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Newsletter-580-July-2019
By Roger | Latest Newsletter, News, Past Newsletters, Volume 10: 2015 - 2019‎ | No Comments
Number 580 July 2019 Edited by Mary Rawitzer
HADAS DIARY – LECTURE AND EVENTS PROGRAMME 2019
Saturday July 27th 2019: SECRET RIVERS – at the Docklands Museum
HADAS is planning a visit to this exhibition revealing the history of London's forgotten
rivers. Deirdre Barrie and Audrey Hooson propose an outing to the Docklands Museum. The
Museum is staging a free exhibition called "Secret Rivers". If you have a bus pass, your
transport is also free. Quoting from the Museum's publicity:"Secret Rivers uses
archaeological artefacts, art, photography and film to reveal stories of life by London's rivers,
streams and brooks, exploring why many of them were lost over time"
We will meet either at Bank Station DLR platform at 10.30, for West India Quay or at 11.00
in the museum coffee shop. The museum requests that groups book in advance, so rough
numbers are needed. Full details in last Newsletter. Please contact Deirdre Barrie
dlbarrie@tiscali.co.uk (020 8367 0922) or Audrey Hooson AudreyHooson@icloud.com.
HADAS 2019 Long Trip. Monday 23rd to Friday 27th September 2019: We have booked
the hotel for our long trip in 2019. Details will follow in due course.
Tuesday 8th October 2019: From Crosse & Blackwell to Crossrail – MOLA excavations at
Tottenham Court Road 2009 to 2010. Lecture by Lyn Blackmore.
Tuesday 12th November 2019: Shene and Syon: A Royal and Monastic Landscape
Revealed. Lecture by Bob Cowie.
Lectures start at 7.45 for 8.00pm in the Drawing Room, Avenue House, 17 East End Road,
Finchley N3 3QE. Buses 13, 143, 326 & 460 pass close by, and it is five to ten minutes' walk
from Finchley Central Station (Northern Line). Tea/coffee and biscuits follow the talk. .
Two exciting day trips by Barnet Museum & Local History Society:
Saturday, 6th July 2019 Visit to Richborough Castle and the Town of Deal by coach.
Cost £25 for adults (£20 EH members, bring your card) £10 children (5-18) and students.
Depart Barnet Everyman (formerly Odeon) Cinema: 08.15
Leaving Deal: c.5pm; arrive back in Barnet c.7pm
Saturday, 21st September 2019 Visit to the "Mary Rose" in Portsmouth by coach. Cost £38
for adults and £15 for children (5-18) and students.
Depart Barnet Everyman at 08.15. Leave Portsmouth: c.5pm, arrive back in Barnet c.7.15pm
These trips get booked up quickly, so if you want to go don't delay.
Friends of members are also welcome. To book, phone Dennis Bird 020 8449 0705
Annual General Meeting. Jo Nelhams (Hon. Secretary)
The AGM was held on Tuesday June 11th 2019 at 7.30pm. There were 40 members in
attendance and apologies from a further 33. It was good to hear from over 70 members.
Andrew Selkirk, a former Chairman and longstanding Committee member, resigned from the
Committee earlier this year as he has moved house, but has remained a Vice-President and
will be due for re-election in 2023.
Jim Nelhams has stepped down as Treasurer, but has remained as a member of the Committee
and Roger Chapman was voted in as his successor. The other officers have remained the
same: Chairman, Don Cooper; Vice-Chairman, Peter Pickering; Secretary, Jo Nelhams; and
Membership Secretary, Stephen Brunning. There were 2 new additions to the Committee,
David Willoughby and Rodney Burt, while Bill Bass, Robin Densem, Melvyn Dresner, Eric
Morgan and Sue Willetts are remaining as members.
The death was announced of Derek Renn, a very longstanding Life Vice-President who
passed away on 31st May 2019. Condolences have been sent to his family.
The AGM was followed by a presentation by Harvey Sheldon, 'Imperial Rome's North-West
Frontier: can it explain Britannia and Londinium's role within the Province?'
An interesting AGM and thanks to all who attended.
HADAS finds course: 2019-2020 "Finds in Focus" Don Cooper
Here is the flyer for the finds course starting in October 2019. The course is very popular and
there are, at the moment of writing, only three places left. If you want to participate please
reply immediately as it is first come first served.
Hendon & District Archaeological Society Finds Group
Course tutor: Jacqui Pearce BA FSA MCIfA
A 22-week course in post-excavation analysis to be held at Stephens House (formerly Avenue House), East
End Road, Finchley N3 3QE on Wednesday evenings, 6.30–8.30, starting on 2 October 2019
This year we will be focusing on recording the medieval and later finds from the Mitre Public
House in Barnet. We are aiming to produce a short article summarising the work of the Finds
Group on this site. Regular presentations and professional tuition will be provided throughout the
course. This is an ideal opportunity to gain – or increase – your experience of working with and
handling a wide variety of archaeological finds. Teaching sessions on the various types of finds will
be complemented by practical handling and recording sessions. Our aims are to introduce the
various types of finds and provide hands-on opportunities to become more familiar with postexcavation
procedures, while working toward publication.
All are welcome – it doesn't matter whether or not you have experience of working with
archaeological finds!
Course fee: £295 for 22 sessions. To book, contact Don Cooper (details on back page) or Jacqui
Pearce (pearcejacqui@gmail.com; tel. 020 8203 4506). Please make cheques payable to HADAS and
send to Don Cooper, 59 Potters Road, Barnet EN5 5HS.
HADAS May Lecture Jim Nelhams
The May lecture, "50 Years of Recording London's Industrial Heritage", was delivered by
Professor David Perret, currently Chair of the Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society
(GLIAS). A medical researcher by profession, David has been interested in industrial archaeology
for many years. One of his interests is stationary steam engines and he is a past President of the
Newcomen Society. David was also a contributor to the All Party Parliamentary Group Report on
Industrial Heritage issued in 2018.
In 1998 GLIAS began development of a database which the society could use to record site
information. The database has been in development ever since. He noted a wide variety of locations
and items recorded, some of which have disappeared, some that remain, and some of which have
changed their use.
Examples in transport included the Euston Arch, demolished in 1961, and the London to Croydon
atmospheric railway. This had two pumping stations one of which remains, having been converted
as a water pumping station. Another example was the viaduct built between 1834 and 1836 for the
London and Greenwich Railway, requiring around 60 million bricks made in Sittingbourne and
transported to the site by barge. Although widened and strengthened, the viaduct still has all 878
arches and is a Grade II listed structure.
Other work has been in recording Thames crossings, including Tower Bridge with its steam boilers,
Hammersmith Bridge and the Brunel Tunnel. Other static steam engines included a Newcomen
engine house at the New River Head in Islington and the beam engines at Kew and Crossness.
David stressed the importance of creating and maintaining the record of industrial archaeology.
There were lots of problems and Lottery funding was drying up.
The London Canal Museum Celebrates Ice Heritage Weekend – July 2019
Celebrate the life and story of Carlo Gatti (1817-1878) and the contribution he and his family made
to London's life. Saturday July 27th (Gatti's Birthday): Enter a competition to make a decorated
birthday cake. See website for rules. £1 entry fee including museum admission. Ice cream making
demonstrations, Victorian style. Family activities, design an ice cream sundae and other table-top
fun for children (morning). Gallery talks and display about Gatti and the ice trade. Adelphi
Afternoon Cream Tea 2.30-4pm £15 (£12 concessions) including museum entry (book in advance).
Information and bookings at www.lcm.me.uk/ihw. Evening, 7.30pm: Gatti's Music Hall, presented
by the Players' Theatre Company, an evening of music hall entertainment reminiscent of the
Victorian era. Traditional dress welcome. £25 (concessions £23) including glass of Swiss wine with
Swiss cheese. Book in advance. Sunday 28th: Ice Trade Sunday. Visits underground to the
Victorian ice wells (fit adults and teenagers only). Normal museum entry charges. Explore the only
preserved and accessible commercial ice wells in England on this rare open day, part of the Festival
of Archaeology. Sensible shoes essential! Supported by the Swiss Embassy, London, and Commune
do Acquarossa (Dongio) Switzerland. Ice cream making demonstrations, Gallery talks, pre-booked
boat trips. 12-13 New Wharf Rd, N1 9RT. 5 minutes walk from Kings Cross/St Pancras.
Thames Discovery: causeways, river stairs and ferry terminals – Melvyn Dresner
Following on from Gustav Milne's April lecture (Newsletter 578, May 2019), the Thames
Discovery Programme launched the CRaFT project (Causeways, Riverstairs and Ferry
Terminals) in June. The project will help discover, or rediscover, the stories of these 'landing
places', the people who used them, those who relied on them for their livelihood and the changes
brought about by bridges and new modes of transport.
The Thames Discovery Programme, City of London Archaeology Society and the Institute of
Archaeology at UCL are working together on this project. There are many ways to get involved,
such as through archive work, foreshore fieldwork, discovering features in paintings or literature,
blogging, foreshore photography and recording. It is not just about getting muddy, there are others
ways they need your help.
If interested to find out more please email: angela.broomfield@yahoo.fr
Festival of Archaeology 2019 Sue Willetts
The 2019 Festival of Archaeology is being coordinated by The Council for British Archaeology
with events taking place over a fortnight from Saturday 13th July until Saturday 28th July. The
theme this year is archaeology, science and technology.
The website https://festival.archaeologyuk.org/ allows searching of events by area, type of activity
and by period such as Roman, Medieval.
Thomas Gresham 500th Anniversary Exhibition Sue Willetts
As part of the 500th celebrations for Gresham College the Guildhall Library has a free exhibition
about Sir Thomas Gresham, Tudor trader, shipper, spy and founder of both the Royal Exchange and
Gresham College. It explores Gresham's life and some of the amazing items in the Gresham history
collection at the Guildhall.
The exhibition is open Monday-Friday, 9.30am-5pm (Wednesday till 7.30pm) at the Guildhall
Library and is completely free. It's open from now until mid-September. More information:
https://guildhalllibrarynewsletter.wordpress.com/2019/06/03/new-library-exhibition-sir-thomasgresham-
tudor-trader-shipper-spy/
Visit to the Rose Theatre Jim Nelhams
LAMAS run monthly walks and visits under the heading "LAMAS LATES".
See http://www.lamas.org.uk/lamas-lates.html for more information. A notice of a visit to the Rose
Theatre was circulated to HADAS members and five of us went along.
The site was found in 1988 when buildings were being redeveloped. Harvey Sheldon, HADAS
President, explained that the original dig had been allowed 5-6 weeks while the builders took their
Christmas Holiday. It had been expected that the remains of the theatre would then be permanently
buried and destroyed, but there was much public pressure, including by prominent members of the
acting profession, resulting in a building redesign incorporating horizontal rather than vertical
beams, so allowing the retention of the site. The buildings are now 30 years old and due for
renovation.
The Rose was built by Philip Henslowe in 1587. In 1592, Henslowe's step-daughter married
Edward Alleyn, who went on to found Dulwich College. Dulwich old boys are known as Old
Alleynians. Many of Henslowe's papers including accounts and records of plays have survived in
archives at the college.
The dig discovered inter alia gallery walls, two stages and the arena floor. The site was covered in
1989 to protect it from building works and the weather. The remains now exist within a basic shell
with no heating or toilets, but have survived. They must be kept wet to preserve the timber. A small
viewing gallery is usable for events and to raise money. Lighting indicates where walls have been
found. Some of the original structure is beneath an adjacent building and not accessible.
The site is run by The Rose Theatre Trust, founded in 1989, of which Harvey is Chairman. The
Trust has a lease of the site until 2042. Because the site is kept under water, it must be monitored.
Jane Sidell, in her role as Inspector of Ancient Monuments for Heritage England, has been
monitoring since 1999, checking the water levels and the acidity of the water.
For more information about The Rose and their events sees http://www.roseplayhouse.org.uk/
Trip to Orkney Janet Mortimer
I have recently returned from a long-anticipated holiday in Orkney with fellow HADAS member,
Barbara Thomas. We were part of a small group of eight (three of whom were Americans) who
went on a mini-bus tour with Orkney Archaeology Tours, led by leading archaeologist and bone
expert, Dave Lawrence. Dave and his fellow archaeologist wife had gone to Orkney to work, and
ended up living there permanently as, it seems, have many other archaeologists including HADAS's
own Daphne Lorimer. It is not hard to see why – the almost over-whelming amount of history that
surrounds you everywhere you go on each island of Orkney could keep you interested for a lifetime.
Our first day started with a drive around Scapa Flow to Ophir Round Kirk and the 12th century
Earl's Bu, which was the site of a large Norse drinking hall. We then went on to Skara Brae. I had
wanted to go there for years, and it certainly didn't disappoint. We went to the nearby Skaill House,
owned by the man who discovered Skara Brae, and one of the highlights for me was the large
cabinet with carved wooden doors that came from one of the ships of the Spanish Armada. It is
amazing to think that on this small patch of land it is likely that there has been continuous
occupation for the last 5,000 years, with finds not only from the Neolithic period, but also the
Bronze Age, Iron Age and the Vikings.
Later we went to Kirbister Farm Museum. This is a fine example of how people lived in Orkney
until comparatively recently (this one was occupied until the 1960s) and the lay-out is actually not
too dissimilar to the houses at Skara Brae. The peat-burning hearth is in the middle of the floor
with a hole in the middle of the roof to let the smoke out, and there is a bed area carved into the
stone of the wall. It was also the place where Annie Lennox filmed sequences for the video of
"Here Comes the Rain Again". On the way back to the hotel we visited the magnificent Broch of
Gurness.
On the second day we took the ferry across to the island of Hoy to visit the Hackness Martello
Tower and Napoleonic battery. We started in the barracks room where we were greeted by a man
resplendent in his Napoleonic uniform. He was a friend of Dave's who was an authority on the
subject and we got a special tour. If you have seen the film "Zulu" you would recognise the lay-out
of the barracks – identical to the hospital block in the film. Apparently they were all built in exactly
the same way around the world so that the men could move in and know exactly where everything
was, including which bed was theirs. Their food ration was fairly meagre but they had a daily drink
allocation of a gallon of beer (weak or "small" beer – but still a gallon!) and a big mug of gin. Helps
to pass the day, I suppose! We then climbed up into the Martello Tower – the only one made of
stone instead of brick. Our uniformed officer showed us around and then we climbed up onto the
top, where he showed us the huge gun, able to revolve around 360 degrees, and we marvelled at
how he managed to keep his hat on in the fierce wind that was blowing.
After this we went to the beautiful Rackwick Bay then onto see the Dwarfie Stane. This is a huge
block of stone which has been carved out into a Neolithic burial chamber and is quite
magnificent. There was a sea eagle nesting nearby but, despite the best efforts of the RSPB who
kindly let us look through the telescopes they had set up, we didn't manage to see it.
The next day we started off on a walking tour from our hotel in Kirkwall to marvel at the puzzling
architecture of the Earl's and Bishop's Palaces and to visit the Cathedral. Interestingly the
Cathedral is not owned by the Church, but is owned and maintained by the people of Orkney.
We then jumped back into the mini-bus and headed off to the Rennibister Earth-house. This is
accessed by climbing down a ladder in the courtyard of a farm into an underground chamber. The
underground experience was good preparation for our visit later in the day to what was (after Skara
Brae) my favourite place to see – the Cuween Cairn. For this we climbed up a steep slope, then
were issued with thick gloves and knee pads and we had to crawl through a dark tunnel into the
Cairn where we viewed it by torchlight. It was large enough to stand up inside and there were four
side chambers, three of which you could climb into. Unusually 24 dog skulls were found in this
tomb, along with human skulls.
Our next call was over the Churchill Barriers to the Italian Chapel, which is astonishing. It was
made of an old Nissen hut during the war by Italian prisoners and it shows what a beautiful
structure can be made with limited materials, just as in Neolithic days.
The following day we went to Stromness which is very different from Kirkwall, and has the feel of
an old-time seaside town. We had a stroll around and visited the art gallery and museum, then we
were off to Maeshowe. Although this is very impressive, we had to join a guided tour with a crowd
of other people, so it was sometimes difficult to see exactly what the guide was pointing out. We
saw the Viking Runes and the Orkney dragon, and the guide told us what some of the runes
meant. In the mini-bus later Dave told us what some of the other ones said which I will not repeat
here for fear of offending. Suffice to say that they were the usual boasts of young men about their
conquests in rather graphic terms!
The next day we caught the ferry over to Rousay for a day viewing brochs and cairns. We visited
Taversoe Tuick then went onto Blackhammer Cairn. Personally I found this terrifying as we had to
walk through a field of frisky young bullocks to get to it, but thankfully they had disappeared by the
time we came out. We then went to Midhowe to see a very impressive Cairn in which they found a
disproportionate amount of skeletons exhibiting signs of congenital deformities and other
illnesses. The nearby broch was fascinating, dwellings clearly laid out, and even a rock-carved
inside toilet!
Our last day started at the Ring of Brodgar and Stones of Stenness. Later we walked over the
causeway to the uninhabited island of the Brough of Birsay to view the Earl's Palace and for those
brave enough (not me!) to lay down and hang over the cliff edge to see the puffin nests. We
finished our visit to Orkney visiting the last working water mill at Barony Mills.
We had a great week seeing a variety of history from Neolithic days right through to the recent
history of WW2 which was made even better by the running commentary by Dave as he transported
us around from place to place. I particularly loved his tales from the Orkney Sagas with people with
memorable names such as Magnus Barelegs and Oliver the Violent. It really was the trip of a
Restorations Jim Nelhams
It's always nice when something you think has gone returns.
The book "The Blue Plaques of Barnet" published by HADAS in 1973 included a plaque that was
on the wall of "The Castle" public house at the junction of Hermitage Lane and Finchley Road in
Childs Hill. Then the building was closed and demolished to make way for a block of flats.
Concern was raised about the whereabouts of the plaque and HADAS was advised that it was being
stored by Barnet Council. The flats are now complete and it is nice to see that the plaque is on the
new building close to the front door.
Another pub that closed was Ye Old King of Prussia just south of Finchley Central Station.
This became a restaurant named The Chicken Society serving chicken in varied forms. Perhaps the
chickens have gone back to roost, because the building now contains "Ye Old King of Prussia"
again. The internet identifies this as a neighbourhood bar with craft beer, cocktails and pizza. So
maybe not as it was, but still serving beer.
OTHER SOCIETIES' EVENTS compiled by Eric Morgan
Tuesday 9th July, 7.45 pm. Amateur Geological Society, Finchley Baptist Church Hall, 6 East End Rd, N3
3QL (opp. Avenue House): Triumphs & Disasters in Engineering Geology. Talk by Prof David Norbury.
Monday 15th July, 12.30pm. Mill Hill Historical Society Tour of Spencer House, 27 St James's Place,
SW1A 1NR. Cost: Members £12 (concessions £14. Meet 12.20pm for Tour. To book: first contact Julia
Haynes, 38 Marion Rd, Mill Hill, London NW7 4AN (tel: 020 8906 0563, haynes.julia@yahoo.co.uk) to
check availability and payment procedure.
Wednesday 17th July, 7.30pm. Willesden Local History Society Guided Walk meeting at Neasden Station,
Neasden Lane NW10, finishing at The Grange, Neasden Roundabout, NW10 for a talk on its history,
followed by refreshments.
Friday 19th July, 7pm. COLAS, St Olave's Church, Hart St, EC3R 7NB. Medieval Mass Burial at St Mary
Spital: Excavations 1999-2002. Talk, Don Walker (MoLA). NB originally scheduled for Friday 21st June).
Saturday 20th July – Sunday 29th September. Stephens House & Gardens (Avenue House) Hospital for
Heroes. Exhibition remembering 100 years since Avenue House became the central hospital for the RAF,
and its use as a hospital during, and in the aftermath of, WWI. Free entry, but a minimum £2 donation to the
work of the Avenue House Estate Trust would be welcome. Opening times: Wednesdays, Saturdays &
Sundays 2-4.30pm.
Sunday 21st July, 12-5pm. Stephens House & Gardens: Summer Garden Fete. A packed day of fun and
games with food, craft stalls & brass band. Free admission.
Tuesday 6th August. Camden History Society . Outing to Saffron Walden & Kentwell Hall Departing
promptly 8.30am, Camden High St, outside Marks & Spencer's; 8.45am; Hampstead High St. (outside
Waterstones); Swiss Cottage (o/s Library) 9.00am. Send SAE and full details, where joining, name etc, with
cheque for £35 (includes coach, tip, and admission to Hall), payable to Camden History Society, to Jean
Archer, 91 Fitzjohn's Ave, London NW3 6NX (Tel: 020 7435 5490).
Wednesday 14th August, 11am. Mill Hill Historical Society . Walking Tour of Bloomsbury. Meet 10.50 for
11am start, Russell Sq tube. Finish nr. Foundling Museum. Booking details: see Monday 15th July, above.
Friday 16th August, 7pm. COLAS, Address: see Friday 19th July. Members' Evening.
Talks by COLAS members. Visitors £3. Light refreshments after.
Sunday 25th August. Markfield Beam Engine & Museum, Markfield Park, Markfield Road N15 4AB.
Steam Day. www.mbeam.org . Tel: 07923 459020 for more info.

With many thanks to this month's contributors: Don Cooper, Melvyn Dresner, Eric Morgan,
Janet Mortimer, Jim Nelhams, Jo Nelhams, Sue Willetts
Hendon and District Archaeological Society
Chairman Don Cooper 59, Potters Road, Barnet EN5 5HS (020 8440 4350)
e-mail: chairman@hadas.org.uk
Hon. Secretary Jo Nelhams 61 Potters Road Barnet EN5 5HS (020 8449 7076)
e-mail: secretary@hadas.org.uk
Hon. Treasurer Roger Chapman 50 Summerlee Ave, London N2 9QP (07855 304488)
e-mail: treasurer@hadas.org.uk
Membership Sec. Stephen Brunning 22 Goodwin Ct, 52 Church Hill Rd,
East Barnet EN4 8FH mob: 07534 646852 e-mail: membership@hadas.org.uk
Join the HADAS email discussion group via the website at: www.hadas.org.uk
Newsletter-579-June-2019
By Roger | HADAS, Latest Newsletter, News, Past Newsletters, Volume 10: 2015 - 2019‎ | No Comments
Number 579 June 2019 Edited by Melvyn Dresner
Tuesday 11th June 2019 7.30 pm Annual General Meeting, Jo Nelhams
This year's meeting will be followed by a lecture from our President, Harvey Sheldon, entitled
"Imperial Rome's north-west frontier: can it explain Britannia and Londinium's role within the
province?" We hope that many members will attend showing their support for those who
voluntarily give their time by standing for the committee and organising HADAS. Without them
there would be no society. Tea and coffee at the meeting will be free of charge. If you are unable to
attend, please send your apologies to Jo Nelhams by email (jo.nelhams@live.co.uk) or phone (020
8449 7076) Please note early start time.
Saturday July 27th 2019 SECRET RIVERS – at the Docklands Museum
HADAS is planning a visit to this exhibition revealing the history of London's forgotten rivers. As
announced at our last lecture, Deirdre Barrie and Audrey Hooson have proposed an outing to the
Docklands Museum on Saturday 27th July. The Museum is staging a free exhibition starting from
24th May called "Secret Rivers". If you have a bus pass, your transport is also free. Quoting from
the Museum's publicity:
"Secret Rivers uses archaeological artefacts, art, photography and film to reveal stories of life by
London's rivers, streams and brooks, exploring why many of them were lost over time.
"The intriguing histories of the River Effra, Fleet, Neckinger, Lea, Wandle, Tyburn, Walbrook and
Westbourne will all feature in the exhibition. Each river will highlight a broader theme such as
poverty, industry, development, effluence, manipulation, activism, sacred association and
restoration."
The museum requests that groups book in advance, so although we require no deposit, rough
numbers are need. There is a coffee bar at the museum and other places for lunch close by, or you
can bring your own sandwiches. Will meet either at Bank Station DLR platform at 10.30, for West
India Quay or at 11.00 in the museum coffee shop. Please contacts Deirdre Barrie (020 8367
0922) dlbarrie@tiscali.co.uk or Audrey Hooson AudreyHooson@icloud.com
HADAS 2019 Long Trip. Monday 23rd to Friday 27th September 2019. We have booked the
hotel for our long trip in 2019. Details will follow in due course. The hotel is: Best Western
Aberavon Beach Hotel, Aberavon Beach, Port Talbot, SA12 6QP.
Tottenham Court Road 2009–10 by Lyn Blackmore.
Tuesday 12th November 2019: Shene and Syon: a royal and monastic landscape revealed by
Bob Cowie.
Lectures are held at Stephens House & Gardens (Avenue House), 17 East End Road, Finchley, N3 3QE, and start promptly at 8 pm, with coffee / tea afterwards. Non-members admission: £2;
Buses 13, 125, 143, 326 & 460 pass nearby and Finchley Central station (Northern Line), is a 5-10 minute walk away.
History of Clitterhouse Farm, Hendon Roger Chapman
The inaugural memorial lecture for Dorothy Newbury MBE (15th February 1920 – 13th February 2018) was given by Roger Chapman on 12th February 2019.
Clitterhouse has been known by many names – Clater's House, Clutterhouse, Clitherow and Clytterhouse being some of them. The Clitter part of Clitterhouse is thought to originate from the word 'clite' or clay and has been roughly translated to mean 'clay house'. The early history of Clitterhouse Farm is vague, clouded in mystery, tied up in disputed Charters and ripe for historical myth making. Earthen banks identified by aerial photography, were suggested to form a moated enclosure and defence line against Viking invasion across to Oxgate lying on the western side of the Edgware Road. In the past it was speculated that the Farm may have been a Viking raided homestead, blackened by fire, and then restored as: 'A house of clay … of such thickness of wall that even a modern bullet would scarcely penetrate.'
