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NEWSLETTER NO.274 – JANUARY 1994 Edited by D.L. Barrie

DIARY

Tuesday, 11th January, 1994 – Visit to the Newspaper Library, Colindale NW9, 2 pm. This is now full, but anyone wishing to join the waiting list please ring Dorothy on 203 0950.

Tuesday 1st February, 1994 – “History and Restoration of the SS “Great Britain” – John Robinson, A treat for the industrial
archaeologists in the Society.

Our speaker, John Robinson, is Senior Curator, Maritime Collection, at the Science Museum. He has been involved throughout with the continuing restoration of the ship.

The SS “Great Britain’ was first built as an Atlantic liner. Designed by Brunel, she was the first ship built of iron and driven by a propeller to cross to America. The journey took nearly 15 days and the fare was about £30. Her seagoing life ended in 1886 in the Falkland Islands, and she was used as a coal and wool store until 1936 when she was finally towed away and scuttled. In 1970 she was salvaged and towed back home on a platform to the Great Western Dock in Bristol where she was built 150 years ago.

Many of our members will remember our tour of the ship in 1977 when HADAS spent a weekend at Bristol University.

Tuesday 1st March – Lecture to be confirmed.

Tuesday 5th April – “Archaeology at St. Bride’s Church 1952-1993” –

Gustav Milne.

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, GOWER STREET

HADAS CHRISTMAS DINNER, TUESDAY 7th DECEMBER Mary O’Connell

I don’t know how she does it Year in, year out; Dorothy comes up with a new venue of great interest.

So – having identified our friendly coach driver David, behind his hirsute disguise, we were conveyed safely to Gower Street, there to meet up with the rest of our party (64 in all) for another HADAS Christmas feast.

I thought that the standard of fare provided by Mr Brudney and his team was of especially high standard, and I’m sure it was enjoyed by all. Thanks to Dorothy’s research the menu contained an article on UCL.

Our guides, Gill, Michael and Belinda, provided more on-the-spot information about the fine features of the building, the treasures of the history library and about Jeremy Bentham. And what a character he was, already an accomplished linguist and scholar in his tender years,

he was a voracious reader all his life. A bon viveur – who thought nothing of laying out 13 pence when dining out at “The Three Tuns” in Guildhall Yard (with 1d for the waiter.)

His interests were wide-ranging, from politics: – his “Fragment on government impressed many people to legislation principles:- “Laws should be for the total happiness of the community,” to prison reform:- his revolutionary design for the Panoptican and its management and discipline. (This inspection house was later developed as Millbank Prison, on the site now occupied by the Tate Gallery.) His brilliant philanthropic mind -loved the Truth!’ and he corresponded and debated with many of the leading figures of his time.

Because of his fascination with all things scientific, he left his body for dissection. The auto-icon was his final vanity and his instruc­tions to clothe his skeleton and seat it on display may be an example of the opinion held by his friends that he was a boy to the last.”

A marvelous evening – thanks from us all, Dorothy, and here’s to next year!

HENDON, CHILDS HILL, GOLDERS GREEN AND MILL HILL

A Pictorial History by Stewart Gillies and Pamela Taylor published by Phillimore, £11.95

Last month the Newsletter included a short notice of this hardback book with an attractive dust cover.

It does not of course cover the whole of the old Hendon Borough, Edgware being conspicuous by its absence. Perhaps Phillimore will be covering this elsewhere. I liked the end photos, both of different subjects, but feel that an earlier drawing of the Old Smithy could have been found – it all looks too clean:

It’s very nice to see the arms of the Borough of Hendon, but what a pity this could not have been in colour:

Between the covers there are 166 black and white photos which are well produced and with captions for each one. In this respect it is nice to see old friendly photos and many that I had not see before. I would, however, have been happier if more of the photos had been deployed across two pages – the fold in the middle almost makes two separate photos.

There seems to my mind to be a lack of industrial sites, i.e. Rawlplug Co., Railways, Johnsons of Hendon and above all a few more shots of the Hendon Air Display or early tube trains at Golders Green. I realise it is difficult to give coverage to everything, but did we have to go to Italy for a representation of ox-roasting in 1932? (No.155). I remember the day very well and did get a slice of the ox. Maybe also church interiors did not get their fair share. The picture of the Silk Stream (No.115) widening out into the Welsh Harp is extremely interesting, as is also No. 120, Hendon Central Underground Station standing all alone in 1923, and on No.121 where is all the traffic down the Watford Way?

Yes, it includes cinemas, but for personal “fleapit’ nostalgia (minimum price 4d) I would also have liked to have seen the Classic Cinema just off Brent Street. The Edgware Road being surfaced with wood blocks is an interesting picture, all forgotten today, I fear. They often came up when there was prolonged rains

Maybe the biggest contrast of all is No.62, the Burroughs Pond, into which horses and carts could be driven.

The task of selecting these pictures must have been very interesting, time-consuming and at times I fear frustrating. Despite my above little carping comments, this book should be on the shelves of everyone with memories of Hendon past, and more importantly to those who are new to the old Borough of Hendon. Good value at £11.95p from Public Libraries and Church Farm Museum, etc.

TED SAMMES

HADAS MEMBERS ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL Bill Bass

Our expectant excavation team finally managed to gain access to the former Victoria Maternity Hospital site in Wood Street, Barnet. Delays were caused by massive concrete foundation blocks that had to be extracted and broken up on site by contractors. On a cold November 28, base-lines and trenches were laid out according to the plan and scheme of works as this is a Field Evaluation on behalf of the contractors (Oliver & Saunders). Three trenches were machine-dug on December 1 and 2 by JCS – this operation was overseen and directed by Mr. K. Tyler of the Museum of London Archaeological Service with HADAS assistance. Demolition and rubble over-burden was carefully scraped off with the

JCB using a toothless “bucket”. Digging stopped when any archaeological features were revealed or the natural sand/gravel/clay reached. We seem to have features in all three trenches including a possible ditch, pits and brick footings. Saturday and Sunday 5 and 6 December saw volunteers involved in initial cleaning/trowelling of trenches with one or two sherds of our ubiquitous medieval greywear pot appearing, also a spot

of surveying to establish a “level” or height above sea level, on site. Volunteers are welcome, please see the November Newsletter 272 for more info. Intensive care is given at the ‘Black Horse” over the road.

“A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD”

Ruislip, Northwood and Eastcote Local History Society is organising the 11th Local History Conference on “Roof Over Your Head” on
Saturday, February 26 1994 at the Winston Churchill Hall, Ruislip, from 10 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.

There will be illustrated talks on a variety of subjects concerned with the development of domestic building, particularly in the Middlesex area, but also of general relevance. They have secured the services of some expert speakers, and are confident that the audience will enjoy an interesting day.

Tickets are £4, and include tea/coffee. Ample free parking and

access for the disabled available. Enquiries please to Mrs. E.C.Watling, Secretary, Ruislip, Northwood & Eastcote Local History Society, 7 The Greenway, Ickenham, Uxbridge, Middx. U810 8LS (0895) 673534. Please make cheques payable to ‘RNE Local History Society” and enclose SAE.

BUSINESSES IN BARNET – AN EXHIBITION BARNET MUSEUM

“Businesses in Barnet” is an exhibition at Barnet Museum, running in tandem with “Made in Barnet”, the exhibition at Church Farmhouse Museum reported in last month’s Newsletter.

Elliott & Sons, the former photographic film manufacturers of Park Road, are represented by boxes of “Barnet Dry Plates” and copies of “The Barnet Photographic Book”, which later became the world-famous ”Ilford Manual of Photography.’

Watsons, the scientific instrument makers which closed in Bells Hill in 1981, is also featured. Regrettably it third industry from turn-of ­the-century Barnet town, that of denture-plate making, is unrepresented.

A large number of local firms have loaned or donated material to augment the museum’s own collections. Charles Neale & Sons have lent tokens made in its North Finchley factory which are used in London wholesale markets, as well as being keenly sought by collectors. Drawings for stained-glass windows at Knowle Church and tools of the trade of Luxford Studios, now The Glassery in East Barnet Road, record a family whose associations with stained glass go back some 300 years.

Commerce in Barnet is represented by the chain of office of the now defunct Barnet Chamber of Commerce, recently acquired by the museum.

A large brass shield with the words: Funerals to suit the Requirements of all classes” has been lent by W. Nodes, then Holmes & Sons, funeral directors. .Space precludes the many other businesses featured in this exhibition which runs until 31 January.

GRAHAM JAVES

BODIES, BONES AND BURIALS BILL BASS

On the 13th November at Oaklands College, St Albans the Council for British Archaeology (CBA),Anglian Region, held their AGM with a conference on ‘Books, Bones and Burials”. HADAS are affiliated to the CBA as a society and is now covered by the Mid Anglia region which reaches London North of the Thames. Herts. Cambs., Essex members also belong on an individual basis. The CBA produce a magazine, ”British Archaeological News”, which comes out ten times a year, and a bi-monthly information supplement – “Briefly”. This has useful listings including forthcoming excavations for professionals and volunteers, training digs, events, exhibitions, conferences, lectures, day schools etc.

Talks at the AGM were given on Royal-Warrior burial at St Albans and Colchester, work on the Spitalfields Project – techniques and conditions on how to clear a crypt and record over 1,000 18th century and early 19th century coffins in various states of preservation (rather them than me); Reconstruction of ancient faces from skull casts by John Prag. Dr Ann Birchall spoke on China’s Terracotta Army, more of which is being found, including bronze figures. Martin Biddle talked on “The Search for Alban” (See “Current Archaeology” No.130). His search has led him to excavate beneath Alban’s shrine in the Abbey while it was being renovated. No evidence was found here except an unknown Georgian vault. Martin now believes that there may have been an early Saxon church or late Roman cemetery under the present nave, or further south downhill, possibly next to a (projected) Roman road, running east/west around the hill joining Verulamium’s north east gate.

SITE WATCHING IN THE NORTHERN AREA BILL BASS

Several sites have come to the attention of English Heritage for which they are recommending Field Evaluations or Watching Briefs.These include:

Nos. 143, 145 and 147 Friern Barnet Lane, N20 (possible site of a manor)

Nos. 1182-1228 High Road, Whetstone, N20 (near to the medieval village)

Land to rear of 176-204 High Street, Barnet Nos.63-67 Wood Street, Barnet (1 2407 9636)

On November 22nd 1993 several members from HADAS managed to observe foundation trenches for a two-storey house being dug at land to the rear of 63-67 Wood Street, Barnet. Trenches were opened by JCB and were approximately 1 metre wide by 1.5 metres deep. Nothing of archaeological significance was found. Garden topsoil approximately 60 cm deep was sitting directly on top of natural (undisturbed) orangy sands and gravel to the north, with yellow clay to the southern end. This information, though negative, may help us when excavating at the Victoria Maternity Hospital site also in Wood Street. Thanks to Andrew Scott (architect) and J. Clark (Builder) for their help.

AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM TED SAMMES

Two exhibitions of note and currently running:

1) The Arts of Hinduism. This religion is over 2,000 years old, and in that time has developed its own art form to serve the many Hindu gods and goddesses. This when it comes to sculpture may be good for veneration or for the outside adornment of the temple.

The exhibition covers all forms from works on paper, large scroll paintings on cloth and all are centred round the major deities, Vishnu, Shiva, and Devi. It is open until April 10th 1994. Admission £2, concessions £1. I spent an interesting hour in another world.

2) A small free exhibition in the basement of the British Museum shows some of the latest finds from the Jordanian site of Tel es-Sa’idiyeh which Jonathan Tubb and others have been excavating for the British Museum for several seasons.

Finds range from iron work to well-fired pots. Of especial note is the fish in a small dish. On display also are the various tools used in recording the site.

Well worth a visit.

THE BUTSER ANCIENT FARM JEAN BAYNE

HADAS members visited the Butser Ancient Farm in Hampshire some years ago. As I recently spent a couple of days there, I made a few notes as an update.

Butser, a reconstruction of an Iron Age farm, has been situated in its present picturesque site near Chalton since 1991 and in that time has both recreated work from the old site and developed new ‘projects and ideas. It continues as a unique experimental research establish­ment and educational centre welcoming the general public, school pupils and serious students of archaeology. Informal volunteer participation is encouraged alongside more formal courses. The current economic climate has, however, imposed constraints, but as long as no research work is ever compromised or general access limited, Butser enjoys becoming involved in more offbeat pursuits such as a programme on cookery for the BBC and Hallowe’en Celtic entertainments.

The large Celtic roundhouse, on the Longbridge Deverell Cowdown model, is the most obviously striking feature. It is the largest roundhouse ever constructed in Europe and contains artefacts relating to the lifestyle of the Celts. Two smaller roundhouses nearby are b based on evidence from the Glastonbury Lake Villages and would have been used as extra rooms.: at present they depict aspects of Celtic life like weaving. A four post structure used for drying out grain is a recent construction and a second granary is now under way. The grain would have been initially stored for several months in two large round pits like the two dug into the chalky ground outside the main enclosure At the moment, the pits are “demonstration models” as there is not e enough grain in bulk to warrant this type of storage. Other new items -on the farm include a circular sheep pen, haystacks, drying racks and a working pole lathe to help make wooden objects.

The smelting and pottery areas are just outside the enclosure and used for both activities and experiments. The earthworks round the enclosure are the subject of continuous research and comparative study. A pollen study group is being set up and will be developed this year. Crops of emmer wheat, spelt wheat, barley and oats are sown and experi­ments relating to sowing times, climate patterns, and natural weed growth are well in hand. Woad abounds, grown in a labyrinth layoutand is used for dyeing.

It is planned to develop the Romano-British aspect of the site. Two Roman surveying instruments, the Roman Groma and the Aqua Libra or water spirit level have already been set up. The base for the cottage Roman villa, probably to be based on the excavation of Sparsholt, has been laid, and it is planned to build a hypocaust using Roman-type bricks and tiles.

Animal husbandry is also very much part of Butser. Two Dexter cows are used for ploughing, five types of ancient sheep – the Soay, the Hebridean, the Mouflon, the Manx Loghtan and the Shetland – live along­side numerous old English goats and two bristly pigs. The roost, however, is ruled by Georgina, an old English Game Fowl hen, who sees humans as part of one great flock of chickens and keeps an eye on all that is going ant She occasionally passes on her opinions with a series of clucks and grunts. More chickens are currently being intro­duced to the farm.

The emphasis on educational activities is impressive, ever expanding and imaginative: over 5,000 schoolchildren visited Butser last year and it is hoped to increase that number to 20,000 in the future. It is the research and educational programmes which are carefully nurtured above all else and which underpit all the other activities.

If anyone is interested, there is a brochure available for 1994 courses from the farm. There is also a “list of wants” which Butser needs. If anyone can help and would like a copy, the Director can be contacted at the farm, using the following address. The list includes such things as teaspoons, a Tilley lamp and paintbrushes.

DR. PETER REYNOLDS

BUTSER ANCIENT FARM,

NEXUS HOUSE, GRAVEL HILL,

HORNDEAN, HANTS. Tel. 0705 598838

DISEASE FROM THE MIDDLE AGES HALTS DIG AT HISTORIC SITE

read the headline in the “Evening Standard” on 13th December. One of the team of archaeologists involved in the excavation under Guildhall Yard, EC2, has been referred to Brampton Hospital as he has contracted “farmer’s lung”. The surprising thing about this is that the disease may have been caused by spores which have survived in a stratum of the dig surviving from the time of William the Conqueror. The disease is rare in modern central London and is caused by an organism which grows on fermenting or rotting hay. The Museum of London (said the Standard) stopped the dig after the diagnosis was made and has called in experts in fungal diseases to test the site. The Council for British Archaeology and the Institute of Field Archaeologists believe that there are no previous cases where an organism has survived for so long.

ssue no. 273 DECEMBER 1993 Edited by Reva Brown

Diary

Tuesday, 7th December, 1993: Christmas Dinner at University College, Gower Street. For last minute bookings, phone Dorothy Newbury – 203 0950 – to see if there are any places left or cancellations.

