Hitchin Town

The original Hitchin FC were formed way back in 1865, entering the first ever FA Cup competition in 1871-72 before losing to eventual winners Royal Engineers in the Quarter Final.

Hitchin FC were also the first ever away team to inflict a home defeat on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, when they won there in 1905. The club folded owing to financial difficulties in 1911.

Hitchin Town claim lineage to the original club and were formed in 1928. The clubs nickname of 'The Canaries' was established as the club wore yellow and blue before green took over from blue.

The club joined the Athenian League for the 1939-40 season, finishing as runners-up in 1953-54 and reaching the FA Cup first round before bowing out to Peterborough United at Top Field. Another first round appearance followed in 1960-61; ending in a 6-2 defeat to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

The same season also saw Town reach the semi-finals of the FA Amateur Cup; going out 1-0 in the last four to Walthamstow Avenue at White City. The same stage was reached in 1962-63, which ended in a 4-0 loss to Sutton United at Craven Cottage.

In 1963-64 the club moved to the Isthmian League, where they finished as runners-up in 1968-69. The 1970’s heralded further appearances in the ‘proper’ rounds of the FA Cup. The second round was reached after beating Guildford City in 1973-74.

Boston United were victorious in the second round clash at York Street. In 1974-75 Town went out away to Cambridge United after a first round replay. The 1976-77 campaign saw the team reach the second round once again.

Weymouth were defeated and then Swindon Town held to a draw, before the Canaries were defeated 3-1 at The County Ground in the replay. In 1977-78 Hitchin remained in the top flight of the Isthmian League as it was retitled as the Premier Division.

In 1978-79 Town travelled to Dean Court for an FA Cup first round tie away to AFC Bournemouth, going down 2-1. In 1988-89 the side was relegated to Division One in the league, before regaining their Premier Division status in 1992-93 under owner and manager Andy Melvin.

The 1994-95 campaign saw Hitchin defeat Hereford United before losing out to 5-0 at home to Wycombe Wanderers in the second round of the FA Cup. A home win over Bristol Rovers saw the team reach the same stage the following season, before Gillingham ended the run at Priestfield Stadium.

Town were relegated once again in 1997-98 before fighting back at the first attempt by finishing as Division One runners-up the following season, and also reaching the fifth round of the FA Trophy before being defeated by Forest Green Rovers.

Non-league football was re-organised for the 2004-05 season. Hitchin lost in a play-off to Bedford Town and were placed in the Premier Division of the Southern League with former Chelsea and England striker  Kerry Dixon in charge of the team.

Darren Salton, Darran Hay and then Colin Payne all had spells as manager, as the team slid to relegation to Division One Midlands in 2008-09. The 2009-10 season saw Hitchin miss out on promotion after losing in the play-offs to Slough Town.

The Canaries went back up to the Premier Division under manager Carl Williams the following season as divisional runners-up and then defeating Slough Town and Daventry Town in the play-offs with John Frendo banging in the goals as the crowds returned to Top Field.

Frendo continued his scoring feats, notching up a hundred goals for the club by the end of the 2012-13 season, at which point Williams resigned as manager to be replaced by former Town player Mark Burke.

In 2014 it was revealed that local property development company Dunmore Developments Ltd were looking to build a supermarket on the site of Top Field and locate the club to a new stadium out of town.

The football club and local residents campaigned against the move, with 1,300 people marching through town in protest in December 2014 before a crowd of 1,606 attended the home game against Poole Town.

In February 2015 the break clause instigated by Dunmore’s allowing building on the land exceeded its expiry date, with the club gaining a lease for a further twenty five years as the town celebrated the 150th anniversary of football in Hitchin.

In 2016-17 Town reached the Premier Division play-offs; defeating Merthyr Town in the semi-finals before losing away after extra time to Leamington in the final, prior to being placed in the Premier Division Central after league re-organisation.

