A series of Wednesday lectures will be sponsored this year at various libraries by LBB Library Services. Of particular interest to archaeologists is The Saga of the Vasa, at Burnt Oak Library at 8.15 on Wed. Oct. 24. This is the story of the raising a few years ago of the Swedish galleon Vasa from the sea-bed where she capsized in 1628. Anyone who was lucky enough to see the exhibition on the Vasa at the Science Museum some years ago, with its fascinating detail of how the great wooden ship was lifted and her timbers preserved, along with all the contents down to such things as kegs of butter, will want to hoar this lecture by Ley Kenyon, who is a diver and underwater photographer.

On Sat. Nov. 3 the Council for British Archaeology is organising a one-day conference on non-conformist places of worship at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Further details may be obtained from the CBA, 112 Kennington Road, London, SEll 6RE.

The annual Conference of Local Historians organised by the London & Middlesex Archaeological Society will take place at the Museum of London on November 17 next. No other details at the moment, though we have peen told that Sir John Summerson, expert on Georgian London, will be one of the speakers. Further information, we hope, in next Newsletter.
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Next year will see the 25th anniversary of a landmark in English Local History Studies – the publication of The Making of the English Landscape by W G Hoskins. The book was published in 1955 by Hodder & Stoughton (and reprinted in 1970 by Pelican in paperback). The original publishers are sponsoring a one-day conference on the English Landscape to mark the occasion, on March 1 next at the D.o.E. lecture theatre, Fortress House, 23 Savile Row, Wl.

Professor Hoskins will give an address, and there will be other papers by experts in local history and field archaeology – Lionel Munby (Hertfordshire), Professor Glanville Jones {North Wales), Christopher Taylor (Cambridge and Dorset), Peter Brandon (Sussex), David Palliser (Stafford) and Trevor Rowley (Shropshire and Hereford).

The Conference starts at 10, ends at 5, and the fee of £5 includes tea and coffee but not lunch. Tickets obtainable from Archaeological Education, Vine Cottage, Hethe, Nr. Bicester, Oxon, with a closing date of Feb 18 for applications.
ARE YOU IN DEBT TO HADAS

Have you renewed your subscription for the current year, due on Apr. 1 last? , If not, please send it now to our Hon. Treasurer.

As usual, the Treasurer will send out in mid-October a final reminder to all members who have not by then subscribed. The names of those who have not responded by mid-November will be removed from the membership list. Our current subscription rates are:
Full membership – £2.00
Under-18 – £1.00
Over-60 – £1.00
Family Membership: – first member – £2
– additional members £1 each

Payment should be made to Jeremy Clynes.
THE BREWER’S TALE

Another of PERCY REBOUL’s series of transcripts of tape recordings made by older residents of our Borough.

I was born in 1921 at Barnet, and have lived and worked in the area all my life. My family has close associations with Barnet: my grandfather started the Dental Manufacturing Company and worked there as General Manager.

I joined Hadley Brewery as office boy on January 7 1935 and my starting wage was 9s. a week. On my first day I was shown a very obsolete old telephone system and told to take messages and put people through. I was also told to take, at 7 am, the numbers of the barrels to be used that day.

The brewery was owned at that time by a limited company, Harris Brown Ltd. There were four directors: Mrs Harris Brown; Mr Leaney; Capt Dudley Moseley and Mr T Duncan. It was very much a family business – friendly and with great loyalty, both given and received from workers, management and customers. We owned 4 houses and 3 off licences. There was the Star Tavern at Barnet (now a shoe shop); the Victoria at North Hill, Highgate; the Bridge House at Potters Bar; and, later, we built the Brookman’s Park Hotel – a large venture for us and not a very successful one, because the Underground did not, as we had hoped get extended beyond Cockfosters to Brookman’s Park.
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Hadley Brewery was an old established business – the brewery was founded in 1700. Harris Brown extended it. He was a remarkable man in that he did most of the architectural and design work himself for the extensions. I am certain that when they took the old brewery down they discovered just how good a builder he was!

We had good water from our own artesian wells and could draw upon it whenever we liked. I see from the ledgers that, in 1937 for example, we could brew 1504 barrels of bitter for the cost of £12. 6s in raw materials such as hops, malt and sugar, plus another £1.15s for incidentals like caramel. Material costs were vary low. We imported a certain amount of hops from Czechoslovakia.

