Churchyard
God’s House in Hitchin
I took this photograph one day on the way to work early in the morning. It’s as if the church were overlooking and protecting the Warner’s Alms Houses and the market. The usual view is usually taken from wonderful The Triangle Cafe across to the War Memorial and the church’s porch and tower. (A pretty view but it makes the church seem isolated and to do with death rather than with living and life) This was taken from Biggin Lane by The Biggin, through the market across to the church. It was strange to see no one in the market or teenagers hanging around, drinking alcohol as usual. A nice gentle, serene start to the day.
Aerial View of Hitchin Market
This aerial shot taken from the top of the tower of Hitchin’s St. Mary’s Church, illustrates well that the market area is in a ‘hollow’ between raised areas. What you can’t see from here is that fact that The River Hiz runs through the middle of them and under the market. (Canalised sometime in the 1920s) From ground level, it is glaringly obvious that the designers of the more modern market (Moved many times around Hitchin) had no real thoughts of trying to fit it in to its surroundings; being concrete, brick and garish metal roofs. They could have designed it to ‘echo’ the church near it, the way that St Saviour’s Cloisters do that were built in the 1920s-30s.
St. Mary’s Graffiti
Much to the chagrin of the good citizens of the parish of St Mary’s Church in Hitchin, graffiti has appeared (or I should say more has appeared) on the north door. This is not a modern or ‘new’ phenomenon at all. One should look at the pillars of the door frame on both sides, to see lots and lots of carved graffiti dating back to the 1960s, 1950s, 1930s; even back a hundred years. In churches all around the parishes of Britain, one will find similar graffiti (and going back to 1700 say) Things such as names, love tokens or just dates. The Romans did this too, as did the Egyptians, Greeks, Vikings et al. As the expression goes, ‘There is nothing new under the sun’!
Love hearts Graffiti
Apart from the now ubiquitous and wonderful but decaying ‘Dog Full Of Money’ stickers around town; There now appears some unusual but cute graffiti. Looking very much like ‘Love Hearts’ sweets, they liven up dull, out of the way and unnoticed places such as this doorway usually blocked by Starbucks Coffee Shop’s foul smelling and unsightly rubbish bins to the side of the shop in between Market Place and Churchyard.
Churchyard Demarcation Posts
The Churchyard that surrounds St Mary’s Church is demarcated by these posts. Whether these are used elsewhere in Britain or just here in Hitchin, I’m not sure! There are two at the beginning of the South West corner of St Mary’s where one cuts through from Market Place past Halseys and The Triangle Café to Churchyard, two are at the South East corner by the market on Churchyard Walk South, two are at the North East corner at the end of Churchyard Walk North (Below) and the final two are at the North West corner of Churchyard Walk North by the ‘Hippy/New Age’ shop Stripe (Above) going through to Moss’s Corner.
Roof Top Garden
Within about a year or two, the owner of the building that houses the Triangle Café and other shops has created a nice little roof top garden/haven. This can only be seen from the tower of St.Mary’s Church, but it amazes one that it can be tasteful and fitting in with its surroundings even though it can’t be seen from ground level; whereas a few other buildings in Hitchin lack taste, style or blend in with their neighbours. Why a nice 18th century building was allowed to be pulled down to put up the hideous concrete carbuncle that is Churchgate beggars belief!
Melanic Squirrels
People still think that the Letchworth Black Squirrels only exist in Letchworth. Not so! Much to the chagrin of Letchworth residents, they are also in other parts of Hertfordshire such as Hitchin and Stevenage, as well as Cambridgeshire, Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire. The Letchworth name was a bit of a misnomer. Apparently they were rare and were a local adaptation/phenomenon called Melanic Squirrels due to the fact that they have very high levels of the pigment melanin in them and are in fact only a dark Grey Squirrel. They are not as rare as Albino squirrels though. They’re a local variant. Obviously from the Grey squirrel, but are more aggressive and will attack the Greys (and win) giving them an edge over the Greys, therefore breeding more and increasing their numbers and enlarging their habitat.
Retribution I think, for importing the American Grey Squirrel in 1876 into Cheshire, which decimated the native Brown Squirrel. Evolution in progress and nature bloody in tooth and claw. This particular squirrel was photographed in the graveyard of the beautiful St Mary’s Church in the centre of Hitchin itself.
The Triangle Café
The photograph above is of the Triangle Café, run by the ever lovely Maree (Originally from sunny Belfast) Here you will get great wholesome, traditional, well cooked food and good service to boot too. The Triangle Café deservedly winning the ‘Hertfordshire Café of The Year’ award.
The building that the café inhabits, is a timber framed 15th century or early 16th century hall house, much altered and refaced in the 18th century. This building was also used as the vicarage to St Mary’s Church opposite it, from 1731 until 1925, when it then became used for shops and offices.