Architecture
16th Century Courtyard House
One range of a 16th century timber-framed courtyard house (some of the other ranges that would have formed the courtyard, have been lost) It’s to be found to the rear or west of Phillip’s Antiques on Bancroft in Hitchin.
The Biggin
The Biggin on Biggin Lane next to the market in Hitchin, used to be the Gilbertine Priory (founded in 1361 by Sir Edward de Kendale) and what is the Priory used to be the Carmelite Friary. The nave of the Gilbertine church survives in the south wing of the building and the Prior’s lodging on the first floor of the west wing. The east end was devastated by fire around 1500 and never rebuilt. After the dissolution in 1539, it was converted into a private house by adding a new east wing.
A Rather Grand Staircase
The beautiful grand staircase in the now closed, Phillips of Hitchin (A circa 1700 house on Bancroft in Hitchin)
A Painted Fireplace
A rare painted fireplace dating from about 1600. (Either Late Elizabethan or early Jacobean) It’s in a building at the back of what used to be Tim’s Art at 85 Tilehouse Street in Hitchin. It shows vegetation and perhaps a formal garden. The building is now in private ownership and can no longer be seen unfortunately but hopefully it has been preserved.
Friends Meeting House
The Modernist Friends Meeting House (Quakers) in Hitchin, was designed by Paul Mauger and built in 1958/9 on stilts and stands over the Quaker graveyard and holds the body of ‘Hitchin Worthy’ Frederick Seebohm 1833-1912. The Hertfordshire Hitchin Bank that Frederick Seebohm was part of, later became Barclays Bank.
Strange Building in Hitchin
This strange building is behind the restaurant Bella Vita on Sun Street. It’s either a terrible nightmare for an architect to ‘read’ or an absolute thrill to ‘decode’. I suspect (as do others) that it has been cobbled together from lots of other buildings (Cheap materials) I really enjoy looking at it, but make if it what you will. Derek Wheeler of ‘The Hitchin Historical Society’ has suggested that it was part of the Girls’ School that was run in Roslyn House during the 19th Century; and that later became a furniture shop until 1910 (approximately), accounting for the mélange of styles and building materials.
(Update) Since I last took it’s photograph, the building has lost its little curvy stairs and there is a huge pile of bricks to the left of where the stairs used to be. I wonder if they are going to re-do them or do a disabled access ramp? Who knows?
Celestial Messenger
To the south of the Chancel in St. Mary’s Church in Hitchin, is the Guild Chapel and its ceiling has beautifully carved wooden medieval Angels: Some with gold leaf on their wings, others without. This might have been due to prohibitive cost, so the rest couldn’t be done or their gold leaf has fallen away. For whatever reason, they are still beautiful to look at. It is worth noting that each Angel has a different symbol associated with it. This one has a lute, others have a harp or viol, keys or shields or symbols of the guild who funded their making.
To the north of the Chancel is the Trinity Chapel, and it too has Angels on its ceiling. These seem to be of a different style and none have the gilded wings that the others have in the Guild Chapel. However, they are still beautiful and full of character, with individual hairstyles and worth taking note of. So the next time you are in St. Mary’s Church, Look up!
Hitchin Priory Hall
This is the big hall that sits above the west part of the cloisters in The Priory in Hitchin – Confusingly ‘The Priory’ was really a Carmelite Friary founded in 1317 and was renamed to ‘The Priory’ when the house was added on to the Friary at a much later date. What we now know as ‘The Biggin’, used to be Hitchin’s Gilbertine ‘Priory of Newbiggin’ founded in 1361.