In 1935/6 we employed about 52 people for production, distribution and sales. The top man was Harris Brown; Capt Moseley was Head Brewer and Mr Duncan was in charge of admin and sales. Capt Moseley had an under-brewer and an apprentice brewer, John Duncan’s son, who eventually became Head Brewer of Bass Charrington.

You cannot learn about brewing from a book. It is a great tradition requiring an intimate knowledge of the brewing processes. 1 find even today the brewers are people with the most heart, the most will and the most thought for others because they have been brought up in the tradition. They are dedicated men, very powerful in their own sphere.

The Draymen.

I would like to say something about the old draymen. They delivered the beer by horse and cart (later in T-type Ford lorries) to private houses in an area stretching from Hadley to Muswell Hill. Most of those houses stored the beer in their cellars and they represented a large part of our business. This carried on until the outbreak of war in 1939. We sold under many brand names. There was Hadley Stout; Hadley Special Pale Ale ; Dinner Ale; Nourishing Stout; and bottled Guinness which was Dublin-brewed and picked up by us from the London docks. We also supplied lager from Czechoslovakia, Germany and Wrexham.

The draymen of those days were characters. They knew all their customers personally and made friends with them. If the Guv’nor was down with ‘flu the drayman was prepared to bottle up, set up casks and do anything required. Today, they are merely delivery men. The drayman was an important part of the business. He worked terrific hours, starting at 7 am and sometimes finishing at 8 pm. At Christmas he worked round the clock, with just 3 or 4 hours sleep.

They were a jolly crowd, big drinkers but the work was physically tough. They had to manhandle hogsheads of beer (that is 54 gallons) into cellars by ropes. They were highly skilled, very capable and very much underpaid. In 1935, for example, a drayman would earn £3-£4~ a week including overtime. A clerk in the brewery earned about £2. 15s and a senior person about £5 a week; on that you could afford to run a car.

Drunk on Ginger Beer.

Once a year we brewed Old English Ale which was a very heavy barley wine. We made only about 20- 30 barrels which was bottled by hand. Everyone helped and by the end everyone was “stoned” out of their minds! We also brewed ginger beer, using raw ginger ground down to a powder plus yeast and sugar. In those days in Hadley Woods we had Folly Farm which was often visited by Sunday school parties and we supplied them with ginger beer for the outing. One year, something happened to the brew and both children and Sunday school teachers became inebriated! We had a visit from a large sergeant of police, and after that we were very careful to watch the gravity of the ginger beer!
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I managed a great team of people and we had enormous respect for each other. One day I was sitting in Old Fold Manor Golf Club, on Hadley Green, when someone said “Your brewery is on fire.” I looked across the Green, and it suddenly struck me that this was the end. I felt terrible, and the ghosts of people I had known seemed to come back to me. Next day, I sat down and wrote an epitaph on the Brewery.

FOOTNOTE: The fire at the brewery occurred in 1962. It was rebuilt, but the only original part of the building from then on was the cellars. It was used for storage purposes and gradually grew more and more dilapidated. Finally it was demolished about a year ago.
AWAY INTO WALES

A report from PADDY MUSGROVE on HADAS’s visit to Snowdonia.

The Snowdonia National Park Study Centre, Plas Tan y Bwlch, where 49 HADAS members arrived on the evening of September 19 for a four-day stay, is a splendid Victorian mansion, high on the steep slopes of the Vale of Ffestiniog, in 105 acres of wooded grounds and gardens, with views which can be described only as spectacular.

On the way our coach had stopped for some hours at Ironbridge, where we noted many improvements since HADAS visited there in 1974. The Coalport China Works Museum is now open and various new buildings have been added at Blist’s Hill.

Our official programme of visits from Plas Tan y Bwlch listed more than 40 sites; and dozens more emerged as we roamed on foot and by coach from Penmaenmawr to Barmouth and from Blaenau Ffestiniog to the Lleyn Peninsula and over the water to Anglesey.

