Hermitage Road, Hitchin

Frederic Seebohm, who owned ‘The Hermitage’, a Victorian house facing Bancroft, donated part of his garden for the construction of ‘New Road’, which opened in 1875. The road linked Bancroft to Walsworth Road, and improved travel from the town centre to the railway station. 

            Seebohm built an underpass from the Hermitage gardens to his private woodland in Rawling’s Dells (Rawlings Dell was named because Windmill Hill was once Rawling’s Hill).  Rawling’s Dell later became Woodside Open Air Theatre.

            The footpath now between Hermitage Road and Portmill Lane, by the River Hiz, was once part of Seebohm’s Garden.  

            Later, the road was renamed Hermitage Road, and it was in the mid-1920s, that John Ray Ltd of Letchworth built shops, flats and offices there, including The Hermitage Cinema in 1932, and The Hermitage Halls which opened in 1925.

Around this time, box trees that were planted in King Edward IV’s day, and once part of The Hermitage’s garden, were removed.

The Hermitage Ballroom was successful in the 1960s under the management of Toni Avern of The Barron Knights, and Eric Clapton, Acker Bilk, Bob Monkhouse, Des O’Conner, The Searchers and The Cream were just some of the acts who appeared there. In the 1970s a Saturday morning disco called the Outlook Club was held there. The name of the club is from my memory, but I  recall it as The Junior Outlook, but I can't be 100% sure. (If anyone recalls going to the junior disco in Hermitage Road, or later to the  Outlook Club was in Sun Street - please do let me know your memories in the comments below). In 2007 it became the nightclub Remix.  Since 2011, it has been the restaurant Hermitage Rd & Co.

Sadly, not all buildings survived. The Hermitage Cinema disappeared in 1963 – the last performance being ‘Heavens Above’ with Peter Sellers in 1962, and P.H. Barker and Son, a timber merchant whose Tudor-style frontage was once a feature of the road, met its fate in 1962. The Post Office and Savings Bank was built on part of the yard’s site and opened on 12^th February 1962 (moving from Brand Street), but was recently demolished to make way for a Premier Inn. 

Many shops have come and gone through the years. Some may recall Hidgcock, Peter Jones’, The Red Shoppe, Allam’s, Rumbellows, Caves Cafe and Braham and Co, to name a few.

Today, Hermitage Road is a busy thoroughfare, and boasts an array of thriving shops, cafes and restaurants.
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.