympia typewriters. Goodness only knows what I would have done without my book of tippex paper.  I think I got through about ten packs a week.  How did we ever cope before computers? Although we did have them back then, it's just the CPUs were the size of mountains. I remember those days with great affection, although I left long before the offices closed and the IEE moved to Stevenage.  The building was later demolished and an Audi garage is now where the two buildings once stood.

Amanda Brittany
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Books on Hitchin

Over the past week I've began flicking through the many books and booklets I have on Hitchin, and couldn't believe how many I've accumulated over the years. I'm amazed by how much information has already been printed on Hitchin, and think it's lovely how many Hitchin people, past and present, never tire of hearing  about their town.

Before The Paint Was Dry
A history of the school
that once stood in Old Hale Way
By Robert J Prebble

People, Places and Past Times of Hitchin
by E. Aillie Latchmore

As I have a huge pile of Hitchin books on my bookshelves, which I'm guessing is only a handful of those printed over the years, I thought I'd share their titles and authors with you in case you want to try and track them down.








I must admit many, if not all, are now out of print, sadly.  But shops like Eric T. Moore in Hitchin or Amazon and eBay occasionally have secondhand copies that you might want to buy.  But please be warned,  they are often quite expensive.

An Artist Looks at Hitchin
By
F. L. Griggs

Hitchin A Pictorial History
by Richard Field

Hitchin Inns and Incidents
By Pat Gadd and Ron Pigram

The Story of Methodism At Hitchin
By
Reginald L. Hine

A Most Lovely School
A brief history of Strathmore School
John Street and Carol Arrowsmith

Underground Hitchin
by Simon Walker

Hitchin Old and New
by Reginald. L Hine

Hitchin Past and Present
by Pat Gadd

Fifty Years of Change
by Pat Gadd

Wilshere-Dacre School
by H.C. Edwards and B. Moles

Hitchin Arcade. Then and Now
Hitchin Historical Society

Hitchin
by Alan Fleck

Relics of an Un-common Attorney
by Reginald L. Hine

The History of Hitchin
volumes 1 and II
By Reginald L. Hine

Discovering Hitchin
 by Priscilla Douglas and  Pauline Humphries

Hitchin
Simon Walker

A Stroll round the Village of old Walsworth
by Janet Walker and Margaret Watson

The Book of Hitchin
by Anthony M Foster

Do you Remember?
by Priscilla M Douglas

The School on the Hill
A History of HGGS
by Priscilla M Douglas

Hats off to the Past, Coats off to the Future.
A History of Wilshere-Dacre School
 by Amanda Brittany

Market Town
By Anthony M Foster

My best selling ebook Her Last Lie is available HERE  All ebook royalties go to Cancer Research UK in memory of my amazing sister. Her Last Lie is a psychological thriller, with a  chapter devoted to Hitchin, and the main character lives in Letchworth.

Around 1919
Boyhood Memories of Hitchin
Robert Walmsley

UPDATE JULY 2019 - With thanks to Mike Clarke for this update on books for sale about Hitchin.

My best selling ebook Her Last Lie is available HERE  All ebook royalties go to Cancer Research UK in memory of my amazing sister. Her Last Lie is a psychological thriller, with a  chapter devoted to Hitchin, and the main character lives in Letchworth.

The Regal Cinema, Hitchin

I recall The Regal Cinema in Bancroft with affection, despite some calling it the 'flea-pit'.

I remember going there in the 1960s and 70s for the children's adventure films on Saturday mornings with the playscheme.  I recall too being asked my age, in 1971, when I tried to get into the AA film, Love Story, when I wasn't yet fourteen.

Wallace sold the site of their dairy in 1932, and The Regal Cinema was built on the land and opened in 1939 and could seat 1055, and closed as a cinema in 1977.  There was a car park out the back, I remember, and my dad had his car broken into and 2lb of sugar stolen from the from seat. The Hitchin Gazette must have been short of stories that week, as they printed an article about it.

In 1980 the building re-opened as a concert hall and recording studio.  I went to see Judie Tzuke perform there.  Remember her?  She was best known for her song, Stay with me till Dawn which reached no. 16 in the UK charts in 1979.

There were applications made to have the building listed, but eventually it was demolished in 1985, which I still find sad to this day.

It was replaced by Regal Chambers, a doctors surgery, which opened in 1987.



Amanda Brittany 
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My best selling ebook Her Last Lie is available HERE  All ebook royalties go to Cancer Research UK in memory of my amazing sister. Her Last Lie is a psychological thriller, with a  chapter devoted to Hitchin, and the main character lives in Letchworth.

Halsey's Delicatessen and Tearooms

Halsey's Tearooms

No. 9 Market Place, Hitchin is now the home of 'Halsey's Delicatessen and Tearooms', but it was discovered when some alteration work was being done forty or so years ago, and a Tudor fireplace was found, that the building dates back to as far back as 1500.  The fireplace, when cleaned, showed various scratchings with many dates, the earliest being around that time.