We saw monuments of the Neolithic and bronze ages, hill forts on remote uplands and one, strangely, on the edge of a sandy beach, a Roman marching camp and the forts of Segontium and Tomen y Mur, medieval castles (including massive Caernarvon), gold and copper mines, the old workshops of the Dinorwic Slate Quarry (only closed quite recently), and the famous Graig Lwyd axe factory (closed some thousands of years ago).

With so much to see, our party was split into two groups each day and so each individual could choose one of the two itineraries which best suited his interests and degree of athleticism. The choice was difficult, with all this happening amongst the magnificent mountains and lakes of Snowdonia.

To Mr. Alun Davies, Principal of the Centre, and our guides and evening lecturers, Messrs. Crew, Gareth Davies, Dean, Elias and Mrs. Llywellyn, sincere thanks are due for our comfort, entertainment and learning. Dorothy Newbury’s advance planning was evident at every turn and, although we missed her company, Jeremy Clynes most ably looked after our minor day-to-day problems.

It was a worthy successor to last year’s Orkney visit.
THE LEGACY 0F WORLD WAR II

A few weeks ago the names of the’ six finalists in this year’s Chronicle Award for independent archaeologists were announced. Among them was a project which studies the martial remains of World War II – pill boxes, platforms for ac-ac guns and the like – in the English countryside.
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This reminded the HADAS Research Committee that there are still some of these man-made structures left in our own area; and that they probably won’t remain much longer, and should therefore be recorded while it is still possible to do it. One example, for instance, is a pill-box near the foot of the railway viaduct that crosses the valley of the Dollis Brook in Finchley. It is just south-west of the viaduct and visible, though heavily overgrown, in the steep bank above Dollis Road.

If members know of any other World War II remains still visible in our Borough, we would be glad to have details of them – what they consist of and their precise location. Please send any such information to our Hon. Secretary, Brigid Grafton Green.
Church Terrace Reports: No. 2

This is the second in the series of Church Terrace post-excavation work reports. It is by GEORGE INGRAM and EDWARD SAMMES.

JETTONS

Prior to the late 15th c, when Arabic (originally Hindu) numerals were introduced, all calculations involved the use of Roman numerals.

To aid in the process of reckoning accounts, discs of copper, brass or latten, imitating coins, were used on a board or cloth similar to an abacus, having seven lines on which the counters were moved. The Romans used a similar system, using pebbles or discs of horn. (Note : the Museum of London has a replica of a counting board on display in its Medieval Section) The system was based on fives, using the numerals I, V(5), X(1O), L(50), C(100), D(500), M(1000). No more than five counters were allowed on a line. By these means simple addition and subtraction could be accomplished and the merchant needed to be able to count only in fives: Obviously, the coin of the realm could also be reckoned by such methods.

Jettons of coin type originated in France in the mid 13th o and there were English versions by 1280. By the 14th c. they were being struck in Paris, Toulouse and Lyon. Flemish counters or jettons appeared during the 14th c. They were made in Tournai, a copper mining town, and were in production for over 150 years.

By the early 16th c. the manufacture of jettons had moved to Germany and was centred on Nuremburg. These counters were thin, crude and again of “brass.” Their production was in the hands of five families, Koch, Krauwinckel, Laufer, Maler and Schultz.

The most common type has on its obverse a central rose surrounded by three open crowns and three fleur-de-lis arranged alternately. This is surrounded by the maker’s name and a rope design. The reverse side bears the Reichsapfel (a crowned orb) of Nuremburg and a legend.

Jettons are often pierced, probably to aid in distinguishing them from genuine coins. This confusion could easily have arisen in the case of English jettons which were copies of the coin of the reigning monarch.

The Italian market must have been particularly attractive, as special jettons were made depicting the winged lion of Venice on one side and a ship on the other.

A11 these foreign reckoning counters were imported into England , in large numbers and are frequently found on medieval and later sites, especially ecclesiastical ones, hence they are often called “Abbey Tokens”. Excavations at Waltham Abbey monastic grange in 1970-72 produced 1 French, 2 Nuremburg and one unidentified jetton. Five German jet tons were found at Sewardstone Street, Waltham Abbey, in 1966.
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The Church Terrace excavation produced one jetton (weight 3.37 gr) in trench Cl. It was badly corroded but it is possible to identify it as of German, possibly Nuremburg, origin. On one side it bears the winged Lion of Venice, on the other a mitre; date about 16th c, possibly for use in Italy. It has been pierced in antiquity.

