THE FIGHT TO SAVE TOP FIELD
Hitchin Town were elected straight into the Spartan League Division Two East for the
1928/29 season, and immediately set about planning a grandstand, for which they received an estimate for £350. At the same time, a committee member offered a galvanised
iron shepherd's hut for use as a dressing room, which was gratefully accepted. Hitchin
Town's first home game, a Spartan League match v Waltham Comrades on 25 August
1928, was watched by an excellent crowd of 1,500, which boded well for the new club.
The grandstand, a shallow, iron and timber structure seating 450, was opened on 3 November 1928, and 87 years later, is still going strong.
By 1931/32, Hitchin had reached the Spartan League Premier Division, and it was during
that season that an FA Amateur Cup tie against Wimbledon drew a then record crowd of
6,377 to Top Field, with 1,200 of those present accommodated on a wooden terrace built
specially for the occasion. This heralded the beginning of Hitchin's predilection for wooden terracing, a situation forced on them by the insecurity of their tenure at Top Field. Election to the Athenian League followed in 1939, and come peacetime Hitchin Town found
themselves more popular than ever, most notably in 1953/54 when 6,322 were in attendance for the FA Cup First Round match with Peterborough United, and then two seasons
later, when 7,878 packed the ground for an FA Amateur Cup tie against Wycombe Wanderers. For the Peterborough United match, £650 was spent on increasing the capacity at
Top Field, with extra wooden terracing being added at the Fishponds Road end, while as
the 1950s drew to a close, the covered enclosure on the popular side of the ground was
extended to stretch the full length of the pitch.
Left: Action from the FA Amateur Cup tie v Wimbledon in 1931/32,
which drew a crowd of 6,377 to Top Field
Above: Hitchin fans at the Peterborough United FA Cup tie in 1953/54,
standing on a newly erected wooden terrace
Newspaper reports in 1961 suggest that at this juncture. Hitchin were undecided about
whether to build a new grandstand or to invest in a set of floodlights. In the end they opted for the latter, spending £5,000 on an eight pylon installation that was switched on by
Arsenal manager Billy Wright, prior to a friendly against Arsenal on 27 November 1962.
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