Every year thousands of people visit Hitchin to explore its cobbled streets and its many attractions. A walk around the town reveals its two ancient priories, its historic architecture from medieval times through to Georgian and Victorian, and warm community culture with St Mary’s, the largest parish church in Hertfordshire, at its heart.
Thirteen or so Blue Plaques tell of the town’s famous residents through the centuries. In this book you meet ground-breaking Victorian Pharmacist William Ransom and explore the town’s unique Physic Garden, pioneering surgeon Joseph Lister, the legendary Leonard Cheshire VC and Sue Ryder, and The Proms' own Sir Henry Wood. George Chapman, Hitchin’s own ‘Shakespeare,’ appears with his link to John Keats, and Chaucer tells of plague in his Canterbury Tales. You can sing along with Bob Marley and discover a ghostly fish, Buffalo Bill’s visit to Hitchin and even Clarissa the Carp!
Hitchin invites you to its many celebrations, some held during the town’s Festival when performances from Shakespeare to comedy and concerts are on offer. There are also arts, crafts, walks and talks and wildlife days, choirs, bands and music sessions together with picnics and fireworks, not forgetting North Herts Pride Market and ghostly evening goings-on! Why not take home a fragrant souvenir from Hitchin’s world-famous Lavender Fields?
Apple: Hitchin Pippin: ‘Core Blimey’!
There are more than 7,000 varieties of apple world-wide with around 2,500 developed in the UK. Propagating new varieties was practiced by the Romans and continued through medieval to Victorian times, when Richard Cox produced his famous Cox’s Orange Pippin.
Apple Day is an annual autumn event in Hitchin. The market comes alive celebrating the great British apple, with apple-related food and drink, craft stalls, spring bulbs and much more. It supports the Triangle Community Garden which enables people of all ages and abilities to connect with nature by gardening together.
There are many odd names for apple varieties. The Catshead cooker is popular, and the delightfully-named Core Blimey, developed for the City of London and chosen via a national competition. However, there is only one Hitchin Pippin (Malus domestica) which, although almost disappearing from sight in the 1940s, is alive and well in Hitchin’s Physic Garden.
You can buy the book from the publisher, Amberley Books, or from Amazon, or use the QR codes below.
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