From these ashes, Clitterhouse, the clay house 'probably arose.' It is a great story but evidence to support it is thin. The land is not mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 though Hendon is mentioned. In the Domesday Book (1086) it is estimated that Hendon had a population of 250 with enough woodland to support 1,000 pigs. By 1321, the time of the Black Book, there was still a great deal of woodland in existence, but less than at the time of Domesday. Clitterhouse Manor starts with Robert Warner, lawyer and one time under Sheriff of Middlesex. In 1439 he granted the land to St. Bartholomew's Hospital on condition that a Chaplain and four youths would pray for him. Green, a son-in-law of Robert Warner secured a payoff from the will, on payment of a sparrow hawk, of sixty acres of land, six acres of pasture and 36 acres of woodland in Clitterhouse. Not a bad transaction for a sparrow hawk. The manor was eventually released to the hospital in 1446. The Farm remained in the ownership of St Bartholomew's until 1921. The hospital's property in Hendon was augmented in 1446 by two nearby estates granted by Henry Frowyk and William Cleeve, Master of the King's Works. The first, called Vynces, lay north of the Clitterhouse estate and the second, Rockholts, lay south of the road to Childs Hill.
A survey in 1584 of Clitterhouse Farm "now in the tenure of Edward Kempe" was undertaken by Ralfe Treswell. At this time the farm was over 200 acres comprising 18 fields, each with a perimeter woodland strip, 2 woodlands, an orchard, farmhouse, outbuildings and a moat. Emphasising the importance of woodland, at the time, the survey identifies 1295 'timber trees' on the farm. Timber was the building material of choice and would also be used for fencing, wattle work and in large quantities for fuel. The farm land extended to the 'West High Waie' (Edgware Road) and was bordered to the south by land belonging to the Abbey of Westminster. To the north the landowner was Sir Roger Cholmeley, founder of Highgate School. Primary access to the farm was via a trackway from a feature called 'Clitterhouse Cross', presumably a wayside cross or Calvary, on the 'West High Waie' and this ran past fields called Great Rockholts, Noke Field and Great Camp to the House and then a track ran (roughly on the alignment of Claremont Road today) past Bente Field, Hill Field and Great Vince, out past Whitefield Gove which was on Cholmeley's land. Edward Kemp occupied the farm in 1610 when his house was broken into and a woman's violet coloured gown worth 40 shillings and other personal goods were stolen. Three men and a woman were charged. Two of the men were 'at large', the other man pleaded not guilty and was acquitted. The woman, Joan Eliott, stood mute and for that reason was condemned to a punishment called "peine forte et dure". She was laid on her back under a great weight and on alternate days was fed small quantities of bread or water until she died. One reason she may have stood mute is by
not pleading she would avoid forfeiture of property. This type of harsh punishment was abolished in 1772, though its last use was in 1741. Thomas Kempe was resident during the time of Cromwell and in his 1667 will left the lease of the farm to his son, Edward, with all the 'corn, hay, cows, sheep etc.' Edward continued at Clitterhouse until 1674 when he responded to a 'hue and cry' raised against highway robbers who had held up the mail coach on the Windsor Road and then fled across country from Hanwell to Harrow. All available able men in Hendon mounted their horses and tried to cut off the miscreants. Edward Kempe was to the fore and as he approached them, on the narrow lane leading to Hampstead Heath, they fired and he fell from his horse with a bullet in his side. He survived for 24 hours. The villains were caught, taken to Newgate gaol, and eventually executed. The body of their leader, Francis Jackson, was hung in chains on a gallows tree between the Heath and Golders Green. The Kempe's kept a connection with the Farm until 1794.
By 1715 a new plan of the Farm, prepared by Robert Trevitt, shows a much reduced woodland area, only 19 acres out of 203 total. Most of the woodland strips surrounding the fields had been grubbed out and a further 7 acres were lost by 1753. This plan also contains a superb drawing of the farmyard in 1715 showing timber framed and weather boarded buildings making a tight group around the farmyard. John Roques 1746 plan '10 miles around London' shows a range of five farm buildings called 'Claters House'.
The decline of woodland continued and in a survey of agriculture un 1794 hay was a key crop and in the neighbourhood of 'Harrow, Hendon and Finchley there are many hay barns capable of holding 30 to 50 and some even 100 loads of hay'. Hendon by the time of the Tithe apportionment map of 1843 was 91% (7330 acres) in meadow and pasture use with just 0.04% of land (283 acres) in arable production and a miniscule 40 acres (0.005%) woodland. Clitterhouse Farm, now tenanted by Jonathan Caley, reflects this with the majority of fields shown as meadow and only some as arable. In the 1860s the coming of the Midland Railway Company cut Clitterhouse Farm in two (north to south) and led to the building of Claremont Road. The land west of the railway line became Brent Sidings in the 1880s. From 1876 until 1915 the Brent Gas Works supplied stations from Mill Hill to St Pancras, including the Midland Hotel and the railway workers cottages called Brent Midland Terrace (1897). Between 1884 and 1913, the influential suffragette Gladice Georgina Keevil (1884 – 1959) lived at Clitterhouse Farm. At age 6, she won a prize for her clay modelling at the local kindergarten. In February 1908 she was one of those arrested with Emmeline Pankhurst in taking part in a demonstration outside the House of Commons.
Keevil's picture was taken in 1910 by Colonel Linley Blathwayt (died 1919) at Eagle House near Batheaston, Somerset. Where she (and other suffragettes) went to recover and celebrate a prison sentence for the cause. Here with shovel in hand after planting a tree.
By the First World War, Clitterhouse farmland was much reduced in size, becoming a dairy farm, which was 100 acres in extent and had "40 cows in full milk" producing 10 quarts per day on average. Land had been for Hendon sewage works in the 1880s, and to Hendon fever hospital (1890-1929). The estate remained the property of St. Bartholomew's Hospital until 1921, when it was sold to the War Department; it was later split up among private developers. Hendon Urban District Council acquired some of the land for playing fields and to provide a new home for Hampstead Football Club in 1926 (which became Hendon FC in 1946).
In 1913, the southern part of Clitterhouse farm became the Beatty School of Flying (a joint venture with early American aviator, George Warren Beatty 1887-1955, and Handley Page). This became the Handley Page's Cricklewood Aerodrome and factory during 1917. Handley Page developed and tested Britain's first bombers. After the First World War, passenger flights to the continent became popular. In 1929 the Aerodrome was closed, and the land became Laing's 'Golders Green Estate'. Jean Simmons, the actress, was brought up on the estate. Shortly after 1926 Hampstead FC (Hendon FC from 1946) rented some of the land from Hendon Urban District, finishing Clitterhouse as a farm. The rest of the land became a public open space. From 1920 to 1938, Cricklewood Studios occupied part of the aerodrome; these were the largest film studios in the UK. To get an idea of the film studios in action: https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/how-make-your-first-silent-movie-count
The Clitterhouse Farm Project
The Clitterhouse Farm Project was founded in early 2013 by local residents – who all live within a five-minute walk of Clitterhouse Farm. They are working to protect the historic Victorian farm outbuildings from demolition and to secure their future, so the entire site can be transformed into a vibrant, creative and sustainable hub that supports the community and small businesses. They wish to provide a compatible and flexible space relevant to the needs of the local population and to create a tangible improvement to the area before, during and after the Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration. They have secured over £100,000 crowdfunding in December 2018 for community café and workshops including money from the Mayor of London's Good Growth fund. They are slowly working through the planning stages, as they hope to start on site later this year.
Working closely with the Clitterhouse Farm Project, HADAS members excavated trenches in the garden area to the south of the building in 2015 and in 2016 trenches were dug to the north and along the front of the current buildings. From these we found the foundations of what we believe to be the Wheat barn (see below) and traces of the moat. Our finds include small amounts of pottery from the 12th century along with more extensive amounts from later centuries. The excavations suggest that the older range of buildings should be found under the car park.
The line A–A runs is roughly along the front of the current building as shown in the photo below.
Environmental Samples
Mike Hacker collected environmental samples during 2015 dig, the assemblage of pollen and spores (Scaife 2016) were found to be typical of other moats fills. This shows the vegetation diversity of the local human habitats sealed into the ditch or moat. The sources include grassland/pasture; thatching; animal faeces and offal waste (animals fed on hay); and river/stream courses which may have flowed into the ditch. The arboreal pollen is largely oak and hazel, from the wider region and most likely managed woodland, though with birch and elm. Pollen of sedges, grass and willow from damper conditions of the moat associated with a phase of silting/drying out of the moat; perhaps after abandonment. There is a strong representation of cereal pollen: more likely from secondary than local cultivation such as domestic waste – human and animal faeces, offal and from dumped waste food and floor coverings.
HADAS aim to carry out more work over the coming years to expand our knowledge of the development of this important moated farm. With the new café we hope to contribute to a small permanent diplay of material and archaeological finds. Clitterhouse Farm covers more than a thousand years of history from Viking raids, dairy farming, highway robbery, the coming of the railway age, suffragettes, pioneers in aviation for war and commercial travel, early Cinema, the rise of out of town shopping centres and much more. There is still much more to discover.
"Cricklewood High School and Kindergarten". The Middlesex Courier. 31 July 1891. p. 3. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
Andrea McKenzie, "This Death Some Strong and Stout Hearted Man Doth Choose": The Practice of Peine Forte et Dure in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century England", Law and History Review, Vol 23, No 2, Summer 2005
Dr Rob Scaife, Pollen Analysis of Samples from Clitterhouse Farm (CLM15) (007), Visiting Professor of Palaeoecology, School of Geography and Environment, Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton 2016
David Sullivan, "The Westminster Corridor: Anglo-Saxon Story of Westminster Abbey and Its Lands in Middlesex", 1st January 1994, Historical Publications Ltd
Patricia Warren British Film Studios: An Illustrated History, London: B.T. Batsford, 2001, p.22
Arkley Greyware medieval pottery production, South Hertfordshire Melvyn Dresner
The material found at the Arkley kiln site (Dyke Cottage), Barnet was discovered in 1959/1960 (including a complete pot). The HADAS finds group (led by Jacqui Pearce) help re-package and process the finds in 2014/15. We also undertook some further chemical and petrographic analysis including linking the kiln site with consumer sites. We are in process of writing up this research, as well as continuing to working on other Barnet sites, where this type of pottery was used (e.g. Ye Olde Mitre Inne, Barnet dug by HADAS in 1989). This report is part of this ongoing work.
The Arkley Brick – One piece of kiln furniture returned to the HADAS archive from Barnet Museum by Derek Renn earlier this year, which is part of the evidence of pottery production in Barnet since the 11th century. The material found at the site was medieval greyware – South Hertfordshire. This was mainly waste pottery sherds; material that failed as usable pottery due to production faults, as well as kiln furniture – fire bars and parts of the dome of the kiln. The finds were found in pits cut into the clay. The kiln itself was not found.
Medieval Barnet and wider landscape
The Romano-British tradition (Renn 1964) of pottery manufacture was known along the route of Watling Street between Brockley Hill and St Albans, which is to the north and west of Arkley, though continuity with pottery of 11th century is unlikely. We know St Alban's Abbey owned the land around the site (Taylor 1995). St Alban's Abbey, with the shrine of England's first martyr, became prestigious and important. Throughout most of the medieval period it was England's premier Benedictine abbey with numerous daughter houses stretching from Tynemouth in the north to Binham near the Norfolk coast. The Abbey was one day's ride from London. The first Norman abbot was Paul of Caen from 1077 to 1093. By 1100 the Great North Road had been built, with two early settlements at East Barnet and Barnet Gate (or Grendelsgate). The Market charter was granted by King John in 1199. Manor court were sometimes held at Grendelsgate. According to Renn (1964), the Barnet Court Book shows a flourishing community by 1245. He suggests the Potters Lane may date from 1247. Woodland would be split between lord of the manor (St Alban's Abbey) and peasants who worked the land, would have had rights such as firewood. The potter would need access to fuel (wood, charcoal), water for processing, clay (geology, clearings, glades), the market, organisation, and subsistence. Pottery at Arkley marks the transition from domestic production for use within the household to larger scale production for the market. The rule of Benedict had a particular attitude to craft and the market, which help us understand the potter's world.
"If there are craftsmen in the monastery, let them practice their crafts with all humility, provided the Abbot has given permission….
If any of the work of the craftsmen is to be sold, let those through whose hands the transactions pass see to it that they do not presume to practice any fraud…
…and in the prices let not the sin of avarice creep in, but let the goods always be sold a little cheaper than they can be sold by people in the world, "that in all things God may be glorified."
Renn (1964) suggests that the 13th century Arkley kiln would be a vertical kiln, where pots were stood on a platform of firebars radiating from a central support, with hot fumes escaping through a hole in the dome. Domestic refuse includes sheep and ox bones; metal slag; micaschist whetstone, oak, beech and birch charcoal. Wasters that were under fired; dunted; or spalled. Also included building material – such as chimney pots or roof finials. He parallels finds here with South Mymms castle.
Pottery Fabric
The pottery found at Arkley can be classified into four types (SHER 1, 2, 3 and 4). Over seventy per cent of the pottery is course medium oxidised (SHER 3). Around 25% is reduced course ware (SHER 1). Fine ware makes up around 3% of the estimated number of vessels, with 2% reduced (SHER 2) and 1% oxidised (SHER 4). Work continues….
HADAS Finds Group, sorting South Hertfordshire from Ye Old Mitre Inne, Barnet, March 2019
Renn, Derek (1964). Potters and Kilns in Medieval Hertfordshire.
Taylor, Pamela. The Early St. Albans Endowment and its Chroniclers, Historic Research, Volume 68, Issue 166, June 1995
St. Benedict's Rule for Monasteries http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50040/50040-h/50040-h.html#chapter-57-nl-on-the-craftsmen-of-the-monastery
West Heath mystery, Orkney and HADAS Melvyn Dresner
HADAS has a long link with Orkney and its archaeology, we are trying to locate a missing video.
Daphne Lorimer's worked with HADAS on the West Heath Mesolithic site, Hampstead during the 1970s and 1980s, which was pioneering – helping to bringing together scientific techniques with community archaeology, lithic analysis and environmental sampling. Daphne was awarded an MBE for her equally impressive role in Scottish archaeology in Orkney and as founder of the Orkney Archaeology Trust. Janet Mortimer has just returned from an archaeological tour with tales of Daphne, and a mystery to be solved. There was a film made at West Heath in 1970s, and where is it now? What we know, is on the HADAS trip in 2000 to the Orkneys, members were shown around by Jane Downes and Julie Gibson. One afternoon included a visit to Daphne's place 'Scorradale House' she had laid on a 'high-tea' and some displays including a video of a TV programme made at the West Heath dig of which Daphne was heavily involved and co-author of the dig report. Janet found out that Daphne's archaeology-related books and reference material went to Archaeology Institute at Orkney College, University of the Highlands and Islands. So far no video. Dudley Miles is visiting Orkney next month on his trip to the Northern Isles. I return for a third season to work at Ness of Brodgar, any clues much appreciated.
More info about Daphne Lorimer here: http://www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/dhl/dl/index.html and also HADAS newsletter (409 April 2005). Some photos from HADAS dig at West Heath in 1970s.
Surprisingly Rewarding on the Thames Foreshore Catriona Stuart
Catriona Stuart gives her take on Thames foreshore archaeology.
Only 7 miles away from the Quadrant Stone, the biggest available archaeological site in England – the Thames Foreshore, revealed twice a day at low tide. This isn't news to you. But maybe its availability for archaeological research and its' urgency because of the rapidly changing foreshore – is! At low tide 5th century fish traps, ancient causeways, river crossings have all been observed. Boats, both building and breaking, smaller craft put to other uses, rituals both old and current (Hindu ceremonies) evidence of all are to be found on the foreshore.
Apart from the Roman Bridge across the river, originally the main traffic along or across the river was by boat. Car boot sales a totally modern invention? Not exactly. Imagine a Briton pulling their boats up onto the Thames foreshore when Romans occupied London and selling their goods in exactly the same way. This happened just upstream of the Londinium – the Roman port was downstream of the Roman wall. Who when stepping over water into an unstable boat who hasn't worried about dropping something into the water, to be lost beyond retrieval? Nothing has changed.
The collection of fast flowing tributary rivers and canals fusing to become the Thames, finally turns into a wide meandering river flowing over flat lands of thick mud. These dangerous wet mudbanks were made usable by folk who lived on the riversides sinking all their rubbish onto the riverbanks. From offcuts of leather shoes tied in a bundle thrown in at Tudor Greenwich, to the debris from the Great Fire of London. (I am still looking for signs of burn marks on the broken 17th century roof tiles that litter the foreshore under Cannon Street railway arch). Clearly to be seen at Bermondsey and Rotherhithe are the remains of World War Two bomb damaged buildings pushed onto the foreshore!
Once there were slow vessels going through a crowded river, powered by sail or physical rowing docking, mooring tight to one another. There was steam and mechanically powered boats. This, in the life of river traffic was only for a short length of time. Since the change in 1960 to container shipping, and the opening of the London Gateway container dock at Tilbury 30 miles from London, the Thames' old docklands is now an open river with comparatively little river traffic. The Thames is travelled by large river buses going at speed. The wake from these river buses rapidly runs up the foreshore eroding both it and everything on it. Downstream of Teddington Lock the foreshore is also subject to tidal movement. There is also deposition of mud from the many tributary rivers. So the foreshore is subject to both deposition and erosion at the same time! Hence the constant change of the foreshore from week to week! The Thames, both the river and the foreshore reflects its continued use by humans for well over 2,000 years. Everyone is allowed onto the Thames foreshore.
Digging into the foreshore is NOT allowed without a Port of London permit. Everything taken from the foreshore is subject to the scrutiny of the Museum of London and officially belongs to them. You are likely to find things of amazing interest, however finding something of monetary value is very unlikely. Nevertheless, with all of everyday London life going on unnoticed only a few meters unseen above, standing on the foreshore of the Thames cocooned in silence, while being surrounded by 2,000 years of tangible often visible history is a very, very, special experience, and yours to enjoy. If you would like to learn more contact www.thamesdiscovery.org Port of London www.pla.co.uk shows Tide Tables under the strap line of safety/hydrography.
Cerne Abbey Site Re-Assessed Charles Leigh Smith
Inspired by Mick Aston referring to a village about to be demolished he mentions that its remnant features might become part of a palimpsest. Aston, like W. G. Hoskins, liked maps – if only they could speak! They do speak to archaeologists of the landscape. Historic sites with dispersed structures often remain a puzzle; but, sometimes illuminated by early maps. Charlie Leigh Smith re-assesses Cerne Abbey, in Dorset, part of his Masters course at Birkbeck College, University of London.
The abbey established in 987, situated just north of Cerne Abbas village, was built towards the end of the 10th century religious reform, when secular religious establishments were being replaced by Anglo-Saxon monasteries. By the 12th century, it was taken over by the Benedictines who replaced the early church by a conventional abbey with church, chapter house, etc. The abbey could also be expected to have its own workshops, brew-house, barn(s) etc, thus allowing it to become largely self-sufficient, and private, as required by the Benedictine rule. For Cerne Abbey the problem had always been that with so few buildings remaining after the Dissolution in 1539, it became impossible to know exactly where the abbey once stood. The earliest OS map marked a cross (+) in Beavoir Field, but these locations have often been incorrect. Beavoir Field is bare grass but lies adjacent to the village cemetery.
A few abbey buildings have survived: the main gatehouse (Abbey House), Porch (a fine monumental structure), lodge (possibly a guest-house), and small barn, which lie nearby. Villagers knew that spot finds came from the back of the village cemetery, such as glazed tiles and parts of tomb effigies. The two horizontal cemetery walls suggested these were the remains of an abbey church, and the 3m (12ft) walls at the St Augustine well, might indicate these could be the remains of a South Transept. But these imaginings were based on interpretations without scientific foundation. Firstly, one of the cemetery walls (on the north side) was too narrow and was shown on an estate map dated 1768, to have been a hedgerow. Observation by John Leyland travelling to the abbey in the early 1500's, when it was standing, noted a chapel over the St Augustine well; what is currently displayed are the partial wall remains of the chapel's undercroft (possible pump-house). A resistance geophysical survey in Beavoir Field by Bournemouth University (2014/0071), provided evidence for a linear anomalous area under the grassy field but follow up test pitting disallowed by the landlord (Lord Digby); it was a Scheduled Monument. The subject seemed appropriate for further in-depth research.
A License for a geophysical survey was obtained from the Inspector of Ancient Monuments for West England which came with a recommendation to see the abbey in a wider contextual setting. Research used the tools available to the landscape archaeologist i.e. aerial photographs, LiDAR, OS and historic estate maps; relevant documents held at Kew, Victoria County History, and observations from local writers were reviewed and noted, each providing relevant information. But the most valuable evidence was the find-spot locations (Davey et al., 2011), detailed descriptions and layout plans from other known Benedictine monasteries (Greene, 1992), out-houses (Cook, 1961), fishponds (Aston, 1988), the Cerne abbey seal (Kew archive), and observation on the ground in Beavoir field at the western end some distance from a field gate. This last observation identified a faint linear feature on the grass surface, about 15 feet long with something hard beneath the surface. There was also a large square faced ragstone beside it. It was also evident this section of Beavoir Field had once been levelled off from prevailing downhill lie-of-the-land. It turned out this line probably marked the abbey's west front and suggested the abbey was aligned not exactly East-West, but EbS/WbN, which would have allowed the abbey to fit with earthworks to the east. The abbey seal showed a turret on either side, and by overlaying the topographical map with Muchelney Abbey (of similar date) the location of the spot finds fell exactly where one would expect a Lady Chapel to have been. What the wider survey indicated was a private (inner religious) area, and a working (secular industrial) area for brew-house and outhouses, one likely late Anglo-Saxon.
Interestingly, a chance conversation with Lord Digby told of a time when as a boy he saw a small wheel about 6 feet in diameter set mostly below ground in the Victorian milking parlour – since demolished. This provided the clue to the site for the abbey's water mill. This location fitted the water channels seen on the 1768 Estate Map, emanating from this spot. It confirmed the abbey's work area. The 18th century estate map was drawn up for Mr Pitt-Rivers, who had recently purchased the abbey lands, and although he himself never lived in the village, it was he who we must thank for saving the abbey buildings that survive to this day. A meeting with his grandson (Anthony) at his hall in another Dorset town revealed the abbey's altar, now re-used as a fireplace but whose provenance was carefully labelled. It was looked down from the other side of the room by a large painting of this once eminent Antiquarian. The outcome of this piece of landscape archaeology research was to provide an holistic layout for Cerne Abbey, but which also led to the probable site for the earlier Anglo-Saxon church, and a reasoned argument why it had come to be built in this remote location of Dorset. Hopefully, the puzzle is solved.
Aston, M., 1988. Medieval fish, fisheries, and fishponds in England (Vol. 1). BAR.
Cook, G.H., 1961. English monasteries in the middle ages. London, Phoenix House.
Davey, J., Belamy, P., Le Pard, G., Pinder, C., 2011. Dorset Historic Towns Project, Cerne Abbas Historic Urban Characterisation, Dorset County Council.
Greene, J.P., 1992. Medieval monasteries. Leicester University Publishing.
Architecture of London Guildhall Art Gallery (off Gresham Street) EC2V 5AE
31 May – 1 December 2019 The Guildhall Art Gallery's forthcoming exhibition brings together works from the 17th century to the present day to illustrate how London's ever-changing cityscape has inspired visiting and resident artists over four centuries. As part of the six-month exhibition, John Schofield, cathedral archaeologist at St Paul's Cathedral; Dr Jane Sidell, inspector of Ancient Monuments for Historic England; and Dr David Allen and Dr Simon Elliott, historian and archaeologist respectively, will lead a series of talks on the use of stone, the tradition of bricklaying within London's architecture, and historical insights from the Great Fire of London.
The Architecture of London will feature 80 works by over 60 artists, drawing from the City of London Corporation's extensive art collection to examine the rich diversity of London's buildings and its varied portrayal by artists, including masterpieces by renowned and emerging artists, such as Lucian Freud, Frank Auerbach and Catherine Yass.
More details here: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/visit-the-city/attractions/guildhall-galleries/guildhall-art-gallery/Pages/default.aspx
Friday 7th June. Doors open 7.30 pm for lecture at 8.00 pm Landscape Archaeology of Northwest London, Sandy Kidd, GLAAS. Jubilee Hall, Parsonage Lane Enfield (close to Chase Side). Visitors are very welcome (£1.50 per person).
Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th June Barnet Medieval Festival 2019, Barnet Elizabethans RFC, Byng Rd, EN5 4NP
Monday 10th June 3.00 pm Beanos, Boozing & Hopping! Memories of the Old East End, John Lynch
Barnet Parish church (St John the Baptist Church, top of Barnet Hill) Cost: £2 (free for Members of Barnet Museum & Local History Society)
Thursday, 20th June. 7.30 pm – 9:00 pm, Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley in Somers Town – Charlie Forman, Camden History Society, Burgh House
Sunday 23rd June. 12-6pm East Finchley Community Festival has been taking place in Cherry Tree Wood every summer for nearly 40 years.
Friday 28th June, A Treaty of Peace, Today marks 100 years since the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the most important of the peace treaties which brought World War I to an end. The Stephens Ink Company always maintained the treaty was signed in their ink and you can learn more and view our 1919 Stationery Office copy, Stephens House and Gardens, 17 East End Road, Finchley, London N3 3QE. Telephone 020 8346 7812
Wednesday 3rd July. 5.30pm Brompton Cemetery Catacombs and Chapel Meet just inside the north gate off Old Brompton Road by the Information Centre at SW5 9JE for a tour of the catacombs and chapel at Brompton Cemetery. £10 for members, £12.50 for non-members, including a cup of tea and biscuit in the chapel following the tour www.brompton-cemetery.org.uk
Friday 12th July. Doors open 7.30pm.Geoffrey Gillam Memorial Lecture: Survivors: Surviving World War II Structures in Enfield Ian Jones EAS. Enfield Archaeological Society, Jubilee Hall Chase Side, Enfield, EN2 0AJ. Visitors £1.50.
