Past Newsletters

No. 541 APRIL 2016 Edited by Peter Pickering

HADAS DIARY – Forthcoming Lectures and Events.

Lectures are held at Avenue House, 17 East End Road, Finchley, N3 3QE, and start promptly at 8pm, with coffee/tea and biscuits afterwards. Non-members: £1. Buses 82, 125, 143, 326 & 460 pass nearby and Finchley Central station (Northern Line), is a 5-10 minute walk away.

Tuesday 12th April 2016: Douglas Killock: In the lift to the beach: a visit to the Lundenwic waterfront.
Tuesday 10th May 2016 Matt Symonds: Hadrian’s Wall: Life on Rome’s Northern Frontier
Tuesday 14th June 2016 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Monday September 19th to Friday September 23rd. HADAS trip

Tuesday 11th October 2016 Professor Caroline Barron: Women in medieval London
Tuesday 8th November 2016 – Hazel Forsyth: The Cheapside Hoard

HADAS Newsletter Archive. Don Cooper

Finally after many years of hard work, all HADAS’ monthly newsletters are available on-line on the HADAS web site (www.hadas.org,uk). The newsletters have been digitised and are searchable by word or phrase, although, because they have been passed through OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software, there are still a lot of textual and spelling errors.

How to access this useful archive:

Go to the main HADAS web page at www.hadas.org.uk and on the right hand side of the page, you will see a heading “Newsletter Archive”, select and then on the newsletter archive page, you will see on the left panel, a table of volumes in five-year lots. If you want to see a copy of a particular newsletter, select the volume containing the year of publication and a list of the newsletters in that year will be listed,. Select the one you want.

To search all the newsletters for reference to a place or person, enter the search term into the field on the top right-hand side of the main newsletter archive project page. Enjoy.

February Lecture Melvyn Dresner

South Mimms Castle

Adam Corsini of the London Archaeological Archive and Research Centre (LAARC) talked to us about a 12th century Norman castle built just north of Barnet at South Mimms. Castle building in the 12th century could not happen without the King’s assent (and in this case an Empress). So how could there be a now-forgotten Castle so close to north London?

Adam explained how the castle was not forgotten though not widely known. On a 1504 map the area was marked Castle Acre Field, and the chalk quarry was known as Castle Quarry. It entered the archaeological record in 1918, when A F Major and G T F Cruickshank discovered the site. A local committee was established in 1931, funds were raised by 1933 to investigate further and in 1936 the site was scheduled (before it was understood properly) to protect it as an ancient monument. During World War Two it was used as a rifle range. In 1950, the North London Archaeological Committee was set up. It was not until John Kent (1928 – 2000), a numismatic specialist from the British Museum and Hertfordshire local archaeologist, got involved that archaeological investigation began in earnest. This investigation changed our understanding of castle building techniques, and shed light on a difficult and confusing period of medieval history – the civil war between cousins King Stephen and Empress Matilda known to historians as the Anarchy. The figure of Geoffrey II de Mandeville, first Earl of Essex, between 1136 and 1143, emerged as the possible castle builder.

The site was dug by volunteers during the 1960s including girls from Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School Barnet. Adam showed pictures of the site and how deep they were able to dig. The timber tower was built on raised ground, though most of the earthworks were constructed around the tower. Previously the assumption had been that with this type of castle the earthworks were built first and the tower placed on top. But South Mimms showed that the earthworks and tower construction were integrated. The earthworks were there partly to protect the wooden tower and partly to provide height as a viewing platform over the landscape.

Why was the castle built? Charters and history of the 12th century suggest political and military reasons. The location close to the Royal Forest of Enfield Chase points towards hunting, and material finds suggest later occupation of the site after the Anarchy in the late 12th century. A plaque found shows a lion emblem that could be associated with Henry I (Empress Matilda’s father ) or could be a hunting dog, (or a giraffe according to a shopper at Brent Cross Shopping Centre!)

The bulk of pottery found was South Hertfordshire Greyware with flint inclusions and mainly identified as cooking pots. They remind us that behind powerful men and women are potters, cooks, ploughmen, and herdsmen, who produce and prepare food; labourers who build; and crafts men and women who make pots, tools and weapons. The pottery was dated to late 12th century according to a London sequence. That is after the Anarchy, so the pottery either extends the use of the site, suggests its origin was later, or represents the time it took for local production to turn up in the City of London. Tools associated with construction include a pick and an auger; there was also re-used Roman material; a stone used for grinding that originated in Germany(classed as building material in the context of this site). Adam suggested it took 2,000 hours to build the earthworks and tower – either over say two months of intensive labour or perhaps up to two years. There was evidence (beam cut angles) for the tower tapering to improve structural strength.

Arrow heads dateable between 1130s and 1200 associated the site with hunting and archery. High status clasps from decorative boxes or books as well as Stamford ware represent a high quality, decorated and glazed import from outside the region that would have graced the table of a powerful magnate like Geoffrey II de Mandeville or his associates.

Though annual reports were produced each year between 1960 and 1967, the site had not been fully published by the time of John Kent’s death in 2000. After a few years a Committee was formed by John Clark, of the Museum of London, to bring the archive together and publish. In 2014 HADAS members and others were repacking finds at the LAARC and sharing these with more than 1,000 people over two days at Brent Cross Shopping Centre as part of the Unearthing Barnet project. The archive was deposited in LAARC in 2010 and ‘Excavations at South Mimms Castle, Hertfordshire’ was published as London and Middlesex Archaeological Society Special Paper 16, 2013.

[Editor’s Note: I spent two or three days at this dig in the 1960s]

Lurking in Churchyards Sylvia Javes

During our stay in the New Forest, we saw many ancient buildings and sites, but among them were some ancient trees, that were very much alive.
In Breamore churchyard stands a Yew tree that is completely hollow inside, with stems surrounding the hollow centre which is full of intertwined roots. When we visited it was covered with red berries. Breamore Church is Saxon, and it is thought the Yew was mature when the church was founded, making it at least 1000 years old.
Nearly as old is a Yew in Minstead churchyard, which had a narrow escape from felling in 1979. It was hollow inside and had had concrete poured into it, presumably to preserve it. However, a storm in 1979 caused half of it to fall, blocking the lychgate. It was decided to leave the remaining part of the tree and support it, and it is still growing and producing berries. Tree experts estimate it to be about 700 years old.
In the Gazetteer of ancient, veteran and significant yews:
Breamore: Classed as ancient and exceptional. Its girth is 1082cm at 60 cm height (over 35 feet). It is a female tree, but does have a young male tree growing within it! It is about 1000 years old.
Minstead: Classed as notable. Girth is 445cm at the ground (14ft 7ins).
Yew trees were revered as sacred before Christianity, and since churches were often built on pagan sacred sites, yews have long been associated with churchyards.
The leaves and seeds of yew are lethal if consumed, but the poisonous alkaloid found in ‘Taxus baccata’ contains some incredibly useful chemicals called taxanes. These are most concentrated in the needles of the English yew. Between the months of May and October, clippings from yew hedges in large gardens (eg National Trust gardens) are collected. Taxanes are chemically extracted from the clippings, purified, and converted into the chemotherapy drug Taxotere® (docetaxel).
Incidentally we have our very own ancient yew in Totteridge churchyard. It is classified as ancient, with a girth of 788cm at 90cm height (about 26 feet round), and thought to be up to 2000 years old.

Ipplepen Archaeological Project Jean Lamont

The name of Ipplepen may not be familiar to members of HADAS, but viewers of “Digging for Britain” may recall an episode, covering the South West, included a short piece on recent discoveries at Ipplepen.

In 2007, metal detectorists discovered Roman coins in a field near the small Devon village of Ipplepen which sits on the A381 road midway between Newton Abbot and Totnes. Funding for an excavation was found and Exeter University has been digging there since 2010. My sister lives a couple of miles away and took me to see the site when I visited her in August last year but sadly after the dig had closed for the year. (My sister is quite tolerant of my interest in archaeology and will visit archaeological sites with me “provided I explain what she is looking at!” – most remains on Dartmoor being pre-historic. So I was pleasantly surprised to hear that she had attended the Open Day.)

The site is recognised as being the most important discovered recently in Devon, consisting of the largest Romano-British settlement in Devon outside Exeter. Geophysical survey has shown that the site extends over 23 acres. It was previously supposed that Roman activity west of Exeter probably consisted of individual farmsteads. Successive digs have revealed continuous occupation of the site from pre-history with flints and Bronze Age pottery, Iron Age ring-ditch and round houses, Roman coins and pottery, through to the post-Roman period. The earliest coin dates from 150 BC. The most significant finds have been a Roman road with cart tracks and potholes (!), over an Iron Age track, with 15 skeletons beside the road (one dating to 655 – 765 AD). The 2014 dig uncovered a piece of Samian ware of 150 – 180 AD from Central Gaul stamped “Aucella”. postholes which are contemporary and in alignment with the road could be small rural houses, and evidence of smelting.

The orientation of the road is the same as the current road but slightly uphill from it and presumably linked the fore-runners of Newton Abbot and Totnes, both on tidal river estuaries (The Teign and the Dart), which would have been important for trading. No public announcement has so far been made of the dating of more of the skeletons or the result of the isotope analysis. It will be fascinating to discover where the people came from.

For further information visit the Exeter University website. http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/archaeology/fieldwork/ipplepen/

The Ancient Greeks at Gallipoli Roger Chapman

Above ‘S’ beach lies the Turkish Martyrs memorial complex built on Eskihisarlik Burnu (Old fortress Point). Visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year it is one of the main Turkish memorials on the Gallipoli peninsular. It was occupied by the French during much of the campaign.

Less well known is what lies beneath the memorial and indeed is still visible in many places. This area is the site of the ancient Greek city of Eleaus. The Gallipoli peninsula was renowned for its wheat. It also profited from its strategic location on the main trade route between Europe and Asia, as well the ability to control shipping to the Black Sea.

Eleaus is reputedly the last resting place of the mythological hero Protesilaus, near a steep coastal cliff. According to Homer’s Iliad, Protesilaus was the first Greek to set foot on land during the Trojan War, for which – according to the will of the gods – he was also the first to die. His tomb at Elaeus lay on the European coast opposite Troy and became a place of pilgrimage for the cult of Protesilaus. Later, the temple contained votive offerings and was surrounded by a settlement. In antiquity the location was variously under Athenian, Persian, Spartan and later Macedonian control.

Alexander the Great is said to have visited Elaeus at the start of his Persian campaign in spring 334 BCE in order to visit the temple of Protesilaus. Here he made an offering before crossing the Dardanelles and himself becoming the first of his army to set foot in Asia.

During the 1915 campaign the French undertook an archaeological excavation of the site making significant finds. The French army brought five sarcophagi, jewellery, ancient pottery and other objects to Paris, which are now displayed in the Louvre. Some of the main stone walls of the city are still exposed and visible today.

Kentish Town Lock Bill Bass

Several members of HADAS visited the lock, part of the Regent’s Canal, during an ‘open weekend’ on the 23-24th January organised by the Canal & River Trust. The lock had been dammed and emptied so that the lock-gates could be renewed (this is undertaken every 25 years or so). The week before the ‘open weekend’ the old gates were craned out and new ones made of green Welsh Oak replaced them. As much of the original metal and other fittings are saved where possible, the work will take several weeks with other modifications being made.

Members of the public had access to the empty lock via a specially erected set of steps and platform, with a chance to inspect the new doors and the original brickwork and structure built c1820. There were many volunteers, together with display stands to explain the history of the lock and it’s operation. The area was once an important way of transhipping goods between the canal, railway and roads and many of the local industries e.g. timber yards, coal, wine merchants and icehouses.

Nearby a separate development for ‘Camden Lock Village’, a mixture of retail, leisure, arts cinema units and a new school will transform this part of Camden. Today this stretch of waterway is very popular with leisure barge and narrowboat traffic.

Canal Visits Jim Nelhams

In July 2012, “ownership” of the canals in England and Wales, which had been nationalised in 1948, was transferred from British Waterways to a charity named “The Canal and River Trust”. This continued the use of volunteers who had been involved in the restoration of canals. Unlike their predecessors, the Trust has realised the value of publicity, and organises a number of events each year. Some of these take advantage of lock gate replacements to allow people to visit and inspect the locks.

While going into a lock does not involve digging, the draining of the water does reveal artefacts that have found their way into the water, including the inevitable supermarket trolley. The opening of the lock allowed us to be among the first members of the public at the bottom of the lock for nearly 200 years. A number of Victorian glass bottles were on display. As the Trust puts it, it is an opportunity to unlock some secrets from the past.

The Trust also organises walks along the canal towpath, including sections of the Regents Park Canal between Little Venice in Paddington and King’s Cross. Most of these are on level ground. Of course, you can do this yourself at any time, since the towpaths are open to the public, and easily accessible. Or you can visit the London Canal Museum near King’s Cross.

Further details can be found at https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/places-to-visit?

In our recent trips, HADAS has visited a number of canals and canal infrastructure, including last year the steam pumping station at Crofton on the Kennet and Avon canal. Our 2016 plans include a visit to another section of this canal. Watch this space.

Coal Posts Bill Bass

On my occasional railway photographic forays to Potters Bar golf club I’ve noticed a stone ‘obelisk’ tucked away in the north-west corner by the lineside on top of the embankment. It was usually in over-grown land and difficult to get at. I assumed that it was a war memorial or folly that had been moved out of the way. On a recent visit the area had been cleared and the course not yet open so had the chance of a closer look, the stone is about 4m high with some letters and numbers, on the side facing the line is a shield which I recognised as the City of London.

Asking a green-keeper he said it was something to do with tax – and there were more of them. An internet search soon revealed that these were ‘Coal Tax Posts’, any coal being taken through the City of London had tax or duty payable, so the posts were set-up on all railways, canals and roads etc as a visible reminder of the tax due. Hundreds were set-up in a ring around London and many still survive, the figures on them refer the act and date they were set-up for.

More info here:

http://www.brookmans.com/history/projects/postspics3.shtml

Other Societies’ Events Eric Morgan

Saturday 9th April, 11-2.30 North London and Essex Transport Society. Enfield Spring Transport Bazaar. St Paul’s Centre, 102 Church St. Enfield EN2 6AR. Bus, Railway, Aviation and Military Transport, with books, photos, DVDs, Timetables, Maps, Memorabilia etc. Admission £3. Refreshments available

Thursday 28th April. 8pm Finchley Society. Trinity Hall, Nether Street, North Finchley N12 7NN. Environmental Issues. Talks by various speakers on subjects including Open Spaces, Litter, Roads (congestion, potholes and parking). Note venue. Visitors £2

Mondays 2nd and 30th May from 11am to 5pm. Markfield Beam Engine and Museum. Markfield Road, South Tottenham, N15 4RB Steam Open Days Admission Free.

Tuesday 3rd May 7.30 pm Enfield Society Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Lane/junction Chase Side, Enfield EN2 0AJ Presenting Enfield. Talk by Joe Studman £3. First of a monthly series.

Monday 9th May. 3pm Barnet Museum and Local History Society. Church House, Wood Street, Barnet (opposite museum) Dickens: the Man and his Work. Talk by Paul Baker. Visitors £2.

Wednesday 11th May. 6pm. Gresham College at Museum of London 150 London Wall .The Five Catastrophes that made London. Talk by Simon Thurley on advances in Architecture. Free.

Thursday 12th May 7pm. London Archaeologist. Institute of Archaeology 31-4 Gordon Square WC1. AGM and Annual Lecture. Crossrail Liverpool Street Excavations. Alison Telfer.

Friday 13th May 8pm Enfield Archaeological Society Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Lane/junction Chase Side, Enfield EN2 0AJ The Cutting Edge – Stone Tools in recent EAS digs. Talk by Neil Pinchbeck. Visitors £1. Refreshments 7.30pm.

Monday 16th May 7.30 pm Enfield Society Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Lane/junction Chase Side, Enfield EN2 0AJ London’s Railway Termini – Part 1, North Talk by Roger Elkin

Thursday 19th May 2-5.30pm Gresham College Barnard’s Inn Hall, Holborn, EC1N 2HH Cultural Heritage and War. Symposium presented by Professor Tim Connell and a panel of experts, focusing on the current situation in the Middle East. Free, but reservations required – visit www.gresham.ac.uk , tel. 020-7831 0575 or e-mail enquiries@gresham.ac.uk

Friday 20th May. 7pm City of London Archaeological Society, St Olave’s Parish Hall, Mark Lane EC3R 7LQ Religious and Rirual Imagery on Roman Pottery from London. Talk by Fiona Seeley (MOLA) Visitors £2. Refreshments after.

Friday 20th May. 7.30pm Wembley History Society. English Martyrs’ Hall, Chalkhill Road, Wembley, HA9 9EW (Top of Blackbird Hill, adjacent to Church) Brent’s Brent Talk by Margaret Pratt and Cliff Wadsworth on the river’s past and present. Visitors £3, refreshments 50p..

Wednesday 25th May. 7.45pm Friern Barnet and District Local History Society. North Middlesex Golf Club, The Manor House, Friern Barnet Lane N20 0NL. John Donovan Memorial Lecture by Helen Fry. Germans who fought with the British. Preceded by AGM. Visitors £2. Refreshments.

No. 540 MARCH 2016 Edited by Deirdre Barrie

HADAS DIARY

Tuesday 8th March, 8pm. The Crossrail Archaeology Project. Lecture by Jay Carver, lead archaeologist with the Crossrail Project. The archaeology programme has involved more than 50 new investigations into London’s long history, spanning its prehistoric beginnings, the founding of Londinium in the Roman period, and a wealth of medieval and post-medieval sites right up to the City’s industrial and rail heritage age in the 19th century. Jay will provide an overview of the new discoveries undertaken during the last five years of work on Europe’s largest construction project, which has involved the efforts of more than 200 archaeologists and engineers.

Tuesday 12th April 2016, 8pm. In the lift to the beach: a visit to the Lundenwic waterfront by Douglas Killock

Tuesday 10th May, 8pm. Hadrian’s Wall: Life on Rome’s Northern Frontier. Lecture by Matt Symonds.

Tuesday 14th June 2016 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Tuesday 11th October 2016 Talk by Professor Caroline Barron – title to be announced.

Tuesday 8th November 2016, 8pm. The Cheapside Hoard – lecture by Hazel Forsyth

All the above events, unless otherwise stated, will be held at Stephens House & Gardens (formerly Avenue House), 17 East End Road, Finchley N3 3QE, starting at 8pm, with tea/coffee and biscuits afterwards. Non-members are welcome (£1.00). Buses 82, 125, 143, 326 and 460 pass nearby. Finchley Central Station (Northern Line) is a short walk away.

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Bradford on Avon Trip Jim Nelhams

We have had a good response and have now booked the hotel and the coach. We will be travelling on Monday 19th September and returning on Friday 23rd, staying for four nights at the Best Western Leigh Park Hotel on the outskirts of Bradford on Avon.

Full price is not yet known but seems likely to be around £470 per person sharing a twin or double room, and £520 per person with their own room. This is a slight increase on last year, but the first increase we have had for a while. We will need a deposit of £125 by the end of April with the balance by 15th July.

There are still places available, so if you want to add your name to the list or if you have any friends who would like to join the trip, please contact Jim or Jo Nelhams (contact info on back page). Each empty seat on the coach costs everybody in the group about £2 extra, so more people help to keep the cost down for everybody.

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November 2015 Lecture – The History of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution – Keith Cunningham Report by Marilyn Burgess

The lecture was delivered by Keith Cunningham, founder member of the City of London Fundraising Committee, and focused on how the Royal National Lifeboat Institution was formed and the types of lifeboats used from the outset to present day.

The turbulent seas round the coast of Great Britain can be treacherous and over the centuries countless ships had come to grief. By the eighteenth century, with sea traffic increasing as trade grew, a competition was held to find the best design for a lifeboat. The competition was won by Henry Greathead who was a boat builder and in 1789 the first purpose-built lifeboat was built and stationed at South Shields by the Tyne.

The invention and development of the Shields rowing lifeboat continued, but shipwrecks were commonplace and regarded as an accepted way of life at sea. The number of shipwrecks around our coastline had risen to approximately 1800 a year and in 1823, when William Hillary, the MP for the Isle of Man, witnessed a tragedy, he made an impassioned plea to the nation and published a pamphlet detailing his plans for a lifeboat service. The pamphlets were sent to the Royal Navy, ministers and prominent citizens, appealing for what was called the National Institution for the Preservation of Lives & Property from Shipwreck.