Tuesday, 11th January, 1994: Visit to the Newspaper Library, Colindale NW9 2.00 pm. Numbers are limited. Will members who have shown interest please confirm in writing to Dorothy Newbury, 55 Sunningfields Road, Hendon NW4. There is no charge, but a donation on the day may be appreciated.

Now until 16th January, 1994: British Museum: The Hoxne Hoard continues on display in Room 69A.

18th January to 16th May, 1994: British Museum: The next exhibition will be a collection of coins from Venice, gathered together by our former member, the late Philip Greenall. Mrs Greenall has presented the collection to the Museum.

Members’ News
Dorothy Newbury

Two more members are entering archaeology courses: Jean Bayne has passed her first year and is starting the second year. Tom Real starts his first year this autumn. Both are keen diggers.

Would any other members who have passed their exams, please let us know so we can give them a pat on the back?

Stephen Conrad will be participating in a “Christmas Holiday afternoon for Children” at the Museum of London on Thursday, 30th December at 2.30 pm. It is organised by Geoffrey Toms, who is known to many of us as our host at Attingham Park where we stayed in the 70s for our HADAS weekend. The subject is “Spitalfields changing communities 1690-1990”, starting with the Huguenot immigrants up to the more recent influx of the Bangladeshis. The East End is well-known for its ‘rag trade’ and Stephen is a tailor by trade.

John Enderby, founder member and one-time vice-chairman of the Society, a committee member for 30 years, and now a vice-president, finally left Hendon on 8 October. In 1992, John and Barbara achieved their ambition and bought a cottage in the country. For many years, John was principal of the Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute and gave the Society enormous assistance in so many ways – from occasional permission to use the Teahouse for finds processing etc., always arranging lecturers for archaeological evening classes, and more recently, examining Council planning applications for possible site-watching or excavation sites. John’s contribution to Hendon in general has been extensive – he retired from no less than 14 committees when he left the area. His latest efforts were concentrated on the new North London Hospice project, for which he raised thousands of pounds, on which he spent thousands of manhours. He has been invited to come up and meet the Queen at the forthcoming inauguration of the Hospice. For the many members and friends who knew him well, his new address is: Fosse Cottage, 46 Church Street, Fontmell Magna, near Shaftesbury, Dorset SP7 ONY, telephone 0747 811805. He tells me he would love to see any old friends who are passing that way. My advice is – ring first. He is already involved in local activities. Our loss is their gain.

Mrs Banham is another founder member – and remembered by so many of us on summer outings, always bringing with her a large tin of sweets to sustain us on our journeys. She rarely missed an outing and always came on our weekends away until a spinal ailment curtailed her activities. She often writes, saying how she enjoys the Newsletters, and says she is still with us in spirit in all our activities. Mr Banham (now deceased) addressed all our newsletter envelopes by hand in the Society’s early days. We all owe so much to those dedicated early members who brought the Society into being, and it is up to the rest of us to do our utmost to keep it going. Mrs Banham still lives in Hendon and I would be happy to give anyone her address.

SUPERB NEW EXHIBITION AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY
Stewart J. Wild

HADAS members will, I am sure, be as fascinated as I was with the latest exhibition at the national Gallery: The Making and Meaning of the Wilton Diptych. It is in the basement area of the new Sainsbury Building and is on until 12 December, 1993. Admission is free.

The subject of the exhibition, sponsored by Esso, is the breathtaking Wilton Diptych, the greatest painting to survive from 14th century England. Almost 600 years old, the Diptych is name after Wilton House, seat of the Earls of Pembroke, to whom the treasure belonged until the National Gallery acquired it in 1929. It is a portable altarpiece, probably made between 1395 and 1399, for the private religious devotion of Richard II, King of England 1377-1399, who is shown being presented by Saints John the Baptist, Edward the Confessor and Edmund to the Virgin and Child surrounded by angels. Nobody knows who painted it or exactly what it means.

The exhibition explores some possible interpretations of the diptych imagery through contemporary medieval objects such as stained glass, manuscripts, jewellery and sculpture. When the Diptych was cleaned in 1992, it was also scientifically examined, using the latest technology, and the results of this analysis are also show.

An excellent 25-minute video on the Diptych and its symbolism and imagery is shown every half-hour in an adjacent room. Highly recommended.

ROMAN AMPHORAE: Problems of Identification and Methodology

The Museum of London is holding a two-day conference – 23rd-24th January, 1994 ­on the topic of Roman amphorae. These were the great long-distance travellers, carrying commodities from the Mediterranean to the extremities of the Empire. Found throughout Britain, they have considerable potential, as yet mostly unrealized, for dating, and for illuminating contextual status and function. On the first day, papers on identification and methodology will be presented by a selection of international amphora specialists. On the second day, there will be a series of seminars making use of amphorae in the Museum of London Reserve Collection and from recent excavations. The conference costs £20.00, cheques to be made payable to the Museum of London. Send applications to Jo Groves, Museum of London Archaeology Service, Number 1 London Wall, London EC2Y 5EA.

FUN AND GAMES IN THE ROMAN BATHS by Liz Sagues

What did a Roman centurion, anxious to endear himself to his troops, give them? A baths complex, of course. And what practice, common at Roman baths, is replicated in their modern municipal replacements? Unhappily, the stealing of bathers’ clothes.

Those were just two of a plethora of entertaining facts which bubbled up as Mark Hassall dipped into the vast pool of information about what went on in that most important of Roman institutions, the public bath. November’s lecturer, remembered with pleasure from earlier visits to HADAS, deservedly drew a capacity crowd to Hendon Library – where, by fortunate coincidence noted by Mr Hassall, the lecture room bears a substantial resemblance to the favoured decorative style of Roman bath designers.

Plunging into his subject with the enthusiasm of a Roman squaddie for his hot bath at the end of a cold day stationed on Hadrian’s Wall, he emphasised how baths proliferated in almost every Roman city. At Timgad in Algeria, there were 14 sets of public baths; in Ostia, Rome’s port, 20; the Eternal City itself had II huge public complexes (one, the baths of Diocletian, large enough for its frigidarium to be converted into a great Renaissance church and now to house the national museum) and some 800 to 900 smaller ones.

Baths were everywhere in the Roman Empire, continued Mr Hassall, Reader in Roman archaeology at the University College London Institute of Archaeology, even if, unlike the conventional Alan Sorrell reconstructions, those in the colder, wetter north had pitched tiled roofs rather than the cement barrel vaults favoured at sites such as Leptis Magna.

If baths were not as numerous in British cities as in those nearer the heart of the empire, they appeared early – there were military baths at Exeter by the mid-50s AD – and they could be both massive and magnificent, he said, instancing Caerleon and Leicester. The categorisation of Roman Britain as two bricks and a damp field was, he insisted, entirely wrong.

He splashed out energetically on the role of baths as social centres. Seneca had digs above one, and didn’t enjoy the experience. “He said how trying it was – like living over a disco … people jumping, splashing around, selling sausages, using depilators, ouch, ouch, ouch.” And pilfering at the municipal pool was no 20th-century phenomenon. So rampant was the disappearance of coats and robes at the baths of Roman Bath that the aggrieved victims sought divine retribution, cursing the thieves on pewter tablets which survive as evidence of their fury.

It was that “morally upright” emperor, Hadrian, who had stopped mixed bathing, leading to the introduction of separate-sex baths, two sets of rooms arranged in a mirror image of each other. He was also the excuse for a Roman joke – the account of how the emperor, meeting in the baths an old soldier who he had previously encountered on a tour of the outposts of the empire, was disturbed to find the man could not afford to pay a slave to scrape his back. He handed him a bag of gold … only to be confronted, on his next visit to the baths, by 40 old men in the same predicament.

Enjoyed, too, both by ancient Romans and modern Romanists, continued Mr Hassall, was the wordplay joke that the bath stoker was a fornacator, from “fornax” – furnace. Fornicator, he added, came from “fornix” – arch – “under which, presumably, it all happened”.

Warming to his theme, just as the water in the caldariums had got “hot, really hot”, he invited members “to take a bath” with him. He had, he admitted, already come close to it, confusing the doors to the library’s lavatories and encountering some female members of his audience where they had least expected him. In a concluding series of slides, he juxtaposed Roman scenes of bathing, from mosaics at the 5th century Sicilian villa of Piazza Armerina, with the barely-veiled interpretations of 19th century artist Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, the latter not just the classical Victorian excuse for an excursion into the softest of porn but also “very good” in their historical detail. And what could be more in line with modern practice than the message on the mosaic “mat” at the entrance to one palatial suite: “Have a good bath”?

The shower of questions which followed, on subjects from funding to fuelling, from affordability to filtering, proved – as did the huge wave of applause – how HADAS appreciated the evening.

THE LAMAS POPULATION PROJECT

We have received a request from Jean Linwood, Chairman of the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society Population Project which concerns 18th Century London. The Project is desperate for more volunteers, as the intention is to cover all the pre-19th century parishes of Central and Greater London, with the exception of the City of London. Work needs to be done for Edgware, Willesden, Great Stanmore and Harrow, among others, and there is no time limit for completion. Members of the Project meet at the Museum of London (on a Saturday morning) to discuss progress. If you are willing to take part in the project, contact Jean Linwood at 52 Lorne Road, Wealdstone, Harrow, Middx HA3 7NJ for further details on how to proceed.

MADE IN BARNET – exhibition at Church Farmhouse Museum
Liz Sagues

Made in Barnet, which opened at Church Farmhouse Museum on 23 October, traces the history of industry in the Borough since the 1880s. The past 100 years have seen north-west London change from a collection of farming villages to suburban sprawl. Factories and workshops appeared among the houses and it is surprising how many companies – many of them household names – were based locally. Among them are Johnsons of Hendon, the photographic company, Frigidaire, Schweppes, Simms, the motor components company, once the largest employer in Finchley, Standard Telephones & Cables, Handly Page, Duple Coachbuilders and many others.

Some of the material on show is drawn from the Museum’s collections and most of the photographs are from the Borough’s Archive Collection. Some items have been lent by companies and individuals. The Museum would, however, like to mount a

much more comprehensive exhibition in 1995 or 1996. Gerrard Roots, the Curator, would like to hear from anyone who has objects, documents, photographs or memorabilia relating to local firms – large or small – which they would be prepared to lend (or donate) to the Museum. If you, your family or friends have any material you think may be relevant, do please contact the staff at the Museum or phone them on 081-203 0130.

The present exhibition will be on show until 16 January, 1994.

HENDON, CHILD’S HILL, GOLDERS GREEN AND MILL HILL – a pictorial history by Stewart Gillies and Pamela Taylor. Published by Phillimore, price 11.95 (hardback)

Many members will know Stewart (Local History Librarian) and Pamela (Archivist) from visits to the Barnet Libraries’ Archives and Local Studies Collection at Egerton Gardens. Their new book is the second in a trilogy which, when complete, will cover the present Borough of Barnet. Finchley and Frien Barnet was published in 1992, and the third volume, covering East Barnet, Chipping Barnet, Arkley, Totteridge and Hadley, is due next year.

Hendon … contains a ten-page introduction to the ancient manor and parish and 166 captioned illustrations, including a good selection of less well known material illustrating different aspects of the area. A full review of the book will appear in next month’s Newsletter. The book is on sale at your local library and at Church Farmhouse Museum. An ideal Christmas present for someone – or yourself!

Sitewatch At PDSA Building, Church Terrace, Hendon NW4 TQ 2298 8950

On Friday, 5 November, Ian Haigh and I were able to make ourselves available at short notice to view a narrow, shallow trench dug for foundations of a small back extension to this building. The Borough Planning Department had made a request in the planning permisssion for HADAS to be allowed access and we are grateful to the PDSA for their co-operation. The site was obviously of interest to us, being on the sandy plateau of Church End so close to HADAS digs at Church Terrace and Church Farmhouse.

In fact, about 90% of the trench (45cm wide) was into ground already disturbed by two drains below the tarmac-on-concrete surface. In the remaining area, beneath layers of tarmac, concrete, sand, and soil (probably disturbed), we note a natural layer of grey sandy clay, recognisably similar to a subsoil layer we had found in the Church Farmhouse excavation (there numbered Context 209). This was at a depth of 64 cm below the present tarmac surface; no artifacts were visible. For the record, a note of this inspection will be included in the Church Farmhouse excavation archive and report (CFM93).

BR IAN WRIGLEY

A visit to St Paul’s

On a perfect November morning, HADAS members gathered on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral in eager anticipation of another in-depth tour of a famous London landmark that few of us know as well as we should. Thanks to Mary O’Connell’s encyclopaedic knowledge and guiding skills, were not disappointed.

After a brief resume of the various buildings that preceded Wren’s masterpiece, we were invited to take a good look at the clock and the west facade. Our attention was drawn to the couple of fossils clearly Visible in the Portland flagstones outside the west door, then we entered the Cathedral, passing All Souls Chapel and the Chapel of St Dunstan. In the beautifully-panelled Chapel of St Michael and St George, the first of many privileges we enjoyed which are not part of the ‘normal’ tour, we learnt more of the history of the building and the functions of the various chapels.

We admired the Wellington Monument, and took time to explore the symbolism of The Light of the World, the Cathedral’s most famous painting. On the way to the Middlesex Regiment Chapel, we stopped to admire Henry Moore’s enigmatic Mother and Child sculpture. More fascinating facts and anecdotes about the building and its survival during the Blitz of WWII emerged as we rested in the Choir, the most richly-decorated part of St. Paul’s. We continued to the American Memorial Chapel, behind the high Altar and Baldacchino, later pausing at the lifelike effigy of John Donne, Dean of St. Paul’s 1621-1631.

Down below in the enormous crypt, we would all have like longer to explore among the many memorials and tombs honouring our famous citizens and heroes of the last three centuries. Respects were, however, paid to Wellington and Nelson, and at the tomb of Wren himself, a plain black marble slab bearing the celebrated and eloquent epitaph Si monumentum requiris circumspice.

Canon Haliburton kindly showed us the Library, a rare privilege for it entailed ascending to the first floor level above the curtain wall, and allowed us to see places not normally accessible, including a view of the nave from high above the west door. The Library itself was just as Wren had designed it, with a charming all-round balcony and stuffed with rare books and manuscripts going back seven centuries.

The tour finished in the Whispering Gallery, with its remarkable sound effects and superb views of the nave, although most of the party felt energetic enough to ascend further to the Stone Gallery to enjoy fine views of the City and beyond. I personally made it all the way to the Golden Gallery on top of the Dome where the views over London made the climb of over 320 feet well worth the effort.

Thank you, Mary, for a fascinating tour, and thanks to Dorothy for organising it.

Issue No. 272 NOVEMBER 1993 EDITED by DAWN ORR

DIARY

Tuesday, 2nd November Lecture:”Fun and Games in the Roman Baths” – Mark Hassall,F.S.A.

A return visit by this entertaining speaker, who is Reader in Roman Archaeology, at

University College. This month’s subject will about the baths and bathing which were an essential element of Roman social life. In this talk Mr Hassell looks into the remains of Roman Baths from Scotland to the Sahara – and examines some of the activities that went on in them

Saturday, 6th November Visit to St Paul’s Cathedral, with Mary O’Connell.

Application form in last Newsletter. There are a still a few places available. Phone Dorothy Newbury on 081 – 203 – 0950.