Enfield Archaeological Society will be returning to Forty Hall this summer from the 16th to 28th of July 2019 to continue our investigation of Henry VIII's Elsyng Palace. You need to join the society if you would like to dig. Open day 27th July. Check their website: https://www.enfarchsoc.org/
With thanks to this month's contributors: Roger Chapman, Catriona Stuart, Charles Leigh Smith, and Eric Morgan
Chairman: Don Cooper, 59 Potters Road, Barnet, Herts. EN5 5HS (020 8440 4350)
Hon. Secretary: Jo Nelhams, 61 Potters Road Barnet EN5 5HS (020 8449 7076)
Hon. Treasurer: Jim Nelhams, 61 Potters Road Barnet EN5 5HS (020 8449 7076)
Membership Sec: Stephen Brunning, Flat 22 Goodwin Court, 52 Church Hill Road, East Barnet EN4 8FH (020 8440 8421) e-mail: membership@hadas.org.uk
Join the HADAS email discussion group via the website at: http://www.hadas.org.uk
Number-578-May-2019
By Roger | HADAS, Latest Newsletter, Past Newsletters, Volume 10: 2015 - 2019‎ | No Comments
Number 578 MAY 2019 Edited by Sue Willetts
Tuesday 14th May 2019 50 years of recording London's Industrial Heritage
by Professor David Perrett. Professor Emeritus of Bioanalytical Science, Barts & the London
School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London
The last 50 years has seen major changes in London's industrial heritage. Both traditional
manufacturing and craft industries have almost disappeared from the Capital. Transport
infrastructure has been totally modernised and railway sites have been redeveloped. Similar changes
have made Docklands unrecognisable. Some Industrial Archaeology sites, especially those
associated with public utilities have been preserved. The Greater London Industrial Archaeology
Society (GLIAS) was founded in 1969 to study and record London's industrial archaeology. This
talk will describe some of these changes and the look at the problems associated with IA in London.
David is an active medical researcher with over 250 scientific publications and sits on Dept. of
Health Committee relating to CJD and surgical instruments. He can trace his IA interests to a
Yorkshire coal mining community upbringing. He lectures nationally and international on both
science and the history of technology & industrial archaeology. He is a Past-President of the
Newcomen Society (The International Society for the History of Engineering & Technology) based
in the Science Museum. He is a Council Member of the Association for Industrial Archaeology
(AIA). He has been a member of the Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society (GLIAS) for
over 40 years and is the Society's present Chair. His IA interests include stationary steam engines
especially the Newcomen Engine and London's Industrial Archaeology.
Tuesday 11th June 2019 Annual General Meeting, Jo Nelhams
The Society would not exist without the volunteers who work on your behalf to run the
activities of the Society. The Constitution states that as well as the officers of Chairman, Vice
Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Membership Secretary, there can be 12 more Committee
members. For some years there has not been the full quantity, but at the moment there are
only 6. The number of Committee meetings is small, generally only 4 each year. Most of the
present members have served for many years and can't go on forever. We hope that there will
be some new volunteers prepared to be nominated to become members of the Committee.
Nomination forms are with the AGM papers.
We hope that all members will think to attend this meeting. If you are unable to attend please
remember to send your apologies to the Secretary either by phone or email. Contact details
are on the back of the Newsletter. Thank you.
Following the meeting, our President Harvey Sheldon will give a lecture entitled, Imperial Rome's north-west frontier: can it explain Britannia and Londinium's role within the Province?
HADAS 2019 Long Trip. Monday 23rd to Friday 27th September 2019
We have booked the hotel for our long trip in 2019. Details will follow in due course.
The hotel is: Best Western Aberavon Beach Hotel, Aberavon Beach, Port Talbot, SA12 6QP.
Tuesday 8th October 2019: From Crosse & Blackwell to Crossrail – MOLA excavations at Tottenham Court Road 2009–10 by Lyn Blackmore.
April Lecture: The CITiZAN Project by Gustav Milne. Deirdre Barrie
Gustav Milne has worked on a wide range of sites, from Roman and Saxon to Medieval ones, including the site of the Roman London Bridge. He has been a lecturer at UCL since 1991, he founded the Thames Archaeological Survey in 1993 and the Thames Discovery Programme in 2008. He has worked on several recording projects, including a medieval ship in Sandwich, Kent, a wrecked Elizabethan merchantman in the Thames estuary, and the launch site for Brunel's SS Great Eastern in Millwall. He is now Project Leader of the CITiZAN Project.
Unlike archaeological sites on dry land, coastal sites on the foreshore and low tide sites have no statutory protection. CITiZAN is a national project, formed to record and monitor long-term programmes led by active volunteers from linked organisations, and backed by the Lottery Heritage Fund.
CITiZAN's aim is to preserve our coastal heritage by recording the foreshore and sites below low- tide, which can be lost by storm damage, tidal scourage and erosion, or even by rising sea levels. Some sites could be washed away before they are even seen! There are at present 300 trained CITiZANS for the whole of the country, plus 600 additional members who identify, survey and monitor long-term 20 key sites.
Over the last twenty years or so there has been a move to bring together organisations, local universities and volunteers. The Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Surveys commissioned by Historic England is a national attempt to try to quantify English coastal archaeological resources. Website link to Rapid Coastal Zone Assessments https://citizan.org.uk/resources/rczas
Since 2014, CITiZAN has been co-operating with other national organisations, such as the National Trust, the Crown Estate, Historic England, the Council for British Archaeology and the Nautical Archaeological Society. Training filters down from CITiZAN and local universities to community volunteers who are then trained. The objective is complete national coverage.
There is an astonishing variety of sites, which come under the following headings:
Abandoned Vessels consists of boats, barges and ships – anything from Bronze Age and Roman vessels to the Newport ship of 1486, (left in an inlet and submerged). The ship has been dismantled for preservation. Some ships need little excavation, the erosion of the sea carries this out. Drones are now especially useful in providing aerial views, e.g. where treacherous Thames mud is concerned.
Coastal Industries include shipbuilding, sea salt production, fixed net fishing and mining. The sites of these industries can reveal the high tides of the day – for instance in Essex, mid-Saxon fish traps operated at a lower tide level than now.
Coastal Defences such as those of WWI and WWII, and the Saxon Shore Forts are now being attacked by the sea, rather than the enemy, commented Gustav Milne.
As for Lost Landscapes and Settlements, there are 36 lost medieval towns in Yorkshire alone.
Prehistoric features are often revealed at low tides – human, animal and bird footprints, not to mention submerged forests dating back 8000 years to the Mesolithic period. In one incident, an observant Essex oysterman, Dan French, called the CITiZAN team's attention to remains of a wooden trackway dating back to 952 BC.
http://www.merseamuseum.org.uk/mmresdetails.php?tot=64&cat=&col=MM&typ=c&rt=XT&hit=26&pid=COR2_027
It is hoped that the England Coast Path (ECP) should be ready by 2020. It should include foreshore trails where walkers (with mobile phone cameras) can monitor archaeological sites.
CITiZAN were joint winners of the 2018 British Archaeological awards for Best Community Engagement Archaeology Project with SCAPE (http://scapetrust.org, Scottish Coastal Archaeology and the Problem of Erosion. Community Archaeology is the future for foreshore archaeology, ended Gustav Milne.
Recommended reading: England's Coastal Heritage: a Review Since 1997 by Peter Murphy (English Heritage, 2014). Websites:
CITiZAN: https://www.mola.org.uk/citizan-coastal-and-intertidal-zone-archaeological-network
Photos: http://flickr.com/photos/citizan and Twitter: http://eepurl.com9vRNH
Thames Discovery Programme: [http://www.thamesdiscovery.org/]
News from the Barnet Museum and Historical Society Don Cooper
The Barnet Physic Well had a grand reopening after refurbishment on 20th April 2019 and it is hoped to have regular monthly openings soon. If you do get a chance do go and see it. Please check with Barnet Museum for detailed opening dates and times.
Barnet Museum and Historical Society are running two "day "coach outings this summer.
One is on Saturday, 6th July 2019, to visit Richborough Castle and the Town of Deal. The cost for Adults £25, English Heritage members £20 (don't forget your membership cards) Children £10. Pick-up is at the Barnet Odeon (now called the Everyman) at 08.15am.
The other is on Saturday, 21st September 2019, to visit the Mary Rose at Portsmouth. The cost is £38 for adults and £15 children. Pick-up is at the Barnet Odeon (now called the Everyman) at 08.15am
To book ring Dennis Bird on 020 8449 0705 and get a booking form.
Local Government Boundary Commission for England
Invitation to comment on draft recommendations consultation for London Borough of Barnet
Link to consultation document
Local people and organisations are asked to comment on draft recommendations for new ward boundaries across Barnet and to make suggestions to change and improve these recommendations. They will consider all the submissions they receive whoever they are from and whether your evidence applies to the whole of Barnet or just a part of the area.
There are proposals for new ward boundaries and it is possible to compare the proposals (in red) to the existing boundaries (in blue) and search across the whole of Barnet, even down to street level.
Click on any ward to find out how many voters are included in it and how many councillors they propose should represent it. You can submit comments or upload a document by clicking on the 'Have your say' link at the top of the page. You can also draw your own boundaries and annotate the map by clicking on the button.
There is plenty of information to help you make a submission in the 'Useful links' section at the bottom right of the page. This stage of the consultation closes on 24 June 2019.
Tours organised by London Transport Hidden London is London Transport Museum's programme of tours and events at disused stations and secret sites across London. Led by experienced guides, ready to share unusual and little-known stories surrounding the stations' varied histories, these visits offer an opportunity to explore locations rarely seen by the public. London Transport Museum is offering 8 different tours between April and September 2019 at the locations below: Charing Cross – Access All Areas Clapham South – Subterranean Shelter Down Street – Churchill's Secret Station Clapham South – Tour & Screening 55 Broadway – London's First Skyscraper Highgate – Wilderness Walkabout Euston – The Lost Tunnels Aldwych – The End of the Line They suggest setting up a London Transport Museum account before purchasing tickets. If you already have an account, have your login details and password to hand when buying tickets.
New free exhibition at the British Library: Imaginary Cities
5th April -Sunday 14th July. Entrance Hall, The British Library 96 Euston Road, NW1 2DB Opening times and visitor information. This newly-commissioned body of work showcases fantastical cityscapes created by artist in residence Michael Takeo Magruder.
Traditional materials combine with cutting–edge digital technologies to remix images and live data from the Library's digital collection of historic urban maps into fictional cityscapes for the Information Age.
Advance notice of a conference: Saving ancient treasures for the world Wednesday 3 July 2019, Beveridge Hall, Senate House. Check for booking details nearer the time. Speakers will include:
Dr Roger Bland (Keeper of the Department of Portable Antiquities and Treasure, British Museum, 2005-2013)
Professor Eleanor Robson (Professor of Ancient Middle Eastern History, UCL)
Dr Maamoun Abdulkarim (Director General for Antiquities and Museums of Syria, 2012-2017),
Dr John Curtis (CEO Iran Heritage Foundation)
Colonel Matthew Bogdanos (Chief, Antiquities Trafficking Unit, NY District Attorney's Office).
A day conference, generously supported by Mr Christian Levett.
Thursday 16th May, 6.30pm Institute of Archaeology, 31-34 Gordon Square, Wine reception 6.30pm for 7.00pm AGM & lecture Keeping the lights on at Hampton Court: discoveries from the first phases of the ring main replacement project at the palace. Guy Hunt & Daniel Jackson. Free.
Friday 31st May, 10am-5pm. British Museum, Gt. Russell St WC1B 3DG. Objects and Death: on the trail of grave goods. Day conference, exploring how people have confronted, explained & come to terms with death through objects. Speakers include Paul Pettitt, Richard Osgood & Gaye Sculthorpe. www.britishmuseum.org.uk/whats_on/events. £10 (£7.50 concessions).
1st June, 2.30 – 5.30 pm. Roman Society – Annual Meeting for members, followed by lectures open to the public. Woburn Suite (G22/26), Senate House
2.30 Prof. Tim Cornell: Roman dictators and modern politics
3.00 Prof. Catherine Steel: Sulla's dictatorship: revival or recreation?
3.45 Tea
4.15 Prof. Federico Santangelo: From Paris to Turi: constructions of Caesarisms
4.45 Prof. Maria Wyke: Roman Dictatorship in Britain: Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra on
Tuesday 4th June, 2.50 for 3pm. Mill Hill Historical Society, Visit to the Stationers Company, St Martin's-within-Ludgate, 40 Ludgate Hill, EC4M 7DE. Private tour of the historic hall, gardens, archive & Church of St Martin's-within-Ludgate. Tour lasts about 75mins. Refreshments at end. Book by Thursday 16th May. Send cheque payable to Mill Hill Historical Soc. & SAE to Julia Haynes, 3b Marion Rd, Mill Hill NW7 4AN. For further information phone Julia: 0208 906 0563 or e-mail haynes.julia@yahoo.co.uk. Members £10, non-members £12.50.
Tuesday 4th June, 6pm. Gresham College, Museum of London, 150 London Wall, EC2Y 5HN. The Treaty of Versailles a 100 Years Later. Talk by Prof Margaret MacMillan. To consider if the treaty led to the outbreak of WW2 & whether the attempt to create a new world order was a failure. Free.
Wednesday 5th June, 8pm. Docklands History Group, Museum of London Docklands, No.1 Warehouse, West India Quay, Hertsmere Rd, Canary Wharf E14 4AL. Rotherhithe & Bermondsey. Talk by Pete Smith. Visitors £2.
Thursday 6th June, 6pm. Pinner Local History Society, Village Hall, Chapel Lane Car Park, Pinner HA5 1AB. The History of Hatch End Station. Talk by David Reidy on the story of Pinner's first station. Visitors £3.
Friday 7th June, 7.45pm. Enfield Archaeological Society, Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Lane junction Chase Side, Enfield EN2 OAJ. Landscape Archaeology of North-West London. Talk by Sandy Kidd (GLAAS). Visitors £1.50. Refreshments, sales & info. from 7.30pm.
Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th June, 10am-4.30pm. Barnet Medieval Festival, Barnet Elizabethans Rugby Club, Byng Rd, Barnet EN5 4NP. Including a living history camp, combat & weaponry displays, battle demonstrations, medieval traders & activities, local organizations, including HADAS. Food & drink stalls. Free entry.
Monday 10th June, 3pm. Barnet Museum & Local History Society, St John the Baptist Church, junction High St/Wood St, Barnet EN5 4BW. Beanos, Boozing & Hopping: memories of the old East End. Talk by John Lynch. Visitors £2.
Wednesday 12th June 7.45pm. Hornsey Historical Society, Union Church Hall, corner Ferme Park Rd /Weston Park, N8 9PX. The Bayeux Tapestry. Talk by Mike Brown. Visitors £2. Refreshments, sales & info. from 7.30pm.
Thursday 13th June, 6pm. Gresham College at the Guildhall Old Library, Gresham Street / Aldermanbury EC2V 7HH. Sir Thomas Gresham 1519-2019. The Sir Thomas Gresham Annual Lecture by Dr John Guy. Free, but reservations required: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/gresham-college-9868216333 or enquiries@gresham.ac.uk or tel: 0207 831 0575.
Friday 14th June, 7.30pm. British Library, Knowledge Centre, 96 Euston Rd, NW1 2DB. The Languages of History in the Middle Ages. Talk by Robert Bartlett on the languages of medieval Europe. Cost £12/£10/£8.
Saturday 15th June, 12.30-5.30pm. Highgate Summer Fair, Pond Sq, Highgate N6. Lots of stalls, incl. Highgate Society, Highgate Scientific & Literary Institute. Also crafts, gifts, clothes, etc. Free.
Tuesday 18th June, 6pm. Gresham College, Museum of London. Address as June 4th. The Weimar Republic: Germany's first democracy. Lecture by the Gresham Provost, Sir Richard Evans FBA. Free.
Friday 21st June, 7pm. COLAS, St Olave's Church, Hart Street, EC3R 7NB. Medieval Mass Burial at St Mary Spital. Talk by Don Walker (MoL).Visitors £3.
Friday 21st June, 7.30pm. Wembley History Society, English Martyr's Hall, Chalk Hill Road, Wembley, HA9 9EW (top of Blackbird Hill, adjacent to Church). England's Kennedy Moment: Prime
Minister Spencer Perceval shot dead in Westminster, May 1812. Talk by Lester Hillman (Islington Archaeology & History Society). Visitors £3.
Tuesday 25th June, 11am-12noon. Kingsbury Library, 522-524 Kingsbury Rd, NW9 9HE. Kingsbury's Post-War Prefab Homes. Talk by Philip Grant (Brent Archives). Free, incl. coffee.
Wednesday 26th June, 6.30pm. Highgate Society History of Highgate Wood, guided walk. Meet at the cafe, nearest entrance Archway Rd N6 opp. Church Rd.
Wednesday 26th June, 7.45pm. Friern Barnet & District Local History Society, North Middlesex Golf Club, The Manor House, Friern Barnet Lane N20 0NL. From Potage to Peacocks: Food in the 16th Century. Talk by Maureen Poole. Visitors £2.
Thursday 27th June, 7.30pm. Finchley Society, Drawing Room, Avenue (Stephen's) House, 17 East End Rd, N3 3QE. Annual General Meeting. Visitors £2.
Saturday 29th June, 10am-4.30pm. Verulamium: The Life and Death of a Roman City, Marlborough Rd Methodist Church, 69 Marlborough Rd, St Albans AL1 3XG, All day conference to mark the
Cathedral's Roman Festival and Verulamium Museum's 80th anniversary, covering recent research about Verulamium, including extensive geophysical survey & excavations on the Roman Forum. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/verulamium-the-life-and-death-of-a-roman-city-tickets-59814584031
With thanks to this month's contributors: Deirdre Barrie, Don Cooper, Eric Morgan, Sue Willetts
Newsletter-577-April-2019
Number 577 APRIL 2019 Edited by Sue Willetts
Tuesday 9th April 2019. The CITiZAN Project by Project Leader Gustav Milne
CITiZAN stands for the Coastal and Intertidal Zone Archaeological Network, a national project to
highlight the threat to a wealth of coastal and estuarine sites, most of which have no statutory
protection. The range of archaeological features encompass a long time span – from prehistoric
forests and settlements to Roman forts and villas to 19th-century ship-breaking yards full of
abandoned boats, barges and ships, many of which are of considerable local and national
significance. This information has been taken from their website
Gustav began working in archaeology in the City of London in the 1970s, gaining expertise in the
excavation of waterfront sites along the Thames. He has worked on a wide range of sites, from
Roman and Saxon to Medieval, including the site of the Roman London Bridge. He has been a
lecturer at UCL since 1991, he founded the Thames Archaeological Survey in 1993 and the Thames
Discovery Programme in 2008. He has wide experience in nautical archaeology, having worked on
several recording projects including a medieval ship in Sandwich, Kent, a wrecked Elizabethan
merchantman in the Thames estuary, and the launch site for Brunel's SS Great Eastern in Millwall.
Tuesday 14th May 2019. 50 years of recording London's Industrial Heritage by Professor David
Tuesday 11th June 2019. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. It is hoped that there will be a talk –
details in the next newsletter which will include, or have attached, the papers for the AGM.
Lectures are held at Stephens House & Gardens (Avenue House), 17 East End Road, Finchley, N3
3QE, and start promptly at 8 pm, with coffee/tea afterwards. Non-members admission: £2; Buses
13, 125, 143, 326 & 460 pass nearby and Finchley Central station (Northern Line), is a 5-10
minute walk away.
Lost and Found: The Rediscovery of Roman London. Lecture by John Clark
Report on March Lecture by Andy Simpson
A well-attended lecture with some 36 HADAS members and friends present.
John reminded us that the Saxon port of Lundenwic around Covent Garden was only rediscovered in the twentieth century, and even Roman London was forgotten for 400 years. In the ninth century the Bishop of Winchester mentioned Roman 'Lundonia', but little was actually known about the Romans. Neither Gildas nor Bede knew of the accounts by the Roman historian Tacitus, although they did know of Orosius who lived in what is now Spain around AD 400 – he wrote a world history which made little mention of Britain. He does mention the revolt by Boudicca, but he did not mention her name nor the names of the two cities she destroyed.
Gildas misdated the construction of Hadrian's Wall by some 200 years, and Bede did his best with limited sources. He mentions the Emperor Constantine, the first Christian Emperor, declared Emperor in York, and the legend that his mother, Helena, was daughter of Old King Cole – Cunobolinus- who reigned at Colchester.
Geoffrey of Monmouth's well known 'The History of the Kings of the Britons' was claimed to be a translation of a book of the Britons with London – New Troy – founded by the refugee Trojan Prince Brutus in the land of Albion – an island settled by giants, the history continuing down to the seventh century with King Cadwallader. This became the standard history of Briton with New Troy founded even before Rome with the name Trinovantum taken from the Trinovantes of Essex. A list of kings includes Brenus, a real Gaul, who did actually capture Rome and is claimed as a Briton by Geoffrey. Very few dates are given, but the four great roads of Britain – Watling St, Icknield Way, Fosse Way and Ermine St – were built in 390 BC by Brennius according to Geoffrey. King Lud is listed as the 80th King of the Britons, around 60 BC, and contemporary with Julius Caesar's invasions, with his base at the fictitious 'Caer Lud' – London.
In 1480, pioneer printer William Caxton produced his own history, based on Geoffrey of Monmouth, with London founded by Brutus. Caxton's history in turn influenced William Shakespeare.
At this point, the speaker's presentation was unfortunately interrupted by computer problems, with which he coped admirably, and continued his talk without illustrations.
The Renaissance brought the rediscovery of Roman historians Tacitus and Dio Cassius, who mentioned Boudicca. People then realised that Geoffrey's history did not fit the newly rediscovered facts. Henry VIII's Court Historian, Virgil, did not believe in King Arthur, despite Henry's elder brother (and originally intended husband of Katherine of Aragon) being named after him, but was able to promote a new heroine, Boudicea/Boudicca; there was an attempt to visualise the ancient Britons – the noble savage – by comparing them to Native Americans then being encountered.
In 1570, cremation urns were found and identified as Roman burials. William Camden dismisses various previously suggested names for ancient London, and claimed that the London Stone, still partly extant today, originated as a Roman milestone, and erroneously claimed that St Paul's Cathedral was the site of a temple of the goddess Diana.
Redevelopment of London after the Great Fire of 1666 led to more Roman discoveries by Sir Christopher Wren and others – Wren using a Roman road found 18ft down and 4ft thick and described as a 'Roman causeway' as the foundation for the tower of one of his rebuilt churches, this being the east-west road through Roman London.
When rebuilding St Paul's Wren looked for the supposed temple but did not find it, but he did record the tombstone of a Roman soldier, now in the Museum of London, and at St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside, 'walls exposed of Roman workmanship' which were actually a Norman crypt.
An early amateur archaeologist was apothecary John Lenyers, who visited building sites and collected many finds. Happily, his original notebook survives. He visited London area gravel pits and collected Roman pots and noted a Roman kiln NE of St Paul's. An elephant tusk was found in the River Fleet, Sir Hans Sloane suggesting it was an elephant swept away by the waters of the Biblical Great Flood. In 1679, Lenyers found a second tusk and it was suggested this was from an elephant brought over by Claudius in his invasion of Britain in 43AD.
John Bamford, leather worker and owner of an academic and scientific bookshop, was a founder member of the Society of Antiquaries, whose wealthy other members rather patronisingly called him 'Honest John'. Finds and discoveries at the time still had to be compressed into the Church of England approved date of the Creation of the world by God in 4004 BC.
Further Roman cemeteries were exposed in 1678-9. Polymath and antiquarian Dr John Woodward collected a variety of ancient items from London, and recorded the distinctive Roman tile courses in bastions on the city wall.
William Stukeley, renowned for his interest in Druids, lived in London 1717-1726. Although not too interested in ancient London, in 1722 he did produce a map of Roman London – 'Londinium Augusta' – showing the line of the medieval city wall, our old friend the 'Temple of Diana', the London Stone, medieval roads and an area of occupation 'earlier than the rest' – a pre-Roman city. The actual word London seems to be Indo-European pre-Celtic and can be translated as 'area where the river flows'
This excellent and thought-provoking talk was followed by some detailed questions and discussion.
Membership Renewals Stephen Brunning
The HADAS membership year runs from 1st April to 31st March, and so all members who pay
by cheque will now be required to renew (except those who have joined since January this year).
Members who pay their subscription by standing order need take no action.
Please return the renewal form (sent as an attachment last month or use the paper form also sent last month) along with the appropriate amount as soon as possible. The current rates and where to send your payment are on the form. If you need a form, please contact me (see back page). Many thanks.
News about College Farm. The farm in Regents Park Road, close to Henly's Corner, has been successfully listed as an Asset of Community Value. On 8th March 2019 the committee at Barnet Council unanimously agreed that the Farm should be listed. This is an important step in ensuring the farm stays as an open space for all. The campaign was run by the Finchley Society.
New exhibition opening April: Writing: Making Your Mark – British Library
This runs from Fri 26 Apr – Tue 27 Aug 2019 and it is possible to make bookings now. Full Price: £14.00 Concessions available. Discover the extraordinary story behind one of humankind's greatest achievements through more than 100 objects spanning 5,000 years and seven continents. Follow the remarkable evolution of writing from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs carved in stone and early printed text such as William Caxton's edition of The Canterbury Tales, to the art of note-taking by some of history's greatest minds, and onwards to the digital communication tools we use today.
Visit the new Virtual Museum celebrating Hampstead Garden Suburb
Marjorie Harris
Nikolaus Pevsner described Hampstead Garden Suburb as "the most nearly perfect example of that English invention and speciality, the garden suburb". Founded by Dame Henrietta Barnett and her husband Canon Samuel Barnett in 1908, it soon became home to families seeking refuge from deprivation in the East End of London, as well as artisans and the middle classes.
The history of these residents from the beginning to the present day is recorded and available for all to see in the new HGS Virtual Museum at www.hgsheritage.org.uk/
Currently it includes within it separate areas – 'rooms' – devoted to each of 26 organisations based in the Suburb, as well as the HGS Residents Association, the HGS Trust and the Archive Trust.
The beauty of a Virtual Museum is that it has no walls and can accommodate endless material. New collections can be introduced all the time. Our recent WW1 Armistice Collection shows that, even in the early days, the community came together to work for the war effort. It includes deeply-moving memorials to the many local men who lost their lives on the battlefront. Our latest entry is the Raymond Lowe Collection of fascinating picture postcards showing the development of Suburb architecture and residents' activities. Raymond was a member of HADAS.
The HGS Virtual Museum seeks to ensure that any unique memorabilia or artefacts that Suburb families may still have at home are not lost or forgotten, by photo-recording and digitising them without families losing ownership. There are extensive archive records and much more information which could go into the Museum and we are always looking for computer-literate volunteers to help with this. Please contact me if you are willing to be involved or have anything you think should be included in the museum collections.