William Hillary’s appeal fell on deaf ears, but he did not give up and re-branded his appeal. In 1824 his idea caught the eye of Thomas Wilson, Liberal MP for Southwark, and shipping magnate George Hibbert, a Whig MP and Chairman of the West Indies Merchants. The three men became a formidable force, and the campaign rapidly gathered momentum. As more and more benefactors came on board, an interim committee was set up, with King George IV assuring Royal Patronage and Prime Minister Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, agreeing to be President.

A meeting was held on 4 March 1824 at the London Tavern in Bishopsgate, London, where Vice-President Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Charles Manners-Sutton presided, and the crowd unanimously passed 12 resolutions. It was agreed that an Institution be formed, which was to be funded by donations and annual subscriptions. The institute was named The Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the 12 resolutions still stand today as part of the RNLI’s charter, almost 200 years later.

We viewed slides featuring the Newquay Lifeboat Station and showing early lifeboats which had to be pulled out of the boathouse by man- and horse-power and taken to the shoreline, a rocket being launched to summon the crew. The old-style boats were very laborious and a team of men was required to drag them into position. Problems were encountered in the harbour with the tide going out and it was necessary to construct new buildings.

We were told of the improved lifeboats, which are primarily split into categories: inshore, offshore, all-weather boats and hovercraft. The fact that these new boats are state-of- the-art designs with an improved technology means that far smaller crews are needed, and volunteers are now paged when their assistance is required. The average age of a lifeboat is 20 years in service of RNLI, although the boats still have many further years’ usage, and from 2007 lifeboats have been sold on to China, and also countries in Africa and South America.

The tragedy of the collision of the Marchioness pleasure boat and the Bowbelle dredger in 1989 resulted in the loss of 51 lives, and it was identified by the Port of London Authority that lifeboats should be introduced to the Thames. There are four lifeboat stations covering the Thames: at Teddington, Chiswick, Gravesend and Tower Bridge (now relocated to Waterloo Bridge), with the Tower Lifeboat Station being the busiest lifeboat station in the country.

Keith gave us an insight into his involvement as a volunteer with the RNLI dating back to 1967, when he participated in a collection with a work colleague, and this led to his forming the City of London Fundraising Committee. His team of collectors grew to 49, and at their peak collected the sum of £9,000 in a day. The volunteers had some memorable experiences, in particular participating in the Lord Mayor’s procession on two occasions. Many thanks to Keith for an interesting talk.

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Membership Renewal – Stephen Brunning (Membership Secretary)

The HADAS membership year runs from 1st April, so all memberships are now due for renewal, apart from those new members who have joined since January this year. There is a separate form with this Newsletter for those people who pay by cheque, and I would ask that you return the form to me along with your remittance for the appropriate amount. Members who pay by standing order need take no action. The rates remain unchanged.

Anyone who thinks they should have had a Membership Renewal Form or Standing Order Form but hasn’t received one, anyone who wants to make their membership under Gift Aid and hasn’t already done so, or anyone who has any question at all about their membership, please contact me (contact details on back page).
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Help Required Don Cooper

In mid-2014 HADAS published “A Hamlet in Hendon”. We distributed it free to all our members and sold a small number of copies. To take its distribution to the next stage we need a volunteer to devise, create and implement a marketing plan so that this well-reviewed book reaches as wide a readership as possible both locally and nationally as well as among the history and archaeology community.

Should you feel that this is something you would like to take on, please apply to the HADAS chairman. See the contact details at the end of this newsletter.

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HADAS Trip – Lyndhurst – Day 5

Time to head home, but not without some stops on the way. First to Winchester. Luckily more than 40 days had expired since St Swithun’s Day.

Winchester Great Hall Dot Ravenswood

On Saturday the coach took us up to a high viewpoint, the wide paved area on the site of the Norman castle. We were to visit the only part of the castle that Cromwell left standing, the Great Hall (and, according to Jim, to see the world’s biggest dartboard!). Our guide was an enthusiastic walking encyclopaedia, never at a loss for a name or a date. Among other things, she told us that the hall was built between 1222 and 1235 at a cost of £500; it had always been an important legal and administrative centre, Edward I held a tournament and other celebrations there for the betrothal of his daughter in 1290, Sir Walter Raleigh stood trial there in 1603, and Judge Jeffreys held the Bloody Assizes there in 1685.

The Great Hall, with its tall, slim pillars of Purbeck marble, is said to be one of the finest aisled medieval halls in existence. But its main attraction must be the “giant dartboard” – in other words, the Round Table that hangs on the west wall.

The Round Table of Arthurian legend was first mentioned by the chronicler Wace in 1155, six or seven hundred years after the time when Arthur may have lived. It was later still, probably at King Edward I’s tournament in 1290, that the Winchester Round Table first appeared. I must admit that I had always assumed it to be a Victorian fake: a bit of nostalgic, nationalistic myth-making in the style of Tennyson’s Morte d’Arthur. So it was doubly surprising to learn that in its present form it was actually a Tudor fake, since the gaudy royal figure, the rose and the segments were painted in for that great self-publicist Henry VIII. Some things don’t change….

Winchester City Return Visit Andy Simpson

Having had a wonderful three years in Winchester from 1978 (!) doing my first degree, it was good to be back – so little time (relatively speaking), so many places to visit! Sadly the Roman House formerly on view beneath the Brooks Shopping Centre in the city centre had closed – but that just left more time to pop down to the former Winchester Chesil railway station site on the former GWR Didcot, Newbury and Southampton line, and the nicely preserved Bar End goods depot nearby, not visited since 1982! A good view of the related railway viaduct and nearby Iron Age univalate hillfort at St Catherine’s Hill was obtained from the coach. And a quick look at the city walls – including tiny fragment of Roman wall- in the SW corner of the city.

Winchester City Museum Deirdre Barrie and Andy Simpson

And of course a lingering look at the archaeological and social history displays in the City Museum, situated right by the magnificent cathedral. After a recent refurbishment, you start at

the top in Roman Winchester – Venta Belgarum – proceed to Saxon and medieval Winchester – Wintanceaster – Saxon Royal capital of England, and burial place of Alfred the Great. And a happy hunting ground for Martin Biddle excavating various Saxon Minsters and town centre sites in the 1960s/70s. Lots of pagan Saxon grave goods on display from extra-mural cemeteries – and end up in Victorian Winchester with its reconstructed shop fronts on the ground floor. Exit through Gift Shop, naturally. The models of Roman and medieval Winchester were excellent, as were the medieval pottery selections – a good primer for the evening class! Some lovely Roman mosaic and painted wall plaster fragments also, as shown in the accompanying photo. Must return soon…

The top gallery houses a star exhibit: the nearly complete Sparsholt Flower Mosaic floor, from a Roman villa excavated between 1965-1972 by D.E.Johnson.

The Winchester Moot Horn (12th C, copper alloy) needed a shoulder strap to support its weight, when it was used to call citizens to the “Burrough Mote” which was similar to today’s Council meetings. It could apparently be heard for several miles in the 1920s, when it was last blown, but it’s a replica which is now sounded at the annual mayor-making ceremony in May.

Another interesting exhibit is a rare suit of Almain Rivet armour, which might have belonged to the Tudor town guard, and was imported from Germany.

“Janeites” (i.e. fans of Jane Austen) would be particularly interested in the items owned by the author, which include a poem in her own hand, and a pretty purse with blue beads, which is supposed to have been worked by Jane herself. Jane came to stay in Winchester hoping for expert medical help to cure her last illness; but is buried in the Cathedral.

Apparently some local residents can still remember the preserved Victorian shop fronts (ground floor, Winchester Gallery) when they were in their original places. The tobacconist’s shop (does anyone remember “Passing Clouds” cigarettes?) is a particular favourite.

The museum is well worth a couple of hours of your day trip.

Winchester Cathedral – “Don’t Forget the Diver!” Liz Tucker

Whenever I go on a cultural trip including cathedrals, I am always overawed by their wonderful architecture and fascinated by their history – but after returning home, I often can’t remember which cathedral is which. This time we visited two, which were both built by William the Conqueror to replace older buildings in the area – and I made a special effort not to confuse Winchester with Salisbury.

After waiting for the Bishop to emerge from a service with various Mothers’ Union delegates, we went inside and heard a very interesting talk by a guide. The Romans, followed by the Saxons, settled in the area, which became Christian in 634 AD. In William’s time, Winchester was the capital of England, so he was determined to build something very imposing, similar to St Etienne in Caen. You can still see the original Romanesque style (with round arches) in the transepts, followed by different styles of Gothic in other areas. The long, high and narrow nave, with wonderful stone vaulting, is the most spectacular part of the building. The guide pointed out that the width of the nave was determined by the height of the trees available for the roof.

The choir stalls by the altar still have some of the original wooden carvings of secular subjects, such as dragons, green men and a cat with a mouse. We saw Jane Austen’s grave slab, and the plaque set up in her honour later on. Andrew and I, regular choral singers, were delighted to hear a lunchtime concert by a chamber choir, including Ave Virgo Sanctissima by the Spanish composer, Francisco Guerrero, which might have been sung in the cathedral at the wedding of Mary Tudor and Philip of Spain.

Over the centuries, parts of the cathedral were “knocked about a bit” by Henry VIII and then Cromwell. The glass from the huge West window was later reassembled in a random pattern, and the statues of the great screen were re-carved; St Swithun’s shrine, however, was lost without trace.

The greatest enemy of the building, however, was not human beings, but Nature. The Romans had diverted the River Itchen to form a moat, so that the cathedral is built on a very unstable river bed. It could not possibly support a spire like Salisbury’s, or even the large towers planned by William. The crypt floods regularly, and an Antony Gormley installation takes advantage of this effect.

In 1900, the cathedral was seen to be subsiding, and it was discovered that the foundations consisted of soft peat and floating logs. A deep-sea diver, William Walker, spent six hours a day, for six years, replacing these with concrete. My photograph shows two of the memorials to him. I wonder if the constant struggles with water gave rise to the legend of the patron saint making it rain for forty days, because he was annoyed that his tomb had been moved!

Whitchurch Silk Mill Ken Sutherland-Thomas

Our final visit of the holiday was to the Whitchurch Silk Mill.

The silk mill is the oldest in the UK still in the original building, and is a gem of industrial heritage. The mill is a Georgian building and uses 19th century machinery powered by the original water mill wheel.

On arrival, our party was split into smaller groups for guided tours of the premises. Being a Saturday, no work was being carried out, but our guide explained the manufacturing process and showed a film about the mill and its manufacture of silk. The objectives of the trust that runs the mill are to retain the skills of weaving on the machinery, to care for the building and its contents, and to inform the public about textiles.

Before leaving, many of our group made use of the mill’s catering facilities and well-stocked shop.

The mill is beautifully sited and the mill stream (part of the River Test) is home to many ducks. The mill clock is a feature of the outside of the mill, and was made in London by Handley and Moore in the late 18th century. It still provides the time for the citizens of Whitchurch today.

Correction

In the article on Clitterhouse Farm in the last edition I said in footnote 3 that ‘Westminster Abbey is used as a modern shorthand. The land was held by the Abbot of St. Peters at the time of the Domesday Book, only becoming known as Westminster Abbey at a later date.’ It has been pointed out to me that this is wrong. The list of landholders that stands at the start of Domesday Middlesex actually has ‘Abbatia de Westmonast’- i.e. Abbey of Westminster; ‘abbot’ would be ‘abbas.’ I’m grateful to Pam Taylor for pointing this out. Roger Chapman

The Royal Palaces of Enfield: January 2016 Lecture – Ian Jones,

Acting Chairman of Enfield Archeological Society Report by Liz Gapp

Ian started the lecture by explaining that there were two palaces in Enfield: Elsyng Palace at Forty Hall and Enfield Palace to the rear of Pearson’s, the Department Store in Church Street in Enfield.

The first part of the talk was about Elsyng Palace and the excavations carried out there. Photos of the first excavations carried out in the 1960s highlighted that in those days the ladies excavating wore skirts rather than trousers as now. Unfortunately, most of the site plans from the 1960s excavations have disappeared, although the site workbooks still exist and have proved very useful.

Not all of Elsyng Palace was excavated; a series of excavations were carried out to assess its size. An old view of the Lime Tree Avenue was shown to explain that where the path dropped down was where it would have been possible to see brickwork of the palace, which is no longer there. A lot of the lime trees came down subsequently in the storm of 1987. Due to a decision to reconstruct the Lime Tree Avenue, large holes were dug in readiness for the new trees. The first holes dug revealed brickwork at the base. As the site of Elsyng Palace is a scheduled monument, and the Enfield Society’s fieldwork director is a professional archae- ologist, English Heritage gave permission for the Enfield Archeological Society to excavate the holes that were being dug, as the bricks uncovered were deemed to be part of the palace. This meant relocating the trees being planted, with the benefit of uncovering further details of the palace. Unfortunately, the excavations were not extensive enough to identify the usage of these areas. In the tree pits, where the brick foundations were found, the only way to age them was via the mortar used.

There were very few finds to give clues to the likely usage; the area appeared to have been cleared of most of such items, probably when the palace was demolished. A very fine cesspit was uncovered, but unfortunately collapsed very shortly after being revealed. Initially vandalism was suspected, but then it was realised that the lime mortar’s fragility was the culprit, as once exposed to the air it could no longer hold the structure in place. Due to the collapse, it was not possible to find what was in the pit, as English Heritage strictures would not allow further excavation of it. A shame, as often such pits are a rich source of artefacts.

From excavation, there are believed to be four main stages of development; Phases I and II being medieval, while Phases III and IV date to Henry VIII’s time. Due to the closeness of the time frames for the phases, it is not entirely clear that there are four phases of development.

A brief outline of the palace’s history started with the fact that Henry VII and his daughter Margaret stayed in the Tudor apartments for hunting in 1497 and 1498. Custodianship of Elsyng went from the Ros family to Sir Thomas Lovell, speaker of the House of Commons, via marriage to Isabel, sister of Edmund Ros, after he was committed to an asylum. It returned to the family in the guise of his great-nephew Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland. Thomas Lovell was responsible for extending the building to become a ‘brick palace sufficient to receive the court in progress’.

Lambert Simnel, one of the many pretenders to Henry VII’s throne, was obviously considered to be harmless as he was parked in Thomas Lovell’s kitchen in 1487 and later became a falconer. Still alive in 1524, he was explicitly mentioned in Thomas Lovell’s will stating he was not to inherit anything from it when Lovell died. Part of a peregrine falcon’s skeleton found in the 1960’s verifies the royal connection, as these birds were bred only for royal use. In 1516, Henry VIII’s sister, Queen Margaret of Scotland, stayed there. Lovell also contributed to the clerestory and glazing of Enfield parish church, and founded the Holywell Priory.

Henry VIII obviously liked the house as a base for hunting, so persuaded the Earl of Rutland to give it to him in exchange for property in Leicestershire. Henry’s children spent part of their childhood there, and it was there that Elizabeth and Edward learnt of their father’s death. Extensive repairs were carried out in 1542 for a Christmas visit by Prince Edward and his sisters, and again under Elizabeth I, who is believed to have stayed at the Palace on at least four occasions. There are lots of documents associated with the building repairs which give good information.

To give an idea of the probable style and size of the Palace of which nothing is now visible above ground, we were shown comparable buildings viz:

Nonsuch Palace, if the long gallery is omitted, shows the size; Oaklands Palace in Surrey; a photo of a painting of the interior of Whitehall Palace illustrated the richness of the interiors which are likely to have existed at Elsyng Palace; Lincoln’s Inn entrance is likely to be similar to that at Elsyng Palace, particularly as it was funded by Sir Thomas Lovell; Nether Hall; and Rye House in the Lea Valley.

A geophysical survey done in the 1990s turned out to be quite misleading. In 2004, a new excavation was started. Magnetometry, geophysics and photos all looked very interesting, but because of rammed gravel in the area, proved to be deceptive. A beautiful brick drain was shown, from which many items were extracted. Other items found included carved brick and fragments of carved stone; post-medieval red wares, probably dated to the first half of the 17th century; tobacco pipes; several fragments of trailed Venetian glass, all from different vessels; and three mid-17th century fragments of Bartmann heads. A 1550s Cologne ware flagon was found, as was a very rare set of window glass triangles, some still framed in their original lead canes. There was also brick, probably from the service areas, as the main areas were believed to have been in stone. Similarly green-, yellow- and brown-glazed tiles were found, with more elaborate tiles in later areas. A large drain was found with a trickle of water still draining through it, and a couple of the archaeologists were able to get through 70 feet of this until the way forward was blocked by rubble.

The deer park that surrounded Elsyng Palace was fenced with wooden fencing and with several gazebos over the area. By 1586, Elsyng Palace had deteriorated and was rumoured to be in use as a Bath House and was only worth £7 a year. In 1650 a threshing barn was built, on top of the Tudor remains, and was then demolished in 1660s, unfortunately impeding excavation of the palace below. It is possible that the lake in the grounds is the remains of the 16th century water gardens.

With time running out, we were given a brief description of the Enfield Palace. This was given by Edward VI to his sister Elizabeth and for this purpose was sumptuously fitted out, although it is possible she never stayed there. After various incarnations, it was finally demolished in 1928 to make way for an extension to Pearson’s Department Store. The interiors of Enfield Palace were salvaged, and we were shown pictures of the amazing oak panelling and plaster-panelled ceiling from the house now in a local dwelling to which these have been moved. There are two rooms fitted out with these, which are in extremely good condition and also include a fireplace with Edward VI’s Royal Coat of Arms. There is also a second fireplace in the billiard room.

Many thanks to Ian for his talk, of which only a flavour has been possible in this write-up.

Other Societies’ Events by Eric Morgan

Saturdays 5th and 19th March, 11 am-12.30 pm, 1.30-3pm. LAARC – “Hidden London.” A tour exploring archaeological secrets from beneath some of London’s most iconic buildings, such as the “Gherkin” and the Olympic Park’s Velodrome. Book in advance, £9. Website:
https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/london-wall/whats-on/events/?event_id=37808 or tel.
Museum of London 020 7001 9844.

Friday 11th March at 7.45, Enfield Archaeology Society. Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Lane, Enfield, EN2 OAJ, “Barnet: the search for London’s only medieval battlefield.” Talk by Bruce Watson (M.O.L.A.) Visitors £1, refreshments.

Saturday, 12th March, 2016 – 2pm, The Historical Association (Central London Branch) “The Forgotten Invasion of England 1216,” talk by Dr Sean McGlynn. The Wolfson Room, (NB02) Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, University of London, Malet Street, WC1E 7HU. Members free, visitors £3, students free (with proof). No need to book. Join as a branch member (£12.50 p.a.) on the day and admission refunded. Enquiries: email chrissie@ganjou.com or tel. 020 7323 1192.

Tuesday 15th March, 8pm, Historical Association (North London Branch) Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Lane, Enfield, EN2 OAJ. “The ‘Boffins’ of the First World War: the unknown story of the scientific revolution of the First World War.” Talk by Taylor Downing.

Friday 18th March, 7 pm. COLAS, St Olave’s Parish Hall, Mark Lane, EC3R 7LQ. “Behind the Scenes at the Crime Museum” – talk by Jackie Kelly (M.O.L.A.). £2.
(Meanwhile, “The Crime Museum Uncovered” Exhibition at the Museum of London, 150 London Wall, EC2Y 5HN, continues until Sunday 10th April. Tickets from £10 on-line. Advance booking advised to ensure entry. http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/london-wall/whats-on/exhibitions-displays/the-crime-museum-uncovered )
—————————————————————————————————————-
CORRECTIONS: the item in the February Newsletter which reads “Thursday 17th March, 7.30pm Camden History Society Islington Town Hall, Upper St N1 2UD Radical Hackney Simon Cole. £1” should read:
Thursday 17th March, 7.30 pm, Camden History Society, Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre, 2nd Floor, Holborn Library, 32-38 Theobalds Road, WC1X 8PA “Artistic Symbolism in the Suffragette Movement.” Talk by Irene Cockroft, £1.

Also the talk given in the February issue for the venue Islington Town Hall should read:
Wednesday 16th March, 7.30 pm, Islington Archaeological & History Society, Islington Town Hall, Upper St, N1 2UD, “The Radical History of Hackney of the Past 400 Years.” Talk by Simon Cole. (Visitors £1).

