Introduction

Ellie Clarke

Hitchin people are parochial. We probably have always been parochial and we probably always will be parochial. But we certainly are parochial now, at the beginning of the 21st Century!

There is good reason for that as there is much to be fond of in Hitchin: lovely buildings, varied architecture, interesting nooks and crannies, intriguing alleys and ginnels to draw you through the town as well as fine and unusual shops. None of it is very grand, but most of it is very pleasing and of a relatively small scale. Hitchin town centre was designed for people, and in the 21st Century it continues to invite people to wander, explore, shop, relax and enjoy. Nowhere in Hitchin typifies this character more than The Arcade.

Being parochial, we are also protective, and fiercely so at times. It can often help to protect a building or area if it has been well-documented. It became clear to us that the area around The Arcade could be considered “ripe for redevelopment”, to use “planning speak”. Indeed, as we began working on this project, one area next to The Arcade, which had formerly been small businesses selling and repairing motor vehicles, was already being redeveloped by McCarthy & Stone into accommodation for the more mature generation. A planning application to redevelop Brooker’s Yard to housing was under consideration. Suggestions for redeveloping Jackson’s Yard, just across West Alley from The Arcade, had been made in the recent past.

Clearly, the area around The Arcade could change considerably in the near future and it was important that The Arcade itself, as well as its setting in the wider townscape, should be protected as much as possible. In that context, discussions began as to what we could do, and “The Arcade Project” was born.

We didn’t know initially what our “Project” was going to be, or who would like to be involved. A bit of publicity through the networks of Hitchin Historical Society and Hitchin Forum produced a group of local residents who either had connections with The Arcade, were interested to learn more about it, or simply had never done this kind of research before and were intrigued. As it happened, these individuals, between them, happily took on researching and documenting the various aspects that appeared to need need investigating.

Having researched The Arcade, its history, its owners and inhabitants and discovered its particular idiosyncrasies, it seemed perfectly logical to document our findings and share them with the wider Hitchin parochial populace.