Marjorie Harris, Press Officer – HGS Heritage, marjorieharris@btinternet.com
Remembering Ann Saunders, Past HADAS President.
Don Cooper (Part 1), Mike Pitts FSA (Part 2) & Adrian James FSA (Part 3)
Part 1: Ann died 13th February, aged 88. She was a member of HADAS from 1969 and quickly became an active member. Over the years she gave us many lectures. Her subjects were generally London centred and she was very knowledgeable on many aspects of it such as livery companies,
St Paul's Cathedral, Marylebone village, Regents Park, the London Bomb map for the Second World War and other London themes. She was an entertaining speaker and it was a joy to listen to her. She became President of HADAS in June 1998 and in that role represented HADAS at many events. Ann ceased to be President in June 2001. She was married to an engineer and had two sons.
Ann was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in May 1975 and the following two tributes have been compiled using material from issue 421 of the Salon Newsletter – Fellows Remembered section. With grateful thanks to Mike Pitts and Adrian James for their permission.
Part 2: Ann Saunders was a distinguished and prolific editor and historian of costume and London topography. She was, from 1975, Honorary Editor for the London Topographical Society, producing its occasional London Topographical Record, her most recent being in 2015, and overseeing the publication of nearly 60 books, maps and other items. As Ann Cox-Johnson she began work at the City of York Art Gallery, returning to London as Deputy Librarian at Lambeth Palace. She moved to St Marylebone Library, and received her PhD from Leicester University, which she incorporated in her Regent's Park: A Study of the Development of the Area from 1086 to the Present Day (1969). Her many publications on the capital city include The Art and Architecture of London: An Illustrated Guide (1984/1988/1992), Tudor London: A Map and a View (edited with John Schofield FSA, 2001), the first edition of London County Council Bomb Damage Maps 1939–45 (2005) and Historic Views of London: From the Collection of B E C Howarth-Loomes (2008). She spoke with captivating authority and a regal presence at Gresham College (illustrating with what she called lantern slides) on the subjects of London early in James I's reign (2004) and Napoleonic war monuments in St Paul's Cathedral (2005), both of which can still be seen in Gresham College video recordings. She was also an Honorary Fellow of University College London, was elected a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Horners, and was awarded an MBE in the 2002 New Year honours, as historian and as Honorary Editor for the Costume Society and the London Topographical Society
Part 3: Ann Saunders, known to the scholarly world as a tireless historian of London and an editor of exceptional assiduity, was equally a keen supporter of the Society of Antiquaries, a regular user of its library and above all a faithful friend to the Society's staff. The distinguishing mark of her character was outstanding personal kindness, which never once wobbled even when illness had reduced her appearances to painfully slow but determined progressions to the heart of the Society's library and collections. One always knew that Ann had been within doors when a lavish box of chocolates or packet of gourmet biscuits was discovered on a staff member's desk! Ann's astonishingly productive career encompassed the writing of more than a dozen books on London, whilst her longevity as an editor of learned journals must have very few equals, and hardly any peers. Her stints as honorary editor of the journals of the Costume Society and London Topographical Society cover the years 1967 to 2015, a length of editorial service to rival the late L F Salzman FSA's record for the Sussex Archaeological Society.
As recently as 2015, she published in the London Topographical Record the series of Stephen Harrison's designs for triumphal arches to frame the ceremonial entry of James I into the City of London, thus making this important document in the Society's Harley Collection widely available for the first time. Vast amounts of archive material must have been photographed for publication over the decades at Ann's behest. After one such session under Ann's ever-vigilant eye, the photographer sighed to me, "Dear Ann is not entirely of this world!" Not everyone may have appreciated her devotion to exacting academic standards, which remained with her to the end of her life. Latterly she had taken to corresponding with me at my home address, and it became quite a familiar sight to see Ann's handwriting on re-used envelopes, a thrifty habit that she attributed to growing up during war-time scarcity. Despite her profound feeling for the history and topography of London she moved to a semi-rural residence in Hertfordshire towards the end of her life, remaining in touch with the Society until the end. She was truly a lady of whom we shall not see the like again.
Book news for the younger reader (and the young at heart) Sue Willetts
The Time Travel Diaries (£6.99, Piccadilly Press) is a new book by Caroline Lawrence, author of the very successful Roman Mystery novels. A Time Machine enables Alex, a twelve year old boy who knows a smattering of Greek and Latin, to travel back to Roman London through a portal in London's Mithraeum. The story was inspired by the burial of the teenage girl with the ivory knife found in Lant Street, Southwark.
Help requested for a new project – The War Generation
WarGen is a project founded by broadcaster/historian Dan Snow and author/broadcaster James Holland. They are creating an online repository of oral history from the people who lived through World War II and looking for individuals willing to join the volunteer team as interviewers to go out into their local communities and record these important stories of a fast disappearing generation, or to let them know if they have a family member or friend, or even know of someone, who they believe would like to have their stories recorded.
Please visit the website for the interviews that have already been carried out. If anyone is interested, contact Shane Greer by email.
The Baron Thyssen Centre for the Study of Ancient Material Religion was launched at Senate House, University of London, on 25th March and is based in the Classics Department of the Open University. It has been set up to support research into the material, visual and other sensory aspects of ancient religions, focusing primarily on the Greek, Etruscan and Roman worlds. The aim is to explore the sacred objects, bodies and rituals of classical antiquity, addressing such topics as votives, magic, oracles, cult statues, pilgrimage, places and sacred healing. The Centre plans to work with art and archaeology, but also to look beyond these conventional 'homes' of ancient material religion, drawing on the methods, tools and perspectives of literature, philology, philosophy, classical reception studies and digital humanities. See website for events, projects etc.
Sounds of Roman Egypt Exhibition Free entry at the Petrie Museum – part of University College London – from 2nd Jan – 8th June 2019, 13:00 – 17:00
Open Tuesday – Saturday but closed 17 Apr – 22 Apr 2019
This exhibition explores the objects people used to make music, what they sounded like, and how instruments were used in Romano-Egyptian rituals, homes, and childhood. The Petrie Museum has one of the largest and best-documented collections of Roman artefacts in the UK, including musical instruments that are too fragile to be played today.
For this exhibition, researchers used laser scanning and computer modelling to create 3D printed replicas of the original objects in the Petrie collection, and made recordings of the instruments to reveal sounds not heard for hundreds of years. See original artefacts, listen to recordings and have a go at playing these models yourself at one of the special events throughout the exhibition.
Thursday 2nd May, 8.00pm. Pinner Local History Group, Village Hall, Chapel Lane Car Park, Pinner HA5 1AB. Talk by Philip Crouch, Jewel of Metroland: St. Alban's Church, North Harrow. Visitors £3. Preceded by AGM. Please note: The time shown for 4th April talk should also have been 8.00 pm
Wednesday 8th May, 7.45 pm. Horney Historical Society. Union Church Hall, Corner Ferme Park Rd / Weston Park, N8 9PX. A North London Railway: Pictures of The Edgware, Highgate & London Railway. From the Alan Lawrence Collection. Talk by Hugh Petrie (Barnet Archivist) Visitors £2.00 Refreshments / Sales from 7.30 pm
Friday 10th May, 1.50 pm. Mill Hill Historical Society. Visit to Supreme Court, Parliament Square, Westminster (directly opposite Houses of Parliament, close to statue of Abraham Lincoln). Cost: Members £7.00 Concessions £5.00. Non-members £9.00, Concessions £7.00 Meet 1.50 pm for a 2.00 pm tour. Book by Thursday 25th April.
Please send cheque and S.A.E to Julia Haynes, 38 Marion Road, Mill Hill London NW7 4AN. Cheques to be made payable to Mill Hill Historical Society.
Contact: Julia Haynes on 020 8906 0563 or email haynes_julia@yahoo.co.uk. For electronic replies, please supply your email address, otherwise, give your name, telephone number and number of places required, or book online at www.millhill-hs.org.uk, but send cheque. Please note that 'haynes' was omitted from the email address, as was 'hill', from the web address in the Tuesday 30th April visit details.
Friday 10th May, 7.45 pm. Enfield Archaeological Society, Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Lane junction Chase Side, Enfield EN2 OAJ. Vice Presidential Address by Jon Cotton. Title to be confirmed. Visitors £1.50 Refreshments, sales from 7.30 pm
Monday 13th May, 3.00 pm. Barnet Museum's Local History Society, St John the Baptist, Barnet Church, The High St/Wood St, Barnet EN5 4BW. The History of QE Girls' School and its Place in the Community. Talk by Violet Walker Visitors £2.
Monday 13th May, 6.30-8.00 pm. Finchley Church End Library, 318 Regents Park Rd, N3 2LN. London's East End: An Evening with Kate Thompson & Melanie McGrath talking about all things East End of London, Stepney, Silvertown, Roman Road, Pie & Mash & Hop Picking. The talk will cover Kate & Melanie's books followed by a ten-minute Q&A session, with a mystery prize for the best question. Register for free Tickets
Wednesday 15th May, 10.00 am. Finchley Society. Outing. Brunel's London by Boat and on Land. Meet outside Embankment Station (Riverside entrance) at 10.00 am to meet Robert Hulse, Director of Brunel Museum (has lectured to HADAS). He will guide us on a river trip under 3 Brunel Bridges and over 2 of Brunel's tunnels, past broken slipways on the Isle of Dogs to the world's most important tunnel. Cost per person £16.50 incl. boat trip, guide and entrance to Brunel Museum. Boat leaves at 10.30 prompt and lasts about 3 hours. Return home from Rotherhithe (Overground) nearby or Bermondsey or Canada Water (Jubilee line) about 10 mins walk.
Stay for lunch at the Mayflower Pub or other places nearby. To book email Harriet Copperman: harrietcopperman@gmail.com or phone 020 8883 3381. Cheques should be made out to The Finchley Society and sent to Harriet at 21 Stokes Court, Diploma Ave, N2 8NX by 30th April. Places allocated on first come, first served basis.
Thursday 16th May, 7.00 pm. The London Archaeologist. UCL Institute of Archaeology. 31-34 Gordon Square. WC1E OPY. AGM and Annual Lecture on Hampton Court.
Friday 17th May, 7.30 pm. Wembley History Society. English Martyr's Hall, Chalk Hill Road, Wembley, HA9 9EW (top of Blackbird Hill, adj. Church). Serving with the Colours. How Peabody Tenants went to War, 1914. Talk by Christine Wragg. Visitors £3.00
Friday 17th May, 7.00 pm COLAS. St Olave's Church, Hart Street, EC3R 7NB. Archaeology at Knowle House by Natalie Cohen (National Trust) NB Temporary venue which also applies to Friday 26th April's talk
Monday 20th May, 8.00 pm. Enfield Archaeological Society, address see 10th May. The London Underground. Talk by Tony Earle with pictures from its steam-powered inception to modern times, with recollections from the 1950's to the present day. Including a quiz. Visitors £1.00. Also Wednesday 22nd May, 2.30 pm. Enfield in the 14th Century. Talk by Joe Studman £3.00
Wednesday 22nd May, 7.45 pm. Friern Barnet & District Local History Society, North Middlesex Golf Club, The Manor House, Friern Barnet Lane, N20 0NL. Evacuation in World War II. Talk by Mike Brown. Visitors £2. Bar open before and after the talk.
Thursday 30th May, 1.00 pm. Gresham College at Barnard's Inn, Holborn, EC1N 2HH. Aristotle's Lyceum. Talk by Edith Hall. Free. Looking at the archaeological site of the Lyceum discovered accidentally in 1996 and how the remains can illuminate Aristotle's life and work. NB Arrive early to be sure of a place.
Saturday 1st June, 10.30 am – 4.30 pm. British Association for Local History. Local History Day. Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, WC1R 4RL. Programme includes: Sites of Suffrage: local histories and the suffrage centenary, Professor Krista Cowman; 2019 Local History Awards: for research & publication, for a society newsletter and for personal achievement; British Association for Local History AGM; BALH Annual Lecture: Rulers of the County: the magistracy and the challenge of local government, c. 1790-1834 by Dr Rose Wallis.
Tickets (including morning tea/coffee & sandwich lunch. Meat & vegetarian options will be available. If you have special dietary requirements email development@balh.org.uk when you order tickets). £25 BALH members, £35 non-members. Please book early. Bookings after 18 May are subject to availability. Book and pay online at www.balh.org/events/ or send your payment details to BALH (LHD), Chester House, 68 Chestergate, Macclesfield SK11 6DY. Include your name, address, postcode, phone number & SAE or an email address. Indicate number of tickets required/membership number (if applicable) and pay by bank transfer: Ref L.H.D. to CAF Bank, sort code 40-52-40, Account number 000093883, include membership number or surname.
With thanks to this month's contributors: Stephen Brunning, Don Cooper, Marjorie Harris, Adrian James, Eric Morgan, Mike Pitts, Andy Simpson
Newsletter-576-March-2019
By Roger | Barnet Archaeology, HADAS, Latest Newsletter, News, Volume 10: 2015 - 2019‎ | No Comments
Tuesday 12th March 2019: Lost and Found: The Rediscovery of Roman London – by John Clark
John Clark was Curator of the Medieval Collections of the Museum of London for many years. He
retired in 2009, but retains his connection with the museum as Curator Emeritus. While studying
the history and archaeology of medieval London, he became interested in the way medieval
Londoners interpreted the past of their own city, for they had no knowledge of what we call 'Roman
London'. They believed London was much older than Rome, and that its city walls and ancient
buildings had been erected by legendary British kings like Belinus and Lud.
In his talk John will consider how historians began to question this story in the 16th century. With
access to classical texts rediscovered during the Renaissance, and with the natives of the newly
discovered Americas as models for an understanding of the 'Ancient Britons' described by Julius
Caesar, they were better placed to recognise the nature of Roman Londinium. After the Great Fire
of 1666, building works revealed remains of Roman London, and they were recorded, collected and
discussed by antiquaries like John Conyers, John Woodward and William Stukeley, setting the
scene for the work by London archaeologists that continues today.
Tuesday 9th April 2019: The CITiZAN Project by Gustav Milne
Tuesday 14th May 2019 50 years of recording London's Industrial Heritage by Professor David
Tuesday 11th June 2019. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The hotel is: Best Western Aberavon Beach Hotel, Aberavon Beach, Port Talbot, SA12 6QP
Tottenham Court Road 2009–10 by Lyn Blackmore
Bob Cowie
Change of dates for Lectures
Following the consultation to members in the January Newsletter regarding the dates of the lectures,
there will be no change, as the response was not sufficient to make any meaningful decision.
Jo Nelhams (Secretary)
September Trip Jim Nelhams
This will take place from Monday 23rd to Friday 27th September. We will be based at the Best
Western Aberavon Beach Hotel on the east side of Swansea Bay in an area not previously visited by
a long HADAS outing.
The cost will be £535 per person in a single room, and £485 per person sharing a double or twin
room. We have provisionally booked the same number of rooms that we used in Brome in 2018, but
that can be changed. To secure your booking, we need a deposit of £150 by Friday 15th March, with
the balance to be paid by 15th July. Payment can be made by cheque to HADAS (my address is on
the back page of this newsletter), or by direct transfer to our account at CAFBANK, sort code 40-
52-40 account number 00007253. If you have any problems with payment. Please talk to us to see if
We do not restrict these trips to members, so if you want to bring a friend, that is fine.
Our previous trips have been written up in our newsletters so you can read about them.
If you are not sure what they involve, please give me or Jo a call and we can talk to you about them.
(020 8449 7076)
by cheque will now be required to renew (except those people who have joined since January
this year).
Please therefore find enclosed a renewal form, and I would ask that you fill it in and return it
to me, along with the appropriate amount as soon as possible. The current rates and where to
send your payment are on the form. Many thanks.
If the renewal form is not enclosed and you require one, please contact me (details on back page).
February Lecture
Unfortunately, on 12th February Jon Cotton was ill and unable to give his talk on "Prehistory in
London" which would have been the Dorothy Newbury Memorial Lecture. Luckily HADAS
Committee member Roger Chapman stepped in at short notice, and spoke to us about the history of
Clitterhouse Farm and the digs carried out there, illustrating his talk with slides.
HADAS 2018 – Brome Trip (final day) Jim Nelhams
It's Friday and time to go home. Farewell to those travelling under their own steam. Cases loaded
and off we go. First stop Lavenham, which I'm sure some people will have visited previously
before making our way to Sudbury. Day one included a visit to Constable's church and Flatford
Mill. Another artist – Thomas Gainsborough – to check in Sudbury.
Lavenham Guildhall Audrey Hooson
The Guildhall of Corpus Christi, built in 1529-30, with two adjoining properties forms the south
side of Lavenham's market place. There are still many impressive lime-washed houses in the
village although the medieval exteriors front more modern adapted homes.
The prosperity of the village was based on the production of woollen cloth, particularly blue
woollen broadcloth. The Merchant Guilds were originally formed for mutual assistance to the
members and to raise funds for a Catholic Priest's duties and to ensure suitable burials, they also
organised social activities and the celebration of saints. During the boom years of c1460-1530 they
were active in controlling the manufacture and sale of textiles and contributed to the building of the
impressive church of St. Peter and St. Paul which was built in stages from c1486-1525. Religious
guilds were dissolved in 1547 during the Protestant Reformation and the Guildhall became parish
The carving and decoration of the exterior were obviously intended to impress and show the wealth
of the guild, and it is one of the few buildings to remain in its original state. There have been
several changes of use since the building ceased to be the Guildhall, all requiring modification to
the interior. From pre-1655-1787 it became the bridewell or house of correction, from 1655-1836 a
workhouse and from 1833-1836 there was a lock-up and mortuary at the back of the garden. The
only furniture currently on display is an interesting mural cupboard dated 1647 with a curved top,
on loan from the V&A.
In 1946 following a period of neglect and unsuitable restoration, the Guildhall and adjoining
buildings were given to the Lavenham Preservation Committee by the owner, Sir William Quilter,
and later after a campaign to provide the necessary £4,000 endowment, accepted by the National
Trust. The Guildhall is again used as a community building.
During our visit there was an exhibition, 'Lavenham Guildhall, the stories of the village through
time'. The organisers had selected previous residents and researched their stories. The person that I
found of appalling interest was Ann Baker. As a child Ann was a prisoner in the Cosford Union
Workhouse in nearby Somer, living in harsh conditions. She ran away and was sentenced to three
years hard labour for embezzling goods. In 1785 now aged only 12 she ran away again, was caught
and tried at Bury St Edmunds court.
Judged an incorrigible rogue, Ann was sentenced to seven years transportation to Australia. The
convict ship "Neptune" did not leave until 1797, and the interval was spent in the Lavenham
bridewell. Conditions in the ships were very harsh and around 26% of the convicts died during the
159 days of the journey. Our guide was very pleased to tell us that Ann had descendants, who on a
visit from Australia had seen the exhibition and provided more information.
The gardens behind the three buildings have been combined and planted with dye plants and teasels
that would have been used in Lavenham's Tudor cloth industry. A wall hanging inspired by this
local textile industry and using natural dyes, has been designed and made by the Lavenham Guild of
Weavers, Spinners and Dyers whose members regularly demonstrate their craft at the Guildhall, is
on long term loan and showed how bright the better cloths may have been.
Little Hall, Lavenham Stewart Wild
Our next visit was to the fascinating Little Hall, one of Simon Jenkins' England's Thousand Best
Houses. This jettied timber-frame gem dates mostly from the 1450s.
Overlooking Lavenham's Market Place, and close to the Guildhall, the building was in all
probability built for a family of clothiers, wealthy from the wool industry of the 14th and 15th
centuries, and later 'modernised' in Tudor times with a hearth, chimney, an upper floor over the
central hall, and glazed windows.
It has been owned and loved since 1974 by the Suffolk Building Preservation Trust, and open to the
public as a unique museum for over forty years, run entirely by a team of volunteers who kindly
facilitated our own private visit.
At its core is a typical hall house of the period, with a great hall rising to the roof and two jettied
wings for private and service purposes. The great crown post with its supporting beam which
dominates the dormitory upstairs is evidence of the original hall and was revealed during restoration
of the house after World War II.
The house has had a chequered history, for as the cloth trade declined in the 18th and 19th
centuries, so Little Hall also fell upon hard times. No longer a wealthy family home, it was divided
into six tenements housing labourers in a variety of trades.
In 1924 the property was rescued by a pair of identical twin brothers, Colonel Thomas and Major
Robert Gayer-Anderson (born 1881) whose plan was to provide accommodation for their widowed
mother and use as their home when they were not on active service with the Army. In fact, it took
them nearly thirty years to bring the house back to a single comfortable dwelling of the 1950s.
Robert Gayer-Anderson became an Egyptologist of distinction and was given the honorary title of
Pasha by King Farouk for his services to Egypt. Much of his collection of antiquities has been
donated to museums in London, Oxford and Cairo, but lesser pieces of art and sculpture remain in
the house. He died in 1945.
During WWII his brother the Colonel was local Home Guard Commander and Chief Billeting
Officer for Lavenham and himself took in six boys evacuated from war-torn London. Evidence of
their presence can still be seen in the upstairs dormitory. Some of the boys have remained in touch
with the Trust over the years and have returned to visit.
On the Colonel's death in 1960 the brothers left the house to be used as a hostel for art students
from The Slade, where their sister had studied, and from Kingston Art School in Surrey where their
friend Reginald Brill (1902–74) was the Principal.
Before and after his retirement Brill lived in the house and was the Warden. He was a prolific artist
and some of his work, and that of his students, remains on display to this day. Under the terms of
the Gayer-Anderson Bequest the house passed eventually to The Suffolk Building Preservation
To round off the visit, we admired the delightful gardens at the rear, planned along Tudor lines with
a traditional English walled garden
Lavenham Church Harriet Sogbodjor
The church of St Peter and St Paul Lavenham is Grade 1 listed and is considered the finest example
of late Perpendicular Gothic. There was probably a church on the site in the Anglo-Saxon period,
but nothing from that period remains. The oldest part of the current church is the chancel which was
built around 1340, around which the current spectacular gothic church has been extended.
Following the Black Death, Lavenham and the surrounding area grew rich due to the wool trade.
The 14th century church was altered several times, reflecting the increased wealth of its community.
One example of this was the eastern vestry, which was added in 1440. The church was
reconstructed again between 1485 -1525. It was one of the last churches completed before the
Reformation, the work being funded by wealthy local merchants who continued to pay for its
upkeep.
Donors included the 13th Earl of Cambridge, the Branchs and De Veres. Thomas Spring, a cloth
merchant whose mark appears over 30 times on the outside of the building, contributed vast
amounts for the development of the church in his lifetime and following his death in June 1523. He
is buried within a tomb in an elaborate parclose in the church. After his death his widow ensured the
completion of the steeple and the South chapel with funds left in his will for this purpose. The tower
was designed by a mason, John Clerk and built between 1486-1495, with further work funded by
money left in Thomas Spring's will.
The nave, aisles and clerestories were designed by John Wastrell. Features include a painted rood
screen from 1330-40 and an octagonal font, also from the 16th century. There is a church clock
without an external dial. There are late medieval stalls in the chancel, and misericords with a range
of unusual carvings. Another carved parclose contains the tomb of John Pouder who died in 1520.
On the north wall of the chancel there is the Copinger Memorial, which depicts the family of
parents and children, including skulls representing their children who had already died.
There are few brasses in the church and nearly all pre-reformation ones are lost. There is an unusual
brass of a swaddled baby and an inscription in Latin commemorating a 10-day old baby Clopton,
who died in 1631 born to Sir Symond D'Ewes, Lord of the Manor. There are also beautiful stainedglass
windows, in the decorated style, depicting scenes from the bible and angels. One window
depicts several nativity stories from St Luke's Gospel. The west window, below the tower, shows
scenes from the gospels of St Peter and St Paul. This was restored following destruction by a WW2
bomb.
This huge fascinating church, in a small picturesque town, reflects the increasing prosperity of this
area of Suffolk and was a delight to visit.
Gainsborough's House Ken Sutherland-Thomas
The last day of our excursion around Historic East Anglia saw us visiting the town of Sudbury and
in particular Thomas Gainsborough's house.
Thomas Gainsborough is one of the great figures of British and world art history. In the words of
Sir Joshua Reynolds, "the name of Gainsborough will be transmitted to posterity in the history of
art". Gainsborough is renowned not only in his advancements of portraiture to a higher level, but
also for being one of the founders of the British school of landscape painting.
Gainsborough's house and gardens are situated in Gainsborough Street, just off Market Hill,
where there is a statue of the great man. The house, of late medieval origin, was re-modelled by
John Gainsborough (father of Thomas) after he purchased it in 1722. John put in the addition of
an elegant brick façade.
Thomas Gainsborough was baptised in Sudbury at the Independent Meeting House in 1727 as the
ninth child of John and Mary, and lived in the house until around 1740, when he came to London to
engage in the career of an artist. He returned to Sudbury between 1949 and 1752.
The house today is split over three floors, and there is a small but beautiful garden, the centrepiece
of which is a mulberry tree reputed to be over 400 years old.
On the ground floor of the house there is an exhibition on Gainsborough focusing on his life,
while the upstairs rooms focus on his art. The upstairs rooms are not large, but together with the
halls and staircase are full of portraits of the Gainsborough family and works of the artist. Some
of his landscapes are displayed. When it comes to landscapes, it is said that 'Nature was his
teacher'.
The house also has room for changing exhibitions by other artists and there is a well-stocked
After some free time to explore Sudbury, the group re-convened for afternoon tea and cake
at the local community cafe, where we were welcomed and refreshed for the remaining
journey home.
Wrap up Jim Nelhams
So that completes another trip. Our thanks are due to those members who have contributed to our
newsletter – Vicki Baldwin, Deirdre Barrie, Jean Bayne, Collette Carlton, Don Cooper, Dudley
Miles, Peter Pickering, Andy Simpson, Harriet Sogbodjor, Ken Sutherland-Thomas, Liz Tucker,
Micky Watkins. Stewart Wild and Simon Williams – with their own styles and with their own
viewpoints.
Thanks also to Galleon Coaches and Paul Holdstock, our driver, for a smooth drive (avoiding low
bridges) – yes there are some in East Anglia. Planning is well under way for 2019 as noted
elsewhere in this newsletter.