In the 16th century a survey of Hitchin Rectory taken by Trinity College, suggested the building was once part of  'The Parsonage House '

From 1767-1847 the building was a public house called 'The Artichoke'. Reginald Hine described in his 'History of Hitchin' how a football match was played in the town in 1772, and the ball was kicked in the doorway of the Artichoke.  Gypsy, Frederick Draper who was born in 1797 and lived until he was 105 had a standing engagement to play his fiddle in the Artichoke.

From 1878-1926 the building was first used by Martha Flint (milliner), later Martha Flint's & Ebenezer Allsop and finally Ebenezer Allsop (gent's milliner).   Halsey's staff through the years have often claimed to have seen the ghostly presence of Martha Flint.  Martha Flint did live on the property for some time with her apprentice, Beatrice Haydon.

In 1948, the building became G.W. Halsey & Son.  Many years later it was bought out by Jacksons of Picadilly Ltd, but still traded in the traditional Hitchin name.

In January 2006 Kirsty and Damian Caldwell bought the business.  Their website can be found HERE

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My best selling ebook Her Last Lie is available HERE  All ebook royalties go to Cancer Research UK in memory of my amazing sister. Her Last Lie is a psychological thriller, with a  chapter devoted to Hitchin, and the main character lives in Letchworth.

The Coopers Arms, Tilehouse Street, Hitchin.

In c.1750, 81 Tilehouse Street, Hitchin was owned  by the brewer William Lucas.  Later, it is believed that the historian Reginald Hine and the etcher F. L. Griggs, would meet in the parlour.

John Webb was the landlord until he died in 1887.  He would run a horse-drawn taxi to the railway station to collect customers.  Both John Webb, and the next landlord, Edward Chapman, would hire out bikes, brakes and waggonettes from the premises.

The Coopers Arms was bought by McMullens in 1887.

It is said that the building is home to strange paranormal happenings. Reported is the manifestation of a white cat that walks through the bar and disappears through the wall. It’s said that before renovations took place some years ago, when there was a small bar at the front of the public house, the landlord’s dog would bark repetitively at the wall for no apparent reason. A dark, shadowy figure of a monk is said to appear at the Coopers Arms. It is claimed that some of the pub’s regulars have seen the monk, which is reputed to float through the pub and out into Tilehouse Street. Some even believe the monk to have one leg. A regular, in 1971, reported his beer glass apparently moving along the bar by an invisible presence. 
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My best selling ebook Her Last Lie is available HERE  All ebook royalties go to Cancer Research UK in memory of my amazing sister. Her Last Lie is a psychological thriller, with a  chapter devoted to Hitchin, and the main character lives in Letchworth.

A Brief History of Wilshere-Dacre School, Hitchin

Lord Dacre

Wilshere-Dacre School gets its name from William Wilshere and his good friend Thomas Brand, Lord Dacre, the founders of the Hitchin British School who became acquainted in the early 1800s. Rightfully the two men are commemorated in the present Wilshere-Dacre School, as Wilshere-Dacre is the direct descendant of the Hitchin British School.

William Wilshere

The date 1928 is clearly visible on the front of Wilshere-Dacre School, but this is rather deceptive, as the pupils did not arrive at their new school until 11 February 1929. On that date pupils of the Hitchin British School in Queen Street willingly helped with an historic move to their brand new school, Wilshere-Dacre. Pushing trolleys full of books, the boys walked from the old to the new.

Wilshere-Dacre has seen a number of changes in its 70-year history. It started as a co-educational school for juniors and seniors, taking in infants as well for an 11 year period from 1938 to the opening of Strathmore Infants School in 1949; when all the infants moved to the newly opened infant school. All the senior scholars moved on to Old Hale Way School when it opened in 1940. From 1940 Wilshere-Dacre housed only juniors and infants; and in 1949 it settled to its present status as a junior mixed school.

There have been eight heads at Wilshere-Dacre:  William H. Corbett 1929-1932, Herbert Victor Ferrier 1932-1940, Russell L. Bryant 1940-1957, Bernard A. Moles 1957-1981, David W. Guess 1981-1996, Amanda Godfrey 1996-2001, Susan Sheffield 2001-2013, and today (2013) Chris D. Kronda is the headteacher. 

Numbers on the school roll have varied greatly over the years, currently standing at 275. It's hard to believe the same school could possibly accommodate over 600 pupils, a feat achieved several times over the years.

Amanda Brittany.
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My best selling ebook Her Last Lie is available HERE  All ebook royalties go to Cancer Research UK in memory of my amazing sister. Her Last Lie is a psychological thriller, with a  chapter devoted to Hitchin, and the main character lives in Letchworth.