HITCHIN, a market-town of Hertfordshire, England, is situated on the small river Hiz, 34 miles from London, on the Great Northern Railway. It is for the most part neatly built of brick, and the streets are generally spacious. The principal buildings are the parish church in the later style of English architecture, with a fine porch, an Adoration of the Magi by Rubens, a small crypt said to have been used by Cromwell as a prison for the Royalists, and many interesting monuments; Hitchin Priory, the residence of the Radcliffe family; various chapels, schools, and banks; the infirmary, the workhouse, the town-hall, and the corn exchange. Malting and straw-plaiting are extensively carried on. There are also breweries and manufactories of agricultural implements. The population of the local board district in 1871 was 7630, and of the parish 8850.

Hitchin occurs in Domesday Book under the name of Hiz, a modification of the Saxon Hicce or Hitche, which appears more prominently in the present form of the name. During the Saxon heptarchy it formed part of the royal demesne of the king of Mercia. It was bestowed by Edward the Confessor upon Harold, and after the battle of Hastings it was retained by William the Conqueror. By William Rufus it was granted to Bernard de Baliol, and on the accession of John Baliol to the throne of Scotland it reverted to the crown of England, after which it was bestowed by Edward III. on his fifth son, Edmund de Langley.