The time of the talk for Friday 18th March’s Wembley History Society is 7.30 pm, and the correct title should be “Spies and Murderers in Westminster Abbey.” [February Newsletter].
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Saturdays 2nd and 16th April, 11 am-12.30 pm and 1.30 pm – 3pm, LAARC, Mortimer Wheeler House, 46 Eagle Wharf Road, N1 7ED, “Shakespeare’s London” Tour. Delve into the world of Shakespeare, and handle artefacts such as bear bones discovered at London’s Elizabethan theatres. Book in advance, £9, Museum of London, 150 London Wall, London EC2Y 5HN, Tel 020 7001 9844 or book on line: https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/london-wall/whats-on/events/?event_id=64810
Monday 11th April, 3pm Barnet Museum & Local History Society, Church House, Wood St Barnet (opp. Museum). “Remembering ‘Bungo” Talk by William Franklin on “An Apprecia- tion of the Life and Career of Field-Marshall The Viscount Byng of Vimy”. Visitors £2.

Friday 15th April, 7 pm, COLAS, St Olave’s Parish Hall, Mark Lane, EC3R 7LQ. “Archaeology in Bow, The Tudor Mansion That Became a Workhouse.” Talk by Les Capon and Lucy Whittington (AOC Arch.) There are 300 years of Tower Hamlets history on one site. Visitors £2. Refreshments after the talk.

Wednesday 20th April, 6pm, Gresham College at the Museum of London, 150 London Wall, EC2Y 5HN, “Sir Christopher Wren: Buildings, Place and Genius.” Talk by Simon Thurley. Free.

Wednesday 27th April, 7.45 pm Friern Barnet & District Local History Society, North Middlesex Golf Club, The Manor House, Friern Barnet Lane, N20 ONL, “A Green Spaces Walk”. Talk by Mike Gee. Visitors £2. Refreshments and bar.

No. 537 DECEMBER 2015 Edited by Don Cooper

Doesn’t time go quickly, here we are in the middle of November looking forward to that end-of-year holiday period again!! Do the years go faster as we get older? It seems like only yesterday that I edited last December’s one!

May I, on behalf of the HADAS community, wish you and yours the compliments of the season and a healthy, happy and prosperous 2016.

HADAS DIARY

Tuesday 12th January, 8pm. Royal Palaces of Enfield. Lecture by Ian Jones (EAS)

Tuesday 9th February, 8pm. Medieval Middlesex – The Archaeological Remains by Adam Corsini.

Tuesday 8th March, 8pm. The Crossrail Archaeology Project. Lecture by Jay Carver.

Tuesday 12th April 2016, 8pm. In the lift to the beach: a visit to the Lundenwic waterfront by Douglas Killock

Tuesday 10th May, 8pm. Hadrian’s Wall: Life on Rome’s northern frontier. Lecture by Matt Symonds.

Tuesday 14th June 2016 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Tuesday 11th October 2016 To be arranged

Tuesday 8th November 2016, 8pm. The Cheapside Hoard. Lecture by Hazel Forsyth

All the above events, unless otherwise stated, will be held at Stephens House & Gardens (formerly Avenue House), 17 East End Road, Finchley N3 3QE, starting at 8pm, with tea/coffee and biscuits afterwards. Non-members are welcome (£1.00). Buses 82, 125, 143, 326 and 460 pass nearby. Finchley Central Station (Northern Line) is a short walk away.

Church Farm House by Don Cooper

Church Farm House, Hendon (formerly Church Farm House Museum) is STILL vacant. The museum was closed in March, 2011, so it won’t be long until the 4th anniversary of its closing. We are being assured by Barnet Council that it is secure and being properly maintained and Historic England have not felt it necessary to add it to the buildings-at-risk register published last month (October 2015). Negotiations, we are told, are proceeding with Middlesex University but have yet to result in the signing of a lease.

Recent discoveries about Roman Britain By Peter Pickering
On 7th November I went to a conference organised by the Roman Society and the Association for Roman Archaeology. There were four lectures describing very recent excavations with remarkable new discoveries from Roman Britain. One was of a late Roman temple site in south-west Wiltshire, with a spectacular set of finds, especially miniature amphorae and hammers, and a large number of coins, over 30 of which have iron nails in them – perhaps originally attached to pieces of cloth, or hammered into a wooden post. There are also some lead curse tablets. But no indication, as yet, of what god or gods might have been worshipped there.
Professor Michael Fulford took us over the eighteen years of his excavation of part of Insula
IX of Silchester, which has finally come to an end, discovering so much more than the Society of Antiquaries had been able to find at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We were all fascinated by the evidence of a flourishing business of skinning dogs, presumably to make fur cloaks – a knife was found carved with an image of mating dogs. It seemed at the end that Professor Fulford was weaning himself and his students slowly from the excavation, having done some work on another insula, re-excavating some of the trenches of the Society of Antiquaries.
Sam Moorhead then gave an account of the Romans west of Exeter.
Although he was standing in for a lecturer who had been prevented from telling us about Binchester, the ‘Pompeii of the North’, no-one would have guessed this from his polished and fluent presentation. The discovery of the site at Ipplepen was due to two active and responsible metal detectorists (who recorded the GPS data for the many coins they found). The coins demonstrated that the Romans had not lost interest after they got to Exeter; geophysical surveying and excavation has already found many archaeological features over several acres, including a roadside cemetery. The dig has a strong community focus. Finally, Andrew Birley told us about the most recent work at Vindolanda, which continues to be one of the most important Roman sites in the country. He is the third generation of Birleys to work there. Among the finds he described were a gold coin of Nero, and the wooden toilet seat. The anaerobic conditions in parts of the site continue to reveal wooden writing tablets and other things which are usually lost. It looks as if the Vindolanda excavations will continue for many years.

The Sandridge Hoard by Jean Lamont

Members of HADAS may be interested to know that the Sandridge Hoard has now been conserved and has gone on display at the Verulamium Museum in St Albans. The Museum is open all year round and every day (Monday to Saturday from 10.00 to 17.30 and Sunday from 14.00 to 17.30), for public holidays such as Christmas check with the Museum, tel. 01727 751 810.

The Sandridge Hoard consists of 159 gold solidi and is the largest collection of solidi ever found in this country: they date from 375-408 AD and represent more wealth than most people could earn in a lifetime. There is no trace of the original container. The guidebook suggests a connection with one of the local villas and mentions Turnershall Farm a few miles away, itself subject of a separate display. Well worth a visit.

http://www.stalbansmuseums.org.uk/verulamium/ Website gives details of entrance fees / parking etc

Lyndhurst Trip – continued
Our aim on our trips is to visit a variety of places without spending too long on the coach. These cover a range of interests, with twenty of our travellers submitting interesting newsletter contributions about our stops, and related topics. Our thanks to all who have put pen to paper.

Day 2 started with one of our longer excursions – one hour to Stonehenge.

Visit to Stonehenge Liz Gapp

Our coach dropped us at Stonehenge in time for entry timed for 10.30. As the threatened rain was holding off, most of us decided to get the shuttle bus to visit the monument first, before visiting the visitor centre. Some people walked the 1¼ miles to the site; some later also walked back.

We had all been provided with audio tour guides. There were numbers on the site which went from 1 to 8 corresponding to the audio descriptions. These descriptions also gave additional numbers for more detailed information about specific aspects. The descriptions pointed out that Stonehenge is the only stone circle with lintels; there are 300 later mounds around the circle using it as a focal point; the monument is not a true henge as the ditch is inside the defensive mound, not outside it; it was all built over a period dating 3,000 – 2,000 BC; the famous bluestones reputedly from the Preseli Hills in Wales are the smaller of the upright stones, the larger ones being the Sarsen stones from a more local area, most likely the Marlborough Downs in North Wiltshire; the stones had been rearranged at various times in the past. As you walk round the circle of the monument various features such as the Heel Stone and the Slaughter Stone are described. You are kept to the edge of the monument by barriers, as the archaeology inside the barriers is deemed too fragile to be walked on.

Talking to people who knew the site from previous visits, it was felt the new approach, whether by shuttle bus or foot, was more atmospheric and a good way to enter the landscape.

After returning to the interpretive centre (around midday), we went to the café and ate our lunch. Then we went to the exhibition, not large but with quite a few interesting video displays. After this we briefly walked round the reconstructed village of round houses. There we also saw two sample bluestones and a Sarsen stone, the latter in a frame to enable it to be moved. This was so that it was possible to feel the difference between the two stone types. The Sarsen frame was set up with a challenge for people to try and move it, with pressure gauges to highlight how much effort it would take to move it, and showing that in practice it would have taken 200 people to move it.

We returned to the coach just after 13.00, although it wasn’t due to depart until 13.30. We were lucky, the rain had held off until just as we were due to leave the site, despite forecasts predicting an earlier start to the rain. Although not the warmest, it was a very enjoyable and rewarding visit.

Old Sarum Peter Nicholson

The grey skies which had threatened, but mercifully held off during our visit to Stonehenge began to rain at a sprinkle on the coach trip to Old Sarum, then dampened us more and more. This curtailed both the time we spent on site and the proportion of it we explored.

The boundaries of the site are those of an Iron Age hillfort probably from about 400 BC.
When the Normans arrived, ready-made defences seemed a bonus too good to ignore and William the Conqueror raised a motte and bailey castle inside in about 1070. Our access was easy – the coach park is in the outer bailey, so no need to climb a hill as at Danebury. The view in front of us was impressive. A deep ditch was crossed by a modern wooden bridge and, rising above us, the inner bailey with rubble cores of walls of extensive ranges of buildings remaining.

Besides castles, the Normans were great cathedral builders and, at Old Sarum, they built two in quick succession inside the hill fort. The first, begun about 1075 was small by their standards with three apses at the east end. The second, larger, cathedral is shown by the rubble cores of its walls, which remain to a little above ground level. The wall lines of the first cathedral, where they do not coincide, are shown by lines of modern paving.

Time moved on and so, unusually, did the cathedral. A hilltop site exposed to extremes of weather and inconvenient for trade had obvious disadvantages. Proximity to a Royal castle, which was politically advantageous in the eleventh century, had ceased to be so in the thirteenth when the Pope had excommunicated the King. After years of dissatisfaction and discord, the foundation stone of the present cathedral, on its site in the river valley below, was laid in 1220. After the cathedral went downhill, literally, Old Sarum did so metaphorically, suffering depopulation, and eventually became notorious as one of the rottenest of rotten boroughs.

Lyndhurst

With the inclement weather, we opted to return to the hotel. The rain having relented, it gave an opportunity for a brief walk around Lyndhurst itself. The town is quite small, with roads that do not lend themselves to modern traffic with frequent queues of traffic for some 400 yards from the traffic lights onto the High Street. Our hotel was at the northern end of the town opposite some open ground.

Race Course View by Vicki Baldwin
Although the ‘view’ is now open ground where the New Forest ponies come to graze, in the 18th Century there really was a popular racecourse here that appears on contemporary maps and continued in use until the 1880s.

The Custards Vicki Baldwin

Opposite the hotel a turning, Race Course View, had a sign stating that it led to The Custards, which turned out to be a rather unremarkable road with houses on either side. It seemed a very strange name so I started to look on-line for an explanation. The reason given on the website for ‘Rhubarb Cottage, The Custards, Lyndhurst (I know, I know!) was that there had been orchards on the site and the apples were eaten with custard. This seemed rather an odd link until I remembered that there was a variety of cooking apple named Costard. It would seem rather more logical that ‘The Custards’ is a corruption of ‘The Costards’ and these were the apples grown in the orchards.

Report on HADAS Lecture – October 2015 by Ken Sutherland-Thomas Scientific Methods in Archaeology.

Lecture by Dr Caroline Cartwright from Department of Scientific Research at the British Museum.

The speaker’s primary areas of scientific expertise were identification and interpretation of organics such as wood, charcoal, fibres and other plant remains, shell, ivory and bones from all areas and time periods in the British Museum’s collections. She has led expeditions in many parts of the world.

The quite technical talk was illustrated with digital images of many of the objects under investigation. The many techniques used in analysis and investigation were discussed. She highlighted the fact that the processes used for this apply pre-excavation, during excavation and post-excavation as well as in conservation. Also highlighted was the need for outreach with emphasis on the requirement to publish results in an understandable form both in print and online; and to stage exhibitions.

The advance in analysis techniques including ever more sophisticated microscopes in the last couple of decades has been phenomenal and the hardware and software required mean an expenditure of many millions of pounds. Very few organisations can afford this expenditure.

The storage and archiving of objects is important as future techniques not yet discovered may well enable more information to be extracted from these objects.

The meeting, which was well attended, concluded with a question and answer session. Dr Caroline Cartwright was thanked for a very interesting lecture.

CROSSRAIL at Liverpool Street

We have a lecture in March 2016 on the Archaeology discovered during the Crossrail project. Here is a taster from the Crossrail website
http://www.crossrail.co.uk/sustainability/archaeology/liverpool-street/

The Bedlam burial ground was in use from 1569 to at least 1738, spanning the start of the
British Empire, civil wars, the Restoration, Shakespeare’s plays, the Great Fire of London and numerous plague outbreaks. 2015 marks the 350th anniversary of London’s last Great Plague in 1665 and archaeologists hope that tests on excavated plague victims will help understand the evolution of the plague bacteria strain.

The Bedlam burial ground, also known as Bethlem and the New Churchyard, is located at the western end of Liverpool Street. Over 20,000 Londoners are believed to have been buried at Bedlam between 1569 and 1738. It got its name from the nearby Bethlehem Hospital which housed the mentally ill, although only a small number of Bedlam residents are believed to have been buried there.

In June last year Crossrail invited 16 volunteers to scour parish records from across the capital to create the first extensive list of people buried at Bedlam.

The resulting database of over 5,300 names and backgrounds is published on the Crossrail website and will inform Crossrail’s archaeological excavation.

The Roman remains that archaeologists uncovered at the Liverpool Street station tell a very different story from the Bedlam burial ground skeletons. Initially, skulls found in a small river channel were interpreted as wash-out from a Roman cemetery somewhere upstream. But the discovery in May 2015 of a reused cooking pot full of cremated human bones changed archaeologists’ minds…..

Be sure and put a note in your diaries for what I’m sure will be an exciting lecture.

A Member’s Lecture by Don Cooper

Stewart Wild is giving a lecture to the Mill Hill Historical Society at Trinity Church, Mill
Hill Broadway, on 13th January 2016 at 14.30 to 16.00 on the following subject: “History of Stevens’ ink and its Finchley connection”

Other Societies’ Events by Eric Morgan

Thursday, 7th January 2016 at 10.30 am. Pinner Local History Society, Town Hall, Chapel
Lane Car park, Pinner. “Memories of the Queen’s Coronation.” a talk by Terry Jenkins. Visitors £2, Please note the earlier time.

Monday, 11th January 2016, at 15.00 Barnet Museum and Local History Society, Church House, Wood Street, Barnet (opposite Museum). “Photographic History of Charing Cross Road.” Talk by Bob Kayne. Visitors £2.

Wednesday, 13th January 2016 at 19.45 Hornsey Historical Society, Union Church Hall, Corner Ferme Park Road/Weston Park N8 9PX. “The Friern Hospital Story.” Talk by David
Berguer (Chair, Friern Barnet and District Local History Society). Visitors £2 Refreshments.

Friday, 15th January 2016, at 19.00 City of London Archaeological Society (COLAS), St Olave’s Church Hall, Mark Lane, EC3R 7BB. “The Temples and Gods of Roman London.” Talk by Dominic Perring (Institute of Archaeology University College London). Visitors £2.

Thursday, 21st January, 2016 at 19.30 Camden History Society, Venue details not yet available. “Dinosaurs in Crystal Palace Park.” Talk by Professor Joe Cain. Visitors £1. Further details, visit www.camdenhistorysociety.org or Telephone Mrs. Jane Ramsay on 0207586 4436 (acting secretary)

Thursday, 28th January 2016, at 14.30 Finchley Society, Drawing Room, Avenue House, (now Stephens’ House and gardens) East End Road, N3 3QE. “Women and Medical Care in the First World War.” Talk by Dr. Susan Cohen. Non-members £2, refreshments (Please notice earlier time.

Acknowledgements
Thanks to our contributors: Peter Pickering, Jean Lamont, Vicki Baldwin, Ken Sutherland-Thomas, Liz Gapp, Peter Nicholson and Eric Morgan.

No. 538 JANUARY 2016 Edited by Sue Willetts

Happy New Year greetings to all members – best wishes for a healthy and happy year.

HADAS DIARY ***********

Tuesday 12th January, 8pm. Royal Palaces of Enfield. Lecture by Ian Jones (EAS)
Tuesday 9th Feb. 8pm. Medieval Middlesex – The Archaeological Remains by Adam Corsini.

Tuesday 8th March, 8pm. The Crossrail Archaeology Project. Lecture by Jay Carver.

Tuesday 12th April 2016, 8pm. In the lift to the beach: a visit to the Lundenwic waterfront by Douglas Killock

Tuesday 10th May, 8pm. Hadrian’s Wall: Life on Rome’s northern frontier. Lecture by Matt Symonds.

Tuesday 14th June 2016 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Tuesday 11th October 2016, 8pm. Talk by Professor Caroline Barron. Title to be announced.

Tuesday 8th November 2016, 8pm. The Cheapside Hoard. Lecture by Hazel Forsyth

All the above events, unless otherwise stated, will be held at Stephens House & Gardens (formerly Avenue House), 17 East End Road, Finchley N3 3QE, starting at 8pm, with tea/coffee and biscuits afterwards. Non-members are welcome (£1.00). Buses 82, 125, 143, 326 and 460 pass nearby. Finchley Central Station (Northern Line) is a short walk away.
Tuesday 12th January, 8pm. Royal Palaces of Enfield. Lecture by Ian Jones (EAS)
This lecture by the author of a book with the same title will cover the two Royal Palaces in Enfield – Elsyng Palace, Forty Hall and Enfield Palace, Enfield, which were excavated between 1963 and 1982. The following details from the British and Irish Archaeological Bibliography database provide some background information. Elsyng is well documented from 1374: it was considerably rebuilt in 15th century and was a virtually self-supporting estate until it became dilapidated in 1650s. Excavation on the moat and part of one wing of the Tudor brick building showed 4-5 phases including Henry VIII’s of 1540s, but little of the total plan is known. Enfield Palace had a licence to crenellate in 1347 and much of the building survived into late 18th, the remainder being demolished in 1927. Excavation found some medieval and Tudor features but the palace itself underlies modern buildings; it can be largely reconstructed from surviving drawings and photographs.

Please come along to what will be an interesting first lecture in the HADAS calendar.

HADAS Christmas Party

Sunday 6th December saw the 5th HADAS Christmas Party in the Drawing Room at Avenue House with some 40 people enjoying themselves with much chatter and laughter and perhaps over-indulging in the splendid food cooked and set out by Malcolm Godfrey and his staff.

Our regular travellers appreciated a guest appearances from Ted, who came to confirm his approval of next year’s hotel for our long trip (More details elsewhere.) Also two bottles of Wroxeter Roman Wine made their annual appearance as raffle prizes.

Two table quizzes exercised the brain cells, the first being pictures of places within the Borough, and the second on General Knowledge to test knowledge about generals! Contact Jim Nelhams if you would like copies of the questions. The winning team was Henry and Marilyn Burgess, Kevin McSharry, Brenda Pershouse and Frances Radford.

The Nelhams duo supplied two musical numbers for further entertainment.

Sad news
It is with sadness that we report the death of Mike Purton, who belonged to the society for many years and with his wife Hilary came on several of the outings. We extend to Hilary our condolences on her sad loss.
We are also sorry to report that Shifra, Denis Ross’s wife, died recently. There was a large crowd at her funeral in Golders Green Crematorium on 16th December; HADAS was represented by Stewart Wild and Peter Pickering. Shifra was such a lovely person and our sympathies are with her family and friends.

HADAS wins Avenue House Quiz (Again)
Despite missing some of our regular team members, the Hadas team, alias “The Old Ruins”, succeeded in winning the regular Avenue House Quiz on Thursday 19th November. Our team of 7 was one of the smallest, one team having 12 members, but triumphed by a single point thanks largely to star performers Stephen Brunning and Simon Williams. If you would like to join our team at a quiz, or help make a second team, the dates for 2016 are 18th February, 12th May, 8th September and 17th November, all Thursdays.