The Canaries finished lowly in 2018-20 and were destined for a similar finish twelve months later when the season ended early owing to the outbreak of COVID-19. Hitchin sat in tenth when the 2020-21 campaign ended in similar style, albeit earlier.

Hitchin Town FC will play in the Southern League Premier Division Central in the 2021-22 season.

My visits

Monday 10th August 2009

I had been meaning to visit Hitchin Town for some time. I had been fully aware of the club since 1977 when Scarborough put them out of the FA Trophy in a Third Round replay. Town were a decent side but Boro were exceptional, especially on the night in question with John Woodall scoring a screamer from near the right wing touchline.

I regularly travel through the town at high speed on a train on the East Coast Main Line but this time I made use of a Herts Bus Day Explorer and caught the service from St Albans, travelling through several quaint villages on the way. 

The old town itself is really nice with even the newer parts tidy. There are many old fashioned traditional pubs which could well see me visiting for a match as well as trying out the local brews in the future.

I eventually found Top Field after popping into the local library and still managing to misread a map! The ground was locked but I managed to get some reasonable photos over fences.

Top Field is a very old football ground. Records suggest that the first game there was played in 1871. It was surrounded on three sides by trees giving it a very enclosed feel. The Fishponds Road End had a beautiful old wooden terracing with a cover in the middle. 

The far, Bedford Road side had a long low stand with seating while opposite there were two small coverings for standing spectators. Behind the top goal was a neatly organised open terracing. Both ends behind the goal curved around so everyone gets a good view. 

Top Field simply oozed character and I considered it a ground that must be preserved at all costs. There are no doubt more functional modern grounds, but not as many with the same warmth or history. I definitely thought a return was on the cards for me one day!

Hitchin Town 1 Chesham United 1 (Saturday 28th January 2011) Southern League Premier Division (att: 466)

My return eventually came with me on night shifts and my fellow Scarborough Athletic supporting groundhopping mate Ian Anderson keen on another visit to Top Field. He was a big fan f the place, not least because of the excellent programme shop at the ground.

I caught a train that had a few Notts County fans on board heading for their FA Cup clash at Stevenage. Ian was waiting for me at Hitchin station and we were ready to look for pre match refreshments. 

He had informed me that the clubhouse at Top Field had previously being lacking in the way of proper ale, but I said I was fine and would find something to quench my thirst. Well joy of joys! 

We walked inside the busy room where fans of both sides were watching the early FA Cup game between Liverpool and Manchester United to find two ales from the nearby Buntingford Brewery on hand pump. Both the Twitchell and Highwayman met with our approval.

Ian headed into the ground hoping to find some missing programmes, while I had another pint. There was only one TV serving a large audience so I listened to the game on my radio, which brought about an amusing moment. I cheered two seconds before the ball went in for the winner. The TV coverage was slightly delayed!

I walked around to the turnstiles and paid £9 admission and bought a programme with an old fashioned cover for a further £1.50.  I also added to the collection as the game was designated as 'Forces Day'. 

A nice touch was making a serviceman's son The Canaries mascot for the day. He got a good round of applause when it was announced as he led out the teams. I knew that Top Field was a good ground even from my view from outside, but I had only really scratched the surface. 

The raised wooden terrace was there in all its glory behind the goal, but what I hadn't realised was that it extended down the side along with the couple of standing covers as well. The view from the far open terrace was also outstanding. I had been on a lot worse areas at Football League grounds. 

The week before our visit, it had been announced that the club had managed to lift a clause so that areas of the ground could be redeveloped. We both hoped that it was done with sympathy so not to alter the wonderful character of the place.

After I did my usual lap to take in the whole ground I tried a cheeseburger, which was OK and more than a little expensive for £3. We stood at the end Town were attacking. The pitch sloped towards that end from the half way line. The action was of a decent standard, with both sides creating chances. 

The stand out man for me was the home number eight, Luke Gregson who really got stuck in with some ferocious challenges. It was good to see the ref, Mr A Da Costa appreciate hard tackling as he let the game flow where he could and kept his cards in his pockets. 