Tuesday,7th December Christmas Dinner at University College, Gower Street

Details and application form enclosed.

Tuesday, 11th January, 1994 Visit to the Newspaper Library, Colindale, N.W.9 – 2p.m.

Numbers are limited. Will members who have shown interest please confirm in writing to Dorothy Newbury, 55 Sunningfields Road, Hendon N.W.4. There is no charge, but a donation on the day may be appreciated.

BRITISH MUSEUM The HOXNE HOARD continues on display until 16th January, Room 69A.

Members will be interested to learn that the next exhibition at the B.M. after the HOXNE HOARD will be a collection of coins from Venice, gathered together by our former member, the late Philip Greenall. Mrs Greenall advises that the coins will be on display from 18th January until 16th May. She has presented the collection to the Museum.

MEMORIAL to the late Mrs BRIGID GRAFTON GREEN has not yet been decided. Members who subscribed earlier this year may be wondering why there is no news as yet. It appears that several suggested projects have proved unsatisfactory. The memorial will be shared by the many groups associated with the Institute and other organisat­ions in the Garden Suburb. As with HADAS, Brigid’s service to any organisation was invaluable, and we hope that a decision on her memorial will be made shortly. A plaque on the Institute building was the latest idea, but permission has been re­fused.

COLLEGE CAMPUS at RAF HENDON EAST CAMP is being considered by Barnet Council for planning permission. The new Middlesex University is proposing to house 579 stud­ents in the former officers’ mess site, just half a mile from the University, at an estimated cost of X2.0 million. The developers, ‘CPR’ of Mayfair are optimistic that the Council will grant permission in time for the academic year beginning September, 1994, and bring to an end the speculation over the new use for these historic 1915 Listed Buildings.

MEMBERS’ NEWS

FRIEDA WILKINSON, almost a founder member, is back home again after many months in hospital and convalescent care. We are all pleased to learn that she is ‘on the mend’ and she will be happy to hear from old friends.

RICK GIBSON has been missed on recent outings and members have asked after him. Apart from being involved with other societies, Rick now has severe back problems following a coach trip (not one of ours !) and long journeys are proving painful. We hope he will be participating again in 1994.

ROY WALKER and BILL BASS We are happy to announce that these two keen diggers have passed their second year examination (Roman period) for the Certificate in Field Archaeology. Congratulations, Roy and Bill

Success, too, for MICKY COHEN, who has completed her fourth year for the Diploma in Archaeology. She has to face the practical section now. We wish her success in this, which will give her the full Diploma.

PAUL and MICKY O’FLYNN We were all pleased to see both of them helping at the Minimart and to learn that they are returning to work and live in London after a three-year absence in Derby. Both have continued membership and always join us on our weekend away. We are particularly pleased to congratulate Paul on his app­ointment as consultant at the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital in London.

CHURCH FARMHOUSE DIG has ended – perhaps to be activated again another year.
Local interest continues in the displays at the Church Farmhouse Museum, and on
National Archaeology Day over 100 visitors came, as LIZ HOLLIDAY reports :

NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGY DAY – 28th & 29th August, 1993

100 visitors of all ages came to see the excavation in the garden at Church Farmhouse Museum during the Bank Holiday weekend. Society members, local residents and enthusiasts from further afield (including one family of four who came specially from Kent!) dodged round the trenches in the garden to discover what was going on. Brian Wrigley spotted Dr. Martin Bates from The Institute of Archaeology, who spent time to give an opinion on soil stratification.

it was the last weekend on site and the digging team were working against the clock to complete measuring and drawing before the trenches were back-filled. Many thanks to Bill Bass, Arthur Till, Vikki O’Connor and all the diggers who made the time to answer visitors’ questions, explain what they were doing and describe what they had found. Special thanks to Brian Wrigley and Roy Walker who conducted numerous groups round the site; to Sheila Woodward who patiently dealt with queries about finds and explained how they were cleaned and processed and to Tessa Smith who produced countless cups of tea and glasses of squash for visitors.

Dozens of people visited the museum to see the splendid selection of finds from three previous digs in the Hendon area which had been brought together by Ted Sammes. Ted, helped by Victor Jones, filled three showcases and supplemented the display with screens showing maps, plans and texts.

Unfortunately, arrangements for tours round the parish church did not work out so well. The vicar had only limited time on Saturday and was not available at all on Sunday. Nevertheless, our visitors seemed to enjoy themselves and certainly found out more about HADAS, the excavation and the museum.

AND FOR OUR NEXT DIG ………………….

As forecast in the August Newsletter, the former Victoria Maternity Hospital in Wood Street, High Barnet, is to be redeveloped — the central office block, a Listed Building, will be retained, and the building work will be ‘restrained pending archaeological evaluation and advice re preservation or protection..’

ROY WALKER has prepared the following information sheet and request for helpers: EXCAVATION AT THE VICTORIA MATERNITY HOSPITAL, WOOD STREET, HIGH BARNET

Following hard on the heels of the excavation at Church Farm is the above excavation due to commence on Monday 1st November, 1993. at which your assistance would once more be greatly appreciated. The hospital is a listed building, being a former Georgian mansion constructed on enclosed common land. Two cottages were on the site prior to the building of the house. It is currently proposed that two 15 by 4 metre trenches aligned north/south be dug beneath the now-demolished 20th century wings of the hospital, partially on the site of the previously-demolished 18th century wings of the original house. A third trench, 30 x 2 metres running east/ west, will be dug on open land to the rear of the hospital.

This will very much be a rescue excavation in advance of building works. It is very likely that a service road will be under construction on the site while we work so every attention must be given to site safety – hard hats and stout boots are essential. HADAS has some of the former but if possible please bring your own. A tool-store and a portaloo will be placed on site but there may not be much protection from the weather. Finds processing will be carried out at Avenue House, preferably at the same time as we excavate and assistance for this will be needed.

If you will be able to participate in this work, please let me know as soon as possible so that our plans can be finalised. It may be possible, if there are sufficient volunteers, to work on site weekdays, not just at weekends.

Please reply to: Roy Walker, 2a Dene Road, London. N11 lES. Telephone: 081 — 361 — 1350

NIGHT AFTER NIGHT, A THIEF PLUNDERED AN ARCHABOLOCIECAL SITE…..

This alarming headline appeared in The Independent just this summer ! The villain was operating a few miles north in Bedfordshire — let us hope that he does not transfer his attentions to the Victoria Maternity Hospital site

Thanks to the vigilance of Mrs Evelyn Baker, an Archaeology Officer with Bedford County Council, who was supervising a site under investigation before a new sewage pipe was laid, “Charlie” with metal detector and at least one Roman coin in his pocket, was caught on site and arrested. Alas — despite the keen cooperation of the Bedfordshire Constabulary —the Crown Prosecution Service declined to prosecute ‘because there was not a 51% (sic) probability of success the site had not been ringed with notices saying that this was an archaeological site and that theft would lead to prosecution ….’ Protective legislation is mooted — but when ???

A ROMAN PAGE ….

The Maidenhead Advertiser (August 27,1993) featured a familiar figure in an illustration of a display of Roman finds from villas excavated in the Maidenhead area. Quotations from the same familiar figure – none other than our own Ted Sammes – are included in the accompanying article, for he was responsible for the display at the Maidenhead Heritage Centre, recently re-opened after three years of planning and re-styling. We are pleased to see Ted’s meticulous work appreciated elsewhere and suggest members would be interested in the wide range of finds to be inspected at Maidenhead if an autumn drive up the river can be arranged.

The Sunday Times (July 18,1993) defiantly spells archaeology with only one ‘a’, but may be forgiven (a little) since their account of ‘Saving the City’s Roman Amphitheatre’ was well presented and illustrated with detailed diagrams. According to the project engineer, Mike West of Oscar Faber, the remains of the amphitheatre, already a scheduled ancient monument, will be left intact while the basement and upper floors of the new building (art gallery and offices for the Corporation of London) are built under and around it…’We are putting in an 18-metre deep base­ment with the equivalent of Stonehenge perched above it.’ The work is to be com­pleted by 1996 – cost about £10 million. Part of a future London Walk with Mary ?

Time Travellers of London A Roman Day at the Museum of London with TESSA SMITH

On a lovely sunny Saturday (18th September), a group of HADAS members visited the Museum of London. The High Walkway to the museum gave us a panorama of old and new: the Roman Wall in fragmented ruins beneath towering modern architecture, as astound­ing to us today as the Roman buildings must have seemed to the native Catevellauni tribe 2,000 years ago.

Francis Grew, Curator of the Roman Department, together with Cheryl Thorogood, the Asst. Curator, shepherded us round the Roman gallery in leisurely fashion,sharing their expertise and knowledge. We marvelled at the Roman swords, the carpenters’ tools, the golden brooches, the hairpins ( how did they stay in ?), the face paint and make-up bottles, the wooden ladder still intact found in a well, and a thousand other small and fascinating items of Londinium Roman life.

The main reason for our visit was to handle and view a selection of Brockley Hill pottery normally kept in the store rooms of the museum. Although the display cover­ed a nuge exhibition table, it comprised only about Sig of the total collection, the choicest pieces : amphorae, mortaria, bowls, lids, rims, handles – most of which was excavated by Stephen Castle. However, of her items found at Southwark,London and St. Alban’s were on show, the Southwark Hofheim ‘collared’ flagons being the earliest examples of Brockley Hill ware, about 55 A.D. None of the very early flagons have been found in London, indicating that the earliest Roman advance settled in Soutwark, not London. It was also very interesting to read the site note-books and letters relating to the Brockley Hill excavations.

Outside the museum, Francis challenged us to identify the age of the bastion of the Roman Wall, and we were disappointed to have our illusions shattered – the actual structure is medieval, only the foundations are Roman. Down in a large vault below the museum building, silent as a time capsule, we walked around the preserved remains of the West Gate, so eerie and dusty, a contrast to the noise and smells that must have surrounded it 2,000 years ago.

Back in the museum, Francis gave us a short but comprehensive interpretation of the Brockley Hill wares and their importance. Finally, we watched a video ‘Barnet before Domesday’, made for Channel 4 by Steve Herman, starring Daphne Lorimer, Brigid -Grafton Green, Ted Sammes, Helen Gordon, Isobel McPherson and Paddy Musgrove.

It was a marvelous day, wonderful value – our entrance tickets to the museum are valid for another 3 months. The museum restaurant food is excellent and most of all we thank Dorothy and Francis for organizing it all.

P.S. The Museum will be updating its display methods in the near future, ‘after all it is 20 years old nowTo some of us, 20 years ago is quite modern – onlya blink – but to others it is history… such is the experience of time travellers

OUT AND ABOUT WITH HADAS IN NORTH LONDON DAWN 0RR STANMORE OLD CHURCH AND ‘NEW’ – PINNER VILLAGE – HEADSTONE MANOR

Setting the alarm for Saturday morning means a HADAS OUTING – always worth the passing torture of getting to the pick-up point on time! Saturday, 14th August, 1993, was worth almost a whole Newsletter in itself; yet another example of what Dorothy can plan, organise, cost and deliver to us, seemingly without fuss, always with good cheer.

It was a surprise to find that a red double-decker ‘SHIRE’ bus had been privatised for HADAS for the day, and we trundled happily out of the vulgar commerce of NW this and that into leafy Metroland – half an hour to our first destination at Stanmore and a rendezvous with other members from the Harrow area.

A visit to Great Stanmore ‘Old Church’ was an addition to the original itinerary, and we have to thank a member who told Dorothy about it. Another member, Helen Gordon, has family connections with the 4th Earl of Aberdeen, whose tomb was recently discover­ed at Great Stanmore and featured in our Newsletter of February, 1992. A pity that Helen was unable to be with us to hear our enthusiastic guide, Dr Frederick Hicks, relating the rather sad romances of the Victorian Aberdeens and their connections the Abercorns, and the excitement of discovering their lost family vault during the work of consolidating and making safe what remains of the 17th century church. Dr Hicks was Chairman of the Works Committee.

A Saxon church at ‘Stanmore Magna’ recorded in Domesday Book, and a medieval church dedicated to St Mary both came before the ‘Old Church’ rose to the glory of St. John the Evangelist – tall and splendid with rich red bricks, graceful arched windows, wide nave and soaring buttressed tower. It was rare in the troubled reign of Charles I to have a new church, rare to have one built in brick so lavishly, and perhaps rarest of all to have one consecrated by a Bishop of London, later Archbishop of Canterbury, who lost his head for High Treason. This hapless prelate was,of course, William Laud, ex­ecuted in 1645, four years before his sovereign met the same fate. At Laud’s trial, one of the accusations against him was that he ‘outwent Popery in the consecration of chapels..(such as).. St. John at Stanmore..’ To this charge Laud replied that Stanmore was ‘no chapel but a trueparish church’. Indeed it was paid for by one of the parish­ioners, one Sir John Wolstenholme ( many of the same name are prominent in the local history) whose profits from merchant adventuring also helped to sponsor the explorat­ions of Henry Hudson and William Baffin in Canada and Greenland. Wolstenholme’s supp­ort is honoured in the naming of a Cape and a Sound. Three other parishioners gave the land, notably the Lady of the Manor, Mrs Barbara Burnell, widow of a wealthy cloth mer­chant. According to Dr Hicks’s calculations, some 250,000 bricks, probably from nearby sources, were used in the construction. 360 years later, 250,000 pounds sterling were raised – not all from nearby – by appeal, to rescue the building from the elements, the vandals and the ivy. How did it come to fall into decay? Human frailty perhaps ?

It seems that, after two hundred years, Laud’s ‘true parish church’ needed repairs and was too small for the growing congregation. Land adjoining was on offer from a Colonel Tennant and it was decided to build a new church, designed by Henry Clutton in Kentish Rag and Bath Stone in the Victorian ‘early decorated’ style. The memorials and many of the fixtues and fittings of the brick church were transferred to Clutton’s building, but when the roof was removed and demolition imminent, there was much opposition. Public support, as it might today, kept the building standing, though sadly neglected and unused, except for burials in the nave. One such tomb is to be found right in the middle, the Hollond family mausoleum, a solid display of Victorian opulence, about the size of a bus shelter

The new church was consecrated in July, 1850, almost on the anniversary of Laud’s ceremonies in 1632. This time, the celebrant Bishop was imported from Salisbury. One wonders if his brother London had declined? We noted Dr Hicks’s assurance that the present Bishop of London, Dr David Hope, came willingly to dedicate the conservation works in July last year…. Many parishioners who supported and served the church throughout the centuries are remembered in the memorials, but a Wolstenholme tomb could not be missed. The effigies of an 18th century Sir John and his wife rest on a giant four poster bed of stone. He, resplendent in curled wig and elegant clothes, seems almost to be smiling, while Lady W. gazes fondly at him, turned affectionately

towards him with her head propped on her uplifted arm. A caption is certainly called for….

Another arresting and unusually colourful memorial commemorates the Burnells of almost four hundred years ago; it has been in three churches on the site. Queen Adelaide, widow of William IV, who lived in the neighbouring Bentley Priory after Victoria’s accession, was a generous benefactor; the font is among her several gifts. The royal connection continues with the present Queen Mother’s patronage of the conservation appeal.

Outside in the colourfully planted and well-tended graveyard, we could have spent another happy hour in warm sunshine with the good Dr Hicks and his colleagues, but we had to be content with a passing glance at the graves of W.S. Gilbert of ‘G.&S.’ with a snow white guardian angel; William Knox D’Arcy, founder of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and a pioneer in Queensland ore mining; and the infant daughter of Lord and Lady Jellicoe. A charming cottage, Church Lodge, looks like the work of Norman Shaw. Did he convince Mrs Hollond, who had it built in memory of her husband, that the woeful style of the mausoleum need not be repeated?