New of the HADAS 2016 Long Trip
Our long trip will be from Monday 19th to Friday 23 September 2016 and will be based at BEST WESTERN Leigh Park Country House Hotel & Vineyard on the outskirts of Bradford on Avon, close to the Wiltshire/Somerset boarder. Likely visits are to Frome with its ancient streets, Devizes – on the Kennet and Avon Canal with two interesting museums, Wells for the Cathedral and Glastonbury Abbey with “the tomb of King Arthur”. Also on the list is the water wheel driven pumping station at Claverton and two medieval tithe barns.
Depending on numbers, the price may be slightly higher than in recent years – we have kept it below £500 per person for the last five years. During this time, the cost of coach hire has significantly increased and this cost is spread across all travellers.

More details and a booking form will come with a subsequent newsletter. It would be helpful in calculating the costs to know how many members, their partners and friends, are interested in coming on the trip.

Please let Jim or Jo Nelhams know if you want to be on the list. Contact details are on the back page of this newsletter

Lyndhurst Trip – continued:

Lyndhurst day 3

Having been unable to complete our schedule the previous day, a visit to Knowlton Church and Henge was omitted, so that we could spend more time in Salisbury. We had been advised that the archaeological gallery at Salisbury Museum was to be closed on this day for filming, but a late message advised that we could now visit. We made two stops before we went to Salisbury.

The Church of St. Mary’s, Breamore, Marilyn Burgess

This gem of a church was really worth a visit, and is reputed to be the most important Anglo- Saxon building in Hampshire. The building is late 10th century and reputed to have been built and financed by King Ethelred II, often referred to as Ethelred the Unready.

The Church of St. Mary and the village of Breamore were recorded in William the Conqueror’s Domesday Survey of 1085-6, when the church was already 80-90 years old. Three large royal estates existed in the area, the Manors of Damerham, Burgate and Rockbourne, the latter including Breamore.

An Augustine Priory was founded in about 1130, a little under a mile from the church. The Priory was dissolved in 1536 by King Henry V111. Eventually William Dodington gained possession of Breamore, and commenced the building of Breamore House in 1580. The Dodingtons retained Breamore until 1690, which was then transferred through marriage to the Brookes of Warwick Castle. In 1748, Sir Edward Hulse, physician to George II, purchased the estates and the family have remained there ever since, retaining Lordship of the Manor and, until late in the 20th century, the patronage of the church.

The church was remarkable in both its size and its advanced design. The building originally had a length of 120 feet or more as there was a western chamber. Today the surviving church measures 96 feet 6 inches. The church has many notable features, perhaps one of the most striking being an ancient Rood Screen, dated by historians as coming from the conquest.. This is seen from the porch, in the wall above the main door, and the two walls to each side. It features a carving of Christ hanging on the cross, and Mary and St John. A later medieval painting of a landscape background surrounds the carving.

Another impressive feature is the arch leading from the tower to the South porticus. The arch carries a red- lettered inscription, in early eleventh century Anglo-Saxon script- HER SPV ELAD SEO GECPYDR EDNES DE, which translates to ‘Here is manifested the Word to thee’.

The crossing walls of the church are covered in hatchments, or funeral escutcheons, with the Coat of Arms of the Hulse family. There are 13 hatchments in total, 5 of which are on the arch leading to the high altar – probably the largest collection of funeral hatchments in any English parish church.

There are the remains of wall paintings on either side of the altar, and there are traces of other ancient paintings high above the east window. These paintings date from medieval times, but sadly are damaged and it is difficult to see what they represent.

The glass windows of the church come from different ages. Most are Victorian, and there is a recently installed window from the 20th century, commemorating those who died in the World Wars. There is also a large memorial board in the porch featuring the names of the men from Breamore, Charford and Woodgreen who went to the First World War. The board is an unusual feature, and those killed in action were marked with a ‘K’, and those wounded marked with a ‘W’.

This brief overview of St. Mary’s Church really does not do it justice, and it certainly warrants a further visit to take in more of its splendid features.

Rockbourne Roman Villa Audrey Hooson

Rockbourne Roman Villa is an interesting example of a long term, largely amateur excavation. It was discovered in June 1942 by farmer Tom Porter when he was digging out a ferret from a rabbit warren on West Park Farm and found oyster shells and tiles. A.T. Morley Hewitt of Fordingbridge, a local estate agent, chartered surveyor and antiquarian obtained permission for a trial dig in September 1942 and uncovered a mosaic pavement featuring an eight-pointed star.
He bought the land and following a feature on Southern Television in July 1960, which brought much interest and offers of help, regular excavation began.

The development phases are not easy to define, partly due to the fact that Morley Hewitt and his many helpers were learning their excavation techniques as they worked and did not record the stratigraphy in sufficient detail. They also had little interest in animal bones and pot sherds, some of which were discarded. Later, when the mosaic floors were lifted and reinstated by Ian Horsey of Poole museums, allowing further excavation, the Royal Commission on Historic Monuments was able to produce a report.

The earliest building was a small three-roomed house, there may have been a detached bath house. The midden contained pottery dating from AD100 – 150. By the mid-2nd century a building program began that continued for 250 years. A corridor villa was constructed to the west with a bath house and an aisled barn to the south east. Early in the 3rd century a new set of large rooms was built to the north, creating a winged corridor villa with hypocaust and a mosaic floored triclinium. From AD250 – 400 a detached bathhouse and additional farm buildings formed a courtyard villa.
Rockbourne then went into decline evidenced by broken mosaics, collapsing roofs and temporary fireplaces. Coin evidence suggests the crumbling structure was probably abandoned by AD420.
Over 70 rooms have been identified and excavated; at the height of the villa’s life about 40 were in use. Most of the excavation has been backfilled, leaving indications of the original walls etc.

There are several points of interest in the remaining conserved areas. In the west bath house one room has hypocaust supports constructed from upright imbreces, cemented together in pairs. In the east baths, where the first decorated floor with a star containing a central knot was found, an octagonal cold plunge pool had been cut in. Although they have no evidence for a garden a Roman garden is displayed.

Since 1978, the villa has been looked after by Hampshire County Council and is now part of their Arts and Museums Service. It has been developed as an excellent museum of Roman Life, probably intended largely for school visits. This enables the display of the many finds in sections such as daily life and bathing, entertaining and dining. Examples of pottery were Parchment ware, with red and orange designs, Black-burnished ware from Dorset and imitation Samian from Oxfordshire. There were also imported wares. In 1967 a New Forest pottery jar containing 7,717 bronze coins, covering 50 years and 21 Emperors was found (it was a precarious job) that was buried around AD 305. Unfortunately many of them have since been lost but about 500 are in the museum. Our visit to this small museum was quite a contrast to Stonehenge on the previous day.
Salisbury Cathedral Brenda Pershouse

The original Norman Cathedral stood on the hill at Old Sarum. The laying of the foundation stone of the new cathedral on 28th April 1220 was a remarkable venture using the new medium of Gothic architecture. Bishop Richard Poore, who had been active in the plan to move from Old Sarum, laid the first stone. The building of the new cathedral was greatly helped by the energy of the Bishop and the patronage of powerful people including King Henry III.

The spire, which stands at 404 feet, is the tallest in England. The still existing internal scaffolding was built of oak and was shown in a recent television programme on the life of an oak tree.

A glorious flower festival filled all corners of the building, with the theme of Magna Carta. Flower clubs from the neighbouring towns and villages contributed to this event. The theme was interpreted in many different ways, some imaginative, some artistic, and some not at all pleasing to the eye.

Salisbury’s copy of the Magna Carta is displayed in the cathedral Chapter House.
The Salisbury Museum Katie McGrath

This is situated in a medieval Grade I listed building called the King’s House, opposite Salisbury Cathedral. The collections span the entire prehistory and history of the Salisbury region representing every major period from the Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age) to the modern era.

When Sheila and I arrived at the Museum, having spent the previous two hours taking in the Cathedral, we were greatly relieved to sit and watch some lovely watercolour scenes of Salisbury painted by the artist, J M W Turner over 200 years ago, and to see the same scenes as they are today. There are so many collections at this museum including the Costume & Textiles collection made by or associated with local people, including samples of lace known as Downton Lace, named after a valley south of Salisbury, and which is still being taught and made today. The Ceramics and Glass collection includes a 3-tiered moneybox with slots for £ s & p. Beautiful porcelain figures from 18C, made locally, and as many as 650 pieces of Wedgwood, some made by Josiah Wedgwood himself! Relics of the ancient guilds of Salisbury abound in the museum, for example, Salisbury-made bells, clocks and watches, silver, guns and cutlery. There is even a pageant figure called the Giant and Hob-Nob made for the Tailors’ guild dating from 15C.

The greatest collection of all though is in the Wessex Gallery, which is in a new extension and was only opened as recently as May 2014. Here the archaeology collection spans 500,000 years with a range from flint tools to extravagantly decorated cremation urns, and from the simplest of pins to the most elaborate items of adornment. There are some wonderful examples of cathedral sculpture from Old Sarum (corbels). Lots of examples of Roman pottery found in south Wiltshire and made in the New Forest are exhibited. This area was ideal, as the raw materials for making ceramics were readily available. The remains of a Roman villa were found at Downton and the museum contains a mosaic showing a two-handled drinking cup (cantharus).

What was most interesting though was a Roman sarcophagus, 3C AD, known as the Amesbury Sarcophagus. This was found as recently as 2007 during excavation of a large Roman cemetery near Boscombe Down. When the lid was lifted, it was found to contain the remains of a woman who was holding a young child in her arms. Because moisture trapped within the sarcophagus had slowed down the processes of decay, they found that, even after 1800 years, the woman’s deer-skin slippers still survived. The child was buried wearing calf-skin shoes. The woman wore a necklace of Whitby jet, and on her right ankle was a silver and copper alloy bangle. By her head lay a pot imported from France. Unusually the lid was in two pieces and didn’t seem to fit – maybe the original lid had been accidentally broken.

Another interesting burial was that of the so-called Swallowcliffe Princess, Anglo-Saxon, 7C AD. This was found in a Bronze Age barrow on Swallowcliffe Down. A young woman aged 18-25 years, placed on a wooden bed and surrounded by artefacts, including a beautiful gold and silver satchel mount.

There is so much more I could write about this Museum, but space is limited, but I would urge you to go along and see for yourselves.

Arundells Kevin McSharry

“Places explain people. They become impregnated with the spirit of those who have lived and been happy in them”. Bunny Garnett.

The above is certainly true of Arundells and its last owner and occupant Sir Edward Heath, former British Prime Minister and Elder Statesman.

Arundells is a delight. A beautiful detached, Georgian building with a large front garden and drive.

The interior of Arundells is suffused with light from its abundant sashed windows. Stylish yet homely and comfortable, full of the possessions of Sir Edward, Arundells reflects the interests and career of Ted Heath who lived and entertained there from 1985 until his death on 17th July 2005 – 20 years.

Politics, music and sailing were three of Edward Heath’s passions and Arundells is full of echoes, sounds and possessions that reflect a long life lived to the full. Arundells (parts dating back to the 13th century) derives its name from James Everard Arundel, a former owner, and scion of the Wardour Castle Arundels, an ancient recusant Roman Catholic family.

Samuel Johnson often declaimed, “Keep your friendships in good repair.” This dictum Sir Edward certainly adhered to, judging by the many photographs of his happy smiling friends who gather, even today, for reunions at Arundells.

The two acre garden, designed in part, by Stuart Craven; the current Curator /Manager, is a horticulturalist’s dream. Stunningly designed with different vistas revealing themselves as one wanders its length to the Nadder and Avon rivers that flow just beyond its boundary. Strategically dotted throughout the garden are many benches & seats.

I imagined Sir Edward, stout and portly in old age, finding it difficult to stand for long or walk far, gently enjoying his garden moving from one seat to another.

The volunteer staff, which included his housekeeper, all seemed to have known Sir Edward. They have nothing but respect, love and admiration for him. They are fiercely protective of his reputation.

Arundells was left to the Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation for the enjoyment of future generations and for researchers and historians of politics and biography.

My dear brother Patrick (RIP) & I visited Salisbury a year ago with the VWSGB (Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain) but Arundells sadly was not open. Patrick was a student of politics & biography. My visit fulfilled one of his ambitions. Arundells is a delight and a must to visit if one is ever in Salisbury.

Review of “A Hamlet in Hendon” in the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society (LAMAS) Transactions Volume 65 (2014) p. 320 by Eileen Bowlt, JP, BA, Chairman of the LAMAS Local History committee.

Reproduced in full with permission from the author and LAMAS

“Here we have a very well-produced [volume], presented with a dignified, but attractive front cover, bearing a coloured 1790 print of The Greyhound Inn with the tower of St Mary’s Parish Church peeping out behind; thus showing the centre of Church End, the hamlet of the book’s title. The site of the archaeological excavations at Church Terrace to the right of this picture. A selection of the varied finds, ranging from a Roman flagon with a face mask to a late 18th century saucer with a “precarious Chinaman” pattern, are depicted on the back cover. The story that lies between the covers lives up to expectations. The excavations at Church Terrace were undertaken in 1973-4 with great enthusiasm by members of the Hendon and District Archaeological Society (HADAS) founded in 1961 by Themistocles Constantinides.

Their earliest archaeological work started that year in the ruins of the nearby Church Farm, but had failed to find any trace of Saxon Hendon, which had been the main aim of the founder. Meanwhile a survey of the condition of the houses behind the church led Barnet Council to decide to demolish them and redevelop the area.

HADAS Research Committee began looking at historical documents to identify likely sites to excavate. All 85 diggers were amateur as opposed to professional archaeologists. A few were experienced in archaeological techniques, but most were not and learnt as the dig went on. The washing and marking of finds took a very long time. Significant artefacts were well researched and recorded. Assistance with identification came from British, London, Guildhall, and Reading Museums and also from the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society. Other finds were simply processed and stored in various places and had to be moved from time to time. Some were lost. Then in 2001 a series of HADAS/Birkbeck evening classes, led by Jacqui Pearce, was started to provide training in post-excavation analysis and led to the establishment of the HADAS Finds Group. In 2005, following the publication of the 1960s Church Farm dig, the Society decided to produce an archaeological biography of the Church Row Terrace site.

This splendid publication is the result. It is well written and contains material to please archaeologists, local historians and those who simply enjoy skimming through a book to look at the pictures. The first two chapters cover the background and the dig itself. The discovery of three burials near the churchyard wall caused some excitement and delay. The historical background, illustrated with plans, drawings and photographs, describes Church End period by period, interpreted by referenced archives and secondary material. The archaeology is divided into six periods from prehistoric and Roman to 20th century – and yes there were Saxons in Hendon. Excellent photographs of finds are bolstered by the occasional historic pictures. Beside a photograph of 17th c yellow bricks that were manufactured in the Low Countries, is a de Hooch painting showing similar bricks in a Dutch courtyard. One pit was filled with glass bottles, presumably from The Greyhound Inn. The illustrations in this section include a Hogarth print. There are six specialist reports, one being petrological, and chemical analysis of medieval pottery by the late Alan Vince. There is also one on coins and jettons, and another on clay tobacco makers recorded at Church Terrace.

This book is undoubtedly a good read. It takes a close look at a very small area, and the finds plus the documents consulted shed light upon the lives of earlier inhabitants, their occupations and their houses. It shows the benefits of modern techniques in the processing of archaeological finds, and also the interdependence of archaeology and documentary history, a lesson that is gradually being learnt on both sides and happily seen in recent reports published in these [LAMAS] Transactions.

It has been published by HADAS, a local society. The story is clearly told. The illustrations are good. There is an index, a bibliography and footnotes. It should serve as an example to other societies. Moral: it is never too late to publish.”

LAMAS comment as follows: Our thanks to Eileen Bowlt for such a thoughtful and interesting review. Her point is well made that archaeology and history are interdependent bedfellows when publishing archaeological excavations.
News on Enfield Museum and Local Studies Library – information taken from the Enfield Archaeology Society website where there are more details.

Enfield Council has announced the results of its consultation regarding the future of the Museum and Local Studies Library. Happily, the proposal to close the museum’s ground floor exhibition space at the Dugdale Centre has been scrapped, but most of the other proposals appear to be going ahead largely unchanged. While “drop in” access to the library will continue, consultation with the library staff will become by appointment only. Plans to digitise the archives will apparently go ahead, though details of these plans remain extremely vague.

Most worryingly, there remains no word on staffing and budget cuts to either service, which will have a profound impact particularly on how the museum is able to operate. The reduction of staff to one junior post and no operating budget will likely prevent the museum from staging any more of its successful and popular exhibitions, or any of its other public outreach activities.

We have offered the museum our support in maintaining a permanent display in the ground floor space of the Dugdale Centre, which will hopefully continue to showcase the history and cultural heritage of the London Borough of Enfield. It is sad that a council that so often pays lip service to our unique heritage assets should be so reluctant to invest in their presentation and curation.

Heritage Counts 2015 Don Cooper

Every year Historic England (formerly English Heritage) produces a pamphlet called Heritage Counts on behalf of the London Historic Environment Forum (LHEF) which contains inter alia statistics on Heritage in London. For instance; London’s heritage assets for 2015 are summarised as follows:

Asset type
2015
World Heritage sites
4
Scheduled Monuments
158
Listed Buildings Grade I
594
Listed Buildings Grade II*
1,399
Listed Buildings Grade II
16,943
Registered Parks and Gardens
150
Registered Battlefields
1
Protected shipwrecks
0
Conservation Areas
1021
Accredited Museums
134
Two interesting facts:
· London has the lowest concentration of listed building entries per capita. 2.3 entries per 1000 people (compared to a national average of 7.0 entries per 1000 people), but has the highest density of listed building entries with 12.0 entries per sq. km (compared to a national average of 2.9 listed building entries per sq. km.).

· London has just 1% of the national total of scheduled monuments.
Heritage Counts 2015 also carries out bespoke research. This year one of the pieces of research was “a survey of residential listed building owners”. The surveys finds that 92% consider their property to be very important, or important to the character of the local area.

78% felt that Listed Building Consent (LBC) is important to protect the architecture and special character of their property. 55% of them have lived their property for 10 years or more.

The survey also highlights the fact that Listed Buildings are expensive to maintain because finding the material and skill sets are costly. They would appreciate financial support in the form of VAT exemption or other support. There are lots of other interesting articles on heritage in London. Hard copies of the Heritage Counts 2015 London report can be ordered from Historic England Customer Services on 0370 333 0607.

Other Societies’ Events (includes a few not included in the last newsletter) by Eric Morgan

Friday 15th January, 7.30 pm Wembley History Society. English Martyr’s Hall, Chalkhill Rd, Wembley, HA8 9EW. My little piece of history. Talks by society members. Visitors £3.

Wednesday 20th January, 7.45pm. Edmonton Hundred Historical Society/ Joint meeting with Enfield Society. Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Lane, Enfield, EN2 OAJ. The Real Dad’s Army. Talk by Mike Brown with WW2 artefacts. £1.

Tuesday 26th January, 10.30am Enfield Society. Jubilee Hall, (address above) A parish re-united: a story of the Clay Hill area. Talk by Roger Elkin. Refreshments

Wednesday 27th January, 7.45pm Friern Barnet and District Local History Society. North Middx Golf Club, The Manor House, Friern Barnet lane, N30 ONL Garden cities. Talk by David Berguer (Chair). Visitors £2. Refreshments & bar.

Thursday 4th February, 7.30pm London Canal Museum, 12-13 New Wharf Road, King’s Cross, N1 9RT. Industry in the Lee Valley. Talk by Jim Lewis (Author) £4 or concessions £3.

Thursday 4th February, 10.30am Pinner Local History Society, Village hall, Chapel Lane Car Park, Pinner. My life I the Foundling Hospital School. Talk by Lydia Carmichael. Visitors £2

Sunday 6th February, 10.30am Heath and Hampstead Society. Meet outside Brew House Café, Kenwood House, off Hampstead Lane, NW3 7JR. The Heath and Kenwood: How they relate to each other. Walk led by Thomas Radice, (H & HS Trustee). Lasts approx. 2 hours. Donation £4.

