The George, Bucklersbury, Hitchin

The building which is now ‘The George’ in Bucklersbury was built in 1450, and is believed to be one of the oldest buildings in Hitchin. Long before it was a public house, it was a house owned by a rich merchant.

It wasn't until  1676 that it opened as a pub called ‘Le Faulcon’ or ‘The Falcon Inn’

It is not clear when ‘The Falcon’ closed its doors, or when numbers 33 and 34 Bucklersbury became separate establishments.

Later the pub became known as ‘The Beehive’ and John Steed of Baldock was the brewer.  The Beehive thrived for several decades. In 1851 Mrs Sarah Parker was the publican. 

Later Charles Hide became the tenant, and was often in trouble with the law for allowing fighting and bad behaviour. In 1869 a serious complaint was made against ‘The Beehive’, and the police constable told the magistrates that Charles Hide kept a bad house, worse than a beer house, allowing bad girls and men to assemble using disgusting language. Hide lost his licence. 

A new tenant, Mr Joseph Moulden, took over in December 1869 –  but in August of the following year he was cautioned about noisy behaviour – his excuse was that he was out when some recruits called and played music and sang. He  promised not to let it happen again.

In 1870  the pub became The George, after George Washington, and had been relocated from The High Street (then Cock Street).

Courtyard of The George Inn 1900. A drawing by Frederick Griggs

  

The pub has thrived through the years – in the late seventies I remember going there,  and how the courtyard would heave with youngsters. I would imagine every generation has a similar tale to tell.

The George is believed to be haunted. Heavy footsteps have been heard at night, glasses have been thrown across the room by invisible hands, and it's said that animals and landlords alike have occasionally refused to go down the cellar.  My aunt, who was a landlady for a while, said she saw someone sitting in a chair, who wasn’t there.   The Hitchin TV team have investigated the strange happenings at The George  HERE

The George 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.

F. W. WOOLWORTH & PERKS AND LLEWELLYN, HITCHIN

The original Hitchin Woolworth store was built in 1930 at No. 7 High Street (Now Boots).  It was built on land that originally formed part of The Cock public house, which had been there since 1563, and was demolished to make room for its arrival. The rest of The Cock still stands at No. 8 High Street and is a grade II listed building.

F. W. Woolworth's first building in Hitchin. Pat Gadd

F. W. Woolworth was moved to No. 9 High Street (originally No. 7 and 8 High Street – which is a bit confusing) in 1965.

F. W. Woolworth and Co Ltd 1978 Pat Gadd

The history of the later Woolworth site is an interesting one.   From 1823-1961 it was the site of PERKS & LLEWELLYN – the lavender growers (originally Perks.)  They took up the premises in 1823 when the road now known as High Street was known as Cock Street.

Perks and Llewellyn. Pat Gadd

Some original lavender labels.

In 1790 Harry Perks established a pharmacy in Hitchin, but it was his son Edward a chemist, who, in 1823, laid the foundations for the future industry of planting lavender.

Edward Perks with his wife, Sarah, started their small perfumery business.  The business passed to his son Samuel in the 1940s.  In 1876, Samuel Perks went into partnership with Charles Llewellyn.  The shop was acquired by Richard Lewis by 1907. Eventually he was followed in the business by his daughter Miss Violet Lewis, who was a rained pharmacist.  She ran the business from 1930 to its closure in 1961, and demolition in 1964.

The shop’s interior was saved by Violet Lewis and she housed it in an annex in her house in Lucas Lane – and schools and groups would visit.  By 1990 the chemist shop was moved to Hitchin Museum and was officially opened in May of that year.  Following the closure of Hitchin Museum the shop will be erected at North Hertfordshire Museum in Brand Street when it opens later this year (2016).   Remaining objects, not put on display at the museum, will find a home at  Hitchin Lavender.

In Victorian times Perks & Llewellyn lavender products were used for all manner of things: 2 drops of pure lavender oil would have been taken on a lump of sugar to relieve symptoms of wind. Lavender Water would be put into ladies’ baths and gentlemen would shave with Perks Lavender Bloom Shaving and Toilet Soaps.

Behind the High Street shop, women and children would remove the stalks so that the flowers were ready for the still.  The accumulated smell of lavender was sometimes unbearable.

Boys were employed to climb in a still of lavender and trample it down, as it was being loaded for distillation.  Bees, drunk on the smell, would make the lives of the boys miserable, and it was common for the lads to get numerous stings.

The final of Violet Lewis’s lavender fields at the top of Lucas Lane was dug over and replaced with a cabbage field.  But the Lavender Farm is a great reminder of how important lavender was and still is to Hitchin.

In 1964 the old shop was demolished, and the new Woolworth was built on the site.

When F. W. WOOLWORTH opened in 1965, ghost stories followed.  Many members of staff and the public reported a very strong smell of lavender in the store.  There were also reports of a women dressed in Victorian clothes mounting a non-existent staircase diagonally across the store.  It is believed that there had been a staircase in the same place in Perk's & Llewellyn store.   Some named the spirit ‘The Lavender Lady’.   It was also alleged that two ladies in old fashioned clothes were seen to walk around the shop while the public did their shopping.

 

A manager of the store had a strange experience.  She was the last to leave and locked up and empty store.  Later her phone rang. When she answered there was nobody on the line, but she discovered the call was from the Hitchin shop.  On returning there was nobody there.

I don’t recall ever seeing a ghost, but I remember the original store clearly.   There was a restaurant at the back on the far right with tall stools, where you could sit along the serving counter.  At the front you could buy sweets. It was easy for children to stick their hands in and pinch a few (not that I ever did).  The shop assistants would stand in the middle of the counters, surrounded from each side.   Later, Woolworths was the place to buy records. I recall the record counter being at the front and the back of the store, at different times. 

An old employee was telling me the other day, that she had to take a test to work there.  She worked on the make-up counter, and said you needed to be able to add up the items people bought in your head.

In December 2008 the Hitchin store closed along with all the Woolworth stores nationwide, and in May 2011 the former F. W Woolworth’s was split into two stores.

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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.

History of The Angels (once The Angels Reply), Bedford Road, Hitchin

The public house The Angels Reply, on Bedford Road, Hitchin, had a grand makeover in 2014, and became known as The Angels.

The Angels, Bedford Road, Hitchin

The Angels Reply was built as a replacement for The Angel Vaults, a pub that stood in Sun Street (number 3) (formally Angel Street) until it was demolished in July 1956.  The date 1450 was embossed on the façade of the old inn, but it was most certainly older.

The Angel Vaults, Sun Street, Hitchin

When McMullens built The Angels Reply, they installed the old mirror which had been a feature in the bar of the Angel Vaults.

The Mirror taken from The Angel Vaults.

The Angels is built on the site of Nutleigh Grove House which was a building of considerable age.

The gate that led into Nutleigh Grove House via Bedford Road. Road is heading towards Ickleford. 

The Angels Facebook page:  HERE

Another nod to the former Angel Vaults is the recently opened Angel Vaults Inn in Sun Street, previously the Conservative Club.  The new Angel Vaults Inn is a Wetherspoon.  Their website can be found HERE

**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 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.

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.