From the bus, as we left, there was a fine panoramic view of the two churches and the graveyard. Definitely worth a return visit – and only a bus ride away.

AND SO – TO PINNER

A welcome cup of coffee awaited us at the ‘Hand in Hand’, a 16th century pub where we sat in the old coach yard or inside in the cool dining-room, reflecting on the Aberdeens and Abercorns, the religious and political zealots of times past, the marvels of 17th century bricklaying, the parish pride of Dr Hicks and so many gen­erations of benefactors and fund-raisers. Soon we were joined by Mrs Pat Clarke, Vice President of Pinner Local History Society, and her colleague, Mr Jim Gollond, who led us firmly out of the dream-time of Stanmore and its church-builders, aristo crats and wealthy merchants.

Now we were to meet a whole village, with a broad array of people and places. Here another church of St. John, this one the Baptist, has stood for at least 600 years; a midsummer frolic, the Pinner Fair, has continued uninterrupted since the charter of 1336 in the week after Whitsun (they still have Whitsun in Pinner); the little shops of the gently sloping High Street have but a thin veneer of 20th century glazing and decor, overlaid on Victorian Georgian and Tudor structures above and behind; the Beaumont family live and work and repair cars in the same premises used by their wheelwright ancestors at the time of the French Revolution; the Pinner Self Drive is run from and ancient barn; and with another nod to modern times a handsome Georg­ian house has been filmed for the solicitors’ offices in the TV series ‘May to Dec­ember’. Nor is the grisly hand of the developer missing, though the new Sainsbury’s is discreetly hidden up a lane, whereas the 1880 entrepreneur, Daniel Gurney, boldly destroyed several timber-framed structures and erected an ugly row of tall Victorian monsters in their stead, still a scar on the high Street. Surely he deserved to wait 15 years for his rents, while his houses stood empty and unloved.

We were glad to sit awhile in St John’s, built safely at the top of the High Street, secure from the often boisterous river Pinn, and listen to Mrs Clarke and Mr Gollond tell us something of the history of this ancient flint church, a ‘chapel of ease’ since 1321. The centuries of its life are marked by various features and additions, including a 15th century font and windows, a niche containing a chrysom for a baby of 3 weeks, whose grieving grandmother and father are mentioned in the inscription, but whose mother is unaccountably not named. What would the Social Services have made of that? Almost modern is the late Victroian Lady Chapel built for the girls of the Commercial Travellers’ School, who no doubt entertained themselves during tedious services with a handsome stained glass window at the east end, at its best with the mid-day sun behind it. All too soon we were out in the mid-day sun our­selves, briefly pausing in the graveyard to wonder at a strange narrow pyramid tomb, designed 150 years ago by an architect, John Lowden, to shelter the remains of his father. About six feet above the ground a marble coffin protrudes from two sides of the pyramid, but Mrs Clarke was confident that the coffin is merely symbolic since father Lowden rests more conventionally ‘six feet under’, beneath a sinister warning in the large fan-shaped decorative ironwork at the base of the pyramid : ‘I byde my

time’.

We strolled along the old coaching route to London in front of the church, admiring a trio of pretty cottages, and stopped in front of a large mansion, Pinner House, to hear more fascinating snippets from Mrs Clarke andMr Gollond. Pinner House has for many years been part of a sheltered housing scheme, with modest brick and weather­board additions blending quietly with the elegant brick pile. At least one of the incumbents of the church was wealthy enough to use this big house for his vicarage, in preference to the more humble dwelling behind. He also extended the front in offence to the symmetry of the Queen Anne original, and exercised his influence to have the road moved away from his front door so that now it has a bend at the top of the hill. One cannot imagine a latter day vicar bestriding his ‘world’ like such a colossus I Alas, no time for Pinner Park, but we were promised an inspection of its former granary, moved a few years ago to Headstone Manor, which was our next stop.

HEADSTONE MANOR

Between Pinner and Headstone Manor there are large villas with large gardens which bespeak comfortable incomes – the recession is not evident here. Nor is the London Borough of Harrow careless of its treasures, as we found in the Museum and Heritage Centre, developed during the last twenty years in the 14th century moated Manor House and farm buildings. At present the old Manor House and a small barn are partly cover­ed in a white plastic shroud, like the eyesore presently obscuring the Albert Memor­ial, but one has the feeling that the worthy burghers of Harrow will see to it that the 1990’s shortage of funds will soon be overcome and the expertise and craftsman­ship displayed in the work already done on the great barn and the Pinner granary will be continued in the other buildings. Meanwhile, the work sites are tidy and well looked after, almost as though the workmen have just gone off for lunch-break.

We enjoyed our own lunch in the great barn, 160 feet long, beneath a roof covered in beautiful hand-made clay tiles. It is not recorded how often the barn has been repaired since it was built in 1506, but it can never have been in better condition than it is now, certainly fit for the Archbishops of Canterbury who were Lords of the Manor from 825, or indeed for a King, the predator Henry VIII, who ‘acquired’it when Thomas Cromwell fell from grace.

Two more guides arrived, kindly arranged by Mrs Jan Strode, Chairman of the Museum Committee, and looked after us for a tour of the whole estate. We are so often led to explore and excavate remains of times past under the ground, but at Headstone the ‘skeletons’ are all exposed – no digging required! The timbers of walls and roofs of about two-thirds of the Manor House have been stripped of plaster and tiles, repaired and strengthened, ready for the next staged’ restoration. A wooden walkway right round the roof looks frighteningly high from the ground, but once up there the fasc­ination of looking down on the regiments of rafters dispels any vertigo. In one of the startlingly wide lead gutters lay a large tabby cat, fast asleep and quite obliv­ious to our shuffling feet and the chatter, maybe dreaming of his adventures with two entirely empty birds’ nests perched on a beam below him. Our guide revealed devoted interest in every inch of the building, as we were enlightened on the details of the timber framing and its many alterations, along with speculations and evidence of various uses and abuses. Our own Ted Sammes was able to offer an opinion on the age of the residual floor tiles. The opposite end of the Manor House is still a dwelling, a charming farm cottage on two sides of a sunny sheltered courtyard, where tomatoes and herbs share planted tubs with lobelia and petunias. Two rooms are set apart, furnished in 1930’s treasures, many just like those at home. This area has been the scene of a recent Hovis advertisement on television.

Back over the sturdy moat bridge and across the great yard to the Pinner granary, where our learned lady guide treated us to a potted feast of up-to-date archaeology, relating to excavations for the re-erection of the granary, a lengthy dig by the Wessex Archaeological Society which revealed evidence of a previous building some 30 feet long, flint over brick walls, possibly a stock barn with a sheltered yard. We could have got digging there and then, but we trooped obediently inside to find an excellent exhibition space on two floors: farm tools on the ground floor and local industry upstairs, complete with tape-recorded history to accompany displays by Kodak, Hamilton Brush Co., and the White Friars Glassworks.

A traditional sit-down HADAS tea with our friendly guides, an all-too-brief browse in the barn museum and bookshop, and we were back on the bus for home. Thank you,

Dorothy, and our guides, for a wonderful ‘London’ day.

MINIMART ’93 DOROTHY NEWBURY and DAWN ORR

It was a clear sunny day for the great load-up at 55 Sunningfields Road as stage two of the annual fund-raising effort began. Stage one, of course, is the long labour of sorting the goods, pricing them and storing them in the elastic-sided Newbury garage and other secret dens. Stage three sees us staggering up and down the stairs of that quaint Church House bearing boxes and cases, glancing longingly at the meringues and other goodies arriving more delicately in the ground floor eaterie. Stage four is the laying-out of the endless surprises which emerge from the packing cases and boxes, along with the inevitable last-minute offerings. Stage five is coffee time..the last pause for sanity before the pinnies, the cash floats and the final instructions from our faithful colonel-in-charge make stage six. Then the shrill command of the whistle, action stations and stage seven lasts for as long as it takes before we slink down to lovely Tessa’s lovely lunches. The meringues are all gone, naturally, but there’s good gossip and plenty of cheerful banter, often with a stranger who may be a new member, or a member’s friend, or someone’s son and a small digger whose tool is a wobbly plastic spoon being shoved round a ditch of quiche… so that’s stage eight, and then we must summon up the strength to return to the trestles or perhaps a swop with someone on another stall after a hasty hiding of the potted columbines safely (?) on the steps that go to nowhere behind the table. (That hall has many steps and passages that go to nowhere’.) Stage nine, the final ‘sell for whatever you can get’ is short but the tenth is another like seven, which lasts as long as it takes to get it all cleared up and packed away, floor swept and cars loaded to transport the ‘vestigial remains’ (a phrase beloved of our much missed Brigid) back to Dorothy’s hideaway until next time…

DID YOU HEAR OR SEE THE INEBRIATED PIANIST?? Dorothy says she missed him and so did several others, but the witnesses assert that he was playing the piano NEAR THE HIDING PLACE FOR BAGS AND OTHER PRECIOUS ITEMS. Dorothy was asked ‘to come up and remove him’ – one shot only required, perhaps? Later reports became rather fanciful, with vivid descriptions of party-like interlude with customers and helpers dancing and singing. Well, he went of his own accord, but did he buy anything? Did he discover the bubble-cut hair drier that was almost snapped up by a would-be flower arranger?

Total receipts so far amount to a,£1, 300 and rising. There is a small collection of articles to go to auction, and Dorothy says she ‘may raise the energy to do a couple of car boot sales with some of the relics, including two boxes of bric-a-brac which WERE UNOPENED.’The bric-a-brac helpers will not hear the end of that in a hurry.

Also from Dorothy, a big thank you to all helpers on the day, to the members who helped with the pricing, those who collected carloads beforehand, the NEW TEAM of strong young men who heaved goods up and down, and most particularly all the mem­bers who provided the excellent items for sale. Lastly, ‘Apologies to anyone to whom I was ratty (sic). I was unable to spend the planned week beforehand getting everything ready and had to rush around in the last few days – sorry, all!!

SHOPPING DAYS TO CHRISTMAS – you need not count – just buy your friends and relations a HADAS BOOK FOR CHRISTMAS. There is a good variety to choose from, and they are proper books – not just an ‘air trip read’ Ask Dorothy for details.

Issue 271 October 1993 Edited by Micky Cohen

Tuesday 5th October “Aspects of Roman Pottery” Our lecture season opens

with a return visit of Dr Robin Symonds, who came and talked to us at our Brockley Hill/Roman Pottery seminar at St. Mary’s Church House in February this year. Robin Symonds was educated in the U.S.A. and Oxford, where he took a D.Phil. degree. His thesis has been published on RHENISH WARE. He was a Roman pottery researcher for Colchester Archaeological Trust for eight years, and a Roman pottery specialist for the Museum of London Archaeological Service since 1990.

Saturday, l6th October MINIMART at St. Mary’s Church House (top of Greyhound

Hill) Hendon. N.W.4. – our only fund-raising event each year. With rising costs, particularly Newsletter dispatch, our excavation expenses, hall hire for lectures and our room at Avenue House, it is even more essential that we make this event a success. Please see enclosed leaflet for details.

Tuesday, 2nd November Lecture: “Fun and Games in the Roman Baths” by Mark

Hassall, F.S.A. A return visit by this entertaining speaker, who is Reader in Roman Archaeology, University College. His interests include Roman inscriptions, the Roman army, and classical technology. This month’s subject will be Roman Baths. Baths and bathing were an essential element of Roman social life, and in this talk Mr Hassall looks into the remains of Roman Baths from Scotland to the Sahara and examines some of the activities that went on in them !!

Saturday,6th November Visit to St, Paul’s Cathedral, with Mary O’Connell.

Details and application form enclosed.

Tuesday,7th December Christmas Dinner at University College, Gower Street.

With guides, talks, viewing of the College.

Tuesday, 11th January,1994 Afternoon visit to the Newspaper Library,Colindale,N.W.9 Please phone Dorothy Newbury (081-203-0950) if you wish to join this group visit.

HADAS CHURCH FARM HOUSE DIG The OPEN DAYS on 28th and 29th August were a

great success. A detailed report will appear in next month’s Newsletter.

BRITISH MUSEUM The HOXNE HOARD is on display until 16th January in Room 69A.

Catherine Johns will lecture on the HOXNE TREASURE jewellery and plate on 7th Oct. at 1:15 p.m. in the Lecture Theatre.

OUT AND ABOUT WITH HADAS IN NORTH LONDON A report on visit to Stanmore, Pinner.

and Headstone Manor will appear in next month’s Newsletter.

Bill Bass

HADAS British Tour ’93 – Chester and Llandudno

DATE – 3rd September, 8.15 A.M..

Arrangements are set and battle-lines drawn for my first HADAS weekend trip, we leave Golders Green on time. A slight problem arises as the coach was supposed to have been a 53 seater but we ended up with a 48 one instead, tricky as there are 49 of us; its then realised one of our party is Joining later by train and all is resolved. Driver David points us towards the MI.

Leaving the M1 we pass through pretty villages and country lanes, the odd tractor having to take avoiding action, eventually Claybrooke Magna appears and a sign – Agricultural Merchants and Flour Millers marks our first visit ­Claybrooke Mill.

We have to negotiate a tight narrow lane which opens into a small yard with very little turning space; our party alights muttering how on earth driver David was going to get out of this one. The mill has been owned and restored by Mr. & Mrs. Mountford over 14 years, the present building dates from 1760 but corn may have been milled here up to 800 years ago. After tea a site tour shows a 3 storey structure built around a large water-wheel supplied by a mill-pond, this drives through gears, one of several sets of millstones which have been rescued from other sites and re-cut, resulting flour is sold to natural food shops etc.. Miraculously driver David has turned his coach and we head off towards Stoke.

Past Ashby de la &ouch with its castle, Burton-on-Trent – Bass Breweries etc.,(no relation and no time for a visit, shame), Tutbury Castle (15thc) is also glimpsed on our Journey.

Stoke on Trent’s industrial outskirts signal arrival at the Gladstone Pottery Museum, Langton. Lunch first, then a video describes the growth of six original towns which form Stoke-on-Trent; the core of Burslem still survives, as do those of Tunstall, Hanley, Stoke, Langton and Fenton. North Staffordshire was ideally situated when the craft of pottery came to be industrialised, here there was a variety of clay for pots, lead and salt for glaze, coal for firing, and plentiful water to mix materials. Successful farming areas in nearby counties of Derbyshire and Cheshire created a major market, by the Victorian era pottery had become affordable for everyone and factories like Gladstone China were producing vast quantities of medium-quality ware for both home and abroad. A system of canals and turnpike roads were used to transport goods, many of the canals are still in evidence today. Adoption of clean fuels in place of coal not only changed the air above Stoke, it sealed the fate of the city’s characteristic bottle ovens.

Gladstone comprises several huge bottle-shaped kilns (shaped to

create and control the upward draught), cobbled yards, original workshops and offices. It’s a working museum and many of the pottery techniques can be seen, one room, the ‘slip–house’ contained a very Heath-Robinson machine of pulleys, guide ropes, gears, driven by an adjacent steam engine to wash (blunge), sieve and strain clay, iron is also removed from it by magnets. Ted Semmes reckons HADAS should have one for finds processing! There is also extensive display of Tile – Victorian fireplaces etc., Sanitaryware – baths, sinks and rows of highly decorated water-closets, also galleries of Colour and Glazing.