Monday 8th February, 3pm Barnet Museum and Local History Society, Church House, Wood St, Barnet. Jean Rhys: a woman in the attic. Talk by Jackie Leedham

Wednesday 10th February, 2.30 pm Mill Hill Historical Society, Trinity Church, The Broadway, NW7. The history of public parks. Talk by Letta Jones

Saturday 13th February, 11am-3pm. North London & Essex Transport Society. Barnet Transport Fair. Christ Church Hall, St. Alban’s Road, Barnet, EN5 4LA. Bus, railway, aviation & military transport – books, photographs, DVDs, time-tables, maps etc Admission £2. Refreshments

Monday 15th February, 8.00 pm. Enfield Society, Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Lane, Enfield, EN2 OAJ. A pictorial journey around Southgate. Sound colour films of Southgate in the 1950’s & 60’s showing historical buildings, transport, parks & events. Introduced by Louise Pankhurst (Archivist)

Friday 19th February, 7.30 pm. Wembley History Society. Address above. An introduction to Bletchley Park. Talk by Denis Falvey. Visitors £3 refreshments in the interval.

Wednesday 24th February, 7.45pm Friern Barnet and District Local History Society. Address as above. Time for tea: a history of tea drinking in London. Talk by John Neal. Visitors £2. Refreshments & bar before and afterwards.

Thursday 25th February, 2.30 pm. Finchley Society. Drawing Room, Stephens (formerly Avenue) House. 17 East End Road, Finchley N3 3QE. Talk on Aspects of Old Friern by Pauline Ashbridge. Non members £2. Refreshments at 2pm and afterwards.

Acknowledgements: Thanks to our contributors: Eileen Bowlt, Marilyn Burgess, Don Cooper, Audrey Hooson, Eric Morgan. Kevin McSharry

No. 535 OCTOBER 2015 Edited by Vicki Baldwin

HADAS DIARY

**PLEASE NOTE***

HADAS CHRISTMAS PARTY 6TH DECEMBER 2015

BOOKING FORM ENCLOSED

Tuesday 13th October, 8pm Scientific Methods in Archaeology. Lecture by Dr. Caroline Cartwright. Caroline Cartwright’s primary areas of scientific expertise cover the identification and interpretation of organics such as wood, charcoal, fibres and other plant remains, shell, ivory and bone from all areas and time periods in the British Museum’s collection.

Tuesday 10th November, 8pm The History of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Lecture by Keith Cunningham.

Sunday 6th December, 12.30pm – 4.00 pm (approx.) HADAS Christmas Party. Buffet lunch (first drink included in price) – Cash bar – Raffle – Good company – Some surprises? Please complete and return the included booking form by Friday 6th November to Jim Nelhams, 61 Potters Road, Barnet, EN5 5HS with your remittance of £25 per person. (Cheques payable to HADAS please.)

Tuesday 10th January, 8pm Royal Palaces of Enfield. Lecture by Ian Jones (EAS)

Tuesday 9th February, 8pm Medieval Middlesex: The Archaeological Remains. Lecture by Adam Corsini.

Tuesday 8th March, 8pm Crossrail Archaeology Project. Lecture by Jay Carver.

All the above events, unless otherwise stated, will be held at Stephens House & Gardens (formerly Avenue House), 17 East End Road, Finchley N3 3QE, starting at 8pm, with tea/coffee and biscuits afterwards. Non-members are welcome (£1.00). Buses 82, 125, 143, 326 and 460 pass nearby. Finchley Central Station (Northern Line) is a short walk away.

A Visit to Mr Turner’s House Stewart Wild

Few people are aware that in the leafy suburb of St Margaret’s, southwest London, there is a delightful house designed and built for his own use by the great landscape painter J M W Turner, RA. That’s partly because until about five years ago, the property was in private hands, and although the house is now owned by a charitable trust, it’s rarely open to visitors. In 1807, at the age of 32, Turner bought two acres of farmland on rising ground, about half a mile from the Thames and with views northeast over the river to Richmond beyond. It backed onto a muddy lane called Sand Pit Close (now Sandycoombe Road), and was built close to it, this being the highest part of the estate. Turner was his own architect, his designs evolving through many sketches in his notebooks. The house was intended as a rural retreat from the pressures of his gallery and studio in London’s Harley Street, and also became the home of his father, a recent widower, who kept house for him. From the time he bought the land in 1807 to the time he sold the house in 1826, Turner explored and enjoyed the local landscape. He took his boat along the Thames, walked the riverside paths, and climbed Richmond Hill with its famous view over “the matchless vale”.Turner loved fishing, and was often accompanied by his close friend, the architect John Soane. Some architectural features of Turner’s house, like the cantilevered staircase and oval rooflight, seem to have been influenced by Pitshanger Manor in Ealing, Soane’s own home that he had bought and rebuilt a few years earlier.Many of Turner’s most famous paintings date from this time, inspired by the Thames, notably Thomson’s Aeolian Harp (1809) and England: Richmond Hill, on the Prince Regent’s Birthday (1819). (The Prince Regent’s official birthday, 23 April, was also Turner’s birthday, Shakespeare’s birthday, and St George’s Day.) Mr Turner’s house consists of a broad-eaved two-storey cottage containing the drawing room and corridor, with single-storey wings each side for the dining room and parlour, with kitchen, scullery and coal cellar in the basement, plus what looks to me like a wine cellar under the stairs. Later alterations added a second storey to each wing and a conservatory to the rear of the house.The estate is much smaller now. The garden at the back of the house has a number of large trees, and these and subsequent housing development have rather spoilt the views over the Thames.Used a private home for well over a century, Sandycoombe Lodge was requisitioned in World War II as a ‘shadow factory’, making gloves and uniforms for the RAF. The fabric of the house may have suffered during this time, and refurbishing is clearly needed (the house is currently on the Heritage at Risk register).In 1947 the house was purchased by Professor Harold Livermore and his wife, who carried out some restoration and cherished the property and its connections with Turner for over sixty years. On the Professor’s death in 2010, the house was bequeathed to the Sandycoombe Lodge Trust to be preserved “as a monument to Turner in Twickenham”. A GLC Blue Plaque by the front door commemorates the link with the famous painter.

If you’d like to visit, you’ll need to be quick. The house will be open on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September, 11am–5pm (free entry) and on Saturday 3 October, 2pm–5pm (guided tour £4). That is it for this year and next, for a programme of restoration and conservation means that the house will be closed for at least the next eighteen months.Turner’s House Trust is leading a fascinating project to restore the house to its original appearance, open it to visitors, and set up a programme of activities to involve people of all ages. Following Stage 2 HLF funding of £1.4m in January 2015, the project still needs to raise £290,000 to complete funding.The address is 40 Sandycoombe Road, St Margaret’s, Twickenham TW1 2NQ; St Margaret’s station with frequent trains from Waterloo is very close.

Further information (and excellent short video):

The story of Jessie John Hilton Roger Chapman

One source open to researchers of Middlesex history is that of the Middlesex Military Service Appeal Tribunal 1916 -1918 which is held by the National Archive and has recently been made available online. Most tribunal records from the rest of the country were destroyed after the war by government order so we are fortunate still to have these. One story to come out of this source gives us an insight into First World War life on Clitterhouse farm where HADAS carried out a dig earlier this year.i Jessie John Hilton was a single man aged 31 in 1916 employed by the farmer, Richard Keevil, as a cowman and milker at Clitterhouse Farm. He had worked at the farm for the previous 19 years and lived at The Cottage, Clitterhouse Farm.ii During the First World War compulsory military service was introduced. Appeals against this were heard by local appeals tribunals. One of the 11,000 case papers from the Middlesex Appeal Tribunal held between 1916 and 1918 concerns the case of Jessie John Hilton. The tribunals heard appeals from men who had previously applied to a local tribunal for exemption from compulsory military service. The reasons provided by applicants were varied, with applications made on moral grounds (conscientious objectors), on medical grounds (disability), on family grounds (looking after dependents) and on economic grounds (preserving a business). In Jessie’s case it was an appeal by his employer on his behalf that eventually succeeded.iii Richard Keevil, the farmer of Clitterhouse farm, made the first application for an ‘absolute’ exemption on Jessie Hinton’s behalf in February 1916 on the ground that the “…principal and usual occupation of the man is one of those included in the list of occupations certified by Government Departments for exemption.”iv At the local Hendon Urban Tribunal hearing in April the application was refused because “The tribunal being of the opinion that the man can be replaced …”v Richard Keevil, clearly not content with this decision immediately appealed. The result was that in May 1916 the County Tribunal of Middlesex decided to overturn the local Tribunal decision and decided that, “… the man be exempted from being called up for Military Service. The exemption is temporary for six months from the 17th May 1916.”vi They concluded that Jessie’s occupation of Cowman and Milker “… is one of the certified occupations and that it is expedient in the National Interests that he should continue in civil employment.” vii What job did Jessie John Hilton undertake to get such support from his employer? The answer lies in the appeal statement made by Richard Keevil which explains what was going on at Clitterhouse Farm in 1916 and the role that Jessie played. At the time there were 40 cows in full milk “… producing 10 quarts each per day (average). Hilton milks 11 or 12 each morning and night also feeds, cleans out and does necessary work with them. Excepting the head man, who has hay to cart for these cows and 10 horses and cart grains meal cake to and from London, I have only 2 old men over 63 years of age to help with the cows and farm work of over 100 acres also 23 more cattle outside.” viii Keevil goes on to bemoan the “…loss of one cowman last week to the colours also one married man from the dairy.” He also claims to have given an ‘incorrect impression’ to the previous Tribunal about the spreading of 200 tons of manure which he had been unable to get on the ground through “…want of labour and weather conditions…”. Keevil had been asked if he would get Hilton to spread the manure and he had said “…yes if needed in the middle of the day when the cows rested..” giving the impression that he was using Hilton to spread the manure when in fact it could not be put on the land until the next season. On another issue Hilton when asked by the earlier Tribunal what he did during the day had said ”…he had been in the field with the horses…” which was correct but Keevil pointed out that this was the first day he had been able to do the land rolling with the horses and heavy roller – it usually being done six weeks earlier because the “… old men are quite incapable of doing the work.”ix

What happened six months later when the temporary exemption period ended? In November 1916 another Tribunal hearing was held at the Guildhall, Westminster which both Hilton and Keevil had to attend. On 25th November the Tribunal issued its decision and this time round Hilton was exempted from Military service “…conditional upon the man being engaged in a certified occupation.”x

i http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/middlesex-military-service-appeal-tribunal-1916-1918/ accessed 4th September 2015

ii File: MH-47-86-101, The National Archives

iii http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/conscription-appeals/ accessed 2nd September 2015

iv File: MH-47-86-101 page 8, The National Archives

v Ibid: page 7

vi Ibid: page 13

vii Ibid: page 19

viii Ibid: page 5

ix Ibid: page 5

x Ibid page 16

Graffiti seen on HADAS Long Weekend 2015 Vicki Baldwin

The habit of leaving graffiti is not a modern one. These two pictures appear to indicate that a certain ‘WP’ visited Breamore in 1694 and Minstead in 1738. I wonder how many other places ‘WP’ defaced with a ‘tag’ between these dates?

Cromer Road Excavation and Survey Report 2015 Bill Bass

The dig took place 8th-12th June on a public green area bordered by Cromer Road and Shaftesbury Avenue, New Barnet, Herts, EN5 5HT. Grid ref TQ 25994 96482 the site code is CRS14 (2015). The site is opposite Cromer Road School where we dug in 2014.

For background info please see the Cromer Road School article in HADAS Newsletter 524 and Melvyn Dresner’s article in Newsletter 533.

Whilst digging at the school in 2014 we noticed a strong set of ‘parch-marks’ out on the green. Local enquiries told that this building (now demolished) had been known as the ‘blood bank’ (National Blood Transfusion Service), however, this was not the full story. The parch-marks were noted on aerial-photographs and from further research the building itself could be seen on a series of other aerial-photographs (i.e. 1946 RAF). A resistivity survey was undertaken which confirmed the ‘T’ shaped structure which was approximately 30.00m NS x 12.00m EW (main building block). The photos and survey also point to other outbuildings, open sheds and a very high resistance rectangular area to east of the main building.

Two trenches were opened-up and a programme of local walks and fieldwork techniques were provided for the primary school children of Cromer Road School.

Trench 1
This 3.00 x 1.00m was opened over a ‘T’ shape junction of the building and was used mainly for the young students to get some experience of excavation. Immediately, mortared brick footings began to appear (at 66.06m OD), pale-red stock bricks laid in English-Bond style these included footings of the main (dog-leg) wall of the structure and other external walls. The trench was not bottomed or the foundation seen but six courses of the brick footings were excavated. The footings were surrounded by context [002] topsoil excavated in parts to a depth of 0.68m. Evidence for light-weight roofing material (left in-situ) was seen at the bottom of the trench indicating the ‘lean-to’ and shed nature of some of the external building. A concrete floor level (65.99 OD) may have been reached in the SE corner of the trench, with some further brick footing perhaps forming internal walling.

Trench 1 finds.
Throughout trench 1 contexts, there were small amounts of bottle and window glass, small amounts of post-medieval earthenware (Transfer Printed Ware, Stoneware, Tinglaze) and porcelain pottery. Small amounts of roof slate, and corroded iron fittings. There was more in the way of red-tile – 82 sherds from all trench 1 contexts. A fair amount of brick and concrete rubble was excavated from the trench, this was not quantified but some was retained as samples and recorded.

Context [001]: 1 piece of pink rubber tubing – possibly connected with a ‘giving-set’ a blood/plasma transfer kit. 2 x pieces of clay tobacco pipe stem.

Context [002]: 1 piece glass syringe (small find 01), ‘giving-set’ as above.

Several small yellow glass spheres, possibly connected with a ‘giving-set’ as above.

Trench 2
This was placed over the strong rectangular (7.00 x 3.00m) signal seen in the resistivity survey and also seen in the parch-marks, this indicated a high resistance – something hard and solid. Deturfing of the 3.00 x 1.00m trench soon revealed the main NS wall (66.07 OD), with some bricks impressed – of interest are the bricks stamped with ‘LBC’, ‘PHORPRES’ and ’10’. These bricks are Flettons made by the London Brick Company. The PHORPRES refers to the method of manufacture where the bricks were pressed four ways which was formulated in the late 19th century. The 10 refers to either a kiln number, or a site number – there were many LBC sites, including those in Buckinghamshire and Cambridgeshire. This type of brick ceased manufacture in 1974 (D Cooper – pers comm.).

The demolition fill consisted of a compact sandy/gravelly context [005] with much demolition rubble including brick, tile and hefty lumps of concrete. Excavation of [005] to the west of the wall uncovered a concrete ‘threshold’ leading to 2 rendered steps leading down to a smooth concrete floor (65.66 OD) of a shallow sub-basement or chamber, a depth of only 0.41m from threshold to floor, what was going on? There was also a less substantial EW single line brick wall to the south of the trench, probably a partition wall.

Some quick research by Melvyn seemed to show we were digging in an air-locked room that was part of a Gas Decontamination and Cleansing Centre (see below). As we excavated through the rubble to the floor other finds began to emerge. A number of heavily corroded small metal-boxes were found on the floor of the chamber together with electrical lamp fitting and the corroded frame from an item of furniture. An iron-pipe was found running NE-SW across the chamber slightly suspended above the floor, the SW end was open, the NE continuing into the baulk. The use of this pipe is a mystery, it also cuts across the bottom step at an angle, and somebody made a neat job to accommodate it. This pipe clearly post-dates the building of the chamber.

To the west of NS main wall, the trench was excavated down through the topsoil and sandy pebbly clay which contained several pieces of brick rubble and some large sections of concrete with surface finishing, probably floor or ceiling sections. Natural was encountered at approx. 0.60m below turf level. The main wall footings consisted of 5 mortared courses laid in English Bond style resting on plinth of bricks dug into the surface of the natural.

Trench 2 finds.
Throughout the trench 2 contexts there were small amounts of bottle and window glass, small amounts of earthenware and porcelain pottery. Small amounts of roof slate, red-tile and corroded iron fittings. As in Trench 1 samples of building material were taken but not quantified.

Context [002]: 1 piece of gauze (small find 04)

Context [004]: 1 flint crested bladelet, possibly Mesolithic (small find 02).

Context [005]:
1 washer (small find 06) possibly connected with a ‘giving-set’ a blood/plasma transfer kit.
1 iron (?) pin (small find 05).
1 small glass tube or filament (small find 07).

Context [006]:
1 piece of perished hose (small find 08) possibly connected with a ‘giving-set’.
Lamp electrical fittings and shade.
12 metal-boxes with a tinned surface, 150mm long x 55m wide x 15mm deep, thought to be ‘giving-set’ boxes. Others were left in-situ on the floor of the chamber.
An iron framing with springs found with degraded wood which was connected to a metal folding bracket. Possibly the remains of a fold-down bed/chair or similar furniture.

Context [006] west: 1 clay-pipe bowl fragment (small find 09). Type AO27, date 1780-1820, spur initials (?)W-I. “We cannot find a WI for those dates on the London/Middlesex/Hertfordshire pipemakers database.” (D Cooper – pers comm.).

Discussion
The earliest object found was the Mesolithic flint bladelet. “Can be described as part of a crested bladelet because of the little flake scars running down one side. From its size, it certainly looks typically Mesolithic but in the absence of any other Meso material it cannot be proven.” (M Stewart – pers comm.).

The site lies on the Hertfordshire side adjacent to the old County Boundary between Hertfordshire and Middlesex, a footpath currently follows the route. Maps indicate this area of New Barnet was relatively undeveloped in the late Victorian period being of open fields (Landmark Information Group, 1860s and Godfrey Edition maps 1898, Monken Hadley). By 1910 the lines of Cromer Road and Shaftesbury Road had become extant. The indications are that although nearby housing was developed by this period, the ‘green’ where our site is located seems never to have been built on pre the late 1930s.

As with the Cromer Road School dig in 2014, there is a scatter of red-tile, small amounts of 17th-19th century pottery and c1800 clay-pipe finds. These could be the signs of previous farming activities and/or demolition in the nearby area or possible foot-traffic along the boundary route or part of the soil brought in to backfill and level the area in the 1970s.

Gas Decontamination Centre (GDC)
These were built in numbers around London in the event of a gas attack. We have a reference to several National Blood Transfusion Service Depots being “amalgamated in High Barnet in a converted decontamination centre” in 1946 (Welcome Library ref: SA/HHC/Q North London), although there is no direct reference to Cromer Road, it must be highly likely that this is the site. Put together with the plan of our structure, the single storey and flat roof, and also the distinctive shape of the tower containing a water tank and possible chimney, we quickly realised what we were dealing with – the air-lock and foundations of the tower.

A 1937 aerial-photo shows no sign of the building, but it appears by 1946 aerial-photos. Many of these civil-defence structures were built (some in weeks) in the period1939-1940, others were converted from schools, public baths and health centres. Although these GDCs came in a variety of shapes and sizes they usually followed more or less the same model – A Ministry of Health Circular of 1940 states: “The essential features are that the decontamination section consists of four units for each sex, i) Outside stripping shed, ii) Inside undressing room, iii) washing or shower room, iv) Dressing room. The object is to prevent the spread of gas vapour from unit (i) onwards and each four compartments need to be sealed off from each other”. There would have been provisions for office admin, loos and waiting areas etc., other facilities included the burning or boiling of contaminated clothes, also there would be entry and exit access around the building for ambulances/vehicles and the like. Adjacent to 21 Shaftesbury Road there is still a kerb-ramp leading to the ‘green’ which must be one of the entry/exit drives (see plan). Much of the GDC info above originates from a Heritage Statement written by Compass Archaeology for the redevelopment of a former GDC at Furze Lodge, Shooters Hill, south London. It is summarised by ‘hilly’ at http://e-shootershill.co.uk/gas-decontamination-centre-conversion/

The GDCs were never used in practice and some were converted to other uses – first aid post, air-raid shelters etc. As mentioned above the Cromer Road building was taken over in 1946 if not before by the National Blood Transfusion Service. On the floor of the air-lock chamber were scattered a number of small metal-boxes, archive photos show these as containing a mixture of needles, glass syringes, tubing, holed-washers, connectors etc. Although our metal-boxes were empty but we believe we have found some of the type of contents that would have been in them. In some cases these were known as ‘giving-sets’ for replacement therapy and for dispensing plasma and blood products. They are shown being packaged with tinned-blood and dried plasma units to be delivered and used in the field (see Melvyn’s article below). The chamber also contained domestic lighting equipment and possible fittings of a fold-down chair or bed, had this been converted into a small surgery?