The Canaries centre forward Inih Effiong was the type of player who'd have me pulling my hair out one minute and waxing lyrical the next. If he'd have been any more laid back he'd have fallen over.

We adjourned to the clubhouse to find out the half time scores from elsewhere, before returning and standing on the open end that Hitchin attacked. Although they were in mid table before kick off, with the visiting Generals occupying a play off place, we both agreed the home side were in the ascendancy. 

Shane Gore in the Chesham net was being kept busy and was having a fine game until a tricky little run from John Frendo resulted in his shot trickling over the line after hitting both post and bar with twenty minutes remaining.

Town continued to try and add to their lead, although Chesham were carving out a few chances of their own to encourage their following of fifty or so fans. Eventually an equaliser came with just three minutes remaining, when centre back Ryan Moran headed home from a corner.

We headed to the exit, and heard the final whistle just as we were getting in the car. Ian had kindly offered to drop me at the station so I could catch the 5pm fast service back to Kings Cross. 

We said our goodbyes and I made my train with a few minutes to spare. Ironically it took nearly an hour owing to a problem on a train in front of us. I was soon filling out a complaint form to try and get my fare back!

That did not dampen my enthusiasm for the day out. It had been a good hard game in front of a decent sized crowd in an idyllic old school ground. I even tried two new local ales. What can beat that on a Saturday afternoon?

Hitchin Town 0 Chesham United 0 (Monday 12^th February 2018) Southern League Premier Division (att: 281)

It was a bitterly cold Monday evening when Tony Foster picked me up at Stanmore for the trip up the A1. I was looking forward to a return to the charismatic Top Field regardless of the weather. Our journey took around forty minutes.

Admission was £10, with the programme an extra £2. First call was to the refreshment hut, where warm drinks were in order for £1 each. I was glad to still have a pepper sachet in my pocket to spice up the Bovril. After doing a lap of the ground we settled on a spot in one of the covers with wooden terracing down the side.

The Chesham side included the well travelled Jefferson Louis up front, with veteran striker Scott McGleish taking his place on the bench; from where he gave plenty of feedback in his role as player coach.

The game started off promisingly, but became disjointed. Hitchin had appealed for volunteers to work on the pitch earlier on the day. It had been wet after the previous Saturday’s game, but it had dried out to reveal several bobbles which affected the standard of play.

Mid table Town fielded a couple of new signings against The Generals; who were pushing for a play-off berth. Adam Watkins was at the centre of the play for the visitors as they looked the more likely to score. Louis fired a volley from a cross just wide.

Hitchin had a couple of tame efforts that didn’t stretch Chesham keeper Harry Isted too far. It was a tight game with chances at a premium. At half time we went on another lap to try and get the blood flowing again as our feet were getting very cold.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first. Chesham were generally in the ascendancy, but didn’t really look like scoring. Michael Johnson did well to clear outside his box and then make a decent save for the hosts from a David Hutton header.

The real action took place in the last ten minutes. Isted was forced off with injury. He was replaced in goal by midfielder Matthew Hall, as Chesham didn’t have a goalkeeper on the subs bench.

Hall palmed away a Connor Vincent shot for a corner and then stopped Dan Webb’s effort from the set piece. If either attempt had been a yard or so each side of the temporary stopper, they would have surely ended in goals.

Watkins had a late effort deflected for a corner, while Hall continued to prove a more than handy stand in. His kicking was especially effective, as was becoming a midfield player. The game petered out for a somewhat inevitable goalless draw.

Special mention must be made of the Hitchin PA man, who provided us with many humorous moments throughout the evening. He didn’t take himself too seriously, but genuinely sounded like he enjoyed his role. He certainly made us smile.

It was a relief to get back into the car and let the heated seats in Tony’s motor come into effect. Clear roads meant that I was back at Stanmore and on the tube to arrive at JJ Moon’s in Kingsbury by just gone 10.30pm to enjoy some fine ale with Steve Barnes.