We set off for Chester, a small diversion takes us to Beeston Castle a 15thc ruin spectacularly placed on a rocky cliff, part of the Mid Cheshire hills. A short drive following the Shropshire Union Canal brings us to Chester College, the college was founded in 1839 by the Church of England, here we set-up camp in comfortable accommodation amid a pleasant garden setting. There’s no rest for the wicked, after dinner a lecture with slides given by Mike Morris – Chester City Archaeologist. Mike explains that there is little or no evidence of pre­historic activity, present day Chester stands on the site of a Roman Fortress built c AD 79 as a base for military operations against the Welsh. This Fortress was constructed on a sandstone plateau surrounded by marsh land in a bend of the River Dee (hence DEVA) where a natural moat was formed on two sides. This was the lowest point at which a bridge could be built and the highest point to which sea-going craft could navigate. An original Fortress of turf and timber was eventually replaced with stone. Streets linked the four main gates to the central Principle; excavations elsewhere have revealed evidence of bath-houses, granaries, barracks, temples, ovens and an amphitheatre. First occupation was by the 2nd Adiutrux Legion and then by Agricola’s XX Valeria Victrix Legion. Saxons are believed to have settled in AD 650, King Aethelred of Mercies is credited with founding two churches – St. John outside the walls and St. Peter and St. Paulh, site of the present Cathedral. Cellared timber framed buildings with post-holes dug into the sandstone have been found, pottery (Chester Ware) once thought to be Roman can now identify Saxon levels, later there was a mint. After Viking invasion and Norman settlement the wall was extended and a medieval castle was built near the river and the port of Chester flourished. Mike also explained the Archaeology Unit employed 9 people and was one of the few units still funded by local Government and their emphasis to cover the district around Chester and all periods.

DAY 2

This morning we are split into two groups for guided walk around part of the wall and town. Our knowledgeable guide is Keith who looks like Nigel Kennedy the musician but without the violin. We start at Roodee Open Space where the Romans had a harbour (now silted up), a large section of quay wall still stands on the race-course below the city wall. Nearby is Gosvenor Bridge at one time the largest single span stone arch in the world, next is Chester Castle which apart from the motte is now mostly 19thc. At Bridgegate we observe the old Dee Bridge built 1380, a weir originally built by Earl Hugh the first of Chester (William Conqueror’s nephew) to provide water for powering his mills. Further along is the Groves a popular riverside promenade with pleasure boat trips, ducks, swans etc., a suspension footbridge of 1852 crosses here.

Keith leads us to the Amphitheatre which held about 8000 spectators, the largest military Roman Amphitheatre in Britain so far, remains of a shrine to the goddess Nemesis by the North entrance. Unfortunately only half of its structure is on show, the other half survives under a listed Georgian building.

We’re now standing in the Church of St. John, an original church was probably founded in c865 evidenced by a discovery of Celtic crosses in 1870. Once a seat of the Bishop of Mercia, we can observe the transitional architecture between the massive Norman columns and 13thc Clerestory above; there’s also a medieval wall painting. In 1881 St. John’S west tower collapsed and is now in ruins.

A short stroll northwards past Eastgate and its famous clock leads us to Chester Cathedral, after Saxon origins it became a Benedictine Abbey in 1092 attracting many pilgrims until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540. A year later the Abby Church became a Cathedral. Although essentially medieval, most of the original building has been replaced over the centuries, of note were 12thc restored Cloisters, elaborate 14thc choir stalls and recent stained glass windows.

Being a Saturday there’s a bustling town centre including a town-crier, street artists and musicians, shops are contained in the unique ‘Rows’. These are covered walkways which are thought to have started when Saxons built dwellings on top of Roman derelict rubble, the cellars of these were then dug out and eventually over many years formed into a remarkable shopping area of ranging architecture. There are timber framed balconies, walkways, pubs and shops, some dating to the 16thc, some having Roman hypocaust etc., on view in their basements.

We were then free to visit the Grosvenor Museum including a fine collection of Roman tombstones, altars and inscriptions (the Graham Webster Gallery), also Victorian, Georgian etc., period roams. Others visited the Deva Roman Experience or Chester Heritage Centre or Just browsed around the shops.

Earlier Keith said it was impossible to get lost in Chester that evening after closing time several members did the impossible.

On the Third Day

An early start finds us heading down the A55 towards Llandudno, approaching the town, on our right the majestic sweep of Llandudno Bay, sun

shimmering off the sea, hotels and promenade, to our left .a car-boot sale ‑
Dorothy’s eyes light-up, its mini-mart time again lest you forget. Driver David manages to navigate through more narrow streets to deposit us at Victoria Tramway Station.

The tramway was opened in 1902, original tramcars haul our party up steep roads and track to the summit of Great Orme [had, 679 feet above sea level. This is the only cable hauled street tramway in Britain. On top it’s a nice sunny day with panoramic views of Anglesey, Conwy Bay and the Irish Sea.

Halfway down from the summit is the Great Orme Bronze Age Copper Mine, there’s an introductory talk by Tony Hammond (Director) and a dramatic film. The mines were first discovered by 19thc miners who broke through earlier workings, these were long thought to be Roman. In 1976 Duncan James a local amateur began exploring the ancient workings and later obtained radio-carbon dating of 990 BC from charcoal, confirming Bronze Age origins. Tony with associates then formed the Great Orme Mining Company, building a visitor centre, and shifted thousands of tons of rubble to reveal the original Bronze Age entrances. The tunnels go at least 300 metres into the hillside and down 70 metres below the surface. Bone tools were used – over 8000 have been found, stone hammers were also used, the heaviest being 64 lb. in weight. On entering the tunnels we’re issued with a hard hat, our party follows single file a circular route down two levels out of eleven altogether. The passages are worked-out seams of copper, some so narrow they could only have been worked by small children. A huge underground cavern is the highlight, an intersection of several workings.

Back out in bright sunshine we’re given a tour by Frank Jowett the resident archaeologist, he explains the surrounding geology, current excavations and years of work yet to be done as the Bronze Age workings are much more extensive then yet known.

Our route home passes Conwy Castle and follows the Vale of Conwy, through a picturesque Betws-y-Coed, here we observe driver Davids technique of expertly guiding the coach through holiday traffic with a microphone in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. Seriously he’s an excellent driver who also gave informative commentaries.

Finally Paul O’Flynn gives deserved thanks to Dorothy for another well organised HADAS epic outing; Where to next year, we wonder?

RECENT DONATIONS TO THE LIBRARY

Members will be well-acquainted with the products of Shire Publications, pocket-sized books at pocket-money prices, and in particular with the Discovering Regional Archaeology series published in the late 1960s and early 1970s – especially as Ted Sammes was the compiler of the volume covering Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. In 1983 the Roman sites were collated into one volume, “Discovering Roman Britain”, edited by David E Johnston, and this year “Discovering Prehistoric England” edited by James Dyer has been published at the very reasonable price of f6.99 (296 pages, paperback). This book would make a suitable replacement for those well-used, dog-eared, twenty years old regional copies currently on your bookcases. However, if you would like a preview, Ted has very kindly donated a suitably inscribed copy to the HADAS library for which we thank him.

Thanks must also go to John Enderby for the donation of the following publications which has enlarged our local history collection:

The Story of Golders Green, C R Smith & J P Hall, 1979

Village into Borough, Old Finchley Series No 1, G R P Lawrence,1964

Finchley Manor: influential Families, F Davis, 1982

The Story of Hendon St Mary’s Church of England Schools, 1957

The Brasses of Middlesex, Part 16: Hendon, Heston, H K Cameron, (LAMAS Trans), 1975

An investigation of Roman Road No 167, B Robertson, (LAMAS Trans), undated

John also donated “An introduction to the Archaeology of Jersey”, I Cornwall & D E Johnston,1984; “Archaeology in Wales – volume 26”, CBA Group 2, Wales,1986 and “Siluria”, the newsletter of the Friends of.the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust, 1989.

If you are interested in any of the above, the number to ring is 081-361 1350.

Roy Walker

MEMBERSHIP NEWS

We are pleased to announce another ‘batch’ of new members from our recent Church Farm House Museum dig: 4 junior members – Joanna Haigh, Laura Sanford, Danny Murray and Seb Lemon. Also joining us from the dig – Ian Haigh. We hope they will take part in our next dig (hopefully in October). We also welcome new members Mrs J Goldsmith, Mr L Amner, Mr G Scott, Mrs F Nieberg, and Mr M Cohen.

Not to forget our ‘established’ members – is anyone involved in something of interest which we could share – the newsletter editors would welcome articles, snippets of information etc. Looking forward to meeting you all at the new lecture season.

ISSUE NO. 262 – JANUARY 1993 Edited by D.L. Barrie

DIARY

January: NO MEETING

Tuesday 2nd February: Ancient Near East Cylinder Seals by Dr. Dominique Collon (British Museum). Cylinder seals were made in the Near East from c. 3300 – 300 BC and are a major source of information for the historian and for dating tools for the archaeologist.

Saturday 6th February: Exhibition of Brockley Hill Pottery and a Guided Walk around St. Mary’s Church, Hendon. The Exhibition at the Church Hall, St. Mary’s, Hendon will open between 12 o’clock and 4 pm. It will give you a marvellous chance to view a large selection of Roman material. Several HADAS members will be there to welcome you. The walk, guided by Ted Sammes himself, will start at 2 o’clock. You will need warm clothing and stout shoes. Admission to the Exhibition and walk will be £1. Please bring your HADAS membership card along. A donation to the Church funds is always welcome. The Museum will also be open, and we are hoping that the Moxom Collection, small but important, will be available for viewing. Treat yourself to a pub lunch – both the “Chequers” and the “Greyhound” will be serving hot food between 12 and 2.

Tuesday 2nd March: Excavating in Northern Iraq: From the Greeks to the Mongols by Dr. John Curtis (postponed from November).

Tuesday 6th April: Excavations at Fulham Palace by Keith Whitehouse

CHRISTMAS DINNER AT FULHAM PALACE TUESDAY 1ST DECEMBER, 1992

It is a well-known fact that good wine, good food and good company are not the best precursors to a detached assessment of the merits of an archaeological location, so it was a good thing that we saw certain features of Fulham Palace before we sat down to eat dinner.

The museum, based in Bishop Howley’s dining room, is well planned, and with the exhibits labelled, it gave us the history of the site from Neolithic times c. 3,000 B.C. as was evidenced by flints as scrapers, arrowheads, and also some pottery. Artefacts of the pre-Roman and Roman periods excavated in 1972-73 included a piece of an axe, fragments of bracelets, a hairpin with a flower-petal head, and a ring. There were also coins, a pig- and an ox-bone. Pottery fragments included a mortarium and parts of a hypocaust, and and also some fragments of Samian ware. Early medieval evidence from a corner of the moat excavated in 1975-6 and post-medieval evidence excavated in 1972-73, were fragments of metalwork including a key-lock, a knife-blade, a one-inch-long tweezers, and some tokens. In a separate case were some moulded stones and a mummified rat which was found in the roof. In 1986 a third excavation produced evidence of an earlier Tudor building believed to be the state apartments.These excavations were carried out by the Fulham Archaeological Rescue Group. In the museum there was also a magnificent cope and mitre encrusted with gold thread and embroidered in red, green and yellow. This belonged to Bishop Winnington-Ingram (1901-39) and is on loan from Saint Paul’s Cathedral. A second room in the museum in the Porteous Library showed in placards and pictures the Bishops who had lived in Fulham Palace from Saxon times until 1973, when Bishop Stortford retired.

The chapel, designed by Butterfield for Bishop Tait, was consecrated in 1867. Butterfield’s interior – “a full orchestra of coloured bricks, marbles and encaustic tiles”- was largely destroyed by Bishop and (1945-55). Before this, the bricks were arranged in bold ­horizontal stripes along the lower part of the walls in elaborate patterns. The hardier souls among us then repaired to walk in the adjacent Tudor court, floodlit, and with Butterfields fountain, playing water in the middle. The early-sixteenth-century entrance porch has two oriel windows, one above the other. The upper one was reconstructed in 1928-9, when the clock, sited here for over one hundred years, was moved to its present position in the eighteenth century bell turret. The court was built to contain domestic offices and staff accommodation, which in the nineteenth century contained a bakehouse, dairy, bread-room, stillroom, brewhouse and laundry. Opposite the entrance porch, the gateway with medieval gates led to the garden. Unfortunately we could not see the garden as it was dark, but Bishop Compton (appointed in 1675) had responsibility for the Anglican Church abroad – a vast diocese, which included parts of North America, Vest Africa, the West Indies,and India, and this provided him with a network of contacts enabling him to produce rareties for his garden. In the late 1760s the grounds were landscaped for Bishop Terrick in the fashionable style created by “Capability” Brown. Succeeding Bishops added to the garden to make it an important feature. A return daytime visit is obviously necessary to appreciate this.

The entrance to the Palace from the north-west crossed the course of a natural stream and from this evolved a single water-filled ditch or moat. A high tide in 1774 flooded the Palace “to the top of the dresser in the Bishop’s kitchen”, and forced Bishop Terrick to build an embankment against the moat. Originally this bounded an area of thirty-six acres, and was one mile in length – the most extensive in England. The decision in the early 1920s to do away with the moat by allowing builders to use this as a tip was widely deplored and seems still to be regretted.

Then we had dinner – turkey, then chocolate mousse cake, and lots of wine. As always, Dorothy had provided us with a fascinating evening, filled with conviviality, and as always it is a place to visit again. Thank you, Dorothy. AUDREE PRICE-DAVIES

We are grateful to miss Miranda Poliakoff, the Curator of the Museum, for her guided tour, and I acknowledge her help in providing additional information for the compiling of this report.

ST. ALBANS ROMAN TOMB

A sculpted stone on display in the Verulamium Museum has been identi­fied as part of the pyramidal roof of a 2nd-3rd century Roman tomb. The stone, decorated with sculpted bay laurel leaves, was previously thought to be medieval. However, Sir Anthony Beeson of the Roman Research Trust, an expert on Roman architecture, believes it to be part of a tomb based on the design of the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos (now in modern-day Turkey), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. For years archaeologists have bemusedly tried to recreate the ‘mausoleum on paper from Pliny’s slightly ambiguous description. The original pyramid above its Halikarnassos colonnade tapered in 24 stages to its peak; but the St. Albans version is said to have had only about 10 tiers, and probably stood outside the north-west gate of the Roman city.

A FEW DAYS 1N PETRA by AUDREE PRICE-DAVIES

The way into Petra is through the siq – a fissure in the rock, which is about 6 feet wide at its narrowest and about 20 feet wide at its widest. Tt is about 2 miles long. The terrain is sandy and rocky and the dust generated by the horses’ hooves is incredible. You can either walk or go in on horseback. I chose the horse and I was glad ­in spite of being saddle-sore: Petra is a vast place and walking in and out just adds to the exhaustion, although there are monuments along the side of the sic which are seen most easily on foot – unless the horse, like mine, goes very slowly.The first monument, on leaving the sig where it broadens into the valley of the wadi Mousa, is the Treasury. It glows pink in the light of the sun and is probably a temple to the patron and deity of Petra. Petra is a nekropolis, a city of dead people, with their tombs sculpted into the sandstone rock. The sculptures and columns are not masonry blocks but rock – freestanding except for the base, and they have lasted for this reason. The tombs are those of wealthy Nabateans, the race of people who inhabited Petra from about 315 B.C. The quality of workmanship is high and the tombs face each other across the valleys. Originally the Nabateans were Bedouins who traded across Arabia. They carried spices, rugs, gold, silver, myrrh and frankincense from the east to the cities of Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean.