Battle of Barnet Exhibition Deirdre Barrie
Don't miss Barnet Museum's exhibition about the Battle of Barnet, which can be found on the
right-hand side, near the back of the Spires Shopping Centre in High Barnet. The banners of all the
leading participants, "the victors and vanquished" are displayed, with details of their families and
how they fared in the battle and afterwards.
On the back wall is a lively painting of the battle by Agnes Allen, who painted it in 1971 to mark
the 500th anniversary of the battle.
Bulletin boards give details of the many films, stage and TV dramas devoted to the period, as well
as the search for a true likeness of "Warwick the Kingmaker". (There seems to be only one, on the
Richard Beauchamp funerary monument at the Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick).
Website: http://www.barnetmuseum.co.uk
Layers of London (Information taken from their website) Sue Willetts
Layers of London is a new project which brings together, for the first time, a significant collection
of digitised historic maps, photos and other information provided by key partners across London.
The partners include: the British Library, The London Metropolitan Archives, Historic England,
The National Archives, MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) and a wide range of national and
local archives, institutions and community groups.
The website allows you to interact with, and contribute to, many different 'layers' of London's
history from the Romans to the present day. These layers include historic maps, images of
buildings, films as well as information about people who have lived and worked in London over the
centuries.
A major element of this project is to work with the public at borough level and city-wide, through
crowd-sourcing, volunteer, schools and internship programmes. Everyone is invited to contribute
material to the project by uploading materials relating to the history of any place in London. This
may be an old photograph, a collection of transcribed letters, a recorded interview, a video, or the
results of local research project. You don't need our permission to do this, just create an account and
start contributing! Browsing the map will give you a good idea of what sort of content works best.
All content contributed to Layers of London is under a Creative Commons Licence, encouraging
respectful collaboration and sharing.
If you need it, we can offer support, equipment, training and collaborative volunteer programmes to
support you enriching the map. Anybody interested in getting involved and finding out about
volunteer and collaborative opportunities on the project should subscribe to our monthly newsletter
for updates: We hope that Layers of London will launch new local heritage projects across the 32
boroughs of London and we would love to hear from you if you have ideas to share.
Advance notice of a conference:
Medieval port of London: The Docklands History Group are holding a conference at the
Museum of London, 150 London Wall, EC27 5HN on 18th May from 10 am – 5.30 pm. Price
range is £10.00 – £35.00 – See the Dockland History Group Website or contact them directly for
more information Docklands.History.Group@r1.technology-trust-news.org
E v e n t d e s c r i p t i o n
Museum of London – forthcoming exhibition
Beasts of London opens on Friday 5 April 2019 and explores the fascinating role animals have
played in shaping the capital. Be guided through time, from the Roman era through Medieval London
and right up to present day, narrated by the beasts themselves. Discover how animals – from lions and
elephants, to horses, rats and pigeons – have shaped the city and its beastly history. Step into an
immersive tour through London's history, narrated by the animals who once lived here.
Voicing some of the animals who once roamed the city are a host of household names and include:
Brian Blessed, Pam Ferris, Nish Kumar, Stephen Mangan, Angellica Bell and Joe Pasquale.
Inspired by objects in the collection and created in partnership with the Guildhall School of Music &
Drama, Beasts of London will be a fully interactive digital installation using video projection
mapping. Tickets are on sale now.
The National Archives: Cold War Season from 4 April – 9 November
April 2019 sees the launch of a Cold War season, including a new exhibition Protect and Survive:
Britain's Cold War Revealed, offering a fascinating look into life in Britain during the turbulent
Cold War era. The season will include a series of late openings, talks and panel discussions, film
screenings, creative workshops and family activities exploring the reality of life in Britain under the
persistent threat of nuclear attack.
Sign up to the mailing list to receive news and updates about the season, along with advance
booking for events.
Advance notice: Festival of Archaeology 2019
It is pleasing to hear that following a year off in 2018, the 2019 Festival of Archaeology will take
place from 13 – 28 July and will form part of the 75th anniversary of the Council for British
Archaeology.
The new website includes online registration guides and publicity materials
(6th April item added by Sue Willetts)
Friday 8th March, Enfield Archaeological Society, Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Lane/ Junction Chase
Side, Enfield EN2 OAJ, Romans to Saxons, results of St Martin's-in the-Fields, Trafalgar Square,
Talk by Alison Telfer (MoLA). Visitors £1.50, refreshments, sales and information from 7.30 pm.
Wednesday 3rd April, 6.00 pm Gresham College at the Museum of London, 150 London Wall,
EC2Y 5HN. Crown, Country and the Struggle for Supremacy. Talk by Simon Thurley. Free.
On how the changing balance of power and wealth between the aristocracy and the monarchy from
the 16th to the 19th centuries has influenced today's national cultural landscape of art and
Wednesday 3rd April, 6.00 pm, Docklands History Group. Museum of London Docklands, No 1
Warehouse, West India Quay, Hertsmere Road, Canary Wharf E14 4AL. Riverine/Riverside
Archaeology. Talk by Jane Sidell (MOLA) £2.
Thursday 4th April, 2.00 pm. Pinner Local History Society, Village Hall, Chapel Lane car park,
Pinner HA5 1AB. Headstone Manor – the History of the House and the Recent Discoveries.
Talk by Pat Clarke (LAMAS). Visitors £3.
Friday 5th April 7.45 pm Enfield Archaeological Society, address as above. The Excavations and
Fieldwork of Enfield Archaeology Society 2018. Talk by Dr Martin Dearne (EAS), preceded by
AGM. Visitors £1.50, refreshments as above.
Saturday 6th April Bethlem Museum of the Mind 2.00 – 3.00 Talk entitled The Archaeology of
Melancholy by James Dixon at Bethlem Royal Hospital, Monks Orchard Road, Beckenham, BR3
3BX Free. Tickets available via https://museumofthemind.org.uk/whats-on/event-info/thearcheology-
of-melancholy The speaker (co-editor of the journal Post-Medieval Archaeology) will
consider an alternative approach to understanding the past, present, and future of people, things and
places. This event includes a walk of the grounds. James Dixon is a dedicated art-archaeology
researcher with interests including 'visual archaeologies' and aesthetics, public art, archaeology and
performance, and the incorporation of artistic practice in archaeology.
Monday 8th April, 3.00 pm. Barnet Museum's Local History Society, St John the Baptist, Barnet
Church, The High St/Wood St, Barnet, EN5 4BW. The Second Battle of St Albans, 1461 –
Margaret of Anjou's Triumph. Talk by Harvey Watson. Visitors £2. Please NOTE, speaker for 11th
March is Terence Atkins.
Wednesday 10th April, 7.45 pm. Hornsey Historical Society, Union Church Hall, corner of Ferme
Park Rd/Weston Park, N8 9PX. Brief History of Finsbury Park and Stroud Green. Talk by Mark
Aston. Visitors £2, refreshments, sales and information, 7.30 pm.
Wednesday 10th April, 6.00 pm. Gresham College at the Museum of London, 150 London Wall,
EC2Y 5HN. The Natural Environment of Tudor London. Talk by Professor Carolyn Roberts. Free.
Part of Gresham 500, offering a "virtual walk" around the City with Sir Thomas Gresham, with
contemporary maps, paintings and writings.
Monday 15th April, 8.00 pm, Enfield Society, Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Lane Junction Chase Side,
Enfield EN2 OAJ. The History of Broomfield House, talk by Ivor Evans, visitors £1. Together with
Exhibition, Hidden Treasures Revealed, Broomfield House and Park, at Dugdale Centre, Museum
of Enfield, 39 London Road, Enfield EN2 6DS, until Monday 22nd April. Contains Contains prints,
phots, maps, paintings and artefacts.
Wednesday 24th April, 7.45 pm. Friern Barnet & District Local History Society, North Middlesex
Golf Club, The Manor House, Friern Barnet Lane, N20 0NL.The History of Shopping in London.
Talk by Diane Bursten. Visitors £2. Refreshments.
Thursday 25th April, 7.30 pm. Finchley Society. Drawing Room, Avenue House, (Stephens
House) 17 East End Road, N3 3QE. Finchley Origins – Part 1: From a Forest to a Common. Talk
by Hugh Petrie (Barnet Archivist). Visitors £2. Please NOTE time.
Friday 26th April, 7.00 pm. COLAS, St Olave's Hall, Mark Lane, EC2 EC3R 7NB. The Trowel
Blazers: Women in Archaeology in London. Talk by Sadie Watson (MOLA). Visitors £3. Light
refreshments afterwards.
Also Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th April, 11 am – 5.00 pm, LT Museum Depot, W3 Open
Weekend. Admission £12, Concessions £10.
Tuesday 30th April, 11.30 am, Mill Hill Historical Society – Visit to the London Transport Depot,
Acton Town. 118-120 Gunnersbury Lane, W3 9BQ. Tour of London Transport Posters and Artwork
Cost = members£5.50, Non-members £7.50. Meet 11.20 am for the 11.30 am tour, at Depot. To
book by Friday 29th March. Please send cheque and S.A.E to Julia Haynes, 38 Marion Road, Mill
Hill London NW7 4AN. Cheques to be made payable to Mill Hill Historical Society.
Contact: Julia Haynes on 020 8906 0563.or email julia@yahoo.co.uk For electronic replies, please
supply your email address. Otherwise, give your name, telephone number and number of places
required, or book on line at www.mill-hs.org.uk, but send cheque.
With big thanks to this month's contributors;
Stephen Brunning; Audrey Hooson; Eric Morgan; Jim Nelhams; Harriet Sogbodjor;
Ken Sutherland-Thomas, Stewart Wild and Sue Willetts.
Membership Sec: Stephen Brunning, Flat 22 Goodwin Court, 52 Church Hill Road,
East Barnet EN4 8FH1 (020 8440 8421) e-mail: membership@hadas.org.uk
Newsletter-575-February-2019
By Roger | HADAS, Latest Newsletter, News, Volume 10: 2015 - 2019‎ | No Comments
Number 575 FEBRUARY 2019 Edited by Andy Simpson
Tuesday 12th February 2019: Dorothy Newbury Memorial Lecture.
Prehistory in London – some Problems, Progress and Potential by Jon Cotton
Having taken early retirement from the Museum of London in 2011 after 33 years as an archaeologist and curator, Jon is now a freelance researcher with a long-standing interest in London's early past and the archaeology of the river Thames. He will be drawing on these interests for his talk on 'London's Prehistory; Problems, progress and Potential'
Tuesday 12th March 2019: Lost and Found: The Rediscovery of Roman London by John Clark
Tuesday 14th May 2019 50 years of recording London's Industrial Heritage by
Professor David Perrett
Tuesday 8th October 2019: From Crosse and Blackwell to Crossrail – MOLA excavations at Tottenham Court Road 2009–10 by Lyn Blackmore
Tuesday 12th November 2019: Shene and Syon: a royal and monastic landscape revealed by Bob Cowie
Lectures are held at Stephens House & Gardens (Avenue House), 17 East End Road, Finchley, N3 3QE, and start promptly at 8 pm, with coffee/tea afterwards. Non-members admission: £2; Buses 13, 125, 143, 326 & 460 pass nearby and Finchley Central station (Northern Line), is a 5-10 minute walk away.
Avenue House Quiz Nights Steve Brunning
Good at quizzing? If so, HADAS needs you! We field a regular team at Avenue
House but require more members to make up a table of ten people.
The cost is £15 which includes supper, plus a cash bar. All the money raised goes
towards the upkeep of the house and gardens. The advertised dates so far this year
are Thursday 14th March and Thursday 23rd May at 7.30pm.
If you are interested please email membership@hadas.org.uk and I will add you to
the list for further information.
Andrew Selkirk writes:
Reluctantly and sadly, I am resigning from the Committee of HADAS. We have
moved from North London to West London, and I fear it is not really feasible to
attend committee meetings any more. We are downsizing, so we are giving up our
wonderful family home in North London, where we spent 47 happy years and are
moving to a cottage in Kew where we will be nearer our grandchildren – indeed we
hope to have them only 200 yards away.
It has been a bit of a struggle to get rid of all the junk that we have accumulated over
the years, especially with my books. I calculated that I had nearly 7,000 books and I
have got rid of nearly 2,000 of them, but it means that the remaining 5,000 are all
packed up in cardboard boxes in the garage – I am longing to get some shelves up so
that I can get my library back!
But I shall be sorry to leave HADAS behind. I will still of course remain a member
and I shall be proud to continue to be a Vice-President, but you will only see me
occasionally. But HADAS has been a great experience for me. I was Chairman for
17 years (1986 to 2003), indeed I was parachuted in from the top as Chairman. I
had a hard act to follow as my predecessor, Councillor Jarman, was an influential
member of the Barnet Council and did a brilliant job representing the interests of
HADAS on the Barnet Council, which alas I could not do.
At the time the Society was run by three formidable ladies who between them
organised the great excavation on Hampstead Heath. There was Bridget Grafton
Green, who was a journalist and publicised the Society. There was Daphne Lorimer
who studied animal bones and who eventually retired with her husband to Orkney
when she invited the Society for a memorable outing. And there was Dorothy
Newbury, the baby of the trio who was a printer who printed the Society's Newsletter
– her son still does – and also ran the Minimarts which kept the Society afloat
financially – and were great fun.
And I was very fortunate in having a wonderful support from Brian Wrigley and
Victor Jones, from Denis Ross and Ted Sammes and Peter Pickering, from Bill Bass,
Andy Simpson, Eric Morgan and many others, thanks to whom the society ran
remarkably smoothly. I was sometimes at a disadvantage as I did not actually live in
the borough, but in Hampstead, but I got to know the London Borough of Barnet
fairly extensively by chasing round all the excavations the Society carried out.
I have been very fortunate to have been succeeded by Don Cooper who has now been
Chairman even longer than I was, and I know that I am leaving the Society in very
good hands. I have joined a new local society, the Richmond Archaeological Society
who also seem very lively, but I hope occasionally to make my way back to North
London and keep in touch with HADAS. My thanks to you all!
(I am sure the whole of HADAS will wish to note their appreciation to Andrew for all
his years of support to the society – ED)
Below – Andrew and Wendy Selkirk at the ancient Greek city of Paestum, southern
Barnet Medieval Festival 2019
The organisers of this year's Barnet Medieval Festival are calling for the local
community to support the return of the Festival on 8th-9th June 2019. This two-day
family festival will feature living history camps, re-enactments of the Battle of Barnet
(1471), firepower displays, have-a-go archery, medieval traders' market, community
stalls, children's activities, food and drink.
Volunteers and donations are both needed to make this event happen again – we
welcome all offers of help, especially with fundraising, publicity and stewarding.
Please get in touch with Susan Skedd at barnetbattleproject@gmail.com.
(HADAS attended this event last year, and a great time was had by all- Ed)
Brome Trip day 4 Jim Nelhams
After the previous day's panic over the cancelled boat trip replaced by a trip to
Orford Castle, Thursday was to follow our schedule. Another castle, this one at
Framlingham, interesting to contrast with Orford, the first having a keep with no
curtain walls, and Framlingham with curtain walls but no keep. Then onwards to visit
the East Anglia Transport Museum, as recommended by Andy Simpson, followed by
the Aviation Museum at Flixton.
Framlingham Castle Claudette Carlton
Framlingham Castle is built on a high point overlooking the town. It was built about
1190 of local flint and a soft limestone material often used in East Anglia. An entry in
the Domesday Book (1086) noted that Framlingham was held by Hugh Bigod, who
came to England in the army of William the Conqueror.
The Bigods and their successors had a part in many dramatic events in the country's
history. In the war of succession between Stephen and Matilda, one Hugh Bigod was
made Earl of Norfolk. When the Barons forced King John to accept the Magna Carta,
two Bigods were among those listed as its enforcers. They married very well, and in
1397, Norfolk became a Duchy. The Howards inherited it in 1488.
Later Dukes were exiled for treason, executed for treason, one commanded Richard
III's troops at the Battle of Bosworth and died in the front line, one led the English
forces to victory at the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513, one was executed in 1547 on
Tower Hill for annoying Henry VIII.
In 1553, Mary Tudor rallied her army at Framlingham, and rode to London, being
crowned Queen on 1st October. Another Howard Duke was executed in 1572 for
harbouring ambitions to marry Mary Stuart and overthrow Elizabeth.
In 1635 the castle was sold by an indebted Howard to Sir Robert Hitcham, and when
Sir Robert died in 1636, the castle and its estates went to Pembroke, his old college at
Cambridge University. His will instructed that "all the castle saving the stone
building be pulled down and a poorhouse be set up. The castle passed to English
Heritage in 1984.
The castle has a defensive deep dry ditch around it. What's left of the castle is the
curtain wall, some 10m high and 2.3m thick. The wooden door at the entrance of the
castle dates from c1513, and above it are the arms of the Howard Dukes of Norfolk.
The curtain wall has 13 towers, with arrow loops at two levels. There are two stone
chimneys dating from about 1150. Other decorative chimneys are from the Tudor
period. The castle well, near the gate, is 30m deep.
The only building remaining with the castle walls today is Framlingham's poorhouse,
which provided work and lodgings for the town's poor from the 17th to the 19th
century. There are five medieval stone heads set into its façade. The wall walk
provides wonderful views of the castle park, its mere which is fed by the River Ore,
and the countryside. The huge space within the walls is now used for concerts and
East Anglia Transport Museum Andy Simpson
Readers will be unsurprised to hear that this was a much-anticipated visit for me. I
know the EATM very well, visiting it two or three times a year for tramways group
meetings, but its multitude of London connections and friendly atmosphere always
make it a pleasure to visit. This museum originated in 1961 when four local
enthusiasts acquired the body of a Lowestoft tram for restoration after 30 years as a
summerhouse.
The collection grew, and the museum was founded on its present site – then a disused
meadow- in 1965, the first tram running in November 1970, extending 'into the
woods' in 1982, and the trolleybus route, since extended, first ran in January 1971 –
the first museum trolleybus to run under trolleybus overhead anywhere in the
country. The narrow gauge 'East Suffolk Light Railway' was added in 1973, and land
has now been purchased at the rear of the site to virtually double the size of the
museum.
The site has been developed as a museum of street transport, designed to show the
development of mechanical transport over a century or more, with an emphasis on
local items, plus housing the extensive collection of the London Trolleybus
Preservation Society (LTPS) – the only place in the world where four London
trolleybuses can be seen on one site – that's a third of the total survivors of an
original fleet of over 1800 vehicles! Currently all four are operational. Three more
can be seen in London – one at the London Transport Museum at Covent Garden and
two at the LT Museum Acton Depot large object store opposite Acton Town tube
station.
Our own steed for the standard three circuits around the site – one of just four in the
country where a trolleybus ride is still possible, the others being Sandtoft, Dudley,
and Beamish – was London Transport Number 260. This is one very lucky
trolleybus! It is officially a London Transport Class C2 with an AEC664T chassis and
Metropolitan Cammell Carriage and Wagon Works body, delivered new on 2 July
1936 at a cost of £2,286.3s.8d.
It spent all its operational life at Stonebridge depot, until withdrawn on 27 August
1959 for inclusion in the former British Transport Commission Museum of Transport
at Clapham to represent the 'standard' London trolleybus.
However, two years later it was decided that the more original condition No 1253
should be preserved instead – this now being at the LT Museum at Covent Garden.
Poor old 260 was sold to George Cohen's '600 Group' for scrap on 18 July 1962, two
months after the last London trolleybus ran in the Wimbledon/Fulwell area. From
1959, Cohen's scrapped all London trolleybuses in an area behind Colindale
trolleybus Depot (the last in September 1962) and 260 was virtually their last such
purchase. As she was being coupled up to Cohen's vehicle at Clapham, she was
purchased by two founder members of the LTPS and stored in Reading, from where it
made enthusiast tours of the Reading and Bournemouth trolleybus systems. Its tour of
Bournemouth on 30 June 1968 made it the last London trolleybus to run under power
on public streets! We were lucky to get her for a run, as she had been specially
cleaned up for the annual EATM Trolleybus event the following weekend.
After a most enjoyable couple of hours, it was time to move on from road transport to
Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum, Flixton Andy Simpson
As it says on the museum leaflet; '65 Historic aircraft, 25,000 exhibits, covering civil
and military aviation in East Anglia from the pioneer years, through World Wars I
and II to the present day. Special displays on Boulton & Paul, World War II decoy
sites, aviation archaeology, Link Trainers, Home Front, model aircraft, aero engines,
uniforms and equipment'
And what displays! A large, and much extended, main display building, smaller
buildings covering RAF Bomber Command, 446th Bomb Group USAAF, Royal
Observer Corps and RAF Air-Sea Rescue and Coastal Command.
Every nook and cranny of the eight-acre site is crammed from floor to ceiling, and
usually into the roof, with items, and with captions covering the people as well as the
equipment. Plus a handy cafe and well stocked bookshop AND second hand books.
Plus a number of aircraft on outside display, some admittedly showing the effects of
prolonged outdoor storage. And all free! It is tended by a committed band of
volunteer enthusiasts. And even a nature walk down to the River Waveney, as
explored by one or two of our group. A real aviation enthusiast could probably spend
all day there to properly take it all in!
The museum is handily placed behind the Buck Inn, which has limited opening hours
as another of our group found out…
I had long wanted to visit this museum. One thing top of my list to see was the
excavated crash site remains of Vickers Wellington Mk 1 bomber L4288 which came
to rest in a river bank near Bury St Edmunds following a mid-air collision with
another No. 9 Squadron Wellington in October 1939, sadly killing both crews, nine
men in all, and was recovered in 1982/3.
This is one of the largest chunks of airframe I know of from any such excavation –
virtually the entire centre section, with engines, nacelles and wing spar. An
impressive memorial.
The basic Wellington wings, engines and undercarriage went on to be used in the
post-war Vickers Viking airliner, as remembered by one or two of our group. The
military version of this was the Vickers Valetta, the C.2 VIP version of which is
displayed at Flixton.
A number of us were able to board the aircraft and be expertly shown round by
enthusiastic new volunteer 'Naval Pete' proudly wearing his Royal Navy aircraft
carrier Lanyard. VIP seats – and the cockpit seats – were duly sampled.
Also of interest to me were the Boulton and Paul exhibits – two of which, the
Overstrand bomber nose and P6 biplane replica, were worked on by my late father
and myself at their original home with the Boulton Paul Association at the former
Boulton Paul factory in Wolverhampton.
The museum originated with a meeting of local enthusiasts in 1973, with aircraft
arriving on site from 1974. I must return one day! I've already promised them a bit of
the former RAF Museum Blackburn Beverley transport that I 'souvenired' when she
was scrapped back in 1990.
This seems a logical place to sneak in my usual….
'Transport Corner' Andy Simpson
I have been spending much time lately as a reader at the British Library, St Pancras,
mainly researching Birmingham area electric tramways for publication in that
dentist's Waiting Room favourite, the quarterly historical journal Tramway Review
(available on prescription, sorry subscription, only). The odd more local snippet of
gen does appear along the way however.
Under the heading 'Middlesex Tram Lines To Go' the November 8 1941 edition of
the 'Transport World' weekly journal records that as part of the wartime scrap drive
for high-quality steel, Middlesex County Council had approved schemes by Hendon,
Southgate, Twickenham, Ealing and Tottenham councils for taking up redundant
tram lines in their areas, which would realise a total scrap value of £10,000.
The tracks in question in Hendon would presumably be those along the Edgware
Road, which had been formally abandoned on 24 October 1936, following closure of
Hendon tramcar overhaul works in April 1936 and conversion of the route to
trolleybus operation on 23 August 1936 and use of the Hendon works yard for
scrapping of redundant tramcars for a few months afterwards, just as with the
trolleybus scrappings there 26 years later mentioned earlier.
I always keep an eye on Edgware Road roadworks just in case, and have seen short
lengths of tram rail re-laid crossways as road supports and the cut-off bases of
trolleybus poles in front of the former depot site, but no in-situ tracks – unlike those
on Barnet Hill which appear to be largely intact and buried today, at least around the
railway bridge at the foot of the hill.
Some years ago, pavement relaying outside the site of the former Hendon
tram/trolleybus depot uncovered the cut-of bases of the former overhead support
traction poles.
Progress at Stephens/Avenue House Andy Simpson
The Sunday morning gang continue to make good progress with the post-excavation
work on the dig held last summer on the outbuildings, with some unusual small finds,
including an interesting couple of fossils, and a few coins – 1986 and 1991 two pence
pieces and a Spanish 50 cent coin dated to 2000! It says a lot for the corrosive state of
the soil, or the poor quality of the coins, when you see how corroded these 30 yearold
coins have become.
Nearly all of the finds are now washed, marked, bagged and recorded on the
appropriate record sheets.
We seem to specialise in CBM – (ceramic building material) – brick, tile, concrete and
pitch, which once coated the outer walls. We use MOLA standard recording sheets to
record the pottery, clay pipe, glass and CBM.
Although most of the pottery and glass, and a few scraps of clay pipe stem, are
Victorian or modern, there is some older 'background' material, including yellow
borderware and Metropolitan slipware covering the period 1550-1700.
Members are welcome to visit and view progress- we are there most Sunday
mornings from 10.30 till 1.00pm
Institute of Archaeology Graduate Open Evening
Start: Feb 20, 2019 5:00 – 7.00 PM UCL Institute of Archaeology, 31-34 Gordon
Square, London WC1E OPY
The UCL Institute of Archaeology will hold its next Graduate Open Evening for
those interested in masters courses or research degrees, as well as for those students
already accepted onto a programme. During the evening Institute staff and current
students will be on hand providing talks, tours and information about masters and
doctoral opportunities at the Institute as well as advising on course content and the
admissions process.
Programme 5.30pm: Introduction and welcome to the UCL Institute of
Archaeology: a world leader by Andrew Reynolds, Graduate Admissions Tutor 6pm:
Tour of the Institute building including the Archaeology Collections; Wolfson
Archaeological Science Laboratories; Conservation Laboratories and Archaeobotany
Laboratories. Refreshments will be available throughout the evening.