Two other jettons have been found in Hendon. The 1962 excavation at Church End Farm produced one by Wolf Laufer of Nuremburg. The second was found about 1965 in the garden of 6 Grove Gardens. It is typical 16th Nuremburg type, as described, but the inscription is too badly corroded to read.

For further reading:

BERRY, G – Three articles on jettons. Coins and Medals, Link House Publications: June 1968, pp. 544-6 Sept 1968; pp. 743-5 Dec 1968, pp. 953-4

HUGGINS, P J – Excavations at Sewardstone St, Waltham Abbey. Post-Medieval Arch, vol 3, pp. 47-99. See p.96

HUGGINS, P J – Monastic Grange and Outer Close Excavation, 1970-2 Trans. Essex Arch. Soc. 1972, pp. 30-126. See p.125
BAPTISTS IN CRICKLEWOOD

By GEORGE INGRAM.

Earlier this year, in the March Newsletter, there was an article on Childhood in Cricklewood, by Miss Ethel and Miss Winifred Wardley. In it they mentioned the opening, in 1877, of the Baptist Church in The Mead.

Recently an interesting booklet has come my way from the Secretary of the Childs Hill Baptist Church, Mr K A Pitkethley. Some facts from it may fill out the personal memories described so graphically by the Misses Wardley. The booklet is a history of the church, by the Rev. J Sylvester Poulton, from its first beginnings (before the present church was built) up to 1927.

As early as 1865 the activities of the Heath St Baptist Church in Hampstead included a Home Mission at Childs Hill. One day an evangelist, Mr Rickard, on his way to Childs Hill, found a large contingent of men working on the construction of the “new Midland Railway.” He began open air meetings where the church now stands. This was in Old Mead (now renamed Granville Rd). It was a private way and had never been made up. In wet weather it was almost impassable. Carts would congregate at the top of the road and their contents had to be carried to the houses and laundries on the drivers’ shoulders. Big brothers had to carry their smaller sisters home on their backs through the mud and slush.

The area had a somewhat unenviable reputation; it was said to be unsafe on a Saturday night for a single constable to patrol the district alone. There was much drunkenness; cock-fighting went on where the Chapel now stands.

Sunday evening services were first held in April 1866, in a small upper room at the Model Laundry in the Mead (later 85 Granville Rd), and this is where the work of the church started. In May 1866 the Sunday school was launched. It held its first meeting in Mr Elphick’s laundry (later the Victoria Laundry) with 16 children and Mr Rickard as first superintendent. Two years after there were 145 children on the books.
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In those days Heath St Church loyally supported the Sunday school by sending to Cricklewood some of its enthusiastic young men and women; in 1878 there wore 250 scholars and 20 teachers. The next step was to obtain the loan of a Mission Hall for three years, and this was opened for public worship on Jan 19, 1867.

A Day School for infants was also opened and before the close of the year 120 little scholars were attending. Several clubs and groups were formed, and it was next decided, with the consent of Heath St church to build a permanent Chapel. A Memorial Stone was laid on June 28 1870 and the building cost £2500. It was opened on November 17 of that year. A British School (mixed) was started about this time for older children at a cost of £600. On June 12 1877 the Childs Hill Baptist Church was founded when 60 members of the Heath St Church agreed to form the nucleus of the new church. A new organ cost £lOO in 1885 and in November 1899 a Mission Room opened in Elm Terrace, the idea being to induce people to attend first the Mission and afterwards the Chapel.

In 1890 the numbers attending Sunday and Day Schools had so increased that it was found necessary to provide more accommodation. The room known as “The Middle Class Room” was built. The Rev Rickard retired after 25 years service and his successor, Rev J Sylvester Poulton, began his ministry on Dec 9 1894.

At the turn of the century there was a great stir in the parish of Hendon over education. The voluntary system, which had been languishing for some time, finally broke down and the School Board stepped in and took over administration. The British School was transferred to the School Board and became overcrowded. The Board was given permission to use the Chapel temporarily for Day School purposes till the Childs Hill Board School was built and opened in June 1901.

