| Description | After the dissolution of the Carmelite Priory in Hitchen in 1539, there is little record of Catholic worship in the town until 1890, when Holy Mass was first said by Father Spink, a member of the Fathers of St. Andrew, for just 12 people on the 30th November – the Feast of their Patron – in a house in Nightingale Road belonging to a Mr Hutchinson. Gradually, the numbers attending this regular service increased until Cardinal Vaughan, having visited the parish, decided that a church was needed in Hitchin. In 1899, a plot of land was purchased on the corner of Grove Road and Nightingale Road for the sum of £320. Building commenced and, in 1902, the Cardinal returned for the solemn opening of the new church and its dedication to Mary Immaculate and St. Andrew.
The persecution of the Church in France at the beginning of the century caused many congregations of priests and nuns to come to England looking for a home and for an apostolate. The Fathers of St. Edmund came to Hitchin to take charge of the parish and it was they who set up St. Michael’s School on the site where Hitchin Police Station now stands. At about the same time, two orders of Sisters arrived; one left after a short time finding there was not sufficient work for two convents in Hitchin. The other, the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, remained to run a parish primary school and later their own private school as well.
By the summer of 1926, the Augustinian Fathers of the Assumption had replaced the Edmundians as stewards of the Catholic parish at Hitchin. Under their leadership, the school their predecessors had founded became St. Michael’s College and the Assumptionist priests undertook wider responsibility for the spiritual welfare of the faithful in the outlying villages. It was estimated at the time that the priests covered over 600 miles each week in carrying out their pastoral duties.
The parish church had been built to accommodate a congregation of 200. With a Catholic population in the town of just 60 people (half a percent of the civic total), it was considered that this left ample room for growth. During the inter-war years, however, the number of Catholics in Hitchin steadily increased, due mainly to the inflow of workers from the depression-hit North of England and Scotland, and several modifications had to be carried out to cope with the rising numbers. By the early 1970s, Catholics accounted for nearly 10% of the town’s population and the need for a larger place of worship became inescapable. Plans were laid for a new church to be sited on land adjoining the existing building – which had to remain unaltered externally – and a Hitchin firm of architects were commissioned to design a new edifice that would harmonise visually with the older building in its new role as the parish hall. Their success was rewarded by a prestigious architectural design award and the Catholics of Hitchin were provided with a striking new centre for their religious devotions. The design of the new church sought to blend the best of traditional building techniques with modern engineering principles. The altar, tabernacle and candlesticks are of Travertine marble, and the church is furnished with carved statues and plaques that are the work of a parishioner, the late Theodore Kern, a distinguished alumnus of the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. The church organ is the work of Saxon Tate, the noted builder of these instruments. On 18 December 1977, the new church was consecrated by His Eminence The Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, George Basil Hume, OSB.
The numerical growth of the Catholic Community in Hitchin is reflected in the development of its buildings, and has seen the creation of a Reception Room, named after Doris Harris, who bequeathed money
to the Parish for this purpose, so that the Priests can receive and meet with Parishioners in a comfortable and confidential setting. A bequest from John Martin helped to create a Pastoral Office for two Pastoral Assistants. The Church Hall was refurbished for Parish and Community use, the Church redecorated and all the windows in the Church and Sacristy areas was replaced, along with newe guttering for the Church.
The Church and its congregation have built up various Groups and Societies over the years to help create and foster Community life and living, for example, the OneWorld Group, the Gateway Club for people with special needs, and Our Lady’s Support Group for children with needs. The Church supports the Scouting and Guiding Uniformed Groups, the Union of Catholic Mothers, the Guild of St Stephen for Altar Servers, the Bethany Club for people approaching the third age and also various spiritual initiatives, like the Monday Meditation Group, the Wednesday Scripture Group as well as providing a home for various Groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, the Hitchin Society, meetings of Townswomen Fellowship, and others.
Our Lady and St Andrew is fully involved with the ecumenical work of the 15 churches which are present in Hitchin, and has worked to create joint involvement for pastoral and visiting Ministries to cover the many residential homes in the town as well as working together to foster Bereavement Visitors and to provide temporary accommodation for the homeless. The church is also involved with the Sikh-Christian Forum, Ecumenical Lent Groups, and other initiatives.
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