Registration This event is free, however registration is essential. Please register
using Eventbrite
The UCL Institute of Archaeology is the largest and one of the most highly regarded
centres for archaeology, cultural heritage and museum studies in Britain, as
evidenced by its top position in university league tables and National Student Survey
results. It is one of the very few places in the world actively pursuing research on a
truly global scale and has an outstanding record of training doctoral and postdoctoral
researchers. Its degree programmes offer an unrivalled variety of courses on a diverse
range of topics, fieldwork and placement opportunities.
Any enquiries about the event may be directed to Lisa Daniel. –
ioa-gradadmissions@ucl.ac.uk
Other Societies' Events Eric Morgan
Monday 11th February, 3pm. Barnet Museum & Local History Society St John
the Baptist, Barnet Church, Jcn High St/Wood St, Barnet EN5 4BW Festival Gardens
Battersea Park, 1951 – The Leftovers. Speaker T.B.A. Visitors £2. Please Note new
venue.
Wednesday 13th February, 2.30pm Mill Hill Historical Society Trinity Church,
100, The Broadway, NW7 3TB Votes For women; Challenging the Mythology Talk
by Dr Mary Sawnsky
Monday 11th March 3pm Barnet Museum & Local History Society Address as
Above. Hop on a Bus Speaker T.B.A. Visitors £2, but please note new venue.
Also Barnet Physic Well, Corner of Well Approach & Pepys Cres, Barnet EN5 3DY
is reopening, monthly, on Saturdays from February. For opening times and dates
please visit http://www.barnetmuseum.co.uk/ – also for names of speakers.
Wednesday 13 March, 2.30pm Mill Hill Historical Society Address as above.
From Philadelphia to Mill Hill – Talk by Letta Jones on the story of botanists Peter
Collinson and John Bartram. Preceded by A.G.M.
Friday 15 March COLAS, 7pm St Olave's Hall, Mark Lane, EC3R 7BB London's
Waterfront from the C12th to the Great Fire of 1666. Talk by Dr John Schofield, FSA
on how four excavations of Medieval & later waterfront in the City led to
understanding the people of Medieval & Tudor London. Visitors £3.
Friday 15 March, 7.30pm Wembley History Society English Martyr's Hall, Chalk
Hill Road Wembley (top of Blackbird Hill, Adj. to Church) The Museum of All
Brent Life – London Borough of Culture, 2020 – Camilla Churchill & Stephanie
Wilson. £3.
Saturday 16 March, 11am – 5.30pm LAMAS Conference of London
Archaeologists Weston Theatre, Museum of London, 150 London Wall, EC2Y 5HN.
Morning session Recent Work till 1pm, Lunch. Afternoon session The Thames & its
Tributaries from 2pm. Tea 3.30-4pm, & Displays of work and publications upstairs in
Clore Room. Cost (inc. tea) early bird price (before 1 March) £15, full price £17.50.
Tickets from Jon Cotton c/o Curatorial Dept, MoL, London Wall EC2Y 5HN
joncotton1956@gmail.com
Wednesday 20 March, 6pm Gresham College at Museum of London. Addr. As
above. Art & Power in the English Aristocratic House. Talk by Prof. Simon Thurley
FREE. Shows how from the c.16th Aristocratic families deployed their collections &
their buildings.
Thursday 21st March, 8.15pm, Hampstead Scientific Society Crypt Room, St.
John's Church, Church Road NW3 6UU The Roman Water Pump Talk by Dr
Richard Stein. This talk is part of Science Week. Refreshments in Interval.
Wednesday 27th March, 7.45pm, Friern Barnet & District Local History Society
North Middx. Golf Club, The Manor House, Friern Barnet Lane, N20 0NL The
Palace of Westminster – The First 1000 Years. Talk by Barry Hall. Visitors £2.
Tuesday 28 March, 7.30pm, Finchley Society Drawing Room, Avenue House
(Stephens House) 17, East End Road, N3 3QE Village Life in Finchley Talk by
Helen Allen on The Story of Finchley Garden Village. Visitors £2. Note early time.
Saturday 30 March, 10am – 4.30pm West London Local History Conference
University of West London The Paragon, Boston Manor Road, Brentford TW8
9GA. Entertainment. Please see the Richmond Local History Society's website for
more info, www.richmondhistory.org.uk
With thanks for newsletter contributions this month to; Stephen Brunning;
Claudette Carlton; Don Cooper; Eric Morgan; Jim Nelhams; Andrew Selkirk;
Sue Willetts
Chairman Don Cooper 59, Potters Road, Barnet, Herts. EN5 5HS (020 8440 4350)
Hon. Treasurer Jim Nelhams 61 Potters Road Barnet EN5 5HS (020 8449 7076)
Membership Sec. Stephen Brunning, 1, Reddings Close, Mill Hill, London
NW7 4JL (020 8959 6419) e-mail: membership@hadas.org.uk
Web site: www.hadas.org.uk
Discussion Group; http://groups.google.com/group/hadas-archaeology
Newsletter-574- January-2019
By Roger | Latest Newsletter, News, Volume 10: 2015 - 2019‎ | No Comments
No. 574 January 2019 Edited by Peter Pickering
HADAS DIARY – Forthcoming lectures and events
Tuesday 8th January 2019: NO LECTURE
Tuesday 14th May 2019 50 years of recording London's Industrial Heritage Professor David Perrett
Tuesday 8th October 2019: From Crosse and Blackwell to Crossrail – MOLA excavations at Tottenham
Court Road 2009–10 by Lyn Blackmore
Tuesday 12th November 2019: Shene and Syon: a royal and monastic landscape revealed by Bob
Lectures start at 7.45 for 8.00pm in the Drawing Room, Avenue House, 17 East End Road, Finchley N3
3QE. Buses 13, 143, 326 & 460 pass close by, and it is five to ten minutes' walk from Finchley Central
Station (Northern Line). Tea/coffee and biscuits follow the talk. .
Members please read and respond. Jo Nelhams
The HADAS lectures clash with the LAMAS lectures on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, which some
members like to attend. A proposal was discussed with the Committee that in 2020 the HADAS Lectures
be moved to the 3rd Tuesday of each month. The 2019 lectures will continue on the 2nd Tuesday, as
these are all booked.
PLEASE RESPOND TO THE SECRETARY BY EMAIL, LETTER OR PHONE BY JANUARY
31ST 2019 CONTACT DETAILS ON THE BACK PAGE OF THIS NEWSLETTER.
Farewell to a long standing member
It is with great regret that we have received the very sad news that Henry Burgess (better known as
Harry) passed away on November 6th, in the Arkley Care Home. Harry was a long standing member
having joined HADAS in April 1994. He was involved with a variety of interests. He was a keen metal
detectorist with the Herts & District Metal Detectoring Society, venturing out into the Hertfordshire and
Cambridgeshire countryside, on their approved sites. He also loaned equipment and provided guidance
for some exploration of the Battle of Barnet site. Harry was also a member of the East Barnet Shooting
Club, enjoying pistol shooting, and was also on their rota for duties, both opening and closing the club on
Thursday evenings, and recording the members' scorecards in their club competitions. Harry also
dedicated over 25 years service to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution as a volunteer fundraiser and
souvenir secretary of the local RNLI branch, Barnet, Finchley & Friern Barnet District.
His main career was spent working at the BBC TV Centre where he was a supervisor in the
Mechanical Engineering workshop. It was their responsibility to maintain the studio equipment monitors,
camera and lenses etc, until the corporation decided to shut the workshop and outsource the service. His
later work was locally at the Homebase Store in New Southgate, until retirement age.
Harry also enjoyed the HADAS holidays, organised by Jim & Jo, and went on many, both
individually, and later on with his wife Marilyn, when she too retired. Unfortunately, ill health prevented
Harry from being an active member since 2016, and also Marilyn, who became his full time carer. He did
however keep up to date with the Society's activities as he was an avid reader of the newsletters.
HADAS Christmas party 2018 by Don Cooper
The HADAS Christmas party this year took place on Sunday, 9th December 2018. This year the weather
was kind to us, unlike last year when only a small number made it to the party because of snow.
Thirty-two members and their guests assembled at 12.30 at Avenue House on the Stephens House and
Gardens estate for nibbles and drinks before sitting down to a festive meal of turkey or salmon with all
the trimmings followed by Christmas pudding with cream and brandy butter, or fresh fruit salad and
cream.
To make sure we kept mentally alert, Vicki Baldwin
produced a table quiz full of intriguing questions.
After eating our fill and doing our best in the quiz, it was
time to draw the raffle with its many prizes and announce the
answers to the quiz. This was followed by coffee or tea,
mince pies and/or a slice of the cakes that Liz made.
The most important part of the Christmas party is to meet up
with friends and catch up with all their news.
All-in-all the party was a great success and thanks are due to
Peter Pickering for his part in the organisation, Vicki
Baldwin for the Quiz, Liz Gapp for the cakes, Jo Nelhams,
Melvyn Dresner and Andy Simpson who helped decorate the
room and all who contributed to the raffle prizes.
The Rose Theatre: Shakespeare's Secret Playhouse presented by Suzanne Marie Taylor on
13th November Liz Gapp
The November 2018 meeting took the innovative form of a short introduction by Suzanne Marie Taylor
to a 30 minute film called Shakespeare's Secret Playhouse, which was funded and produced by herself
and Anthony Lewis. Both of them had main narrative roles in the film, which tells the story of the
discovery and excavation of the remains of the Rose theatre.
As Sir Ian McKellen, the renowned actor, had been heavily involved in the movement to preserve
the Rose theatre, he was contacted to see if he would contribute his views. To their great delight, they
were invited to meet him at his house. They took some pipe replicas of pipes found in the Rose
excavation. This was fortuitous as they found he collects pipes.
Suzanne outlined the structure of the film, designed to appeal to schoolchildren as well as adults.
For example, there was a portrait of Shakespeare whose mouth and eyes moved at appropriate times and
also included a spoof film called The Lost Valley of London throughout conducted by Anthony Lewis in
intrepid English Safari Hunter role.
After an initial glitch with the sound equipment, the film started with Anthony walking to where
the Rose was found. Simon Hughes, the local MP at the time, sets the scene, explaining why all the
entertainment, including the theatres, was situated outside the City of London in the sixteenth century.
The Rose theatre constructed in 1587 was the first of the Elizabethan theatres to be built. It survived until
1605 when it was abandoned due to proposed lease increases which Philip Henslowe refused.
Julian Boucher, Senior Finds Specialist at MOLA, who excavated the Rose in 1988-9, gave a tour
round the present day site. This showed the water preserving the site, and the red lines highlighting the
foundations of the Rose. From these red lines a series of drawings, starting from ground level and going
to the final theatre drawing, showed the presumed structure of the theatre.
Ian McKellen describes the theatre project going public and the reason for the campaign to
preserve it. Later, he describes his surprise at how small the Rose theatre was, and that the actors were in
easy reach of the audience which was in the open air. An interesting innovation was the auditorium raked
for easier viewing. The entire Rose would fit into the auditorium at the modern Globe theatre.
Harvey Sheldon, chairman of the Rose Board of Trustees, described discovering the Rose theatre
remains 30 years ago, and the reason for the foundation of the Trust to preserve it.
Many valuable papers relating to the Rose theatre are kept at Dulwich College, deposited by
Edward Alleyn, the eminent contemporary actor who founded the College of God's Gift, now Dulwich
College. Shown in the film was the Diary and Accounts book for the Rose kept by Philip Henslowe, his
father-in-law,- a copy of this book is available from Foakes 2nd Edition by Philip Henslowe. Starting in
1592, with renovation details of the theatre, it lists performance and income details of a Hamlet and a
King Lear predating Shakespeare's first known performance of his plays of those names. Also included is
Henry VI part I, premiered at the Rose on 3 March 1592.
The discovery of the Rose theatre was due to the demolishing of Southbridge House which had
been built over two thirds of the Rose and was to be replaced by a new office block due to be built by
Ivory Merchant, which in its original design would have destroyed the Rose remains.
Scholars, the theatrical world, and the general public worldwide felt that the Rose was so
important historically that its remains should not be destroyed. This sentiment resulted in a concert to
create publicity to put pressure on the government to get the Rose preserved. A huge gathering in 1989
including the theatrical world's pre-eminent people (Dustin Hoffman, Vanessa Redgrave, Judy Dench,
Irene Worth, Dame Peggy Ashcroft etc.) It culminated in a recorded amended speech from Henry V by
Sir Laurence Olivier, who was too ill to attend. The recording was organised by his son, Richard, and
ended 'Thank God for Harry, England and the Rose'. The government backed down and provided a £1
million grant. One consequence was Planning Policy Guidance 16, which made archaeological
investigation a condition of planning permission, rather than discoveries being made haphazardly, thus
upsetting building schedules.
Jane Siddell, PhD, MCIfA, describes how she looks at the water quality once a month to check the
site is neither too dry, acidic or alkaline. There is apparatus to monitor the oxygen levels – the lower the
better for anaerobic preservation of the remains.
Many more people appeared in the film. It described the demands on the Elizabethan actors, by
Lizzie Conrad Hughes, Rose Volunteer and actress. Play runs were for 1, 2, or, if popular, 3 days. If there
was a new play, there would be 5 or 6 weeks to learn it, while maintaining the play run schedules. A play
could be put on at a day's notice, so the actors had to have an active knowledge of 30-40 parts at one
There was a new design by Sir Nicholas Helm RIBA, who describes the redesign. The new
building is called Rose Court. The theatre's remains are covered in sand and water to preserve them for
the future. This had to be done to replicate the original anaerobic marshy conditions that had preserved it
since its original burial. Red lighting outlines the theatre, and a viewing platform has been built, which
also allows actors to play to an audience of about 50 people.
The website for the Rose theatre is roseplayhouse.org.uk which is available for all who wish to
know about the project and possibly offer their help.
The film is on YouTube, entitled Shakespeare's Secret Playhouse: The Lost Valley of London.
Wednesday dawned bright and breezy. We had planned a leisurely start leaving at 9:00 for a two-hour
boat trip on the River Deben. This would give us a view of our second stop at Woodbridge Tidal Mill and
the country adjoining Sutton Hoo. As the mill only operates following high tide, we had a fixed
appointment to visit it. At 8:15, we received a call to say that because of expected high winds, the boat
operators had cancelled the trip as being potentially unsafe. Luckily, in our planning, we had identified
another possible visit in the same area – so off we went to Orford Castle.
Orford Castle Jim Nelhams
We had not visited the castle beforehand, so our information came from the English Heritage handbook.
We emailed ahead to announce our visit, but our message was not read until after we arrived. Access and
parking proved to be difficult for our coach, as was pedestrian access, with wheelchairs impossible, and
no toilets. Thanks to Simon Williams for accepting this and setting off in his buggy to explore the village.
The castle was built by Henry II in the twelfth century to protect against foreign invasion. Its position on
high ground provides a good view of the coast, and the access from the coast to Framlingham Castle,
owned by Henry's rival, Hugh Bigod. In World War 2, this function continued as it served as a radar
Only the keep of the castle remains, surrounded by extensive earthworks. Archaeologists have
excavated parts of the original curtain wall, but the task is incomplete. We are used to keeps that are
square or rectangular – not so Orford. The main section is circular, a basement containing the well, and
two high halls, one above the other. Surrounding the core are three towers, one, slightly larger than the
others, containing the staircase. The halls have two floors of side rooms in each tower. The innovative
layout of the halls provided a grand and impressive residence.
Clearly the Chaplain must have remained in his chapel for long hours, since he was provided with
his own latrine.
In the upper hall is an exhibition curated by the Orford Museum Trust, with documents and artefacts
of local interest. From the roof, there is a good and strategic view of the surrounding countryside and
coast.
Time to visit the village centre for a coffee.
WOODBRIDGE TIDE MILL – molendinium aquaticum marinum. Vicki Baldwin
In common with so many other examples of our working industrial and pre-industrial heritage,
Woodbridge Tide Mill owes its continued existence to a small band of dedicated volunteers.
A mill at this location is first referred to in a 12th century document granting Baldwin of Ufford
easier access to his mill. In the Middle Ages the mill was a source of income for the local Augustinian
Priory. It was listed as a valuable asset in 1340, but when the Bishop of Norwich visited 200 years later,
the parlous state of the mill was blamed for the poverty of the Priory. However, if the Priors did
redevelop the mill, as Woodbridge Priory was one of Henry VIII's early casualties during the Dissolution
of the Monasteries, the church would not have reaped the benefit. The person to whom the Priory's land
and mill were granted, Sir John Wingfield, had no family and the property reverted to the Crown upon his
death. Elizabeth I granted the estate to Thomas Seckford for £764 8s 4d. The Mill subsequently passed
into the ownership of a succession of families until in 1808, following substantial redevelopment, it was
sold by the Cutting family. The current building probably dates to this time and has only survived the
subsequent changes to the milling methods and machinery due to the fact that in the late nineteenth
century the then owners, A. Hayward and Sons, had it enclosed in corrugated iron sheeting. Unattractive
to the artists and photographers maybe, but an armour that enabled the structure to withstand the
introduction of a diesel engine and hammer mill in the 1950s.
The tide mill featured in the Craftsman series made by the Shell Company film unit. But it was
already in disrepair, having staggered on for the previous 30 years in need of replacements for vital worn
parts of the mechanism. An appeal for funds enabled the roof to be repaired, but in 1957 the 22 inch
square oak shaft broke. This would have been the end of tidal powered milling on the Deben if it had not
been for the efforts of local enthusiasts. Following a talk by local historian Norman Scarfe in 1968, Mrs
Jean Gardner discussed with him the possibility of purchasing the mill at auction with the intention of
restoring it. She was successful in her bid and subsequently the Woodbridge Tide Mill Trust was formed.
They have managed to restore the mill to a working condition and indeed it is possible to purchase flour
ground by the mill in the gift shop. Very good it is too! Keeping the mill in good enough repair for
visitors to appreciate this historic building means a constant fight for grants and funding. If you have the
chance, this is a fascinating place to visit if you are in the area. https://woodbridgetidemill.org.uk/
Sutton Hoo Dudley Miles
Sutton Hoo is the most important archaeological site in Britain, and it revolutionised historians' views of
the so-called Dark Ages, showing that they were capable of producing treasures of the highest quality and
sophistication. In 1939 Edith Pretty commissioned Basil Brown to excavate mysterious mounds on her
land, and he found the tomb of a seventh-century king, perhaps Rædwald of East Anglia.
Almost all HADAS members will have seen the treasures from the site in the British Museum, but
the displays in the site museum include replicas of the most important artefacts such as the wonderful
helmet, purse lid and belt buckle. There are also original finds such as from the burial of a young warrior
with his horse.
Edith Pretty's house has been restored to give a picture of how it would have looked in the 1930s,
and several people said that it was more interesting than the site museum. It was an interesting experience
standing on the mound of the famous ship burial, but the view of it from the nearby viewing platform is
blocked by a tree.
The site is now closed for refurbishment.
Please check with the organisations before setting out in case of any changes / cancellations.
Many organisations expect a small contribution from visitors.
Tuesday 8th January 7.45 pm Amateur Geological Society Finchley Baptist Church Hall East
End Road opposite Avenue House What gives minerals and gemstones their colour? Talk by Robin
Thursday 31st January 2.30 pm. Finchley Society. Drawing Room, Avenue House The Highgate
Society, Past Present and Future Talk by Elspeth Clements (Chair) and Jan Morgan on the highs
and lows of planning applications. NOTE AFTERNOON MEETING
Sunday 3rd February 10.30 am Heath and Hampstead Society. Guided walk on the history of the
Hampstead Heath ponds. Led by Marc Hutchinson. Meet at Burgh House, New End Square NW3 1LT.
Lasts about two hours. Donation £5.
Thursday 7th February 7.30 pm Camden History Society Burgh House, New End Square NW3
1LT The campaigns to save Kenwood. Talk by Helen Lawrence.
Thursday 7th February 8.00 pm Pinner Local History Society Village Hall, Chapel Lane car
park, Pinner HA5 1AB. Gog and Magog – Giants in the Guildhall (London's legendary guardians).
Talk by John Clark
Tuesday 12th February 1.00 pm Society of Antiquaries Burlington House, Piccadilly W1 Anne
Mowbray Duchess of York, a 15th century child burial from London. Talk by Bruce Watson. Free –
limited places, book on www.sal.org.uk or 020-7479 7080.
Wednesday 13th February 7.45 pm Hornsey Historical Society. Union Church Hall, corner
Ferme Park Road/Weston Park N8 9PX. The history of the Regent's canal Talk by Roger Squires
Friday 15th February 7.30 pm. Wembley History Society English Martyrs' Hall, Chalkhill
Road, Wembley, HA9 9EW (top of Blackbird Hill, adjacent to church) The General strike in
Wembley and Willesden Talk by Christine Coates.
Friday 15th February 7.00 pm. City of London Archaeological Society. St Olave's Church Hall,
Mark Lane EC3R 7BB Thames Landing Craft. Presidential address given by Gustav Milne about
the causeways, river stairs and ferry terminals on the tidal Thames. Preceded by AGM.
Monday 18th February 8.15 pm Ruislip, Northwood and Eastcote Local History Society
St Martin's church hall High Street Ruislip Saxons at the Adelphi, Strand. Talk by Douglas Killock.
Wednesday 20th February 8.00 pm. Edmonton Hundred Historical Society. Jubilee Hall,
2 Parsonage Lane/junction Chase Side, Enfield EN2 0AJ Evacuees in World War II. Mike Brown.
Wednesday 20th February 7.30 pm. Willesden Local History Society. St Mary's church hall,
Neasden Lane, NW10 2TS (nr Magistrates Court) Living in Meyrick Road Church End. Talk by
Sophia MacGibbon on the origins of the people who moved to this working class street.
Tuesday 26th February 10.30 am. Enfield Society Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Lane/junction Chase
Side, Enfield EN2 0AJ. The History of Quilling. Talk by Judith and Christine Hughes.
Wednesday 27th February 10.30 am. Enfield Society Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Lane/junction
Chase Side, Enfield EN2 0AJ. Charles Lamb in Enfield and Edmonton. Talk by Joe Studman.
Wednesday 27th February 7.45 pm Friern Barnet and District Local History Society North
Middlesex Golf Club, The Manor House, Friern Barnet Lane N20 0NL. Dabs and DNA detects
criminals Talk by Chris Truran
Thursday 28th February 2.30 pm. Finchley Society. Drawing Room, Avenue House
Improvements to Victoria Park – latest developments Talk by Matthew Gunyon, Barnet Council
Green Spaces team. NOTE AFTERNOON MEETING
Friday 8th and Saturday 9th March. Current Archaeology Live 2019. Conference in the
University of London Senate House, Malet Street WC1E 7HU. Wide range of expert speakers
sharing the latest archaeological finds and research. For details and tickets visit
www.archaeologylive.co.uk or ring 020 8819 5580
With many thanks to this month's contributors: Jo and Jim Nelhams, Don Cooper, Liz Gapp,
Vicki Baldwin, Dudley Miles and Eric Morgan
Membership Sec. Stephen Brunning 22 Goodwin Court, 52 Church Hill Road, East Barnet
EN4 8FH (0208 440 8421) e-mail: membership@hadas.org.uk
Newsletter-573-December-2018
By Roger | HADAS, Latest Newsletter, Volume 10: 2015 - 2019‎ | No Comments
No. 573 DECEMBER 2018 Edited by Don Cooper
May we take the opportunity to wish all our readers and their
families, a happy holiday and a healthy, happy and prosperous 2019
HADAS Diary
Tuesday 12th February 2019: Dorothy Newbury Memorial Lecture. Prehistory in London – some Problems, Progress and Potential by Jon Cotton
Tuesday 14th May 2019: 50 years of recording London's Industrial Heritage Professor David Perrett
Tuesday 11th June 2019 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
HADAS 2019 Long Trip
Dates Monday 23rd to Friday 27th September 2019
Tuesday 8th October 2019: From Crosse and Blackwell to Crossrail – MOLA excavations at Tottenham Court
Road 2009–10 by Lyn Blackmore
Station (Northern Line). Tea/coffee and biscuits follow the talk. Visitors £2.
MEMBERSHIP MATTERS – AN IMPORTANT UPDATE
At the time of writing there are 25 members who have not paid their subscription. If this applies (or think it
may apply) to you, please contact me using the details on the last page of this newsletter.
I will assume that you have decided not to renew if no reply is received by 31st December 2018. After this
date your details will be taken off our membership database and you will not receive any further newsletters.
Stephen Brunning, Membership Secretary (see contact details on the last page below).
Lant Street, Southwark – an update by Melvyn Dresner
Jacqui Pearce's talk at this year Annual General meeting brought together a year of work with the HADAS
finds group on finds from Lant Street dig, Southwark in 1999. This work continues this term in the dining
room at Avenue House with an enthusiastic group of volunteers recording finds under Jacqui expert
guidance.
The site is south of the river Thames in Southwark, not far from Borough tube station on the Northern Line.
We are lucky enough to be able to handle material from Roman and medieval period, though most material
from site is post medieval from the 16th century onwards. In Jacqui's talk we are able to understand the
social history of the area. She recounted Robin Densem's work to relate the site to historic maps such as
John Roque's 1746. Even maps from late 18th century showed large areas of open ground. In the early 19th
century a row of terraced houses was built. These were pulled down in 1960s as slums. In their early years
they would have been single homes with kitchens in the basement. Later in their life the houses were sub
divided multi-family occupation used by poorer people.
We have pottery that pre-dates the houses built on site from 16th and late 17th century. This includes pottery
made on the Hampshire/ Surrey border, which is known as borderware. This includes tripod pipkins with
hollow handles. These cooking vessels were in later periods replaced by metal cooking pots. Metal rarely
survives in archaeological context in London as either metal rusts or it is recycled into new vessels. As we
move into the 18th century cooking vessels with clear lead glaze and no feet appear and from the kitchen we
have mixing bowls for settling milk or fish.
Also associated with eating we have plates and platters in borderware from the 16th century. This can be
based on a red or white fired body with clear (lead), red (iron) or brown (magnesium) glaze. We see more
decorative features with geometric slip patterns. By 1660s, we have Staffordshire slipware in London,
including at Lant Street – patterns that reminds us of Bakewell tarts, which were made using a feather to
ripple the slip. At Lant Street, we are not far from the Rotherhithe pothouse. We have tin glazed ware are
from 1630s – 1670s. In this pottery, tin glaze ware was made by Dutch potters, who were influenced by
Chinese porcelain. Designs included "Chinaman in the grasses." We have Portuguese tin glaze that copies
Dolphin-design from late Ming dynasty designs. The Ming dynasty ruled China from 1368–1644. Other
vessels from the 18th century include Nottingham stoneware and white salt glaze ware from 1720 to 1780s,
including porringers with small handles for spoon foods such as porridge. For utensils we have knife handles
from 18th century with pistol grip. We can see indirect evidence of metal from staining and location of the
tang in the middle of the handle.