In autumn 1905 a successful Mission – the Claremont Mission – was held at Midland Brent Terrace, Cricklewood, and at a meeting of members in September it was resolved that it be called the Claremont Baptist church. Later, however, it was taken over by Childs Hill church. In 1915 Mr Poulton completed 21 years as pastor, and a presentation was made to him; he continued his ministry till 1928, the year after he wrote his history. We have a list of the ministers who followed him, but little more history of the church until recent times. Part of the premises have now been given up to the young people of the neighbourhood for use as a community centre. In June last year Barnet Council granted £2760 towards this scheme.

HADAS members will be sad to hear that one of the co-authors of the article which George mentions on Childhood in Cricklewood, which we published last March, died on September 6 this year. This was Miss Ethel Wardley, who had lived to the great age of 92 with a marvellous and completely clear memory. We offer our sincere sympathy to her sister, Hiss Winifred Wardley.
NON-CONFORMiSTS IN THE BOROUGH OF BARNET

George Ingram’s article is a reminder that, as some members will know, he has been master-minding the collection of information about non-conformist churches in our area. This is a long-term project and one on which George will be most Grateful for offers of help from members. If you know anything about a particular church or are in a position to provide a booklet or a history, of it; or if you are prepared to help generally on the project, please give him a ring.
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ROMAN BANQUET, HADAS STYLE

With this Newsletter is an application form for this year’s Christmas party, to be held on Saturday, December 8 at St Jude’s Church Rooms, Central Square, Hampstead Garden Suburb at 7 pm.

This will take the form of a Roman banquet, with as many Roman touches as it is possible to devise in a modern world. The occasion will be modelled on the banquet given during the annual Roman Cookery weekend organised by Southampton University. That function takes place under the jurisdiction of the Tutor in Archaeology, David Johnston, and the cookery course tutor, Maureen Locke, both of whom have done considerable research into details of Roman banqueting.

We are indebted to them for many helpful suggestions regarding our banquet. Mr. Johnston, for instance, assures us that it was the custom in the northern Empire to sit for meals, not to recline, so we propose to follow that fashion and offer you chairs, not couches. We are also assured that most Roman families, even the well-to-do, lived frugally, and though the fatted calf was metaphorically killed for special occasions like this, the sort of orgies described by Petronius in his Satyricon (the most notorious being Trimalchio’s banquet) were considered by most Romans to be – if you’ll forgive the pun – in doubtful taste.

We hope very much that members who decide to attend will choose to wear Roman dress, as this will greatly enhance the authentic atmosphere. Thanks again to help from Southampton, we include on the next page, details – with drawings by HADAS member William Morris – of how our female guests can easily provide themselves with a tunic and palla. Instructions for male dress will be included in next month’s Newsletter.

(EDITORIAL: To view this drawing, select the following link.)

If you are coming to the banquet, please fill in the application form and return it to Dorothy Newbury as soon as possible. We need to know numbers fairly soon because some of the ingredients for Roman cookery are expensive nowadays – e.g. pine kernels, dried apricots, nuts, honey and various herbs and spices – and we propose to bulk-buy our supplies if possible. A prompt application will help us to do this.

This seems an appropriate place to give details of the next Southampton University Roman Cookery course, on Sat. May 17-Sun. May 18 1980, at St. Swithuns School, Winchester. Non-residential. Fee £9.50. Applications to Dept. Adult Education, Southampton University, by Mar 31, stating relevant interests and experience of ancient/modern cookery.

Another Southampton course in which HADAS members may be interested is Practical Flintworking, Sat. June 14-sun. June 15 1980, at the University. Fee £7, tutor J C Draper. This will cover core preparation, simple flake tools and microliths. Applications as above by Apr. 30 next.

TWO OPEN UNIVERSITY SHORT COURSES

… may be of interest. Doing History is an 8-week course; Feb-May 1980, described as showing you “how to go about historical writing and research.” The Editor of the Newsletter, with more than half an eye on future contributors, will be delighted to hear from any members who decide to take it!

The other course is an introduction to Industrial Archaeology, 10 weeks from Feb-Apr 1980. Fees for both courses £8, applications up to Dec. 14 next, further details from the Associate Student Central Office, Open University, PO Box 76, Milton Keynes MK7 6AN.