With the conquest by the Babylonians in 587 B.C., overcoming thereby Judah, Edam and Moab and with the fall of Jerusalem in that year, all Jews of any consequence were led into captivity in Babylon. The land of Judah lay empty and the Edomites infiltrated – making a new kingdom of Idumea. But the old kingdoms of Edam and Moab ceased to exist after the fall of Jerusalem. The Neo-Babylonian Empire depended on trade and they attempted to secure the trade routes in North West Arabia. The local nomadic tribes therefore felt it was time to move on. They had made a good living by plundering the caravans that passed, but with the tightening of Babylonian security, this was becoming difficult. These nomads were the Nabateans, and they turned to the depopulated old kingdom of the Edomites, and integrated with those who were left of the Edomites. The Nabateans had lived as nomads and shepherds, but now they settled and with their genius for trade and administration they guaranteed the safe passage of the caravans and policed the trade routes. They built not only tombs, but elaborate trinicliums, where funeral meals were eaten – rooms carved into the rock for a depth of twenty feet and some sixty feet high. They built their sacrificial and holy places on mountain tops. The monastery is a vast and dominating temple with ancillary buildings carved into the rock alongside. On the opposite side of the main valley is the sacrificial high place where the mountain top has been levelled. The sacrificial site in this flat-topped rock space is reached by six steps, and from this elevated area channels cut in the rock lead across the sacrificial place to the area sixty feet below where the people waited to watch the blood run down as a sign that the sacrifice had been made. The ritual washing area was also reached by steps. Presumably the priests washed before and after the sacrifice.

The Nabateans had two principal gods – Dusares and Al Uzza. Dusares was symbolised by a block of stone, since the early Semitic peoples were against human representations. The block of stone was frequently squared in the proportion of 4 x 2 x 1, but was also ovoid – and could be carried. It had a triple function: it was a representation of the deity, also the abode of the deity, and it was also the throne of the deity. In the concept of ritual, it was probably the origin of the altar. In the ritual washing area, there is a socket for a god-block. It was probably the equivalent of the ark of the tabernacle or the cross. Dusares was the patrician god, 441 Uzza was the goddess of the people. Under the influence of hellenistic culture, Dusares began to assume human form and was equated by the Greeks with their god Dionysos.The conservation of water had high priority, and the water engineering was their most impressive achievement, which not even the Romans could better. The total of people in Petra would have been about 30,000, and water was brought from outside the siq through earthenware piping. The sockets in the rock above the architectural features of the tombs show where the piping was laid. The collecting, distributing, and conserving of water showed their ingenuity and skill.

The expansion of the Roman Empire brought about the downfall of the Nabatean state. In 106 A.D. the Emperor Trajan ordered the annexation of Petra into the Province of Arabia. The Romans created a colonnade street, markets and temples, and in the 3rd century Petra was still a prosperous city, but the trade routes were changed to serve the greater good of the Roman Empire. The merchants departed and so did the Roman Legions. The only unifying force was Christianity, which had been adopted as the state religion. Disaster in the form of an earthquake shook the city in 363 A.D. and thereafter the population thinned out. By the middle of the 6th century Petra was silent and deserted. Although the Crusaders plundered the stor to built their forts and castles, there was no settlement.

In 1812 John Burckhardt, the son of a Swiss colonel, claimed that he wished to sacrifice a goat to the Prophet Aaron whose tomb he knew to be in the vicinity, and gained access to the City of Petra. The Muslims viewed strangers with distrust, and would have killed him had he not learned to speak Aramaic and dressed as a Muslim. Knowledge of his discovery spread and others came. The first scientific exploration of Petra was made in 1896 and published in 1907. It is a place to see – exotic and fascinating. The difficulty of access and the exhilaration in reaching the high places with their breathtaking views give Petra a sense of excitement and discovery that the first explorers must have had.

Newsletter-261-December-1992

Tuesday 1st December Christmas Dinner at Fulham Palace. All places now booked with a short waiting list. But do ring (203 0950) if you would like to come – there may be last minute cancellations

January no meeting

Tuesday 2nd February Ancient Near East Cylinder seals by Dr Dominique Colton (British Museum). Cylinder seals were made in the Near East from c.3300 – 300BC and are a major source of information for the historian and dating tools for the archaeologist

Saturday 6 February (afternoon) Plans are being made for an EXHIBITION OF BROCKLEY HILL POTTERY at St Marys Church Hall, Hendon and a guided walk round St Mary’s Church and churchyard. More details later.

Tuesday 2 March EXCAVATING IN NORTHERN IRAQ: From the Greeks to the

Mongols by Dr John Curtis (postponed from November)

Tuesday 6 April EXCAVATIONS AT FULHAM PALACE by Keith Waterhouse.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE LINE OF THE A41 KINGS LANGLEY & BERKEAMPSTEAD BYPASS Lecture report by Ted Semmes

November 3rd attracted a good attendance to hear Clare Halpin, Assistant Director of the Herts Archaeological Trust talk of the work they had carried out on this relief road. This was a mammoth task archaeologically covering a road length of 19 kilometres. The line was mostly on high ground, south and above the line of the present A41. The construction of such a road involved the unit employing its own earth-moving equipment to obtain maximum flexibility. These monsters had been operated by Tom McDonald who was present and answered some of the questions.

Clare said that in the past it had been reckoned that an average of one site per 11/2 kilometres would be found and this was confirmed on this 19 kilometre dig! She gave helpful details on proceedure to enlighten us on techniques.

As well as the line of the road, it had been necessary to do strip sampling on the site where the top soil was to be piled (400,000 cubic metres!) Regrettably Clare did not produce any slides showing maps of the sites – but I will just report three features,

Above Kings Langley a site dating from the Neolithic to Bronze Age had been followed up, taking in eight new sites in all. The Neolithic at Rucklers Lane showed parallel ditches of a causewayed camp, enclosure or cursus – maybe this had ceremonial functions.

On a Bronze Age/Iron Age site four and six post hole structures had been detected and excavated together with small scoops in the soil interpreted as working areas. Grims Ditch, that archaeological enigma, had also been sectioned, but again with scant dating evidence.

Where the line of the road came down to the level of the Bulbourne Valley near Hemel Hempstead station, a peat deposit – rare for the south of England – was encountered.

An interesting talk which with the help of slides showing maps of the sites and some artefacts as well could have been more informative

NEWS OF MEMBERS

Mrs Frances (Mary) Gravatt is a member of long standing. She is now in her 80s and as she can no longer participate in our activities, she is resigning with some regret. In earlier years she was a very active member, assisting Brigid Grafton Green with the production of Blue Plaques of Barnet. She sends her regards to all who remember her. She has donated a copy of her booklet on The Dissenting Meeting House in Brent Street 1821 to Baptist Chapel, Finchley Lane 1886, which will be in our library for anyone who wished to read it.

Mrs Banham has sent a letter telling us that she went on holiday for a month, had an accident to her right hand and was away for three months. We miss her on our outings – and the huge tin of sweets she brings to pass round the coach!

Frieda Wilkinson is now coping quite well at home, although she is by no means mobile and has to use a wheelchair. She has the phone beside her and would always be glad to have a call from friends in the Society.

Jack Goldenfeld has been working for English Heritage, the Museum of London and Bucks County Museum Archaeology Unit. He has taken two post-Diploma courses, Archaeological Draftsmanship and Wetlands Archaeology. Jack has been elected as an affiliate of the Institute of Field Archaeology and is teaching (for details see Conferences and Courses)

Ann Saunders author of Art and Architecture of London reviewed last month, was mistakenly described as Honorary Fellow of University College, London. She is a full Fellow. Apologies, Ann.

George Ingram Following the sad news of the sudden death of George, several members attended his funeral at Golders Green Crematorium. Sheila Woodward shared the address with the vicar – they were happy words. Just what George would have liked. All will be sad a his passing. The collection made at the last lecture raised t35 for the Glaucoma Association, with which he was closely associated.

TRIBUTES TO GEORGE INGRAM

We are unlikely to forget George (Uncle George to some of us), for a very long time. He died suddenly, after a few days in Edgware General Hospital, on October 29th in his 92nd year.

I first remember George on the Church Terrace, Hendon dig in 1973. At that time he was dividing his activities between music, local history of Wimbish in Essex and the past of Hendon. He was deeply interested in anything, however slightly out of the ordinary and in later years persuaded his family and HADAS members to stop whilst his camera came out to record whatever had caught his eye. With this in mind he quickly took to the task of recording the inscriptions on the gravestones in St Marys churchyard, Hendon. Indeed, he once lamented to me that he came into this “archaeology/local history racket” too late in his life. On the abortive dig behind the Town Hall, Hendon we gave him the honour of ‘cutting the first sod’

George started the first HADAS book-box under Brigid Grafton Green’s inspiration and worked for some years collecting details of Non-Conformist and other religious places of worship in the Borough. On all outings he would always turn up with a pocket full of Murray Mints. Yes, he will be missed. Ted Sammes

George Ingram’s death was sudden and unexpected. At 93, he had had a good innings and I think there is always a sense of relief, once the shock is over, that a good friend has passed with little pain and discomfort.

I had so much fun with George. Some HADAS members take life rather seriously and are positively po-faced when it comes to a dig. Who can forget George’s assertion that West Heath (in spite of all the evidence) was merely a site that had top soil containing flints dumped on it sometime in the past. Or my own small dig in Cedars Close where George insisted that I had got it all wrong and was only slightly embarrased when I mentioned his remarkable theory in my report. When I questioned him about why he always expressed a minority view, he said it was all to do with his work which was concerned with auditing accounts. He was paid to spot mistakes and he couldn’t get out of the habit!

But I shall always remember George selling books at the ]inimart – a bottom–less pocket full of Murray Mints and a smile for everyone. His incredible eye for detail and the carefulness of his records, with filing systems to match, are other aspects of his character which will be treasured in memory. So will his famous photographs, terrible compositions but captions that would be difficult to better.

There were sveral HADAS members at Golders Green Crematorium to say their last farewells to George. It was a moving and delightfully simple ceremony with good music. A fitting finale to a very nice man. Percy Reboul

George’s daughter, Ruth Dean, has written to all HADAS members would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of myself and my family, to thank you all for the generous donation collected for the Glaucoma Association in memory of my father.

I know he will he sadly missed by friends and aquaintances alike, but most of all by myself and my family. As Dorothy said, be always kept cheerful and tried tq help anybody in difficulty. He had a long and varied life, as 1 am beginning to find out, more and more, whilst going through his numerous papers.

I know be enjoyed his time with HADAS (all twenty years), which included many outings and coach trips and when he was younger he loved to participate in digs.

So thankyou HADAS for being friendly to my Dad and keeping him occupied, as I am sure you helped him to have a longer life.”

REPORT ON FIELDWORK IN EDGWAREBURY PARK by Brian Wrigley

As was reported by Bill Bass in Newsletter No 254 of May 1992, NADAS assisted with some fieldwork for the Museum of London Arch­aeological Service’s archaeological assessment of Edgwarebury Park north section before tree planting for the Community Forest Programme. MOLAS’s report was made in March 1992, recommending that ground preparation should be by individual holes instead of ripping as originally proposed, and that there should be an archaeological Watching Brief on the work.

We heard no more for some time, and of course thought that English Heritage, MOLAS, the Forestry Commission and London Borough of Barnet were discussing arrangements, of which we thought we should hear in good time if our help was needed. In the event,
it was only at the beginning of October that we heard from LBB Parks Contracts Manager, James Rea, that it had been agreed that holes should be dug, with archaeological observation. On 1 October (Thursday) Mr Rea telephoned to tell me that auguring the holes would begin the next Monday, and could HADAS provide the archaeological watch.

This left little time for arrangements, but fortunately Myfanwy Stewart, Bill Bass and myself were able between us to cover the work, lasting the week of 5 to 9 October, on which we now report.

SCHEME OF WORK

The work was not actual planting, but machine augering of holes to break up the soil; they were 30cm diameter, 30-40cm deep, set at app 2 metre intervals in rows app 2 metres apart. Planting areas are shown hatched on the attached plan, and we estimate there were about 1800 holes. The holes had to be backfilled after each day’s work, and indeed a large part of the loose spoil from the auger was left in each hole so that any finds in it could only be regarded as stray surface finds. We therefore concentrated on the side
and bottom of each hole to look for any reliable indicators in undisturbed soil or sub-soil.

OBSERVATIONS

We were able to establish that over the whole area, the holes reached the solid natural underlying yellowish clay, showing a layer of organic soil above it varying in depth from app 10cm to 30cm; the thicker soil was mainly in the lower-lying ground, with a thinner (no doubt eroded) layer in the higher ground which is the southern part of the planting area. We noted that some holes were drier, with light brownish powdery spoil compared

with other darker, stickier spoil in surrounding holes. As more holes were dug, however, we were able to see the linear NW-SE pattern of these drier holes and to relate it to the pattern of NW-SE field drains noted in our survey in February.

In the areas marked C and D on the plan the spoil was generally drier (on higher ground) but there were two holes which showed up noticeably black and moist against the surrounding lighter drier holes: these were in the areas marked on the plan as X and Y (we had no opportunity to measure them in). They could conceivably indicate pits or a ditch, or they may be the traces of former trees. There was no artefactual evidence to help.

We noticed a number of frost-fractured flint lumps, which appeared to concentrate in the higher area (B on plan); from one or two instances of flint lumps firmly bedded within the natural clay, we concluded there is a band of naturally-occurring flint in this area.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings are the same as for most of the Three Valleys water pipeline excavation a little to the north in this same area, which was observed in 1990 – no evidence of any manmade disturbance of natural London clay below the shallow turf soil. The large number and closeness of the holes over a considerable area indicates this as pretty reliable negative evidence well worth the effort of gathering.

FINDS

2 struck flint flakes, 1 of Mesolithic type

1 medieval body sherd

Sundry post-medieval, Victorian, and modern pottery sherds

Some fragments of post-medieval, Victorian, and modern drainpipe.

FURTHER WORK

It is understood that actual planting will be in later November this year; if there is opportunity for further observation, we recommend special attention be paid to the areas of the ‘black holes’, at X and Y.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to thank Mr James Rea of the London Borough of Barnet for ensuring that we had this opportunity, and Mr Richard Lomax and his team from Fountain Forestry for their help and

co-operation on site.

I add my personal thanks to Myfanwy Stewart and Bill Bass for standing in at such short notice.

COURSES AND CONFERENCES

Archaeology in Britain ’93 7th annual conference of the Institute of Field Archaeologists will be held at University of Bradford 6-8 April 1993. Open to everyone (i.e. not restricted to members of I.F,A.)

Basic Archaeology Three-term adult education course at Ricknansworth School for West Herts College, taught by HADAS member, Jack Goldenfeld. New course Supply and Demand in Antiquity – the archaeology of trade and exchange starts week beginning 11 Jan. at Elm Park College, Stanmore, Phone Jack for details on 0923 285225.

Sumner Academy Week-long courses hosted by nine universities, June September 1993. Subjects offered include: Hadrian’s Wall and the Roman Army 3-10 July at Durham; Roman Scotland 10-17 July at Stirling; Chester: Walled City Through the Ages 17-24 July at Chester; Life in Ancient Egypt 17-24 July at Canterbury; Roman France 24-31 July at Canterbury; Iforwich; a Historic City 7-14 August at Norwich; Celtic. Wessex and its Hillforts 14-21 August at Southampton. Prices: £260 ­£320. For brochure phone 0227 470402 (24 hour service).

NEWS FROM OUR NEIGHBOURS

Barnet & District Local History Society HADAS member John Heathfield will be giving a talk “`umble ‘adley” at 2.30pm on Monday 7 December at Barnet Museum, Wood Street. Admission by ticket only – available from the Museum (081-440 8066).

The Historical Association – Hampstead and N V London Branch invite all HADAS members to an illustrated lecture by T.G.H. James (formerly of B.M.) Howard Carter Before Tutankhamen on 21 January at 8pm in Lower Skeel Hall, King’s College, Kidderpore Ave., NV3 (former Westfield College), Phone Joyce Wheatley on 081-455 2820 for further information.