We have evidence of drinking vessels and jugs from the 17th century. Brown glaze is associated with
drinking. We have drinking jugs with green slip that were characteristic of vessels used at the Inns of Court.
We have Staffordshire type slipware with red blob slip and trailed slip with light blobs given a jewelled
effect such as an example saying "TURNER", maybe the owner's name? We also have indirect evidence of
metal, with a hole in the handle to attach a pewter lid. Frechen stoneware imported from Germany may have
been used to serve wine or spirits. On this ware we have a pub sign for George and the Dragon. We have
punch bowls from the early to mid-18th century. Most evocatively represented in William Hogarth's A
Midnight Modern Conversation (1732), the bowl sits at the centre of a group of drunken men in disarray,
wigs askew and sprawling on the floor, smoking and drinking. We have faceted wine glass that would have
captured candlelight beautifully. We have a complete quarter bottle with "JUSC" upon it. This post-dates
1827 as it relates to Junior United Service Club, which was located near Regents Street. According to
Charles Dickens (Jr.), Dickens's Dictionary of London, 1879, first child of Charles Dickens, the author and
former resident of Lant Street:
"Junior United Services Club, Pall Mall, consists of the princes of the blood royal, commissioned officers of
the Navy, Army, Marines, Royal Indian Forces, and Regular Militia, Lieutenants of Counties, sublieutenants
in the Army and midshipmen in the Navy."
Source: http://www.victorianlondon.org/entertainment/juniorunitedservicesclub.htm accessed 12th
Evidence to changing ideas about drinking in the late Victorian period include "R White" bottle that would
have contained ginger beer or lemonade.
There are decorative teapots in white salt glaze stoneware and cream ware including a spout with an arm
wrestling a serpent and another from a pineapple form, as well as handles and lids. Tin-glaze ware though in
design following Chinese porcelain examples are not good for hot liquids – tea bowls. We have examples of
clobbered decoration applied in London or Amsterdam to blue and white Chinese porcelain and fired in
enamelling kilns. We also have late 18th century pearl ware – saucers and fluted tea bowls.
We have also pharmaceutical stoneware and tin glaze ware. Dark blue glass was used for poison such as
laudanum and arsenic. In another Charles Dickens' association, we have a blacking bottle in English
stoneware. As a twelve-year-old boy, Dickens worked in Warren's blacking factory.
Evidence for hygiene are chamber pots from various ceramic types, in yellow ware, white tin glaze and
mocha slipware. Also we have a toilet dish for soap, dress accessories, buckles, a needle case in bone and
part of a bone fan. Bone combs dating from the 17th century and bone buttons from the early 19th century.
For clay tobacco pipes these are mainly 18th or 19th century. We recorded 259 pipes, which were marked.
These include pipes related to the Hudson Bay Company, Watermen's Company and Royal Inniskilling
Fusiliers' as well as giraffe pipe. We have gardening represented in the form of a glass cloche and red-ware
flower pots. For architecture we have lead from windows and decorative tin glaze tiles, as well as Victorian
fireplace tiles. We have glass waste possibly associated with the Falcon Glass works, Bankside or the wider
glass industry in Southwark. The work on the Lant Street material will continue into 2019.
Monument to Major John Cartwright, St Mary at Finchley Churchyard, Hendon Lane N3
Hidden behind hoardings for nearly two decades because of its dangerous condition, in the churchyard of St
Mary at Finchley, is the monument to Major John Cartwright. This Grade II Listed building is currently on
the Historic England Register of Buildings at Risk but is now in the process of being restored. Not all the
funds required for the restoration have been raised and it is now your chance to contribute and make the
Major John Cartwright was born on 28 September 1740 and died on 23 September 1824. He was a political
reformer and radical spokesman of national importance who is known as the Father of Reform having
championed universal suffrage and the introduction of secret ballots. He also founded the Society for
Constitutional Information.
Although he is not so well known today his ideas contributed to a century of social and political change. It
was not only his thinking that was important, the way he conducted himself made him a model of good
political debate. He was noted for his generosity to all people and his lack of self-interest. Contemporary
accounts refer to his "unceasing benevolence and affectionate disposition", his "public integrity and
uprightness". His qualities of character were praised by Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United
States of America. Indeed, it is a measure of the high regard in which he was held by his contemporaries that
his memorial was funded through public contributions rather than an act of private glorification.
The monument was erected in 1835. It is built of yellow oolitic limestone, with a square tapering obelisk and
armorial and portrait roundels. The monument was dismantled in 2008 (under the watchful eyes of our own
Vicki Baldwin and Don Cooper – see report in HADAS newsletter 460 July 2009) due to its dangerous
A condition survey was carried out in 2017 with funding from Historic England. Faculty Consent was
granted in 2018 for the conservation and repair of the vault and obelisk. Works to repair the Monument are
in progress with funding from Historic England. The Rector of St Mary at Finchley, Phillip Davies, has set
up a Crowdfunding page to help raise the final £1000 required to complete the project. They are halfway
there but HADAS members could be the ones to push it over the top. Please contribute if you can at:
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/heritage-of-finchley-at-risk
Report on the October Lecture
At a well-attended lecture, Suzanne Marie Taylor gave us an interesting talk on the fate of Motor Launch
M.L. 286-The Not So Silent WWI Movy. Hulked at Isleworth Ait she described Motor launch M.L. 286-
also known as a Movy, a veteran of World War I and World War II. Built for speed in 1916, she began her
adventurous life as a spirited submarine chaser as a part of The Grey Patrol in World War I. In World War
II, M.L. 286 was one of the Dunkirk Little Ships, which took part in Operation Dynamo in 1940-by which
time, she was named Eothen.
In the 1980s Eothen was a houseboat until she was abandoned on the Thames foreshore at the back of BJ
Wood & Son Boatyard at Isleworth Ait. Suzanne's talk highlighted how M.L. 286 continues to evolve
through the dedicated volunteer work of The Thames Discovery Programme, and what the future might hold
After fielding a number of questions, Suzanne was thanked for a very interesting talk.
Brome Trip Day 2
The first and last stops on Tuesday were at churches. The reports on these are recorded together so that
contrasts can be drawn.
St Peter's Church, Forncett St Peter Micky Watkins
To Londoners, the high round tower seems very remarkable, but there are 185 round towers surviving, 124
of them in Norfolk, 38 in Suffolk. A thousand years ago when these towers were built in East Anglia there
was a fear of Viking raids and the high towers provide a good look-out and possibly some defence. The
reason why they are round is that there was a lack of building stone in East Anglia so knapped flint was used
and corners are difficult to construct in flint. Even the youngest children were set to work picking stones
from the fields to ease the ploughman's work so there was plenty of flint.
The round tower of St Peter's is complete with a crenelated top and is probably the highest in the country.
Just below the top are four gargoyles and below that eight small circular openings, there are several other
openings and a small Norman doorway.
The original Anglo-Saxon church was a small church covered with thatch. In the 14th century it was rebuilt
and enlarged with three aisles. In the 17th century it was severely damaged by puritans who were very strong
in East Anglia. In the mid-19th century there was restoration work and some stained-glass memorial
windows were added.
We were all fascinated by the oak pew ends. These originated in the 15th century but severely mutilated by
Puritans who decapitated all the heads. They were very well restored in 1857. They illustrate the calendar,
symbols of morality and the saints. (Pictures by David Bromley.)
There are large stone memorials set into the floor of the aisle and an unusual alabaster tomb in memory of
Elizabeth and Thomas Drake who died in 1485. Incised on the top are portraits of them both.
ST. MARY THE VIRGIN CHURCH, WORTHAM Jean Bayne
Hidden by trees, Wortham Church is one mile away from the village it serves rather than at its centre.
Doomsday suggests there were 2 churches/parishes originally in the area but in 1769 they were combined
into one. The most striking feature of this church is its round tower, with the largest diameter in England at
about 10 metres and a height of nearly 19 metres.
This has led to speculation about the site of the church. A
partly buried black stone, The Sacred Stone, near the
tower may have been an object of pagan veneration so the
church may have been built there to counteract and
dominate the old beliefs of local people. Moreover, the
tower, all seeing but unseen, may have also been used as a
defensive structure. This view is reinforced by the fact
that a navigable river existed nearby at the time of the
Vikings—-now it is just a brook.
It is now generally accepted that this tower was built
c1160 at the same time as an earlier church, although
some claim Saxon origins. The tower is probably Norman
as are some of the existing footings in the This suggests
that a church was built at the same time as the tower: not
just added onto it but integral to it. The building we see
today is mainly in the 14th century, perpendicular style
with the addition of a splendid clerestory in the 15th
century. This has geometrical designs between the
windows and various holy signs and symbols including
the first three letters of Jesus' name in Greek. (IHS)
The tower is an impressive example of early flint work. You cannot go inside it but parts of its interior are
clearly visible from outside through a large arched opening. It is open to the sky as the roof and bell tower
containing 4 bells collapsed in 1789 and were never replaced. A bell turret was added, though, in the 18th
century, and, more recently, in 2005, a weather vane with a horse and hounds was placed on top. There is
some evidence of internal floors and what may have been a fireplace.
The interior of the church is light- filled and welcoming. The entrance porch, with its lists of incumbents and
patrons starts at 1259 but the new porch gates were installed in 2001 to commemorate the millennium. You
experience this church as a well-loved vibrant, living institution, changing and adapting over centuries and
linking the church closely to the parishioners' lives and experiences. Most recently, the North aisle windows
were installed in 2012 to commemorate 100 years of the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich and they
reflect different areas of Wortham and celebrate faith through time from daybreak to sunset. Lilies of the
valley symbolize the Virgin Mary. Other windows are in memory of various significant figures in the past
life of the parish including a local farmer in 1986 with delightful roundels of the seasons. Black stone floor
slabs also commemorate past rectors and prominent families and individuals. A little medieval glass has
been preserved in the east window alongside the Victorian additions.
The greatest amount of restoration took place in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The porch, pulpit, choir
stalls, organ and timbers and roof, for example were all restored. There was some defacement of the stone
corbel heads on the wall posts in the nave in Cromwell's time but in 1882 they were re-carved: they were of
14 monarchs from Edmund to Victoria. The loveliest carvings, however, are to be found on the bench ends
of the pews. Texts taken from Psalm 104 are charmingly illustrated by a range of different animals,
including an owl, a turtle, a deer and a walrus. This was done in 1890 when the seating was restored.
However, older features remain, among them, the highly decorated 14th century font, and a Royal Coat of
Arms from William and Mary's time besides two 18th century hatchments. A piscina with detailed stone
carving is to be found near the altar and an old wooden vestry door stands opposite.
Outside, the tranquil graveyard is maintained as a wild life sanctuary, planted with yews, conifers, limes,
hawthorn, cherry and crab apple trees and it sits close to open fields. The lychgate, rebuilt in 1911 and
restored in 2010 is testament to the continuing investment and involvement of its parishioners and rectors.
Norfolk Tank Museum Simon Williams
The approach was flanked by 3 bad boys: namely a Scorpion (of the light variety & recent), Chieftain Mk5
(main battle tank of yesteryear), & a Walker Bulldog. No doubt the greatest draw was the replica World
War One tank: star of the recent Channel 4 documentary, 'Guy Martin's WWI Tank'
Altogether there was a magnificent collection – ranging from 50/60's main battle tanks & heavy armoured
cars, such as a mighty Saladin APC & big wheeler Ferret (Scout vehicle — 6 reverse gears??) to two
Wermacht field guns and large anti-aircraft gun and (rather amazingly) a 1970 Russian missile launcher (in
decent war livery!) to a double- tracked articulated troop carrier. In the hangar there were 2 loaded standard
backpacks, which one could handle & lift (if one could) impossibly heavy to lift, let alone march/fight
with!!)
The display was of exhibits, all in battle-ready excellent condition. One was encouraged to make a hand's-on
experience & climb aboard them. As a spin-off there was a Nissen-hut communications display.
Bressingham Jim Nelhams
Bressingham is situated on the A1066. It provides a number of attractions mainly aimed at nostalgia. It has
three separate railways of different gauges though only one, the Fen Railway, was active during our visit.
Most members chose to take a ride on this, a two-foot gauge, today diesel-hauled for the 15-minute trip out
into the countryside.
"The Gallopers" is a traditional roundabout with horses and an organ. This also attracted most of us, even
those nonagenarians in the group.
There are also a number of sheds housing railway engines and carriages and a Dads' Army museum with
parts of Wilmington High Street. My favourite was the Royal Mail railway coach still with its sorting racks.
Bressingham Gardens Liz Tucker
While browsing in the steam engines and Dad's Army museum, I noticed that they had been founded by
Alan Bloom (1906-2005), the plantsman and designer whom I'd frequently come across in garden
magazines. His work has been continued by his son Adrian. We therefore allowed an hour to explore the
famous gardens.
There are two main garden areas. The "Foggy Bottom" garden, designed by Adrian, has a winding path
through it. There were some flowering plants, but the characteristic island beds mainly contained conifers
and grasses of every possible size, shape, colour and texture, which would look beautiful at any season. Next
to that garden, Adrian planted a wood of exotic trees, such as giant redwoods.
The Summer garden opposite was designed by Alan Bloom himself. Luckily it was a lovely sunny day, as
we kept being drenched by sprinklers, and could dry off easily!
We did not have time for the plant sales area; probably a good thing, as we had enough plants to carry from
Cressing Temple!
Eleanor Crosses – Journey's end Jim Nelhams
We have been following the route of the funeral procession of Eleanor of Castile, wife of Edward I, after her death in
Leaving Dunstable, the procession continued southwards along Ermine Street to St Albans. Here they were met by
monks and the coffin was sheltered overnight in the Cathedral. The stopping place was at the south end of The Market and is marked by a plaque on the clock tower.
Thence they headed east to Waltham Abbey, where another of the original crosses remains (at Waltham Cross). The
statues on the upper section of this cross have been replaced, but a notice advises that the originals are in Cheshunt
central library. A number of buildings and roads in the area pay recognition to the journey, including Geddington
Court and Hardingstone Court (both named after other crosses) and Castile Court all in Eleanor Way.
The next stopping point was in Westcheap (now Cheapside in the City of London) A few fragments of this cross
survive in the Museum of London. The cross was damaged in religious upheavals. It does appear in old pictures
showing the coronation procession of King Edward VI.
Thence to Charing Cross, where the Victorian stone cross on the forecourt of the station was erected to publicise the
Charing Cross Hotel. Further recognition can be found in murals on the platforms of the Northern Line stations.
After this final rest, the journey was completed to Westminster Abbey.
When Edward I died in 1307, his embalmed body also reached Westminster after a stop at Waltham Abbey. Both he
and his much-loved Queen have tombs in St Edward the Confessor's Chapel behind the High Altar of Westminster
Abbey.
Exploring the Oceans (part 3) Jo Nelhams
Cook had been at sea throughout six of the preceding seven years and had completed two tremendous
voyages such as had never been made before. There remained one more great unknown, the North Pacific.
The possibility of a North West Passage had only been investigated without success from the North Atlantic.
If there was any such passage, then it was likely there was a link to the North Pacific.
Cook accepted command of the third voyage. He was now 47 years and had been at sea more or less
continuously for 30 years. On July 6th, 1776, barely a year after completing the second voyage, he set sail
again on the Resolution from Plymouth accompanied by the Discovery. Some of the crew had had
experience with Cook on his previous two voyages.
The Resolution had had a refit while in the dockyard, but Cook was not able to observe the work being done
very often. Some of the work was of poor quality. They sailed south towards the south of Africa. At the
Cape, there were repairs to the ship, where work was more thoroughly done.
They continued on towards Tasmania with some very rough weather with the ship rolling violently.
Tasmania had good harbours and some of the best shipbuilding timber. Here they found fine trees for new
masts. Sailing on to New Zealand he was in seas which were familiar to him and continued on to the South
Pacific islands and Tahiti. Here they were able to replenish supplies for the journey.
(The red line shows Cook's passage. The blue line shows the boat's return after his death)
It was time to leave familiar places and sail north. Cook was pioneering this route, which was to become
greatly used later. On route to the North Pacific having been at sea for nearly 2 years he came across the
Hawaiian Islands. They were the first European vessels known to have been there.
They reached the coast of Alaska, but then had to find a channel through the Aleutian Islands. There were
some puffs of smoke, which indicated volcanic activity among the mountains. The ice was becoming more
impassable and great floes ground together in the swell. Cook reached nearly 71 degrees north, but it was
no use, there was no way through, nor hope of any and so he turned back to head southwards. He sailed
down from the Arctic towards the Hawaiian Islands. He eventually found a shallow bay on the western side
of the Big Island, which is the biggest island and is called Hawaii. This was January 1779.
The inhabitants appeared to be friendly and welcoming. After some months the ships were ready to sail
again, with their sails and rigging repaired as well as they could be and stores on the ships replenished. It
was now early February and the Resolution set sail again.
They had not sailed very far when the ship suffered some more damage from some submerged coral. Cook
was reluctant to return to the islands but there was no other option.
The islanders were not so welcoming. Cook had been mistaken on the first landing as being 'Lono', a god,
but on returning so quickly the attitude was different. Thieving from their ships had happened before but
now it was excessive. Fighting between the islanders and the crew began and Cook tried to return to the
water's edge, but he was attacked, and he then fired a shot with pellets. He was violently clubbed by a
warrior and then stabbed many times and there he died.
Captain Clerke from the Discovery took Cook's command and Lieutenant Gore from the Resolution took
command of the Discovery.
It was tragic that James Cook, who elsewhere on his travels had established good relationships with the
Polynesians, should end his extraordinary life of exploration and caring for his crews, never having a case of
scurvy on any of the ships that he had captained on his years of sailing the oceans.
Captain Clerke after leaving Hawaii pressed on to the Arctic again for one more effort, but the ice fields
were larger and further south so no hope of getting anywhere.
It was October 1799, when the ships finally started the journey homeward, down the western side of the
Pacific and across the Indian Ocean, but it would be October 1780 before the Resolution and Discovery
arrived back in England, very quietly, after a voyage of 4 years and 3 months.
The search for the North West passage would continue well into the Victorian age.
The above statue of Captain James Cook stands at the eastern end of The Mall close to Admiralty Arch.
OTHER SOCIETIES & INSTITUTIONS EVENTS, compiled by Eric Morgan
Please check with the organisations before setting out in case of any changes / cancellations
Tuesday, 8th January, 6.30pm, LAMAS. Clore Learning Centre, Museum of London, 150 London
Wall, EC2Y 5HN. "From the Romans to the Saxons – Results from the archaeological fieldwork at the site
of St Martin-in-the-fields Church, Trafalgar Square" Talk by Al Telfer (MoLA). Refreshments 6pm Nonmembers
£2.
Tuesday, 8th January, 1pm. Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, Piccadilly, W1J 0BE "The Pope as
Pontifex Maximus. Tracing a Title from Numa Pompilius to James1" Free public lecture by Dr Oren
Margolis and Dr Graham Barrett. Spaces are limited, and reservations recommended at www.sol.org.uk
Wednesday, 9th January, 2.30pm. Mill Hill Historical Society. Trinity Church, 100 The Broadway, Mill
Hill, NW7 3TB. Talk "The Blue Plaque Scheme for London." By Cathy Powers (English Heritage Manager)
Friday, 18th January, 7pm. CoLAS, St. Olave's Hall, Mark Lane, EC3R 7BB. "A conversation about
conservation: 20 years of caring for museum collections" by Andy Holbrook (Collection care manager at the
Museum of London). Visitors £3.
Friday, 18th January, 7.30pm. Wembley History Society, English Martyrs' Hall, Chalkhill Road,
Wembley, HA9 9EW (Top of Blackbird Hill, adj. to the Church). "Brent, London and the Anti-Apartheid
Struggle". By Suresh Kamath. Visitors £3
Acknowledgements & Thanks: Jean Bayne Melvyn Dresner, Eric Morgan, Jim Nelhams, Jo Nelhams,
Liz Tucker, Micky Watkins, Simon Williams,
Chairman: Don Cooper, 59 Potters Road, Barnet, EN5 5HS Tel. 020 8440 4350
chairman@hadas.org.uk
Hon. Secretary: Jo Nelhams, 61 Potters Road, Barnet, EN5 5HS Tel. 020 8449 7076
secretary@hadas.org.uk
Hon. Treasurer: Jim Nelhams, 61 Potters Road, Barnet, EN5 5HS Tel. 020 8449 7076
treasurer@hadas.org.uk
Membership Sec: Stephen Brunning, Flat 22, Goodwin Court,
52 Church Hill Road, East Barnet, EN4 8FH Tel: 02084408421
membership@hadas.org.uk
Web site: www.hadas.org.uk/
Discussion group: http://groups.google.com/group/hadas-archaeology
The January Newsletter Editor will be:
Peter Pickering: send contributions to him by 14th December please.
Newsletter-191-January-1987
By Roger | Past Newsletters, Volume 4 : 1985 - 1989 | No Comments
Newsletter 191 January 1987 Edited by Liz Holliday
DIARY,
Wednesday 7 January LECTURE CANCELLED
We have just heard from the library that the lecture hall is to be redecorated and will not be available for:our January meeting. An alternative venue was suggested, but we felt this would not be satisfactory at such short notice.
Wednesday 4 February "London in the Mid-Saxon and Viking Period" by Dr. Alan Vince, Museum of London. At Hendon Library. The Burroughs, Hendon. Coffee available from 8pm. Lecture begins at 8.30pm.
AFTER IRON a note from Dr.E.H.T. Hoblyn
"I was very interested in Percy Reboul's page in your December issue but was puzzled by his reference to Parkesine. My organic chemistry is now more than rusty but I wonder if chloroform and castor oil would produce a sub-
stance 'hard as horn', I have therefore, done some digging and have found from Sylvia Katz who wrote 'Plastic Plastics' that Alexander Parkes in his early work in the 1840s mixed cotton fibre and wood flour with nitric and sulphuric acids (which would give him nitro-cellulose) and he then mixed the 'resulting product with castor oil and wood naphthna to produce his original 'Parkesine'. It was, however, when he moved to mixing camphor with nitrocellulose and alcohol that,' in 1865, he produced the better known form of 'Parkesine', the forerunner of celluloid orxvlonite as it was better known in thiscountry.('Plastics in the Service of Man' by Couzens and Yarsley).The British firm manufacturing celluloid was the British Xylonite Company founded in 1877 which, in 1887, built a factory at Brantham on the banks of the River Stour opposite Manningtree, Essex. They made artificial ivory and tortoiseshell for combs (functional and decorative) and hairbrushes; tubing for bicycle pumps and bodies for fountain pens; handles for toothbrushes and shaving brushes; and a large tonnage of piano keys and knife handles in the form well known before the modern dishwasher led to metal handles.
They were made in the plain-and excellent grained ivory forms. Another popular product was the celluloid collar and shirt front (or 'dicky') which comprised a sheet of linen sealed between two sheets of white celluloid. I do hope that Percy Reboul will keep us posted with his findings."
SOME ANSWERS TO THE GREEN PUZZLE
The borough archivists are grateful for two helpful replies to the enquiry concerning ,green lanes, one recommending W.G.Hoskins' comments in The Making of the English Landscape and the other pointing out that in 1764 Hendon Lane/Finchley Lane was not a particularly major road.
This month's accessions to the Local History Collection include archives from the Mill Hill Highwood Townswomen's Guild; copies of deeds and photographs concerning the Alexandra public house, East Finchley and the surro­unding area; albums of photographs of Chas. Wright & Co.'s factory, Hendon and a booklet of photographs of Barnet and Hadley produced in about 1900 by J.Cowing.
Herbert Norman's donation of his drawings of local buildings was mentioned in the Newsletter last month members may like advance notice that these will be on display in an exhibition of his work to be held at Church Farm House Museum from March 28 to April 26 this year.
A STORM IN A VESTRY TEA CUP
Nell Penny uncovers a rebellion by the Hendon Vestry
Local rates, be they parish, borough or county, have ever been matters of controversy. In 1820 the vestry of Hendon parish, conscious of having to set ever increasing poor rates (in 1821 they were to set three rates at 6d in the £ – 7.25p in the in all) began to look at rating valuations. They found that these had not been changed since 1722, and promptly appoint­ed a committee which revalued the parish at a total of £24,470.
At the same time the Vicar, the irascible Reverend Theodore Williams, was also doing his sums. Since 1722 Hendon vicars had been accepting a 3d rate in commutation of their "Great and Little Tythes":- "always excepting Surplice. Fees and other Perquisites". Mr. Williams gave notice that he was putting an end to this system. The vestry therefore had the vicar's property and his tithes assessed. The vicar protested – the parish persisted. In 1822 the Reverend Williams and Thomas Street appealed to a General Quarter Sessions against the assessments. Mr. Street was presumably a newcomer to the district – his name does not appear in .the 1821 census. The vicar chaired the vestry meeting in September, a function he very rarely performed; the officers of the parish did not feel bold enough to contradict him to his face. They appointed a sub-committee of William Geeves, Thomas Shettle and Mr.Goodchild, all farmers and office holders, to reconsider the valuations. By 'December the vestry had decided to let the valuations stand and to pay their solicitor to defend them against the vicar at the Quarter Sessions.
Meanwhile, the vestry had taken steps to turn itself into a Select Vestry according to legislation of 1818. In theory a vestry had been a town meeting of ratepayers in practice it had been a monthly gathering of half a dozen office holders, churchwardens, overseers of the poor and surveyors of the highways who accepted the accounts of the overseers of the poor. There might be a few more ratepayers at a meeting where the poor rate-was to be- set. The crowded meeting in the parish church in November 1822 decided by 200 votes to 165 that a Select Vestry should be elected. Hence­forward a vestry meeting could not be larger than twenty members, but a minimum of five was necessary for a quorum.