In 1952 National Blood Transfusion Service depot moved to Edgware and Colindale, the subsequent use of the building is unclear, maybe a store. We have some photos taken in the NE corner classroom of Cromer Road School in 1968, this shows principally class activities but through the window can be glimpsed the western side of the GDC on Shaftesbury Avenue, an entrance door can be seen (main office entrance?) together with the water-tower and short chimney on the eastern side. These are the only ground level photos we know of at present. Maps indicate the GDC structure may have been still standing in the early 1970s.

Acknowledgements: Many thanks to Don Cooper, Melvyn Dresner, Angie Holmes, Jim & Jo Nelhams, Susan Skedd, Cromer Road School, Myfanwy Stewart and the HADAS Fieldwork and Post-excavation teams.

1946 RAF photo of the Gas Decontamination
Centre at Cromer Rd/Shaftesbury Avenue. See main text for scale.

The resistivity survey, showing the main
GDC building and water-tower (right).

Start Bleeding: War and Blood Transfusion Melvyn Dresner
We found empty tins and other fragments (gauze, rubber, glass) at Cromer Road School dig that link us to the story of blood transfusion and war: a story vital to understand the ingredients of victory are not just superior firepower: living people win wars. The collection of blood in preparation for war begun 3 days before the war started by a telegram: START BLEEDING sent by the Medical Research Council to Dr Jane Vaughan in 1939. Vaughan had championed the idea of blood banks in face of political scepticism. She was working at Hammersmith Hospital and held meetings to promote the idea at her flat in Bloomsbury and lobby government.

The science of blood transfusion and its storage was in its infancy in 1939. The Medical Research Council had begun research in the 1920s and the army service were organised in 1938. MRC built its research centre in Mill Hill in the 1930s though during the war it was as a depot for Women’s Royal Naval Service. In the 1920s, the British Red Cross organised the first volunteer blood donors’ transfusion direct to patient in 1921. It was expertise learnt during the Spanish Civil War that led to the creation of blood banks.

Republican Dr Duran-Jordan had set up blood banks in Barcelona during the civil war. Franco’s nationalist forces defeated these Republicans in 1939. Duran-Jordan took refuge in London working with Vaughan at Hammersmith Hospital. This inspired her setting up 4 Blood Supply Depots on the periphery of London following the ‘START BLEEDING’ telegram. The Luton and Slough depots were merged on the Cromer Road site after the war before being transferred to Edgware Hospital in 1952 where it remained until 1989. Vaughan worked at Slough depot during the war covering North West London and later as Principal at Somerville College, Oxford where she taught Margaret Thatcher and Shirley Williams and published over 100 scientific papers.

Brigadier Whitby speaking to the Royal Society of Arts during 1945 explained how much individual donors were giving, some 50 pints each and over 2,000 giving 10 pints, and one person giving 100 pints during the war years; an average person holds 7 pints in their body at any one time.

The role of blood depots was both supply and scientific discovery. They adapted milk bottles to collect blood. The MRC bottle, or ‘Janet Vaughan’, had a narrow waist and an aluminium screw cap lined with a soft rubber disc. To collect and move blood around they adapted Walls Ice Cream vans. The army had 15 mobile units led by (mainly) female medical officers. These units collected 70-90 pints per day and 300 during emergencies. The British Medical Journal in 1943 said that the Army Blood Transfusion Service was unique among Allies and Axis armies. According to Whitby: “It is as well to remember that the whole service rests upon the support of the general public, which has been given in full measure.”

(Left) Welcome Library photo of ‘giving-set’ boxes and contents, also blood and plasma containers. (Above) Cromer Road box and possible contents.

Selected Refs:

The Wellcome Library (SA/HHC: Harrison-Howell Blood Transfusion Collection) includes archives related to the National Blood Transfusion Service and Army Blood Supply Depot including the file on North London mentioned above.

Janet Vaughan:

Maureen Owen, Dame Janet Maria Vaughan, D. B. E. 18 October 1899-9 January 1993, Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, Vol. 41(Nov., 1995), pp. 482-498, The Royal Society.

Rose George, March 2015, A Very Naughty Little Girl: The extraordinary life of Janet Vaughan, who changed our relationship with blood, Longreads http://blog.longreads.com/2015/03/10/a-very-naughty-little-girl/ retrieved: 8/16/2015.

Dr Duran Jordan:

Wikipedia contributors, ‘Frederic Durán-Jordàn’, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 12 August 2015, 04:42 UTC,

<https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frederic_Dur%C3%A1n-Jord%C3%A0&oldid=675705369> [accessed 18 August 2015].

Wikipedia contributors, ‘National Institute for Medical Research’, Wikipedia, The Free

Encyclopedia, 19 July 2015, 12:50 UTC, <https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php? title=National_Institute_for_Medical_Research&oldid=672125369> [accessed 19 August 2015].

WHAT’S ON Eric Morgan

Corrections to September newsletter event listings

1. Friday 16th October – CoLAS talk venue is St Olave’s Parish Hall, Mark Lane EC3R 7LQ

2. Monday 19th October – Enfield Society talk start time should be 8pm

3. Royal Historical Society – lecture – date of meeting should be Wednesday 28th October

4. Friern Barnet LHS – talk – date of meeting should also be Wednesday 28th October

5. Thursday 29th October – Finchley Society discussion is on Standard of Pavements & Improving Local Environment

Wednesday 14th October, 2.30pm Mill Hill Historical Society, Trinity Church, The Broadway, NW7. The Evolution of Cinema, Kathy Swarbrick

Tuesday 3rd November, 6pm Gresham College at Museum of London, 150 London Wall, EC2Y 5HN. The King in the Car Park: The Discovery and Identification of Richard III. Talk by Prof. Kevin Scherer. Free

Saturday 7th November, 10.30am – 4.30pm G.A.Festival of Geology, UCL, Gower Street, WC1E 6BT. Displays by Geologists Association members & affiliated clubs (Amateur Geological Society will have a stand here), sales of fossils, minerals, books, maps & geological equipment; amateur photographic competition; geological talks including by Iain Stewart & Steve Jones; a building stones walk around UCL with Ruth Siddall and tours of the UCL Earth Science labs. Also walks & field trips on Sunday 8th November. Free entrance. Further details at www.geologistsassociation.org.uk Tel. No. 020 7434 9298. Email festival@geologistsassociation.org.uk

Wednesday 11th November, 2.30pm Mill Hill Historical Society Trinity Church, The Broadway, NW7. SSAFA – The First Military Charity in England. Talk by John Ward.

Saturday 14th November, 10.30am-3.30pm London Omnibus Transport Society, R.A.F. Museum, Graham Park Way, Colindale NW9 5LL. Autumn Transport Spectacular. London’s largest indoor transport sale. Entry via Halton Gallery, with most stands in Dermot Boyle wing. £3 admission .

Wednesday 18th November, 6pm Gresham College at Museum of London, 150 London Wall, EC2Y 5HN. Envy of Kings: The Guildhall of London & The Power of the Medieval Corporation. Talk by Simon Thurley on the architectural patronage of the City’s Lord Mayors from earliest times to the present. Free.

Wednesday 18th November, 7.30pm Willesden Local History Society, St. Mary’s Church Hall, Neasden Lane NW10 2TS (near Magistrates’ Court). Frederick Augustus Wood. Talk by Margaret Pratt (Sec) & Cliff Wadsworth (Pres). F. A. Wood was one of the founding fathers of modern Willesden and the most prolific history researcher of the old borough.

Wednesday 18th November, 7.30pm Islington Archaeology & History Society, Islington Town Hall, Upper Street N1 2UD. Rejecting War. Talk by Bruce Kent about people who said ‘no’ to war, including Prof. Joseph Rotblatt, Sylvia Pinehurst, Franz Jager-Statter & many more. Visitors £1.

Wednesday 18th November, 8pm Barnet Museum & Local History Society Church House, Wood Street, Barnet (opposite museum). AGM

Friday 20th November, 7pm CoLAS St Olave’s Parish Hall, Mark Lane, EC3R 7LQ. Embalming in Practice: The Study of Mummies at the British Museum. Talk by Marie Vandenbeusch (BM). Visitors £2. Refreshments.

Friday 20th November, 7.30pm Wembley History Society, English Martyrs’ Hall, Chalkhill Rd., Wembley HA9 9EW (top of Blackbird Hill, adj., to church). Crime & Punishment in London. Talk by Diane Burstein. Visitors £2. Refreshments.

Wednesday 25th November, 7.45pm Friern Barnet & District Local History Society, North Middx. Golf Club, The Manor House, Friern Barnet Lane, N20 0NL. Back to the Drawing Board – Transport Systems That Failed. Talk by Ralph Hutchings. Visitors £2. Refreshments. Bar before and after meeting.

Thursday 26th November, 8pm Finchley Society, Drawing Room, Stephens House & Gardens (formerly Avenue House), East End Road, N3 3QE. All Over by Xmas – Life on the Home Front in Barnet during WWI. Jean Scott Memorial Lecture given by David Berenguer (Chair Friern Barnet LHS & author of book). Refreshments 7.30pm. Non-members £2.

Saturday 28th November, 10.15am – 3.30pm Amateur Geological Society’s Mineral & Fossil Bazaar St. Mary’s Hall, Hendon Lane, N3 1TR. Including rocks, books, crystals, gemstones, jewellery. Refreshments. Admission £1.

No. 534 SEPTEMBER 2015 Edited by Sandra Claggett
HADAS DIARY 2015/16

Tuesday 15th to Saturday 19th September: Trip to the New Forest.

Tuesday 13th October @ 8pm: Scientific Methods in Archaeology. Lecture by Dr Caroline Cartwright.

Tuesday 12th November @ 8pm: The History of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Lecture by Keith Cunningham.

Sunday 6th December: Christmas Party at Avenue House. Further details coming soon.

Tuesday 10th January @8pm: Royal Palaces of Enfield. Lecture by Ian Jones (EAS).

Tuesday 9th February @8pm: Medieval Middlesex: The Archaeological Remains. Lecture by Adam Corsini.

Tuesday 8th March @8pm: Crossrail Archaeology Project. Lecture by Jay Carver.

All Lectures are held at Stephens House & Gardens (Avenue House), 17 East End Road, Finchley, N3 3QE, and start promptly at 8.00 pm, with coffee/tea and biscuits afterwards. Non-members welcome (£1.00). Buses 82, 125, 143, 326 & 460 pass nearby and Finchley Central Station (Northern line) is a short walk away.

Rare good news by Don Cooper

We hear from “Pinner Local History Society newsletter” no 127, summer 2015, that: “The Heritage Lottery Fund have confirmed £3.6 million to transform Headstone Manor and Museum! Alongside £1million from Harrow Council and £270,000 from the John Lyon’s Charity this funding will completely transform Headstone Manor. The funding will be used to restore the medieval Headstone Manor building, the 16th century small barn and the 18th century granary and build a new Welcome Centre. The Manor House will become the home of Harrow’s historic and nationally important collections … with the help of this funding the museum will open in the summer of 2017.”

This good news contrasts sharply with Barnet Council’s closure of Church Farm Museum in Hendon in 2011 and the selling of the artefacts at auction, leaving a Grade II* building unoccupied. The building is still empty (Summer 2015) and no doubt, like all empty buildings, gradually deteriorating.

Bromley Council likewise are closing their museum at the Priory (another Grade II* building, and said to be the oldest building in Bromley) and moving the displays to the local library. According to a history teacher in Bromley “The National Curriculum has a focus on local history” These decisions deprive children of another way to explore their local environment.

Clitterhouse Farm Dig: Update by Melvyn Dresner

Why do we dig? We have documents, maps, photos, even eye witness testament at Clitterhouse Farm. We have standing buildings that tell their story, and the landscape and visible traces of the past above ground. We can see that the farm buildings sit on raised ground in an area of wider hills. Clitterhouse playing fields are a survival of green space that was a working farm up to the 1920s – Cows grazed through fields in living memory. So why do we need to open up trenches today?

HADAS was invited by the Clitterhouse Farm Project to help them piece together the past history of the site they have helped to save and want to put to wider community use. The group just recently created an onsite café on 18th July – which we were able to use as our site hut for the duration of the dig. Surely, a contender for site hut of the year. Sitting on the pew-like seats the land falls away immediately to the north and east. The site has commanding views over the local area you can see the green roof of the former Medical Research Centre on the Ridgeway, Mill Hill, the spire of former Christ College School in Finchley and all the way round to the churches of Hampstead.

An archaeological dig is a destructive process: as much as it reveals a glimpse of the past, it also destroys. If you scrape away with a trowel you may pick up much of interest but sometimes you need a mattock to get to the bigger picture. We need to keep those trenches straight so we see the past in those sections. We found traces of the recent past and as far back as the 16th century in one trench. In another, deeper in history, we’ve gone back to the 12th century. Whether this tells us a clear story of the site or just muddies the waters, will take analysis, which we need to work on, and more trenches next season may be dug. Armed with such knowledge as well as all those evocative maps and photos we may be able to clear those waters given time.

Talking about muddy waters, that 12th century pot was found in a trench we dug over the suspected moat. Ah, a castle, no. A landscape garden or ornamental pond? Don’t know. Drainage ditch? Probably. It was wet, with a silty layer. Back in the lab, we are examining these silts for signs of life, cleaning, identifying and documenting finds. There were three drainage pipes draining into the alleged moat and the bank was loaded with Victorian or later builders’ rubble. We have a witness in her nineties (a visitor from the local community) who remembers the moat or ditch being open in the 1920s, to travel back further in time we need the archaeology to talk.

We dug at Clitterhouse Farm because we wanted to evaluate what we might find. Are those historical records correct, do we know what they mean, can we add something new, something more human? Finds are traces of the past. We learn most by looking at context, how objects connect in space and time, numbers of finds, and where they sit in the earth that we dig. So soon enough, in an issue or two, we may be able to tell what all the stuff means, be it animal bones, wine bottles, oyster shells, pipes, smoking and drainage, or, of course, pots.

Photo of the HADAS excavation team by Thomas Ball www.clitterhouse.com

Stonehenge and environs weekend a brief overview by Sandra Claggett

In June this year I organized a weekend tour to various sites in the Stonehenge area for fellow Birkbeck students as part of the Birkbeck Archaeology Society. It was well attended and included private access inside the Stonehenge circle for an hour and a free coach paid for by Birkbeck. We had a busy itinerary and were accompanied by our Archaeology lecturer Doctor Tim Reynolds who provided verbal and written information for each site.

Leaving on the Saturday morning from Gower Street our first stop was Old Sarum, the site of an Iron Age hill fort, medieval castle and cathedral. After this we went to Woodhenge and Durrington Walls. Durrington Walls is a Neolithic to Bronze Age site. There is not much to see at the site today apart from the information boards, but once it was a hive of activity. Durrington Walls is a sub-circular earthwork 480 metres in diameter with 6 metre deep ditches which were 16 metres wide and with 3 metre banks it must have been quite an impressive site when it was constructed between 3100BC and 2400BC.

Next to this were some sad looking posts to show the layout of Woodhenge, constructed [in] 2470BC to 2000BC. It is slightly oval with its long axis approximately in line with midsummer sunrise. There were 168 posts, the deepest were 2 metres deep and estimations have predicted that they could have held timbers 7 meters high!

After this we spent several hours in the wonderful city of Salisbury with its cathedral and Archaeological Museum apart from other attractions. It was a very picturesque place and we walked along the side of the river to the centre of town. The skeleton called the Amesbury Archer discovered in 2002 and dated to 400BC is in the museum here. The burial contained the earliest gold object in Britain and stable isotope analysis suggests that he came from the Alps – the reason for his epic journey is still debated.

Then on to our overnight accommodation hired solely for our use at the YHA Cholderton, close to Stonehenge for our early departure the next morning. Apart from having good quality clean rooms it is also a rare breeds farm where you are free to wander the grounds looking at the animals and can even feed the baby animals.

The next morning was an early start to visit the Stonehenge World Heritage Site for our private access to the Stonehenge circle. There are 2,000 hectares of ancient landscape and 450 Scheduled Ancient Monuments. It was strange and almost peaceful to be at the visitor centre before it was open and the rush of tourists. We had time to view the Prehistoric reconstructed houses and read the panels. It involved some fellow students trying to get into the mood of the moment by seeing how it felt to move those stones!

Then we were taken to the site itself and it was an amazing experience to be able to walk into the stone circle with no-one there apart from fellow students and friends. There are a series of monuments on the same site, the first stage from 3000BC to the fifth stage up to 1520BC. The Stonehenge Hidden Landscape Project has discovered 15 new ‘ritual’ monuments in the environs. Tim gave a talk about the circle and then people wandered the site. It is indeed a very special place and I felt humbled to be there.

Author’s photo showing the dagger carvings on the rock

After our hour was up we reluctantly left the circle and went to see the museum and also the reconstructed prehistoric houses outside the museum.

Finally we were on our way to our next destination, Maumbury Rings (in Dorchester, Dorset), a henge roughly 85 metres in diameter with a single ditch and bank. It was a Neolithic Henge re-used as a Roman Amphitheatre and much later as part of the Civil War defences of the town – nowadays it is a quiet spot to explore and soak up the atmosphere.

Then the final visit of the weekend: the wonderful Iron Age hillfort of Maiden Castle, south west of the town,. This site originates from a Neolithic causewayed camp and Bank barrow. In its later stages it was the site of a Roman temple. It is truly impressive and we were lucky to have good weather to explore the site.

Stephens House and Gardens on the 19th of July by Don Cooper

Sunday was a lovely sunny day, and a large crowd turned up to enjoy the fun and activities. HADAS had a stall to advertise the Society and we took the opportunity to wash some of the finds from the Cromer Road School excavation. We made some useful contacts, sold some books and gave out a number of membership forms. Thanks to all the members who turned up in support.

HADAS at Stephens House & Gardens on Sunday, 19th July 2015

Eighteenth Century Nimbyism in Finchley by Roger Chapman

In the afternoon of Wednesday 8th July 1772 the bodies of two highwaymen, Guyant and Allpress, were brought to Finchley Common from Tyburn, where they had been executed, and hung in chains.[1] The location of the gibbet had caused great consternation and would continue to do so for some time. Workmen had, during the morning, been preparing the site, opposite the end of Bauvies Lane on the Common [if anyone has the precise location for Bauvies Lane I would be pleased to hear about it] and had met with ‘great opposition from the neighbouring gentlemen, whose houses would have been greatly incommoded by so disagreeable a prospect.’ Following this the Sheriff agreed to alter the plan and put the gibbet on a piece of ground near the ‘Horse-shoes’, a site deemed less offensive to anyone. The workmen carried out this task at the new location. However once the Sheriff’s party had moved on it was discovered that the bodies were hung opposite, although some way off from, the house of Edward Allen, Esq., Lord of the Manor of Finchley, and where he had just cut down some trees and made other improvements to extend ‘his prospect’.[2]

Through pressure from Edward Allen the bodies were removed to Hanging-Hill, on the side of the Common near to the last person hung in chains there for a similar offence.[3] This appears to be in the Colney Hatch area.[4] On Sunday 12th July in the afternoon ‘a great concourse of people’ came to see the bodies. Three pickpockets were detected, one of whom escaped, but the others were taken to a neighbouring pond and ‘ducked in a very severe manner’.[5]

A newspaper report later in July discusses the contention between the Secretary of State and one of his Sheriffs over the location of the Gibbet. Each appears to have insisted that the bodies should be hung in different parts of

the Common. The Sherriff was trying to avoid it being offensive to a friend of his who lived in the neighbourhood. The bodies had been moved twice already and were now ‘present near Brown’s Well’ but it was thought that they might be moved again as there were some people who were ‘discontented at their hanging there.’[6]

It appears that on Tuesday 14th July the bodies had been moved to Brown’s Well and further representations had been made by ‘another gentleman’ that they were a ‘greater nuisance to him’ leading to another move on Friday 17th July to be ‘fixed up again at their first place of situation.’[7]

Disagreements about the location of the gibbet continued which led local Finchley people to believe that it ‘may continue until the bodies are incapable of being hung up.’[8]

The last that is heard of this episode is early in 1773 when it was reported that the body of Guyant ‘was blown down by the violence of the wind’ on the night of Tuesday 23rd February. On Wednesday 24th the body was interred on Finchley Common when the ‘populace drank several gallons of beer over the grave’.[9]

Note: Footnotes are at the end of the newsletter.