CUTTING THROUGH A CONFUSION!

Ted Sammes comments on “Excavation News” (page 5 in last month’s Newsletter) –

“I must try to put Church End Hendon into its correct connotation: The word “church” comes into use five times at least at Hendon – 1. The Church; 2. Church House; 3. Church End Farm (HADAS’ first dig 1962-66); 4. Church Farm or Farmhouse (now Church Farmhouse Museum); 5. Church Terrace (now The Heritage, site of HADAS dig 1973-74).

Bill Bass can be excused for getting confused – even Nicholas Pevsner in his Buildings of England has muddled Church End Farm (now under part of Middlesex University) with Church Farmhouse, the Museum. There were no Roman finds at Church End Farm in 1960s; they came 10 years later with Saxon material at Church Terrace, opposite Church House and next to the “Clerk’s Cottage”. Sorry Bill! You’re not the only one who’s confused!”

HOT NEWS FROM HENDON from Andy Simpson

I was woken from my desk-bound slumbers at the RAF Museum recently (only kidding, Mr. Director, Sir!) by a visit from one of the Museum of London team who had just arrived for a two-week stay on part of the old RAF Hendon East Camp- that part of the site facing Grahame Park Way, between

the Officer’s Mess and RAF Museum’s large white “Battle of Britain” Hall. This will be the site of the new Colindale Police Station, whose construction necessitated a trial excavation by the Museum of London. Five trenches were cut by JCB to a depth of approx. 50cm, coming down onto natural London Clay. At the time of writing, on the day of a site visit by myself and Brian Wrigley, no archaeological features had been found othet than a large number of modern field drains and a handful of 17th century pottery and clay pipes.

The museum team had studied 18th century maps of the area and noted a couple of potentially interesting field boundaries. It was also thought that an early boundary ditch might be in the area.

This excavation is one of a number undertaken in the area recently by the Museum of London, including Edgwarebury and a pipeline across Hampstead Heath. The former yielded modern plough marks, the latter a Roman coin but nothing else of note.

The current pattern for the Museum seems to be a large number of small evaluation digs, rather than larger-scale excavations. The change in the type of work being prompted, at least in part, by the new planning regulations in PPG 16.

EXAMINATION OF EXCAVATION FOR EXTENSION OF THE GARDEN HOSPITAL, 46-50 SUNNY GARDENS ROAD, 1.W.4 in October 1992 Report by Percy Reboul
The location of a modern, private hospital in a quiet backroad of Hendon is something of a surprise. The Garden Hospital at the junction of Rowsley Avenue with Sunny Gardens Road had a bad reputation with local residents when it opened 30 years or so ago. Since that time, however, it has become internationally famous for its pioneering approach to natural childbirth and offers a full range od surgical, medical, X-ray, physiotherapy and pharmacy and other facilities for both out-patients and in-patients. The expansion of the hospital reflects its increasing success and good reputation.

HADAS’ interest concerns an area being excavated to accommodate a new extension. The original site was occupied by a nursing home and semi­detached Victorian villas, some of which were demolished to make way for the original hospital building and some of which were re-faced and extensively altered within to accommodate part of the hospital. The new development called for the demolition of these remaining Victorian houses and their replacement by a new building.

The area of excavation was 18m x llm 3.5m deep with further depth in parts to accommodate passenger lift shafts. This was carried out by a large JCB on week commencing 12 October 1992. No evidence of any kind was found during the excavation of the pit but the sheer volume of the spoil thrown up by the machine made detailed examination almost impossible. Nothing of archaeological significance appeared in the baulks and perhaps the only surprise was the sudden transition from top soil (50cm) to heavy, natural clay.

It will be remembered that HADAS interest in this location stems entirely from the Roman cinerary urn found near to the site which contained the ashes and calcified bones of a youth. No other evidence of Roman occupation has ever been found. Am I the first to postulate that the original find may have been a hoax?

A photographic record was taken of the roof timbers of the Victorian houses with a further series of the new excavation, showing among other

things, the concrete underpinning of the foundations of the adjacent building. We were particularly indebted to Mr Clive Grantham of Alfed McAlpine, Mrs Gill Tripp of the Garden Hospital, building surveyer Derek Maynard Maynard and Robert Whytehead of English Heritage for their interest and co-operation.

LAUNCH OF FRIENDS OF CHURCH FARMHOUSE MUSEUM Report by Ted Sammes
Forty four people were present at Church House on 21 October for the launch of this new initiative. Martyn Kempson, Controller of Libraries Arts and Museums gave a welcoming introduction and was followed by two speakers with experience of the work of “Friends” elsewhere.

Mike Tagg from the RAF Museum said that although the museum had a staff of 790 there were still useful things that Friends could do to help. He also mentioned some areas where offers of help might not be welcome! Barry Green, Chairman of Friends of Whitehall, Cheam, Surrey told us what had been achieved from scratch for the 16th century Tudor house. They manage to raise £1000 a year – enough for the museum to survive for 12 months if other sources of funding failed. Council help was vital to their success. Whitehall Friends had achieved charity status and members receive four newsletter a year.

Possibly the most cheering aspect of the evening was that the meeting had been called and coupled with an assurance that admission charges to Church Farmhouse Museum would not be made.

Ten people volunteered to form a Steering Committee to prepare a Constitution for The Friends of Church Farmhouse Museum as well as recommendations for subscription rates and proposals for activities and areas of support for the museum.

It is hoped to hold the Inaugural meeting of The Friends of Church Farmhouse Museum early in the New Year and details will appear in this Newsletter. If you would like more details please phone 081-368 1255 ext.3153 to speak to me – wearing my Libraries Development hat. Editor.

TWO BOOKS FOR CHRISTMAS

A new fully illustrated 90- page book about the History of Totteridge has just been produced. It is available from the author, Dr Diana Griffith, 27 Southway, N.20 price £8.50 plus £1.30 post and packing.

A splendid selection of 183 pictures from the Libraries’ Local Studies collection are reproduced in Finchley and Friern Barnet published by Phillimore, price £11.95. The authors, Pamela Taylor (Archivist) and Stewart Gillies (Local History Librarian) are well known to many HADAS members. Copies available from your local library.

THE COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX TRUST was founded in 1990 to make people aware that the geographical County of Middlesex still exists. Its aims include the preservation of historic buildings and all other aspects of the County’s history & heritage. Details from Secretary, 36 Warden Ave., Rayners Lane, Harrow, MIDDLESEX, HA2 9LW (Subs. £5 minimum
)

NEWSLETTER NO. 260 EDITED BY REVA BROWN NOVEMBER 1992

AT HOME

The Chairman of HADAS, Andrew Selkirk, with be “at home” to members of the Society at 9 Nassington Road, London NW3 2TX on Friday, 13th Nov., from 7.30 pm. onwards.

We look forward to meeting members of the Society, especially new members, who wish to find out what the Society does.

In particular, the Society is looking for a new Honorary Treasurer, as our present Treasurer, Victor Jones, recently celebrated his 80th birthday and feels that he now wishes to retire and to devote more time to other aspects of the Society’s activities.

The Treasurership is not something which requires technical knowledge – assistance would be provided with drawing up the accounts. A computer is available if you wish to use it for the Society’s records. Indeed, training could be given to anyone who wishes to learn more about computers. The accounts can be kept without a computer, however.

We are also looking for a Membership Secretary to deal with membership records.

We hope that all the newer members of the Society will come along and also any older members who wish to help in any aspect of our work; a number of the officers of the Society will be present to explain how the Society works.

DIARY

Tuesday, 3rd November : “Archaeological Investigations in advance of the A41 Bypass at Kings Langley and Berkhampstead”

Lecture by Clare Halpin, Assistant Director, Herts Archaeological Trust

Over a period of one and a half years, eight new sites were identified and excavated in advance of the road construction. The sites date principally from the Neolithic and Roman periods, and represent new and exciting discoveries. This should be a good lecture on local excavations, so lets have a full house again.

Tuesday, 1st December : Christmas Dinner at Fulham Palace, with a visit to the Museum and Chapel

We have filled the coach already, but there is seating capacity for more people at the dinner. We can thus take extras, if members can make their own way, and even more, if any of these members who are driving independently can offer lifts. Going by public transport could be difficult – it is a 10-15 minute walk from the underground station. Tickets with pick-up times will be issued in due course.

January : No lecture

Tuesday, 2nd February : “Ancient Near-Eastern Cylinder Seals” Lecture by Dr Dominique Collon

THE ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF LONDON

HADAS member Ann Saunders is a historian, lecturer and editor. She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and an Honorary Fellow of University College, London. She has been Hon. Editor for the London Topographical Society since 1975. Phaidon Press have just re-issued, for the third time, her illustrated guide to London, The Art and Architecture of London. The book is a comprehensive, authoritative and highly readable guide to London’s heritage. On first publication, the book won the London Tourist Board Specialist Guidebook of the Year Award. The books many revelations of little-known treasures in unexpected places continue to prove a constant source of surprise and pleasure. The book has a dashing new cover, and priced at 12.95, might come in handy for a Christmas present.

INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS Bill Firth

Two sites of great interest are the subject of recent planning applications: 68 Ballards Lane, N3, and the Cricklewood Trading Estate, NW2.

The site at 68 Ballards Lane was originally occupied by the New Bohemia, an Edwardian entertainment centre, and later by the Kiwi Polish Company before Vaccuum Interrupters, who vacated it last year.

The interest here is that one of the buildings is part of the original complex and still retains the stage and proscenium arch from its days as a music hall. It is said that tins of Kiwi polish can still be found under the floorboards.

We have asked the RCHME to consider making a photographic survey of this building. A planning application for flats and maisonettes on this site has been turned down.

The buildings remaining at Cricklewood Trading Estate are part of the purpose-built Handley Page aircraft factory of 1914, where aeroplanes and latterly, parts were built until after 1945. It has been used for many purposes since, most recently as a carpet warehouse.

There is another site of interest nearby, on the other side of Claremont Road. Here, in 1929, the Express Dairy opened the first purpose-built, rail-fed, milk bottling plant in London. ‘Raw’ milk was delivered by rail to a siding on the rail-side of the plant, and passed through the processing and bottling stages, before being sent out by road through a special exit on the other side. The factory is to be closed soon.

Sad as it may be if these building disappear, there is no real justification for keeping them.

THE ROMAN POTTERY MANUFACTURING SITE IN HIGHGATE WOODS EXCAVATION 1966 TO 1978

October 6th: lecture by HARVEY SHELDON Report by Margaret Taylor

There was a full house for the opening lecture of the winter season; members were attracted to the exhibitions of publications by HADAS, interim reports of the Highgate Woods excavations from our library, and photos and sherds from the Barnet High Street excavation.

Harvey was welcomed as an old friend of the Society. He began by telling us about the site of the pottery, which is densely covered by forest of large oak and hornbeam on a clay ridge five miles northwest of the city of London, and equidistant between Watling Street and Ermine Street. It was first noted by Tony Brown in 1962 when field-walking, seeking flints, but he noted Samian ware and other Roman pottery sherds brought to the surface by tree roots and animals.

Ten kilns were uncovered and ditches and dumps where clay for pots had been removed and waster pots dumped. The earliest phase pots were in Belgic style, 43 AD, and probably fired in an open fire. As technology improved, the kilns were developed to produce fine black burnished ware. This ware is widely distributed from Dorset to Scotland, so possibly the potters were a roving group who came to Highgate woods seasonally when the weather was fine and the wood for fuel was dry. No evidence of settlements has been found. Little is known of how the pots were transported to London, perhaps by packhorse, or by water to Brent on the rivers, the Lee or the Fleet, to the Thames.

A wide area was uncovered, 350′ x 300′, and very little topsoil had to be removed due to natural erosion. The trenches were sited between the trees, a very attractive, sheltered excavation. The earliest working area was enclosed by a circular ditch. The ditches were probably for storing of water to mix with the clay. The domes of the kilns had all gone, but up to 12 inches of the lower walls had survived. The kiln had a floor raised on a central pedestal, with supporting fire beams radiating out to the circular wall. A flue led from the stoke-hole and the later kilns had tiled flues.

One kiln has been lifted and restored, and is now in Bruce Castle Museum, together with the pottery. Other finds included bones of cattle, sheep, horse, a fragment of human skull, a late 1st century brooch, toilet set, mortarium similar to Brockley Hill, Samian ware which may have been used for copying, and one coin, all dating from the late 1st century to the 2nd century AD.

Experiments carried out by pottery teachers and students copying the shapes of bowls and beakers used the local clay and kick-wheel turntable. The kiln was recreated and a temperature of up to 900 was achieved. The pots were dried outside and in huts overnight. Decoration was applied, slip or poppy seed dots, using a comb. The first efforts produced red ware, but by using a new system of plugging the air holes when firing, a remarkably good resemblance to black burnished ware was achieved.

It was a great pleasure to listen to Harvey’s lecture, as several of the members present had assisted him. We await the full publication of this excavation, which Harvey is now writing.

The thanks of the audience were given by our President, Dr.Ralph Merryfield.

A MAN’S EYE VIEW OF A MINIMART Bill Bass

Leaves are falling, birds flying south for the winter- it must be Minimart time again, the annual ritual to boost HADAS funds. I report at the crack of dawn (8.00 am) to an empty looking St. Mary’s Church Hall, and start to help John Enderby put together coat rails, also shifting chairs and moving tables. People start arriving with boxes of jumble and minimart goodies which have been stored in nooks, crannies and garages all over Hendon. Most have been already been sorted and priced; these are then distributed to designated areas- bric a brac, ladies’ wear, books etc. Things are beginning to take shape.

Downstairs, the HADAS cafe is being assembled- jams, chutney, cakes, fruit, quiches. But a problem arises: Tessa (catering) cannot unlock the cup and saucer cupboard. Eventually Percy Reboul expertly picks the lock (what does he do in his spare time?). Meanwhile, Dorothy is directing all with military precision. Whilst carrying a box of shoes upstairs, I’m sure I saw HADAS chairman Andrew Selkirk trying on a brightly coloured dress…

It’s 11.30; everything is ready; tables are staffed. The customers are let in; they have to negotiate doorman Victor Jones and the potted plants. Soon the place is packed out, just like a Harrods sale.

I find time to visit an exhibition at Church Farm Museum and admire the view. Back at the Hall, it’s time for a ploughman’s lunch and coffee, courtesy of Tessa and her crew. After resisting temptation all day, I give in and buy a cake (very nice it was, too). 2.30 rolls round, and Dorothy blows the whistle. Quickly, unsold goods are packed into boxes and suitcases, which are in turn persuaded into assorted cars and vans. Hall furnishings are returned to their proper places, and with a final tidy up, the hall is locked, signalling the end to another year’s Minimart. (See separate slip for the final takings).

EXCAVATION NEWS Bill Bass

Since the summer excavation, activities have been sparse. One of the two most likely sites is the Victoria Maternity Hospital, Chipping Barnet. This building is the subject of a dispute; an article in the Barnet Borough Times said: English Heritage and Barnet Council have expressed concern over the state of the site, which is due to be developed into offices. The Council fear the Grade II listed building is being left to run into a state of disrepair. A spokesman for English Heritage confirmed that the building had been put on its list of properties at risk.

The developers argue that they are being held up by ‘planning conditions’ and are still awaiting full permission to begin demolition at the site.