But back to our storm in the vestry tea cup. Eventually Quarter Sessions reduced the assessment on Mr. Williams' property from £672 to £640 and on his tithes by a similar percentage. But Williams did not wait for the outcome of his appeal. It seems that he regarded the Vestry Clerk, James Goodyer as his arch enemy and the leader of the vestry rebellion. I think James disliked the vicar as much as the latter disliked him. Preserved among the parish archives are meticulous copies of most of the letters to and from the vestry at this period – all in Mr.Goodyer's beautiful copper­plate handwriting. There is also a list of Goodyer's own property: five houses in the Burroughs and one in Brent Street. On the new valuation he had secured rating reductions which averaged 11 per cent.
On January 29th 1823, the vestry met and read a letter from the vicar to Mr. Greeves, one of the churchwardens The letter attacked James Goodyer on three counts: a) that Goodyer's personal property was wrongly rated; b) that the vestry clerk had been appointed to his job in 1796 by "private appointment" and that his salary of £40 a year out of the poor rate was "extravagant and unwarranted" and c) "I will submit to your own good feeling whether a man who is capable of making a false entry in a Parish minute book be not morally incapable of fulfilling any public trust". The vestry held a Special meeting next day and replied to the vicar a). all rating appeals were up for arbitration so the parish would not comment in the meantime; b) Mr. Gooyer's appointment as Clerk had not been a private appointment but by a "valid public vote" and the parish was obliged to "those gentlemen.— for the discrimination used in the selection of a gentleman to fill that office whose conduct in and great attention to the Duties thereof, have given general satisfaction… the salary paid to Mr.Goodyer' is neither extravagant nor unwarrantable". c) the charges of falsifying the accounts against Mr Goodyer were so serious that the vestry asked the Reverend Williams to produce his evidence for their consideration.
Unfortunately this letter was in Goodyer's beautiful handwriting. The Vicar would not open it and returned it to the vestry. This provoked the vestry to write to the Bishop of London regretting that "Communication between the Vicar and themselves had been cut off" and asking for the Bishop's guidance. At the next vestry meeting in February 1823 the Vicar took the chair, but stormed out when the Vestry would not endorse his accusations against Goodyer. A churchwarden had to preside so that he could sign the minutes and announce the date of the next meeting. Another letter to the Bishop of London told him the vestry would like "Counsel's opinion" about the Act of 1818 which they thought laid down that if the Vicar took the chair at a vestry meeting he must sign the minutes.
In April of the same year the Vicar and the vestry were at it again. A parishioner had paid what she thought were agreed fees for a tombstone of brick and stone to be erected in the churchyard. Disputing the fees, the Vicar had it dismantled – immediately – and "thrown into the Public Road". Again to the Bishop the vestry regretted "the varience unhappily existing between the Vicar and his Parishioners which promotes secession from the Church" .
At the same April meeting James Goodyer resigned as Parish Clerk. Perhaps he felt that over twenty-five years of copying accounts and taking minutes was enough – perhaps he felt he must leave the fight against the Reverend to a younger man. He pleaded ill health. The vestry paid they were very sorry to lose him. There is no record of what the Reverend Theodore said.
ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SERVICE
Gerrard Roots outlines the current exhibition at Church Farm House Museum
The St. John Ambulance Brigade – the uniformed branch of the Order of St. John, which has itself existed in Britain since c.1148 – celebrates its centenary in 1987. Founded •to promote knowledge of first aid amongst the general public, its first division in this area was set up in 1903 and was based upon. Queen Eizabeth's Boys School in Barnet. Since that time numerous divisions have been created in the Barnet area.
The activities of the Brigade have greatly expanded since its inception. The Brigade numbers increased significantly during World Wars I and II when members of the St. John volunteered for active service with the Royal Army Medical Corps or provided emergency first aid at home with the air raid patrols.
The Brigade, as well as continuing its first aid training, provides first aid assistance at public gatherings, gives an aeromedical service to bring the sick home from abroad, and through the St. John Air Wing, transports vital organs and medical supplies for transplants.
This exhibition presents through photographs, documents, costume and other memorabilia, the wide range of St. John activities in the Barnet area over the past 80 or so years. It also shows something of the history of the origins of the Order of St. John from its first hospice in Jerusalem in AD 600.
The exhibition will be on show from 3 January until 8 February.Please remember that there will be no lecture in January. The next lecture "London in the Mid-Saxon and Viking Period" will be on Wednesday 4 February
LETTERS FROM HADRIAN'S WALL
Anne Cheng summarizes a recent article in Omnibus by Alan K. Bowman and J. David Thomas.
At the Roman fort of Vindolanda, a mile to the south of Hadrian's Wall, a unique collection of writing tablets is being unearthed. The texts, which date to around AD 100 include both official documents and, the private correspondence of military personnel. They are written in ink on thin slivers of wood, which was used instead of papyrus as this would have, been expensive and difficult to obtain in Britain. The deposit of writing tablets appears to extend to at least twenty metres and over 500 new finds have already been catalogued.
Many of the new texts belong to the archive of one FIavius Cerialis, a commander of a unit at the fort. However, the outstanding discovery of 19.85 must be the archive of Cerialis' wife, Sulpicia Lepidina. Two texts in this archive contain closing lines written by Claudia Severa, Lepidina's correspondent. This is certainly the earliest known example of writing by a woman in Latin.
Claudia's letter is written in two columns side by side as is normal in these tablets. She invites Lepidina to a birthday party:
"Iii Idus Septembr[e]s, soror,ad diem
sollemnem natalem meum vogo
libenter facies ut venial
ad nos incundiorem mihi
diem?] interventu tuo factures si
venia]s"
After transmitting various family greetings she adds the following lines in rather an awkward hand:
"sperato te, soror
vale, soror,anima
mea, ita valeam
karissima et have"
"I shall expect you sister. Hail and farewell, sister, my dearest soul, as I live in health".
The processing of these finds is extremely time-consuming and demands painstaking attention to detail, but with the amount of material already found, there is hope of yet more exciting discoveries to come.
Newsletter-572-November 2018
No. 572 NOVEMBER 2018 Edited by Sue Willetts
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
HADAS DIARY – Forthcoming lectures and events Lectures, the finds group course, and the film are held at Avenue House, 17 East End Road, Finchley N3 3QE. Buses 13, 143, 326 & 460 pass close by, and it is five to ten minutes' walk from Finchley Central Station (Northern Line). Tea/coffee and biscuits follow the lecture.
Sunday 9th December – HADAS Christmas Lunch at Avenue House. 12:30 – 4 p.m. £30 including full Christmas dinner. See p.2.
Tuesday 8th January 2019 NO LECTURE
Tuesday 12th February 2019. Jon Cotton Prehistory in London – some Problems, Progress and Potential
Tuesday 12th March 2019. John Clark Lost and Found: the Rediscovery of Roman London
Tuesday 9th April 2019. Gustav Milne The CITiZAN Project
Tuesday 14th May 2019 Lyn Blackmore (but waiting for final confirmation) Crosse and Blackwell factory excavations
Tuesday 8th October 2019 To be arranged. Tuesday 12th November 2019 Bob Cowie Shene and Syon: a royal and monastic landscape revealed
For your diary – 2019 Long Trip
Cost will be slightly higher than 2018 because of the increasing cost of fuel for the coach.
If you are interested, please let Jim Nelhams know (treasurer@hadas.org.uk)
Battle of Barnet Project
We were pleased to receive from the above a card saying: "Thank you for being part of the Battle of Barnet Project". This is in recognition of our help with the test-pitting and other associated actions.
Although no site for the Battle of Barnet…….
Remember, Remember, Remember to sign up for the HADAS Christmas party.
The party is on December 9th, 2018, between 12.30pm and 4.00pm at Avenue House, 17 East End Road, N3 3QE. The party is for HADAS members and their guests. The price is £30 per person.
Send remittances to Peter Pickering, 3 Westbury Road, Woodside Park, London N12 7NY
Or pay directly to: Account title: HADAS, Bank code: 40-52-40 Bank account: 00007253
Please title the payment "HADAS Party 2018"
HADAS vacancy
As Jim Nelhams, who has been HADAS treasurer for the last ten years plus, has decided to stand down at next year's AGM, HADAS is in dire need of a replacement.
Could you manage HADAS' treasury function? If you could we would love to hear from you.
To discuss this vacancy and what the role entails please contact me (Don Cooper) by any of the various methods below. (See last page of the newsletter)
PS An assistant editor to help Sue Willetts in preparing the newsletter for printing would be very welcome. Please contact Don Cooper to discuss this role.
Exciting archaeology news from the Black Sea and Pompeii Sue Willetts
A merchant ship, thought to be Greek, dating back more than 2,400 years has been found lying on its side off the Bulgarian coast. The 23m (75ft) wreck, found in the Black Sea by an Anglo-Bulgarian team, is being hailed as officially the world's oldest known intact shipwreck. See the BBC website for more information: It was discovered with its mast, rudders and rowing benches all present and correct just over a mile below the surface. A lack of oxygen at that depth preserved it, the researchers said. The principal investigator of the Black Sea Maritime Project (MAP) is Professor Jon Adams – his view is that this will change our understanding of shipbuilding and seafaring in the ancient world.
In Pompeii a new coloured fresco has been discovered in the House of the Enchanted Garden, so called due to the variety of animals and plants that decorate its walls, which was partially excavated in the 19th century but the frescoed room has only now been found. The director of the site is Massimo Osanna. The frescoes include the figure of a horse, birds in flight and a strange human figure with a dog's head. The main room is believed to be a lararium, a room designed to hold the images of the lares, divine protectors.
For more information and images from the Daily Telegraph – click here – or look out for more coverage to come in the archaeology press.
New Publication Information from Don Cooper The Roman Pottery Manufacturing Site in Highgate Wood: Excavations 1966-78 by A. E. Brown and H. L. Sheldon.
This book co-authored by our president Harvey Sheldon has, after a long germination, finally been produced. It is being sold by Archaeopress and is priced at £60. I know it is expensive, but you can also download it as a pdf from the link to the Archaeopress site below.
Perhaps one of our Romanists would like to write a review in due course.
See http://www.archaeopress.com/Public/displayProductDetail.asp?id=%7B7915E40D-7B87-49DD-B1CC-08D5FDABB505%7D The following text is taken from the publicity for this volume.
Excavations over a period of eight years uncovered at least ten pottery kilns, waster heaps, ditches and pits, but only a few definite structures. The pottery from the site indicates a period of operation extending from the first half of the 1st century AD to the later 2nd century. The pottery made at the site included initially a vegetable tempered handmade ware, but subsequently the bulk of it consisted of a grog tempered ware and then pottery in a sandy fabric which is well known from assemblages in London. The type of kiln varied with the pottery fabric; there was possible evidence for a pre-Roman pit firing, and later kilns set in ditches were of the twin flued type, eventually replaced by the more familiar above ground kilns with raised floors. Changes in pottery fabric were reflected in different methods of clay preparation, which led to changes in the function of the various ditches, the stratigraphy of which, along with the variation in the fabrics, was significant in enabling the four broad phases into which the site has been divided, to be proposed.
The report includes a very detailed analysis of the forms and fabrics of the pottery made at Highgate. Finds of prehistoric flintwork and pottery during the excavation, and of material of later date, together with the observation of earthworks and historical research, have been used to show the place of the pottery kilns as an element in the exploitation of the woodland of northern London over the last eight thousand years.
London Archaeologist 50 (1968-2018): an archaeological conference held in London
Robin Densem
I went to an archaeological conference on 6th October 2018. The conference, at King's College London, was attended by some 200 amateur and professional archaeologists, and others, and was held to celebrate fifty years of the London Archaeologist magazine that had been founded in 1968. I saw at least two other members of HADAS there, including Harvey Sheldon who was co-chairing the proceedings.
The publication is an A4 sized quarterly magazine that presents archaeological research and excavation reports; interviews; finds, artefact, and bioarchaeology studies; book reviews and an events diary, and it is probably well known to our members.
The magazine contains articles from writers across the archaeological spectrum in London, on topics ranging from human skulls in the Walbrook, to community archaeology in Fulham, to Tudor bee boles in Greenwich.
London Archaeologist is run by a completely voluntary team elected annually each May at the AGM. The production of the magazine, marketing, membership and financial matters are handled by the officers. The officers are joined on the Publication Committee by up to six further 'ordinary' members, drawn from the professional and voluntary side of archaeology. The organisation is a registered charity, no 262851.
The presentations by various speakers at the conference included considerations of the development of archaeological practice in London over the last fifty years, and specialist contributions on finds, public engagement, health and safety, and commercial archaeology carried out to satisfy town planning requirements.
It may be that developers, planners, and construction professionals would find it interesting and worthwhile to subscribe to the magazine, as well as local society members and other archaeologists, if they are not already doing so: https://www.londonarchaeologist.org.uk/ . One of the themes at the conference was the importance of archaeology in enhancing development schemes and this is one of the threads in commercial archaeology, in amongst the fact that archaeology is a material consideration in the planning process. The reality that a developer may be faced with ten, twenty or more planning conditions, of which the historic environment is just one of these.
The left-hand image shows the front cover of a recent issue of the magazine, featuring the reverse of a gold coin minted in London of the Saxon king Coenwulf who ruled Mercia (the Midlands down to London), from AD 796 until his death in 821. The legend reads DE VICO LUNDONIAE ('from the wic of London'). A wic was, of course, a Saxon trading settlement or emporium, usually on a navigable river or on the coast, and the place-name element can be present in some in modern place names, such as in Sandwich on the Kent coast, or it may be preserved in the archaic names for places such as Hamwic for Southampton, Jorvic for York, and Lundenwic for London. These places were all important Saxon trading settlements, and in London and York's cases they overlay former Roman towns there.
The right-hand image was taken during the conference. Clive Orton who edited the magazine for 40 years from 1976 can be glimpsed at the lectern on the extreme right facing the audience as he reads a paper written by Peter Marsden on the latter's important work on Roman London. Peter Marsden is on the left on the slide on the screen, taking notes from Mortimer Wheeler who, with his arm raised, is declaiming the history of an archaeological site in London in the 1960s. Wheeler (1890-1976) was a big figure in archaeology in England, publicising many discoveries, latterly on television, and founding the Institute of Archaeology in London, now part of University College London, in 1937.
A speaker at the conference explained how some archaeological sites in London are now being displayed for public access, notably the Temple of Mithras in the City of London. Another speaker told how a Roman sarcophagus has formed a central element of an exhibition on Roman Dead at the Museum of London (25 May – 28 October 2018) at its Docklands site. A room of displays at the conference featured books for sale, and t-shirts, though with the weather as it was on the day umbrellas would have been more appropriate!
HADAS Long trip to East Anglia Jim Nelhams
Monday 17th September and a quick tour around the borough to pick up 34 travellers for our trip, with five more to join us later at the Hotel in Brome, just south of Diss.
Cressing Temple Peter Pickering
A comfort break at a service station apart, our first stop out of London was at Cressing Temple, which I remembered having visited on a HADAS day trip in 1990, when there were 'crowds milling around Women's Institute competition entries', and before the walled garden had been restored. The temple is not, as its name would imply, a place of worship, but rather a group of enormous barns with ancillary buildings and a beautiful walled garden. It is called 'temple' because the two largest barns were built in the thirteenth century by the Knights Templar, the famous, indeed unfairly notorious, military order who fought in the Crusades and got some of the finance for these operations out of agriculture. The 'Barley Barn' is the first, built early in the thirteenth century, and the 'Wheat Barn' came some fifty years later. Magnificent barns like these are often compared to cathedrals, and because they do not have stone or much-decorated vaults it is easier to comprehend from barns how the carpenters covered great buildings. Add to these two barns from the thirteenth century one rather similar from the seventeenth and another, smaller, from the eighteenth – and a seventeenth century farmhouse – and the true value of this complex emerges. But that is not all; Essex County Council, to whose stewardship we owe it, have, since the 1990 HADAS visit, restored the walled garden, with lots of (clearly identified) interesting and attractive plants, which looked glorious in the balmy autumnal sunlight. Oh, and there was a cafe run by Tiptree, which leads on to . . .
Tiptree Jam Shop, Tea Room and Museum Deirdre Barrie
The second stop on Day One allowed HADAS to shop early for presents (albeit weighty ones!) at the Tiptree jam shop and museum. There was also an outdoor exhibit of farm machinery. Tiptree not only manufacture jams, but also chutneys and delicacies such as an addictive lemon curd – and there are FIVE varieties of raspberry jam alone. (One preserve is actually called "Traffic Jam!"). Most of us will be familiar with the handy little 28 gram mini jars of jams and honey available in restaurants and supermarkets (and later at our hotel).
Those who could bear to postpone their trip to the tea shop could visit a small museum about the history of the firm. The Tiptree business was founded in 1885 by the Wilkin family. Peter John Wilkin (who lives nearby in a house unsurprisingly called Tiptree Hall) is the fourth generation of the Wilkin family to join the board. One of their early, witty company mottoes was "By their fruits shall ye know them."
The management appear to have been caring employers. Houses were built for their workers, and whole families have and still do work for the company. "Wilkin & Sons Limited", says the sign outside the factory. Present management are watchful that modern slavery does not play any part in their suppliers. Production methods continue to improve. Before the Killie Jam Filler machine was introduced in 1950, an employee could manage to fill only 20 jars of jam in an hour by hand. Now 200 jars whizz along the production line in the same time.
Jam was sent to the troops in World War I, and Tiptree was awarded a Royal Warrant for jam in 2008.
Part of the Tiptree secret is that they grow all their own fruit. Twelve mulberry trees not far from the factory were planted 120 years ago. Tiptree even have their own variety of strawberry, named "Little Scarlet". Apparently Little Scarlet Conserve is a favourite of James Bond – it is mentioned in the Ian Fleming novel, "From Russia with Love".
East Bergholt Church Peter Pickering
We arrived in East Bergholt fortified by Tiptree and walked from the coach past many reminders of the artist John Constable (whose parents' house had stood there) to the imposing church of St Mary. The church signalled at the same time the wealth produced by the wool industry that had paid for it and the ferocity of the reformers who had despoiled it. Was the strange half-built but clearly ambitious tower outside the west doors evidence of a recession in the wool industry or an early sign of the reformers' zeal?
Inside, the austere appearance left by the Puritans, who were strong in the area, is only partly softened by the Victorian reintroduction of stained glass. Careful exploration, however, reveals many features of interest – the parish chest, a fifteenth century wall-painting of the Resurrection, a seventeenth century brass (the only survivor of many once on the church floor), and a monument to Edward Lambe listing his merits in two columns – one of those beginning with E and the other of those beginning with L. But perhaps most striking was the monument to John Mattinson, schoolmaster, who was 'unfortunately shot' in 1723; he is described in a Latin verse as 'a terror and a delight to his pupils'.
We were also amused by a repeated notice in the choir stalls reminding those inhabiting them to be careful what they say because the microphones mean that it will be heard throughout the church; one wonders what libellous or ribald remarks made such a reminder necessary. On our way out of the church we noted various tombs, including those of Constable's parents, and a free-standing bell-cage, needed because there was no tower.
Flatford Mill Don Cooper
And so to Flatford Mill, the last visit of the day before we went to the hotel. Flatford Mill is rightly famous for being the site of many of John Constable's paintings. John Constable (1776-1837), one of the greatest British artists, was the son of the owner of Flatford Mill. The mill itself is sited by the river Stour in a beautiful landscape now often referred to as "John Constable country". Constable created many of his more famous paintings in the area of the mill and its surroundings. Below are a couple of my photographs, I hope they convey some sense of the beauty of the area.
Figure 1 Stour river at Flatford
It was fascinating to see the actual landscape which has hardly changed from the time it was painted by Constable. The sun was shining, and the late afternoon light highlighted the colours of the trees, vegetation and reflections on the water.
Figure 2 Willy Lot's cottage
There is a small museum with poster illustrations of some of his paintings as well as a tea and gift shop on the site. For those, like me, that love Constable's paintings this was an exciting and rewarding visit.
Further reports on the trip will follow….
Queen Eleanor's Journey – Part 3 Jim Nelhams
After leaving Geddingstone, the procession made its way to Hardingstone, where another of the surviving crosses remains.
The route continued across to Watling Street (A5) and southwards along it to Stony Stratford, now part of Milton Keynes.
No trace remains of this cross – it was destroyed during the civil war by troops on their way to the Battle of Naseby. The town has many Royal connections including King John, Edward IV and Richard III.
A house at the north end of the High Street displays a plaque with the following wording.
"Near this spot stood the Cross erected by King Edward the I to mark the place in Stony Stratford where the body of Queen Eleanor rested on its way from Harby in Nottinghamshire to Westminster Abbey in 1290"
Further south along Watling Street, the cortege made a slight diversion to the Cistercian Abbey at Woburn. The original Abbey is thought to have been somewhere near the west side of the current Woburn Abbey. In 1547, Henry VIII granted the land to the first Earl of Bedford, John Russell. The building was rebuilt in 1744, and remains the residence of the Dukes of Bedford.
No trace of the Woburn Cross remains.
This is situated on the A508 London Road on the south side of Northampton. It is at the edge of Delapré Abbey, or more properly, the Abbey of St Mary de la Pré, which was a monastery, originally founded as a nunnery about the year 1145 devoted to the congregation of the great Abbey of Cluny in Burgundy, France.
Its expansive sloping grounds are a nationally-protected Wars of the Roses battlefield, as a one-time site of the advance of the Yorkists during the Battle of Northampton (1460).
This cross is octagonal and stands on some steps. The steps have clearly been replaced. When erected, there was a cross at the top, but this was lost before 1460.
Continuing along Watling Street, the next stop was at Dunstable, where overnight custody of the coffin was taken by the canons of Dunstable Priory and placed on the High Altar. The carriage was kept near the crossroads. There is a plaque on the wall of the NatWest Bank by the traffic lights.
In High Street North, there is now a modern statue of the Queen.
Nearly there. Only three more stops before Charing Cross.
OTHER SOCIETIES & INSTITUTIONS EVENTS, compiled by Eric Morgan Please check with the organisations before setting out in case of any changes / cancellations
Friday 16th November 7.30 pm Wembley History Society, English Martyrs' Hall, Chalk Hill Road, Wembley, HA9 9EW. Talk by Camilla Churchill. Brent archives revealed, Visitors £3. Refreshments
Monday 19th November. 6.00 pm Council for British Archaeology. London Archaeological Forum, Museum of London, 150 London Wall, EC2Y 5HN. An opportunity to hear about London archaeology in recent months – the sites currently under investigation, recent discoveries and to discuss the issues that matter for the protection and promotion of archaeology in the capital.
Thursday 22nd November. Mill Hill Preservation Society. An evening meeting held at The Hub, Hartley Avenue, Mill Hill Library Building, Hartley Avenue, NW7 2HX – doors open 7.15 pm for coffee / subscription payments. Individual membership is £13.00 per year. The meeting will start at 7.45 pm when Chris Beney, chair of the Open Spaces Society (OSS founded 1865) will be giving a talk on the important work it does – including the protection of footpaths, common land, green spaces and parks. OSS is the oldest National conservation body in the country.
Sunday 25th November 11:30 – 16:30 Avenue House, 17 East End Road, Finchley N3 3QE. Frost Fair with the Finchley Women's Institute who are hosting their 7th Annual Frost Fair, with art and craft stalls.
Wednesday 28th November. 7.45 pm. Friern Barnet & District Local History Society, North Middlesex Golf Club, Friern Barnet Lane, N20 0NL. Film about Britain's past. Coast and Sea. Non-members £2.
Thursday 29th November. 8.00 pm Finchley Society. Drawing Room, Avenue House, 17 East End Lane, N3 3QE Lecture VAD Nurses in WWI. Jean Scott Memorial Lecture given by John Drewry + actors. Non-members £2. Refreshments
Thursday 6th December. 8.00 pm Pinner Local History Society. Village Hall, Chapel Lane car park, Pinner, HA5 1AB. Talk by Brian Thompson. West Hertfordshire in the Footsteps of Herbert Tompkins on exploring with a Victorian Guide. Visitors £3.00
Friday 7th December 7.30 pm Wembley History Society (address as above). Talk. Turning the pages of History – on a historical oddity (Or Odyssey?) by Philip Grant (Brent Archives) Refreshments & mince pies. Visitors £3.00
Tuesday 11th December 6.30 pm LAMAS. Clore Learning Centre, Museum of London. (address as above) The Everyday Heroes of Postman's Park. Talk by Dr John Price (Goldsmith's College, University of London) Refreshments 6.00 pm Non-members £2.00
Tuesday 11th December, 7.45 pm Amateur Geological Society, Finchley Baptist Church Hall, East End Rd, N3 3QL (opp. Avenue House): Talk on enigmatic minerals of the UK by Mike Rumsey (Natural History Museum)
Wednesday 12th December, 2.30 pm. Mill Hill Historical Society. Trinity Church, 100 The Broadway, Mill Hill, NW7 3TB. Talk. Richard III: the body in the carpark. Dr Barry Walsh.
Thursday 13th December, 7.30 pm. Camden History Society. Burgh House, New End Square, Hampstead, NW3 1LT. Käthe Strenitz's Camden Town and the Railways Lands. Talk by Peter Darley on how KS's drawings are a unique record of Camden's past and deserve far greater recognition. Visitors £1.00 Wine and nibbles from 7.00 pm.
Saturday 15th December. 1.30 – 3.30 pm Barnet 1471. Battlefields Society. St. John the Baptist Church, Barnet Church, junction High St. / Wood St. EN5 4BW. Mad Monk of Mitcham. Talk by Andrzej Lubienski on Medieval jewels and gemstones. Non members £5 + donation for refreshments. Pay at door.
Wednesday 19th December. 7.45 pm for 8.00 pm Edmonton Hundred Historical Society, Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Lane at the junction with Chase Side, Enfield, EN2 0AJ. Christmas traditions. Talk by Howard Whisker. Wine and nibbles. Visitors £1.

With many thanks to this month's contributors:
Deidre Barrie, Don Cooper, Robin Densom, Eric Morgan, Jim Nelhams, Peter Pickering, Sue Willetts
Membership Sec. Stephen Brunning Flat 22 Goodwin Court, 52 Church Hill Road,
East Barnet EN4 8FH (0208 440 8421) e-mail: membership@hadas.org.uk
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