My fourth book for Amberley Publishing, A-Z of Hitchin - Places, People, History, was published mid-June 2025 and is available in paperback or Kindle. Hitchin is one of Hertfordshire’s little gems, packed with history, literature, science, the arts and fabulous architecture. St Mary’s, the largest Parish church in Hertfordshire, stands at its heart alongside the River Hiz with its sparkling fountain. Ducks and swans begrudge you every mouthful of your lunch while you enjoy the quiet waterside.
The book opens with a lovely quote from Queen Elizabeth I, speaking to a Spanish Nobleman when discussing their vineyards: ‘My Hitchin grapes surpass them or those of any country.’ OK!
Yet Hitchin has its darker side. History tells of a gruesome murder in Nightingale Road, and the site of the town’s last public hanging. Slum clearance of ‘Dead Street’ is immortalised on the steps leading to the car park opposite St Mary’s Church.
Hitchin town hosts a wide range of events. There’s the annual Afro-Carib Culture Festival that celebrates the visit of Bob Marley who played to a packed house in Hitchin Town Hall in 1973. His songs reverberate around the town centre as people from many cultures Get Together And Feel Alright! and are spoiled for choice from the cuisine on offer. Likewise, Hitchin’s annual Food Festival, complete with its unique cookbook. The town also has its own apple, the Hitchin Pippin, and visitors flock from far and wide to relax in a deckchair on the ‘beach’ created every August in the town centre.
Like my three other A-Zs, the Hitchin A-Z is 20,000 words plus 100 photos. The photos work out approximately one-third my own, one-third my partner Ray Wilkinson’s, and the other third are sent by kind people who it is my pleasure to thank in my acknowledgements.
There’s some news from Verulum Writers of which I am a long-time member here, and more about my recent book of short stories Shorts For All Seasons here.