The other site lies at the rear of Church Farm Museum, Hendon. This garden area is to be landscaped and access for the disabled provided. Nearby is Church End Terrace, one of the original HADAS excavations in the 1960s, where finds included Roman material

Brian Wrigley has recently spent a week looking at over 2,000 holes drilled for tree-planting at Edgwarebury Park(see Newsletter 254). A report is forthcoming, after his release from the psychiatrist

Currently running is an exhibition about John Dwight, ‘The Master Potter of Fulham’ (1672-1703). The exhibition contains material excavated from the site of Fulham Pottery, courtesy of the Museum of London and is supplemented by loans from other museums and private sources. Included amongst the 200 items on view are examples of redware, stoneware, and experimental porcelain. The exhibition is being held at 66c Kensington Church Street, London W8 4BY, until 18th December, 10.00 am to 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday.

DAY VISIT TO SOUTHWARK (26th September) Jackie Brookes

The day started well enough. It was bright – a full coach with half of us having a reunion from our weekend trip to Dorset. Even our ‘Mystery Man’ driver was with us again. Mary O’connell was taking us on a tour of Southwark.

Our first stop was the Globe Theatre, to see the new construction, and then onto the exhibition and to watch a video telling us the story of the Globe. Unfortunately, even though Mary had sent numerous letters with confirming phone calls, our arrival came as a complete surprise to the Friends of the Globe, who were working there. Not even the coffee machine was working! However, HADAS soon had everything in working order. The exhibition was quite fascinating and perhaps at a later date, we could return to watch a performance at the delightful small theatre within the building.

Our next call was at the Clink Museum. This was the original prison which gave its name to all the others. Even thought by then the weather had turned to beautiful sunshine, it was very dark and gloomy down in what had been the communal cells. However, it wasn’t all horror and we even learned the origin of ‘to fiddle’. The whole area had once belonged to the Bishop of Winchester, and it had been the red light district of its day, complete with its many brothels and taverns.

Coming out, we passed the ruins of Winchester Palace with its rose window and then passed the tiny inlet with the three-masted wooden schooner which, sad to say, is rotting from the inside out.

Onto the oldest surviving operating theatre, which was in the roof of the chapel for St Thomas’ Hospital. Built in 1820 (before anaesthetics!) the explanation of the happenings there was not for the squeamish.

Time for lunch. Then onto the Cuming Museum to see Southwarks ‘Immortal Remains’. It showed the history of the Borough from the Romans up to the present day. The collection is well worth a visit, and even includes the famous Cuming bear.

Onto our last stop – the Bramah Tea and Coffee Museum. An unknown gem, where Mr Bramah himself showed us around. Every shape and size of teapot was there to be seen. And the cream teas were delicious!

It was then, happy and tired, that we returned to the coach, only to find that it had been broken into, and cameras, coats etc. were missing. It was a very sad ending to such a full and interesting day. Our warm thanks to Mary and her friends who were so full of information and who had made the day for us, up until then.

PS. Our best wishes to Muriel Large for a speedy recovery after breaking her arm at the George Inn.

OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE – SIGHTSEERS’ GUIDE

Ancient burial mound,

Dramatic ruins,

Battle site,

Steeped in history,

Internationally significant

Time has passed it by

Historic town

Roman heritage

Linked with Elizabeth I

Glassy lump in a field

Stones in a field

Field without grassy lumps or stones

Built over a Saxon cesspit

Featured in a Hollywood movie

Miles from the nearest motorway

No McDonald’s in the High Street

Takeaway pizzas in walking distance

She spent one night in a house five miles away

A HISTORY OF HEALTH AND MEDICINE IN LONDON: NURSES, BARBER-SURGEONS AND APOTHECARIES

Before the modern age and the rationalisation of the medical profession, Londoners could receive care from a bewildering array of health workers. Some were registered and trained, but many were ‘unqualified’. This day conference, held on Sunday, 22 November, beginning at 10.00 am, will provide information on the physician, apothecary, chemist, druggist, barber-surgeon, herbalist, neighbourhood nurse/midwife, and quack.

Venue: School of Pharmacy Lecture Theatre, 29 Brunswick Square, WC1 Cost: 15.00

Contact: Citysights of London phone: 071 955 4791

or 24-hour ansaphone: 081 806 4325

ISSUE NO. 259 EDITED BY MICKY COHEN OCTOBER 1992

N.B. PLEASE ALTER the numbers on the AUGUST NEWSLETTER to No. 257 and on the SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER to No. 258.

DIARY

TUESDAY 6th OCTOBER: ‘THE ROMAN POTTERY MANUFACTURING SITE IN HIGHGATE WOODS’ Excavation 1966 – 1978.

The opening lecture for the coming winter is by our old HADAS friend, HARVEY SHELDON. Harvey was Archaeology Officer for the Museum of London for many years, and in 1983 became Head of the Department of Greater London Archaeology until it ceased to exist last year. Harvey will talk about the excavation itself, the pottery finds and associated experimental work. He is at present writing it up for publication.

SATURDAY 10th OCTOBER: MINIMART MINIMART MINIMART !!

11.30 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Church Hall, top of GREYHOUND HILL, HENDON, N.W.4

Please come along and buy, and bring your friends. If you are connected with any club or group, please send for an advertising slip to display or put one in your car – telephone 203 – 0950. We need the public to help us raise funds to meet the huge cost of our accommodation at Avenue House. Come for coffee or lunch – even if you don’t buy anything! And at the same time visit Church Farm House Museum (opposite) to see their excellent display of its history. The Museum is open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.

PLEASE CONTACT SHEILA WOODWARD (FOOD STALL) on 952 – 3897 or TESSA SMITH (CATERING) on 958 – 9159, with your offers of food, and DOROTHY NEWBURY on 203 – 0950, if you can help on the day. Full details in September Newsletter leaflet.

TUESDAY 3rd NOVEMBER: LECTURE ‘ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS in advance of

A41 BYPASS at BERKHAMSTED/BOXMOOR’.

By MARE HALPIN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, HERTS ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRUST.

TUESDAY 1st or 8th DECEMBER : CHRISTMAS DINNER – see leaflet and application form enclosed.

JANUARY NO LECTURE

TUESDAY 2nd FEBRUARY : ‘ANCIENT NEAR-EASTERN CYLINDER SEALS’ By Dr. DOMINIQUE COLLON

STOP PRESS The INAUGURAL MEETING of THE FRIENDS of CHURCH FARM HOUSE MUSEUM will be held on 21st OCTOBER,1992, at 8 p.m. at the MUSEUM.

REMINDER!!! MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTIONS DUE APRIL 1992!! As OVER 40 MEMBERS have still not renewed their membership, I am enclosing REMINDERS of subs. due.

If you have paid by the time you receive this, I apologise in advance.

P.S. Would anyone like to take over my ‘ex-job` I resigned last May
PHYLLIS FLETCHER (EX-MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY)

NOTES ON WEEKEND IN DORSET AUGUST 1992 Deirdre Barrie

First weekend trip with HADAS: Wait excitedly at Hendon for coach. Note individual amounts of luggage range from toothbrush in top pocket to sets of matching cases, each of which can barely be lifted. (Interestedly note table later, in boot of coach. No kitchen sink, though).

First stop Avebury. Lifetime’s ambition fulfilled. Neglect free coffee (not easy for Scot) to complete sun-wise perambulation of stones. (Worriedly eye people in dark glasses and strange clothes going widdershins). Stone circle huge: Village in middle: (Shop crammed with Celtic crafts, even.)

Arrive Sherborne Study Centre modern building, comfortable single rooms. City reminiscent of Bath – mellow stone, tree-clad heights. Tour of Abbey given lovingly by Rector. Magnificent roof.

Trepidation. Hear dinner to be served in barn. Barn? Relic of farm previously on study centre site? Black rafters covered in owl droppings? Stamped earthen floor? Reality golden parquet, smiling staff, delicious meal, excellent wine.

Comfortable night’s sleep. Odd locks on rooms. Member of party locks self out.

Morning – self-service breakfast. Much joyous self-serving. To quote Tony Hancock, “all you can see is their arms coming round the sides.” Ten-slice nuclear-powered toaster. Staff still smiling.

Coach hurtles towards Dorchester. Cerne Giant hill figure. Eyes bulge. How has splendid, potent Celt survived uncensored all this time? Dubious souvenirs: horse brasses, keyholder. (Hang keys there?)

Arrive Maiden Castle. Distant hill massive, lowering, impressive. Mr. Putnam’s tour under Wuthering Heights conditions. Quotes theory Castle meant to lower, impress, etc. Earlier hill fort enlarged; “new” fort POWER STATEMENT. Large, difficult to defend. (Thinks: maiden Castle = Iron Age Chieftain’s Porsche?)

Weather worsens rapidly. Party strung out like ants on ploughed ridge. Flapping waterproofs donned with difficulty in gale. Umbrellas mortally wounded. Woman goes native, sheds shoes. (Bare feet better grip on wet grass. Please check with charging Highland warriors.) Other luckless lady hurts ankle, nobly succoured by aptly-named Rick.

In all, Castle colossal, magnificent, unique, unforgettable. (Uh oh, not visited in proper state of cool scientific detachment.)

All reel damply down to coach. (Soaked people from Swannery will swim up.) Down to lush vale, Abbotsbury Tithe Barn. Splendid stone-buttressed building spared by Henry VIII/locals because useful.

Inside, cool, dim, cathedral-like. Barn guide ghoulishly elaborates on Edgar Allen Poe veterinary instruments. Flee up ladder to gallery of dairy equipment. Clamber down to find guide demonically demonstrating mantrap, using stave. Massive clang. Very high OUCH factor. (Leg could be broken.) Limping least damage. Hirpling ex-poachers noticed by evil squire, constables, etc.

Downpour. Runner sent to summon coach and driver. Cry goes up: driver discovered in back of barn. (This Mystery Man, not like usual drivers, makes knowledgeable, throwaway remarks. Redundant doctor, pilot? Archaeologist extraneous to big museum’s needs?)

Damply to Dorchester Museum. (Dorothy’s visit timed just right.) Cast-iron galleries, Relics of T. Hardy. Half party and guide suddenly zoom out of sight. Hurtle ahead to Roman Villa. Dorothy knows all, sees all, unites flocks. Roman Villa sad tale of early excavations abandoned to moulder.

Admire Roman amphitheatre, built on top of earlier earthworks. (Voice of Colonial cit. in Roman days: “New theatre’s failed. Always knew it would not do well. Now, if you’d ever seen a real show in Rome … “)

Home to Sherborne Study Centre. Dry out. Dinner just as good as last night. No-one locks self out. Someone locks self in, instead. Dramatic ladder rescue.

Sunday. HADAS party mills about, waiting for coach. Man appears with dowsing rods. Demonstration over subterranean drain. Two thirds of those who try can do. (‘Mystery Man coach driver def. best.)

To Somerset Levels, Peat Moors Visitors’ Centre, Westhay. Coffee and good lunch in shifts at Willow Tearooms. Test local cider. Eyes swivel independently. Sing in rain.

Admire little dark Soay sheep. Sheep consume lush “Good King Henry” from kind hands of Dr. Margaret Cox. Tale of how peat consumption must be curtailed. Once little men with spades and black boats on bogs. Now monster machines scrape it all up. Special Dr. Bulleid Centenary Display (the very hut!) Mock-up sections of varying styles of ancient wooden trackways to stumble over. Smoky Iron Pge but contains chatty pseudo Celts in checked trews. (Almost as comfy as Hebridean “black house”… till you come home wounded or want to have a baby.)

Grey skies and spattered windows. Glastonbury. Party scatter to visit abbey, Tribunal, King -Arthur’s Tomb, teashops. Choose agri­cultural museum. Sadness of lost skills. (Ancestors did this.)

Coach obliged to halt at Stonehenge on return route (calls of nature.) Stones loom in greyness. Moon to self about how once approached across trackless, psychologically impressive plains. Now place littered with road, underpass, fences, loos, skips, drink stalls, tourists. (“All men kill the thing they love.”)

Home to dark, wet, shiny Hendon. Experience of a lifetime! wonderful memories of West Country in sun and shade! How can we persuade Dorothy to mastermind yet one more?

MEMBERS’ NEWS

FRANK MEYER and CRAIGIE BESWICK (now married) both past Members who always came to Lectures and Outings, are fit and well. Another Member, HELEN ADAM, met. them by chance in an hotel in Bournemouth. Theirs was a HADAS romance and MR MEYER is now nearly 90. They, with other Members, attended Mrs ROXAN’S Roman classes.

EDGAR LOEWY another Member of the Roman classes, and a regular attender at Lectures and Outings, died earlier this year. He and LILY LOEWY had given up Membership when he became ill.

ROBERT MICHEL and PAULA ALLEN – another HADAS romance – were married in Hendon on 12th September ROBERT was on the HADAS Committee for a time, and both attend our

Lectures and Outings. ROBERT caught the archaeology ‘bug’ years ago, left his job and went to Southampton University to get his degree in Archaeology. We wish them both a happy future, and look forward to their continued interest in the Society.

DR ANN SAUNDERS, our Member who has given us two fascinating lectures in the past, has given two talks on the radio recently, one on St. Paul’s and the other on the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire.

MOVING WITH THE TIMES from THE DAILY MAIL of 15th AUGUST,1992

” Motorists on the Al may be forgiven for rubbing their windscreens in disbelief when they spot ‘Established 1498′ on removal vans… Aberdeen Shore Porters’ Society, first mentioned in the Aberdeen Council Minutes of 20th June,1498.”

SITE WATCHING – THE FROZEN NORTHERN BOUNDARIES

Following a recent planning application by BROOK DALE LEISURE SITE for a ‘dry ski slope’ at Rowley Lane, Arkley, ENGLISH HERITAGE may recommend an archaeological assessment evaluation. This site, covers a large area which has not apparently been developed previous; it i also on the line of a suggested Roman road, the Viatores 167. No evidence of this was found when site-watching either the Three Rivers Pipeline (Newsletter No. 241) or previous HADAS investigations (LAMAS TRANSACTIONS 22, part 3). This area is further north, and may yield more positive evidence should an evaluation take place.

Other more temperate sites which have been the subject of recent planning applications in the Northern area, are listed below and may be of archaeological interest. Members living in the vicinity are asked to keep an eye on them and report anything of possible interest to BILL BASS on 081 – 449 – 0165. Thanks.

13 – 15 Moxon Street, High Barnet – 2 storey block of flats

38 Galley Lane, Arkley – single storey front extension

Cherry Tree Cottage, Barnet Road,Arkley – side extension

105 – 109 Station Road, New Barnet – block of flats

The Paddocks, Frith Lane, London, NW 7 – ten detached houses

45 Woodside Avenue, Finchley, N 12 – block of flats

SHORT COURSES ARRANGED BY UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD (DEPT. of CONTINUING EDUCATION)

SATURDAY DAY SCHOOLS at REWLEY HOUSE, OXFORD

Computing for Archaeologists : image processing £73.35 (Residential) £51.70 (Non-residential)

Science and Archaeology : artefact studies £23.50 (with lunch)., £18.00 (without lunch)

Archaeology of London : recent discoveries £92.00 .(Residential) £56.50 (Non-residential)

Ancient Philosophers and Archaeology in Asia Minor £23.50 (with lunch) £18.00 (without lunch)

Brittany : recent archaeological research £92.00 (Residential) £56.50 (Non-residential)

Aerial photographs (practical archaeology weekend) £71.70 (Residential) £48.90 (Non-residential)

The Archaeology Course Secretary, OUDCE, 1 Wellington Square,

Oxford, OX1 2JA. 2s soon as possible.

DAY CONFERENCE ON “LONDON – THE FIRST 2,000 YEARS” on SUNDAY, 25th OCTOBER Speakers from English Heritage,etc. Organised by “CITYSIGHTS” at LECTURE THEATRE

SCHOOL OF PHARMACY, BRUNSWICK SQUARE, WC 1 – £15. APPLICATIONS : 071 – 955 – 4791 from 12.30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

(24 hour Ansaphone : 081 – 806 – 4325)