The club took part in the inaugural FA Cup competition in 1871–72, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to runners-up Royal Engineers.

Hitchin turned professional during the early years of the 20th century, but following financial difficulties and a fire at their ground, the club folded in 1911.

Reg Smith, a future England player, led Hitchin to the Spartan League championship in 1934–35 before moving on to Millwall a year later.

Two years later, Hitchin beat Wycombe Wanderers 1–0 in the same competition in front of 7,878 spectators, but the club once again failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals.

The club met Football League opposition in the FA Cup for the first time during 1958–59, but despite holding Millwall to a 1–1 draw at Top Field, lost 2–1 in the replay.

Led by Burgess, Hitchin finished as Isthmian League runners-up in 1968–69 and won the London Senior Cup a year later.

The 1973–74 run was ended abruptly by fellow non-League side Boston United, who beat Hitchin 1–0 in the second round to deny them a third-round tie against Derby County.

[1] A sixth-place finish in 1983–84 proved to be a last hurrah – Hitchin Town suffered relegation from the Isthmian League Premier Division in 1987–88.

He left after two uneventful mid-table seasons, and was replaced by former Chelsea, Luton Town and England forward Kerry Dixon.

A supporters trust was formed in 2005 to contribute weekly to the club's playing budget, and this helped the management to balance the books.

[2] Colin Payne was appointed manager a month later,[3] but he was unable to prevent relegation from the Southern League Premier Division.

[4] In 2009–10, Hitchin led the Midlands Division for long periods, but eventually finished runners-up to Bury Town, despite reaching 100 points in a campaign that saw them win 31 of their 42 league games.

Hitchin led the league table for most of the campaign before a mid-season drop in form eroded their advantage at the top.

This saw them qualify for the play-offs but they lost their semi-final at Top Field 3–2 to Hungerford Town, having held a 2–0 lead in front of a crowd of 1305.

However the season ended on a high as Hitchin then defeated Boreham Wood 2–1 to lift the Hertfordshire Senior Cup.

The final took place at Leamington and Hitchin took an early lead which they held until the 90th minute when they conceded a penalty and were reduced to ten men.

Prior to that, the original Hitchin club played here from 1873 until their liquidation in 1911, although it was often referred to as the Bedford Road Sports Ground, it's the same stadium.

A public house opposite the ground doubled as a changing room for the players, and a wooden grandstand was constructed during the late 19th century.

[1] New floodlights were installed in Summer 2016 and, as some 50 years earlier, they were officially inaugurated with a friendly match against an Arsenal side on 10 November 2016.

The record attendance at Top Field, 7,878, was set in 1955 for an FA Amateur Cup tie between Hitchin Town and Wycombe Wanderers.

This, combined with the impending expiry of the lease, put the CCT in direct conflict with the football club and its supporters who wished to renovate increasingly dilapidated structures at the ground and if possible expand and seek council funding in a similar manner to local rivals Stevenage Borough FC.

The football club and the community responded to this threat with a campaign involving a public meeting, a petition and fundraising.

This culminated, on 6 December 2014, with a march through Hitchin of some 1300 people in protest at the plans followed by a crowd of 1606 for the match against Poole Town.

In the 2011–12 season Hitchin's average attendance was 388, making them the fifth best supported club in the Southern League Premier Division.

In the 2013–14 season, the average was still 342 (equal seventh best), despite a number of Saturday prestige games being postponed and rescheduled to midweek evenings.

In 2014-15 the average increased to 391 as community initiatives (such as Forces and Ladies' Days) and the success of Monday evenings for midweek games contributed strongly.

The record for highest attendance was set in 1955–56, when an FA Amateur Cup tie against Wycombe Wanderers attracted 7,878 spectators.