Archive for November 2007
Dry River Hiz
Not so long ago, part of The River Hiz became dry. Quite thrilling as one never sees that happen often, and funny, because its name means ‘Dry’. Sicca (Pronounced Sicka) in Brittonic (The language of Britain at the time of the Romans, later becoming Welsh) becomes ‘Hicce’ (Pronounced Hiche) under the Anglo-Saxons and later it was named ‘Hiz‘ (Pronounced Hits) by the Normans who couldn’t pronounce it. Modern day Hitchin obviously gets its name from the river and its peoples the ‘Hicce’. The River’s name is now pronounced as it’s spelled.
Part of the river became dry once the very shallow canalised bit between The Biggin on Biggin Lane and Portmill Lane Car Park on Portmill Lane was emptied. This seems to happen twice a year to clear it of leaves and rubbish. Large tankers called ‘Honeywagons‘ (Manure collectors) come down and suck out all the gunge and workmen scrape out all the leaves and rubbish. (Usually bottles galore from being thrown in at the time of ‘The Rhythms Of The World’ festival.) If it were an Archaeological Dig, it would be great to find so many artefacts that can be reliably dated by the bottles’ often well publicised styles, in one place; But because it’s cleaned out every year, then sequences of layers can’t build up and a much longer history can’t be observed. Shame for the archaeology but good for the town’s prettiness.
Hermitage Road and Windmill Hill
This photograph is taken on Windmill Hill looking down toward Hermitage Road. The two are linked by the wealthy quaker banker called Frederic Seebohm who had a large house on Bancroft, known as the Hermitage. He gave part of his back garden to form Hermitage Road in 1875. (Roughly the same time the windmill on Rawlings Hill burnt down) He aquired the land and built the Hitchin Girls’ Grammar School in 1907 and then his two daughers donated the rest of the hill to the people of Hitchin in 1921.
The photograph here is of Windmill Hill looking up from Hermitage Road. Originally called Rawlings Hill, because of the Mill there, it was then known as Windmill Hill after if burnt down as mentioned above. The miller’s cottage was still standing on the Hollow Lane side of the hill until 1950; and there was a house built on the hill in the 1920’s, but was unpopular and is no longer there. The two photographs illustrate quite well I think, just how green the centre of Hitchin is.
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.
Widmill Hill Steps
These steps and surrounding retaining wall of Windmill Hill (Off Hollow Lane) were built in 1931 and probably the wonderful apartments of Garrison Court were built at the same time too. This view is not often shown in photographs of Windmill Hill due to it’s supposed less dramatic prospect or vista; but is actually preferred because it is quieter than the Hermitage Road side.
Love Hearts Graffiti (Part 2)
Around Hitchin appeared some wonderful graffiti such as this one on the wall that forms part of the car park opposite St. Mary’s Church and the River Hiz. I would much rather have this sort of graffiti than the usual crass ‘scribble your name’ type that seems to dominate anywhere that teenagers hang around. Perahps we have a Banksy of our very own.