Hitchin, Market town in North Hertfordshire, England
Hitchin is a market town in North Hertfordshire, England, roughly 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of London on the railway line to Cambridge. The center is dominated by a large church tower and lined with historic buildings featuring timber frames and brickwork, arranged around an open square.
The settlement appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a royal manor with early medieval earthworks, likely built in the 10th century. During the Middle Ages, the place grew through wool trade and gained the right to hold regular markets.
Located on the old Roman route of Ermine Street, now following the path of London Road through the town, this settlement keeps its historic layout with narrow lanes. Residents still use the market square for weekly trading days, as they have done for centuries.
The railway station sits close to the center and provides frequent connections in both directions, allowing you to reach London or Cambridge in under an hour. Most historic lanes and shops are within easy walking distance if you start from the station.
The British Schools Museum preserves a complete Lancasterian schoolroom, where a single teacher used older pupils as monitors to instruct hundreds of children at once. Visitors can see the original wooden benches, slate boards, and teaching aids that show how lessons operated more than 150 years ago.
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