The wonderful Petrie Museum of Egyptology by Sandra Claggett

I am lucky enough to volunteer at this world renowned gem of a museum. It is part of UCL and is located on their campus near Gower Street and has a real old feel of what I would call a traditional museum with so much to see! That is just the items on display, not the ones in the display drawers that can be pulled out nor indeed the items in storage. The museum collection is around 80,000 objects, many excavated by Flinders Petrie over the course of his long career. Petrie excavated dozens of major sites including Roman period cemeteries at Hawara, famous for the mummy portraits, Amarna the city of Akhenaten, and the first true pyramid at Meydum.

The Petrie museum has a long history and recently celebrated its centenary. It was Amelia Edwards, an author, traveller and lover of Egypt, who donated the original items. Amelia Edwards also funded the position of Egyptologist at UCL that William Flinders Petrie was to hold. She liked UCL because it allowed women to study there.

Authors own photo of ivory clappers marked Gizeh 315

I was asked to assist a visiting Egyptian scholar with translations of William Flinders Petrie’s handwriting in his notebook and diaries. It was really interesting and amazing to read the precision and incredible details recorded by Petrie of the excavation. He recorded details on weather conditions, the health of his fellow excavators, drawings of excavation finds and even recorded payments to the excavators. It helped you to get a feel for

what was happening on the excavation and Petrie himself.

Author reading Petrie’s diary from Abydos dated 1903.

The museum can sometimes be overlooked so next time you are in town, if you haven’t been or even if you have, try to go and visit. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/petrie

Some exciting local news stories sent to me by Bill Bass

A very rare pane of Tudor glass was discovered in a chute leading from the toilets to the moat during excavations by Enfield Archaeology Society at Forty Hall Estate. The area had been repeatedly used by Henry VIII for hunting in its former guise as Elsyng Palace. It was while tracing the outline of the palace that the item was found among demolition material from the 1657 palace. The palace had been home to the future Edward V1 and Queen Mary I as children. http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/archaeology/art532721-very-rare-tudor-pane-found-in-chute-from-toilets-to-moat-at-henry-eighth-palace

On a nautical theme, a perfectly preserved gun carriage has been raised from the site of the seventeenth century warship London off Southend in Essex. The 1.6 metre long, 70 centimeter wide piece of artillery equipment would originally have held a 9 foot long cannon, capable of firing 24 pound cannon balls up to two miles. Archaeologists will study the carriage to see if the gun it held could still be in the sea or if it has already been brought up. They will also see what type of wood was used, Elm was preferred as it shattered less in combat and reduced casualties but there was Dutch Elm disease from the 1650s onwards so they had to use Oak.

The London broke in two when it exploded two miles off Southend in 1665.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/the-london-warships-17th-century-guncarriage-raised-from-bottom-of-thames-estuary-10451472.html

For those curious to know what caused the explosion I have found a related article here: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/the-london-after-350-years-the-riddle-of-britains-exploding-fleet-is-finally-solved-10438854.html

Crossrail believe that they have unearthed a plague pit on their Liverpool Street site. The bones of the 45 individuals are being assessed by MoLA to ascertain cause of death. The Bedlam burial site was in use between 1569 and 1730 and over three thousand burials have been excavated. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33936629

Course details for Mill Hill Archaeology Society supplied by Peter Nicolson

The title of the course is Early Roman Britain and the Tutor will be Robin Densem. There will be 20 meetings starting on Friday the 2nd October. The course will be held from 10am to 12am (including tea break) at

The Eversfield Centre

Eversfield Gardens

Mill Hill

NW7 4AE

The cost is £150. You can enrol at the first meeting but if you have not attended the Society’s meetings before please contact the Secretary, Peter Nicolson, on Tel: 0208 9594757 beforehand.

Details of other societies’ events by Eric Morgan

Saturday and Sunday the 12th and 13th of September, 10am-6pm, the RAF Museum is having a Battle of Britain 75th anniversary weekend. It is free, the last admission is 5.30pm. At Grahame Park Way, NW9 5LL. For more info please see http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london

Saturday and Sunday the 12th and 13th of September, 11am-6pm, the Enfield Archaeology Society and Enfield Society have stalls at the Enfield Town Show, Town Park, Cecil Road, admission £5.

Friday the 18th of September, 7pm, COLAS have a lecture entitled “In the Dog House: The varied fortunes of Salisbury Hall and Walthamstow Stadium car park” by Ian Hogg. At St Olaves Parish Hall, Mark Lane, EC3R 7LQ, Admission £2 for non-members.

Sunday the 20th of September, 10.30-1pm, the Amateur Geological Society have a guided 3 mile walk of the Geology of Hampstead Heath led by Diana Clements. Meet at The Flagstaff, Whitestone Pond, Heath St, NW3.

Thursday the 24th of September, 8pm, Finchley Society is having an outreach meeting discussing matters relating to East Finchley. At Holy Trinity Primary School, East Finchley, N2. Non-members £2.

Monday the 5th of October, 1pm, Bones of contention by Michael Marshall.

Monday the 12th of October, 1pm, Mass burials from St Mary Spital by Don Walker.

Monday the 19th of October, 1pm, Ritual protection marks and witchcraft at Knowle by James Wright

Monday the 26th of October, 1pm, Archaeology of disease documented by Charlotte Roberts

These are all part of the Gresham College series of free Monday Archaeology lectures at the Museum of London, 150 London Wall, EC2Y 5HW.

Friday the 9th of October, 7.45pm, Enfield Archaeology Society lecture entitled “London in the not so Dark Ages” by Lyn Blackmore. At Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Lane, Enfield, EN2 0AJ. £1 for non-members.

Saturday the 10th of October, 10am, Enfield Society is having a heritage walk around Edmonton by Monica Smith. To book free places send details, phone no and S.A.E. to Heritage Walks, Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Lane, Enfield, EN2 0AJ. A maximum of 4 tickets per request.

Monday the 12th of October, 3pm, Barnet Museum and Local History Society lecture entitled “Music halls, theatres and picture houses:” A walk down memory lane by John Lynch. At Church House, Wood St, Barnet, (opposite the museum) £2 for non-members.

Friday the 16th of October, 7pm, COLAS have a lecture “Turning the Tide: the first year of the National Citizen Project” by Gustav Milne. Recording vulnerable archaeological remains on England’s coast. Non-members £2.

Friday the 16th of October, 7.30pm, Wembley History Society have a lecture entitled “Women workers in World War I” by Christine Coates. English Martyrs Hall, Chalkhill Rd, Wembley HA9 9EW. Non-members £2.

Monday the 19th of October, 3pm, Enfield Society have a lecture entitled “The Bloomsbury group” by Janet McQueen. See Saturday 10th October for address.

Wednesday the 21st of October, 7.30pm, Willesden Local History Society have a members’ evening with talks given by members on attending schools in Willesden, with images. At St Mary’s Church Hall, Neasden lane, NW10 2TS (Near the Magistrates Court)

Wednesday the 21st of October, 7.30pm, Islington Archaeology and History Society have a lecture entitled “Darker stories from history” by Jessica O’Neill. At Islington Town Hall, Upper St, N1 2UD. Non-members £1.

Thursday the 22nd of October, 6pm, Gresham college lecture entitled “Agincourt or Azincourt. Victory, Defeat and the War of 1415” by Helen Castor. At the Museum of London. Free.

Wednesday the 20th of October, 6pm, The Royal Historical Society Annual Colin Matthew Memorial lecture. “Free speech and the study of history” by Timothy Garton Ash. Part of Gresham College held at the Museum of London. Free.

Wednesday the 20th of October, 7.45pm, Friern Barnet and District Local History Society lecture entitled “Loving Barnet” by Gail Laser. At North Middlesex Golf Club, the Manor House, Friern Barnet Lane, Non-members £2.

Saturday the 24th of October, 9.45-4.30pm, Edmonton Hundred Historical Society day conference on “Magna Carta, the mayoral charter and the Edmonton Hundred”. For more details and booking please contact Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Lane, Enfield, EN2 OAJ. Full day £12, half day £6.

Thursday the 29th of October, 8pm, the Finchley Society have a discussion meeting for further details please see their newsletter for Sept/Oct. At the Drawing room, Stephens House, East Finchley, N3 3QE. Non-members £2.

Wednesday the 28th of October, 10.20am, Enfield Society have a three hour linear walk on “Bloomsbury Square and Gardens” by Monica Smith. Meet at entrance to platform 9, Kings Cross Mainline Station.

Corrections to earlier newsletters

In the August edition the Wembley History Society talk on Friday the 18th September was shown as stating at 7.45pm. This should be 7.30pm.

The Gresham College lecture at the Museum of London was shown as Wednesday the 16th of September when it is Wednesday the 30th of September at 6pm.

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FOOTNOTES

[1] (1772), London Evening News, 9th July.

[2] (1772), Middlesex Journal, 9th July.

[3] (1772), Middlesex Journal, 14th July.

[4] (1772), General Evening Post, 14th July.

[5] (1772), Morning Chronicle, 14th July.

[6] (1772), Middlesex Journal, 21st July.

[7] (1772), Public Advertiser, 24th July.

[8] (1772), Morning Chronicle, 7th August.

[9] (1773), Public Advertiser, 27th February.

No. 533 AUGUST 2015 Edited by Stephen Brunning

HADAS DIARY 2015/16

Tuesday 15th to Saturday 19th September: Trip to the New Forest.

Tuesday 13th October @ 8pm: Scientific Methods in Archaeology. Lecture by Dr Caroline Cartwright.

Tuesday 12th November @ 8pm: The history of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Lecture by Keith Cunningham.

Sunday 6th December: Christmas Party at Avenue House. Further details coming soon.

Tuesday 10th January @8pm: Royal Palaces of Enfield. Lecture by Ian Jones (EAS).

Tuesday 9th February @8pm: Medieval Middlesex: The Archaeological Remains. Lecture by Adam Corsini.

Tuesday 8th March @8pm: Crossrail Archaeology Project. Lecture by Jay Carver.

All Lectures are held at Stephens House & Gardens (Avenue House), 17 East End Road, Finchley, N3 3QE, and start promptly at 8.00 pm, with coffee /tea and biscuits afterwards. Non-members welcome (£1.00). Buses 82, 125, 143, 326 & 460 pass nearby and Finchley Central Station (Northern line) is a short walk away.

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Update on RAF Central Hospital. By Don Cooper.

Following the short article on Stephens House and Gardens (formerly Avenue House) as a Royal Air Force (RAF) hospital in last month’s newsletter (July no 532), Peter Elliott, Head of Archives at the RAF Museum, Hendon sent the following email:
“The piece on the RAF Hospital mentions Son Ld. H E Whittingham. He became Air Marshal Sir Harold Whittingham, Director of RAF Medical Services, and his papers are held by the Wellcome Library under their reference PP/HEW”.
Archaeological Priority Areas. By Peter Pickering.

The Greater London Archaeological Advisory Service (GLAAS) is now part of Historic England – the organisation created to look after the remainder of English Heritage’s activities after the owning and running of ancient monuments had been hived off. It maintains London’s Historic Environment Record and provides archaeological advice to all the boroughs except Southwark and the City. GLAAS has started a programme to review, revise and update the Archaeological Priority Areas across Greater London.
Archaeological Priority Areas are areas where there is significant known archaeological interest or particular potential for new discoveries. A planning application for development in an Archaeological Priority Area may trigger an archaeological condition, requiring anything from a watching brief to a full scale excavation. (Our lecture in April about Mill Hill Barracks demonstrated what new knowledge an archaeological condition can bring forth.) Barnet’s Local Plan includes a map of thirty-four such areas. HADAS was involved when the Local Plan was being revised in 2011 and 2012.
GLAAS keeps an eye on all planning applications received by Barnet Council, and asks the Council to impose an archaeological condition when it thinks that is appropriate. HADAS also tries to monitor applications that come to our attention, and make our own representations to GLAAS and to the Council.
Of course, it is only a small minority of the many planning applications received by the Council, even in Archaeological Priority Areas, where an archaeological condition may be warranted – most planning applications involve little or no disturbance of the ground, and will not therefore affect any buried remains. An application affecting a historic building or conservation area may require special consideration, but Listed Building and Conservation Area Consents are different from archaeological conditions, and do not involve GLAAS. According to GLAAS, London’s Archaeological Priority Areas need to be modernised; they were created piecemeal over 25 years ago, and there are inconsistencies. Many boroughs’ areas lack a supporting evidence base; do not always reflect current archaeological knowledge or today’s priorities (HADAS believes that Barnet’s is one of the better and more up-to-date plans). GLAAS wish to provide a consistent framework for documenting archaeological interest for planning purposes; a sound evidence base and practical tool for strategic planning. Somewhat controversially they propose to introduce four tiers, three covering the existing Archaeological Priority Areas and one the rest of London; Tier 1 would be specific heritage assets of national significance; Tier 2 local areas where there is specific evidence of the presence or likely presence of heritage assets of archaeological interest; Tier 3 local areas where there is evidence of a potential for heritage assets of archaeological interest.
GLAAS’s ideas are logical and well thought through (though the little notice it takes of local archaeological societies and the work we all do is disappointing). I am somewhat concerned, however, that a system of tiers will cause confusion, and the comprehensive revision of local plans that they will require will impose too much of a burden on GLAAS itself, and on the boroughs, and will therefore take a long time, leaving an unsatisfactory transition period. I also wonder at the impact of the Government’s very recent proposals for substantial deregulation of development in the interests of building more houses, quickly.
An appeal to budding authors. By Jim Nelhams.
Do you visit museums or other places of historical interest, local or otherwise? If so, why not share information with other HADAS members by providing a short note about them.
Our editors work hard to produce your monthly newsletter, but they do not write the information, and very often, they have nothing to publish until shortly before we go to press. Some articles, such as lecture reports, need timely publication. Articles about museums and places of interest do not need to be published immediately. We would like to build up a “library” of write-ups, from which any editor can locate more material. This would help our editors and make their task less stressful.
So if you visit somewhere interesting, why not write a note and send it to me. (see p.12) And remember that by telling us about these places, you are also helping the museums by encouraging members to visit them.
Cromer Road School dig 2015. By Melvyn Dresner.
New member Melvyn Dresner and student archaeologist at Birkbeck College reflects on his first dig with HADAS.
This June, I worked alongside primary school children enjoying their first ventures into archaeology. My interests are in the prehistoric and medieval periods but here we are digging out a 1930’s building that was still standing in the 1960s which still holds a fascination. Archaeology, even if from the recent past, can reveal stuff about life that written sources cannot. Also, as I found from digging in the midst of a community with a school, people can easily see you digging. They show you that they are interested and have all sorts of information to share and questions to ask.
On the first day we arrived on the green opposite the school. We knew something about the site by looking at parch marks in the grass and followed this by a geophysical survey, which showed a strong result in places. We peeled off the turfs for two trenches. The ground was exceptionally hard and only a few centimetres below the surface we were onto the archaeology – a line of bricks frog up in Trench 2. Trench 1 was opened to help the children learn the techniques and reasons we undertake archaeology and get hands-on experience revealing the past beneath their feet. Trench 2 was where we thought we would need more digging, which was eventually visited by all ages at the school.

Figure1:Trench 2

Day two, revealed more concrete in Trench 2, where I was working. We can see that the line of bricks is part of a structure though it’s apparent the structure of the wall is not massively thick. In the rubble there could be another wall.

Figure2: Excavating trench 2.
Day three is the most revealing day, but we were left scratching our heads. Below the rubble layer we discover concrete steps leading to a concrete floor although the bottom step is cut by a metal pipe. Why have a pipe at the bottom of a step? Answers on a postcard please. As well as brick rubble we found some sort of furniture with springs, a dark blue lamp shade and right at the bottom some tin boxes of uniformed size and shape. These boxes may prove key to explaining the use of the building.
Day four: much speculation on the use of the building. Research in the background suggested that the site could be a gas decontamination centre built during the Second World War before being converted to blood supply. Proximity to the Maw’s pharmaceutical factory was considered relevant. The layout of the building and detail revealed by trenches suggested a certain building typology designed to allow the process of people through gas decontamination. There are standing examples of these buildings elsewhere which seem to support this idea. The tin boxes found on the concrete floor could be a type used for blood transfer kits. These boxes will need closer examination.
Also on day four, three men who were at the school during the late 1940s and early 1950s, remembered the building from when they were pupils. They remembered the building smelled horrible, which may have been chemicals associated with processing, or just unpleasant associations with blood.
Day five was the final day. Speaking to a local brick layer, he had some ideas about how the brick wall was laid and why different techniques were used. We can see how the foundation was laid, the use of mortar to waterproof the wall, and we speculated why the frogs were up or down and about the different bricks used on wall facing inside or outside the building. This needs more thought. What is interesting is that whilst paperwork may only contains fleeting references, the archaeology tells us about different types of activity that allowed people to turn bureaucratic decisions into buildings, and provide blood supplies after (and also most likely) during the war. Careful processing of finds and cross referencing with documentary evidence may reveal stories that can only be told in full though archaeology.

The Forge Mill Needle Museum, Redditch. By Jim Nelhams.

Travelling in Redditch to a meal with family members, we passed a sign to “Forge Mill Museum”. Having finished lunch, and with time to spare before returning to our hotel, we decided to investigate.
Following the signs led us to a short road, Needle Mill Lane, with a small car park at the end. Here we found a visitor centre and signs to the museum. Unfortunately, the museum was just closing, but we were expecting to visit the area again within a month, so we duly returned.

The visitors centre covered not just the museum, but also the ruins of Bordesley Abbey, of which more in another article. Both the Abbey and Mill are scheduled ancient monuments.
To clear the confusion over the name, it is the Forge Mill Needle Museum. Redditch was at one time the centre of the production of needles in the whole world. In 1866, it is recorded as producing 100 million “needles” per week, many produced in the building which houses the museum. During the 1960s and 1970s, the sole UK producer was Needle Industries in nearby Studley. The company still exists but is now Indian owned and produces most of its products in India under the name Pony Needles.

There are two buildings, one three storey, and the other two, separated by a mill race with an overshot water wheel, fed from a mill pond, which provided power to both buildings. The stream feeding the mill pond was once known as the red ditch, from which the town gets its name. A steam engine, now removed, provided power in times of drought. The current buildings date from about 1828 when there was a major rebuild. The water wheel is run during the day so that some of the machinery can be seen in motion.

Our tour started on the top floor of the east building where there is an amazing display of the types of needles that were produced in the area. These include whaling harpoons, gramophone needles, sewing and knitting needles, dart points, surgical and hypodermic needles, needles for knitting machines and fishing hooks. There is also a short video about the processes used.

The middle floor is available as an exhibition space while the ground floor takes you through the stages of needle production. Needles were cut to the right length from rolls of wire, heated and drawn to the required diameter, shaped, with eyes added if required, sharpened on grind wheels, and hardened before being passed to the second building for polishing. It is this polishing process which required the mill power.

The needles were neatly stacked in bundles of canvas and hessian, soap, grease and emery powder was added, and the bundles securely tied. The bundles, or setts, were the placed in the scouring beds, where they acted as rollers. The mill had 32 of these machines using the mill’s power. They were then rolled for 2 hours at a time, to produce the final polished product. Certain types of needle might need a further 2 hours. Some of these machines, with dummy setts, are still in operation. These were commercially used until 1958.

From 1911 to 1963, the building was known as the Salmon Fly Works, producing fishing tackle.

As with many museums, the building is staffed by volunteers, on this occasion, one gentleman and his cat.

Access to and within the building needs care, with many steps and no lifts. Nevertheless, this museum is well worth a visit – we spent over two hours looking around. (Postcode for satnav – B97 6RR).

Excavating the Prehistoric past of Must Farm. By Sandra Claggett.

In July this year undergraduate students from Birkbeck College were lucky enough to take part on a week’s excavation at this site near Peterborough. The area of Must Farm and its environs are well known for their deep Fen history stretching back to the prehistoric era. As the area became waterlogged due to the rising sea levels after the last ice age, structures built and artefacts left in the soil became well preserved. To cope with the continuing rising sea levels in the Fenland during the Bronze and Iron Age wooden walkways and platforms were constructed and travel by boat began to dominate.
Within the last few years at Must Farm eight Bronze Age log boats which had been carved out of tree trunks have been found in a stretch of preserved prehistoric river channel. A collapsed platform was also found which had been destroyed by fire and preserved as it fell into the river channel, Finds from this included pottery bowls that still had spoon and contents inside, as well as material that had glass beads attached. Also found in this environment and at nearby Flag Fen were swords that have been left as offerings.

Grid patterns were laid out in the soil during our week long excavation, which were evenly divided into squares and each student would then choose a square to work on (Figure 1).

Figure 1. (Author’s own photograph)
It was exciting to see that in a lot of places including my own square the Neolithic history was seen just lying on the surface waiting to be found. I recovered worked Flint tools, one piece in particular which some individual all that time ago had spent energy and shown skill to make a sharp serrated edge on both sides. This piece looked like the shape of the fish. I liked to feel that it held a special place for the person that made it. (Figure 2).

Figure 2. (Author’s own photograph)

I also found animal teeth probably from a butchered animal, and burnt stone probably from a fire which indicates cooking nearby. Within my test pit block a feature was found during excavation which contained charcoal burnt stone and some pottery sherds. Due to the fact that the surrounding soil was not burnt it was interpreted that the fire itself was not here but that it had been dug to take the contents of a fire that was elsewhere, so they were cleaning up after themselves! (Figure 3).

Figure 3. (Author’s own photograph)

On a higher surface level some of us were looking for wood chips where we got to feel our way through nice squidgy soil looking for wood that showed it had been worked and had cut marks. (Figure 4).

Figure 4 (Author’s own photograph)

The stratigraphy for this level would be Bronze Age and any worked wood could date to the period of the platform and walkways being built. We were also looking for animal or human footprints that could have been left in the mud as had occurred near the collapsed platform.
During the week I also pieced together fragments of pottery from different pots to see whether we had enough sherds to be able to reconstruct any of them. Looking at the designs on the pottery made me realise the skill in the detail and the beauty in the design of some of these. In some designs you could actually see the thumb imprints from the person that made them. (Figure 5).

Figure 5 (Author’s own photograph)

It makes me wonder what we will leave behind for people in the future to make of us.
The Hanson Logboat. By Jo Nelhams.
During the Kent trip in 2014, HADAS visited the Dover Museum to investigate the Bronze Age Life Gallery and the internationally important Bronze Age boat (see Newsletter September 2014). Later in the year Jim and I visited a friend near Derby and then took the opportunity to visit the Derby Museum. There we found another Bronze Age boat.

At Hanson’s gravel quarry at Shardlow on the River Trent in 1998, workman spotted what seemed to be a hollowed out tree trunk with stone inside. Doctor Chris Salisbury, an archaeologist, identified it as an ancient Logboat. Excavation took place in 1998-9 and this Logboat was the first to be discovered with what appeared to be its cargo. The cargo was identified as Bromsgrove sandstone, which is found further upstream.
Carbon 14 dating revealed that the Hanson Logboat was about 3,400 years old. Several tools and weapons were found in the quarry, and are also displayed in the museum.

Shardlow is south east of Derby, but evidence of Bronze Age settlements in the Derby area include Arbor Low stone circle, to the north of Derby, which was visited by members on the trip to Buxton in 2013.

Frith Manor House and Frith Grange, Frith Lane, NW7. By Clinton Hudgell.
I was wondering if these two venues would be worth exploring? They were once quite substantial properties.
Frith Manor House is now a stable complex, and Frith Grange is basically part of a Scout Camping Ground.
The original Frith Grange building stood in the “spinney” on the other side (east) of Frith Lane. The Spinney land is also leased by the Scouts of Barnet even though it (The Spinney) forms the boundary screen for the Finchley Golf Club. I can remember seeing the original foundations of the Grange, but it was gradually filled in, used as a dump for all the remains of burnt rubbish from the Camping Ground opposite. The large empty hole in the foundations was commonly known as the “bomb hole” and I suspect that the Grange may have been bombed during the Second World War. (This is not substantiated)
It would be interesting to initially look at the early OS maps of Frith Lane. Does anyone have copies of these maps and perhaps an early painting or photograph of the aforementioned buildings? It would also be interesting to hear of any earlier recollection of these substantial properties.
Please contact the editor of this newsletter (Stephen Brunning) if you can help.
Greetings to new members – Stephen Brunning.
I would like to extend a very warm welcome to all the new members who have joined HADAS since October 2012. They are: Stephen Callway, Sandra Claggett, Jennie Cobban, Melvyn Dresner,
Sevinc Duvarci, Joanna Fryer, Janet Mortimer, Lucy Murray-Davey, Brendan, Caroline & Christine Power, Catriona Prothero, Alec Radosavljevic, David Richman, Stepan Stepanenko, Helene Woodnick and Michele Zoghbi. We look forward to seeing you at a forthcoming event.

Avenue House at War Exhibition.

This basement exhibition will run until 30th September and tells the story of how Avenue House gave service to the nation on the home front in two world wars – as a RAF hospital & ARP headquarters.
Opening times are: Tues, Weds, Thurs 14:00 – 16:30. Sat, Sun 12:00 – 16:30.
Entry at other times by appointment for school visits, group bookings, as part of a guided tour or in connection with a private booking with an event in the house. Due to the authentic nature and location of this exhibition it is not possible to make it fully accessible to those with restricted mobility. Admission is free but donations are very welcome.
Gladiator Games with the Museum of London – 8th to 16th August.
The publicity for this event is as follows: “In this game of titans, life and death is in your hands. See battle commence on the site of London’s only Roman amphitheatre, hear the crowd roar and steel clash as you choose which warriors walk free. In this live action summer spectacular, we take you back to Roman Londinium with an epic re-enactment of London’s gladiatorial games. Performers take to the stage for battle, an Emperor presides and the crowd picks its side. Westeros has nothing on Londinium”
Show times: Evenings: 10 & 14 Aug, 7-8.00 pm Weekends: 8, 9, 15 & 16 Aug, 12-1.00 pm & 3-4.00pm. Step into Londinium with pre-show entertainment in the Guildhall Yard from an hour before each show. A bar serving drinks and snacks will be open before and during the show.
Ticket prices: Adult: £15; Child: £10; Concession: £12.50
Location: The Gladiator Games are held in the Guildhall Yard, off Gresham Street, London EC2V 5AE.
Nearest tube: St Paul’s, Bank, Moorgate (5 minute walk).
Nearest DLR: Bank (5 minute walk)
Nearest overground: Moorgate (5 minute walk)

For any enquires relating to specific access requirements please contact box office on 020 7001 9844. This event will not be cancelled due to bad weather; we advise that you dress appropriately as the amphitheatre seating is open air.

Other Societies’ events, compiled by Eric Morgan.
Tuesday 8th September, 7.45pm. Amateur Geological Society. The Parlour, St Margaret’s Church, Victoria Avenue N3 1BD (off Hendon Lane). Mineralogy at the Natural History Museum: more than the earth’s treasury. Talk by Prof Andy Fleet (Natural History Museum).

Wednesday 9th September, 9am. Mill Hill Historical Society. Coach trip to East Grinstead & Nymans. Depart Hartley Hall, Flower Lane NW7 at 9am. Latest date for booking is Thursday 20th August to Keith Dyall, 26 Millway, NW7 2RB. Price is £26.50 (National Trust members £17.50). Telephone 020 8959 7147 or 07788 677103. Please send SAE together with cheque payable to “Mill Hill Historical Society” stating your name, address, telephone number and email address. Will leave for home at 5pm.

Thursday 10th September, 7.30pm. Camden History Society. Camden Local Studies Archive Centre, 2nd floor, Holborn Library, 32-38 Theobalds Road, WC1X 8PA. How Ian Nairn came to love London. Talk by Gillian Darley. Visitors £2.

Friday 11th September, 7.45pm. Enfield Archaeological Society. Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Street (junction of Chase Side), Enfield EN2 0AJ. Prehistoric Archaeology. Talk by Jon Cotton (Vice-President). Visitors £1. Refreshments, sales and information table from 7.30pm.

Monday 14th September, 3pm. Barnet Museum & Local History Society. Church House, Wood Street, Barnet (opposite museum). The development of Wrotham Park Mansion. Talk by Charles Dace. Visitors £2. Also Saturday 19th September. Coach outing to Bodiam Castle and Rye. For details please contact Pat Alison at 37 Ladbroke Drive, Potter Bar, Herts EN6 1QR. Telephone 01707 858430 or Barnet Museum on 020 8440 8066.

Wednesday 16th September, 6.30pm. Willesden Local History Society. Willesden Green Library, High Road, (corner of Brondesbury Park NW10. Visit to the new Brent Archives. With Emma Treherne. NOTE earlier start time. Also Saturday 12th September. Willesden Green Library re-opens. Willesden Local History Society will have a stand here.

Wednesday 16th September, 7.30pm. Islington Archaeology & History Society. Islington Town Hall, Upper Street N1 2UD. Recreating a 19th century house in Canonbury Square. Talk by Gary Butler (architect). Visitors £1.

Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th September. London Open House Weekend. FREE access to over 800 buildings. Details at www.openhouselondon.org.uk. INCLUDING: Saturday 19th 10am-4pm. Myddleton House Gardens, Bulls Cross Enfield EN2 9HG. Magnificent house of E.A. Bowles (HADAS did resistivity here). Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th 11am-4pm. Three Mills House Mill, Three Mills Lane, Bromley-by-Bow, E3 3DU. 20 minute guided tour of the grinding stones and water wheels is available at this historic site. (HADAS had a talk on the mill last year). Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th, 1-5pm. Friends of Brompton Cemetery. South Lodge, Brompton Cemetery, Fulham Road SW10 9UG. The chapel will be open with guided tours starting at 2pm on both days. Refreshments available.

Wednesday 23rd September, 7.45pm. Friern Barnet & District Local History Society. North Middlesex Golf Club, The Manor House, Friern Barnet Lane N20 0NL. Baxendale: Past, Present & Future. Talk by Brian Hosier. Visitors £2. Refreshments.

Friday 18th September, 7.45pm. Wembley History Society. English Martyrs’ Hall, Chalkhill Road, Wembley HA9 9EW (top of Blackbird Hill adjacent to church). Kingsbury from the air in the 1920’s & 30’s. With Jim Moher. £2.

Wednesday 16th September, 6pm. Gresham College at Museum of London. 150 London Wall, EC2Y 5HN. 1665: London’s Last Great Plague. Talk by Prof. Vanessa Harding. FREE.

Many thanks to this month’s contributors: Sandra Claggett, Don Cooper, Melvyn Dresner,
Clinton Hudgell, Eric Morgan, Jim Nelhams, Jo Nelhams, Peter Pickering and Stewart Wild.

HADAS DIARY – LECTURE PROGRAMME 2015

Tuesday 13 October 2015 Dr Caroline Cartwright

Scientific Methods in Archaeology

Tuesday 10 November 2015 Keith Cunningham

The History of The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI)

LECTURE PROGRAMME 2016

Tuesday 12 January 2016 Ian Jones – EAS Royal Palaces of Enfield

Tuesday 9th February 2016 Adam Corsini Medieval Middlesex: The Archaeological Remains

Tuesday 8th March 2016 Jay Carver Crossrail Archaeology Project

Lectures are held at Avenue House, 17 East End Road, Finchley, N3 3QE, and start promptly at 8 pm, with coffee/tea and biscuits afterwards. Non-members: £1. Buses 82, 125, 143, 326 & 460 pass nearby and Finchley Central Station (Northern Line) is a 5-10 minute walk away.

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Annual General Meeting Tuesday 9th June 2015 Jo Nelhams

The 54th Annual General Meeting was held on Tuesday 9th June 2015 in Avenue House at 7.45pm. The meeting was attended by 44 members and 2 guests. It was encouraging to see that this was the largest attendance at an AGM for a number of years. There were also 17 apologies.
The Chairman, Don Cooper, opened the meeting and welcomed all those present, including the President, Harvey Sheldon. The President was then invited to take the chair to conduct the business of the meeting.
The President thanked the meeting for the card he received, which was signed by all those present at the 2014 AGM, when he was indisposed and unable to attend.
All the officers were prepared to stand again for election, and were unanimously returned to office as listed below:
Chairman: Don Cooper
Vice-Chairman: Peter Pickering
Hon. Treasurer: Jim Nelhams
Hon. Secretary: Jo Nelhams
Hon. Membership Secretary: Stephen Brunning
Committee Members: Vicki Baldwin, Bill Bass, Roger Chapman, Eric Morgan, Andrew Selkirk and Sue Willetts. I am delighted to say that Sandra Claggett has also joined the Committee.
The Chairman reported that the move from the Garden Room to the basement in Avenue House had been completed and that it was more spacious than our previous accommodation. There was also space for the contents which were stored in the garage.
He also mentioned that members need to give thought to the future of HADAS, as the present Officers had held their positions for quite a number of years and replacements will be needed. Also most of the Committee members had been serving for many years.
The Chairman also mentioned the two paintings that had been left to the Society by John Enderby in his will. They were painted by Erina Crossley, a long-term member of HADAS. They are now in our room at Avenue House. A picture of one of them, the old barn at Church End Farm, appeared in the April 2015 Newsletter.
The meeting closed at 8.10 pm. The Chairman then invited our President Harvey Sheldon to deliver his lecture on “The Roman Pottery Manufacturing Site in Highgate Wood.” (See below.)

AGM Lecture

The Roman Pottery manufacturing Site in Highgate Wood – Harvey Sheldon (Report by Audrey Hooson)

This Roman site was discovered in 1962. Whilst field walking, looking for flint (Mesolithic and Neolithic flints were found) Roman sherds, including a fragment of a Poppy Head Beaker, were discovered. Trenches cut in the sixties produced burnt clay and misshapen pots. This meant there was the likelihood of a kiln site, so a full excavation in was carried out in 1976.

The location was unexpected, though there are several pottery sites close to Watling Street in the Verulamium area, including Brockley Hill. However, Highgate Wood is between Watling Street and Ermine Street with no obvious means of transportation to Londinium. The possible Viatores Road 227 would pass close by, and transport by donkey along trackways and onward in flat-bottomed boats via the Brent and Lea rivers has been suggested.

At 28 hectares, Highgate Wood is a remnant of the mainly oak and hornbeam Middlesex Forest. This later became the deer park of the Bishop of London, and is now a public park. Development for housing and transport has reduced this wooded area. There were probably other kiln sites, now destroyed, which also took advantage of the coppice cycle that provided the large quantity of wood needed by Londinium. The amount of pottery found in Enfield, Putney, Surrey, the City Forum Site and elsewhere in the South East, which has been designated ‘Highgate Ware’, is far more than this site alone could have produced.

The kiln site was active intermittently over a period of about 100 years from AD50 – AD160. The kilns had been repaired over time, and covered by waste dumps. They were of the typical Roman up- draught type with a flue, furnace and central pedestal, with support bars for stacking the pots. It is not known how they were roofed. One particularly interesting late kiln had a tiled arch to the flue. The sherds found may represent as many as 5,000 vessels. Types present were “poppy head” beakers with barbotine decoration, dishes rimmed to accommodate lids, beaded rimmed jars, cordoned bowls and dishes. Each vessel type had one dominant size. The fabric consisted of the local iron-rich clay, usually reduced to a mid-grey, with occasional white slip of imported iron-free clay. Early vessels were grog-tempered, but later finer wares were sand-tempered.

Other artefacts were used in dating the site. These consisted of terra sigillata sherds, 15 brooches of late 1st to early 2nd century, bronze buckles, strap ends and some glass.

In 1971 a two-week Experimental Archaeology Course took place in the woods, with teachers and potters. The participants dug out local clay, used kick-wheels and built three kilns. However, the resulting pots were oxidised. Failures were recorded for analysis of the wasters. In 1972, smaller kilns with more coverage produced a reduced fabric. The original kilns may have been covered with turves.

At the closure of the excavation in 1969, the major kiln with the tile arched flue was removed and has been in store at the Horniman Museum. There are plans to return it to Highgate Woods as part of a new display.

The final excavation report is with LAMAS, waiting for publication funding.

Obituary

Patrick McSharry

We mentioned the sad news of Patrick’s death in the last newsletter. He was an active member of HADAS and one of our newsletter editors. A teacher for 30 years, Patrick had a wide range of interests and was an enthusiast for education, with a first BA degree in Government and Politics, followed later by an MPhil in History, then an MA in Biography at Buckingham in the year 2000, and finally, in 2010, a PhD, again in history. At St James’s school he taught “A” level Government and Politics, Law and Sociology, the last two of which he introduced into the curriculum. He always enjoyed the HADAS long weekend holidays with his brother Kevin, and our condolences go to Kevin and all their wider family.

Stephens House and Gardens (formerly Avenue House) as a Royal Air Force (RAF) Hospital by Don Cooper

Avenue House is one of those places that keeps turning up surprises, for instance it was the RAF’s Central Hospital, Finchley, between 1919 and June 1925. Henry Charles Stephens died in 1918 and left the property to the people of Finchley. In 1919 the RAF moved their central hospital from Mount Vernon, Holly Hill, Hampstead, to Avenue House, East End Road, Finchley. Although it was a hospital for six years there is virtually no information about it. How was it organised? What type of treatment did it offer patients?

Figure 1: Avenue House as an RAF hospital in 1919

This is all we know so far.

The National Archive records show that the RAF Officers’ Hospital was formed early in 1918 as the RAF Central Hospital at Holly Hill, Hampstead. The Hospital was transferred to Avenue House, East End Road, Finchley, in May 1919. The Hospital closed on the 12th June 1925.

Staff included the First Commanding Officer Surgeon Lieutenant Colonel F. F. Mueke, with Squadron Leaders H. E. Wittingham, H.W. Scott, B.A. Payne, W.A. Duck and A.J. Brown (all RAF Medical Branch). (Source Flight 23/6/1923).

There were nurses from the newly established RAF Temporary Nursing Service (1918), which became the Princess Mary’s RAF Nursing Service in 1923. Among the nurses mentioned are Miss L. I. Oliver, Miss W.C. Watt, and Miss M. A. Botwood. (Again the source is from Flight.)

As far as patients are concerned we have only references from newspapers in The British Newspaper Online Archive http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ and occasional other internet references.

From Western Morning News, Wednesday 2nd January 1924

“FLT, LTS (Medical) A.F. Rook to remain at RAF Central Hospital Finchley, instead of to RAF Hospital, Cranwell as previously notified.”

FLY OFFR (Medical) R.W. White to remain at RAF Hospital, Cranwell, instead of to RAF Central Hospital, Finchley, as previously notified.”

From The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, Saturday 6th August 1921

“Flying Officer Fenwick of the RAF has been admitted to the RAF hospital at Finchley with a serious injury to his eye caused through the breaking of the glass of the windscreen of his motor car by a golf ball.

He was driving to Denham Golf Course on Wednesday, when a golf ball, played on the links struck the car and broke the glass of the wind screen, and some splinters entered his eye, severely injuring it and necessitating his immediate removal to hospital. Last night it was stated that it was hoped the sight of the eye would be saved.”

From Western Morning News, Wednesday 29th August 1923

“Flight Lt A. F. Rook MRCP, DPH to RAF Central Hospital Finchley, July 27th.”

From Western Morning News, Wednesday 19th September 1923

“L. P. McCullagh to Research Laboratory and Medical Officers’ School of Instruction, September 7th, on appointment to Short Service Commission for short course of instruction, and to RAF Central Hospital, Finchley.”

From Western Gazette, Friday 16 January 1920

“Thames Hero Dead – airman who saved a woman succumbs to injuries

Lieutenant Charles Campbell Wood, the young South African aviator, died at the RAF Hospital, Finchley on Saturday night. A fortnight ago he dived nearly a hundred feet from the parapet of Hammersmith Bridge at midnight to save a woman from drowning in the Thames. Appealed to by a woman with a baby in her arms who cried ‘My mother is drowning, will you save her?’ he jumped in without a moment’s hesitation.

In the darkness he could not see that the tide was out, and struck the bottom with considerable force. But he saved the woman. The doctor who attended him immediately afterwards marvelled that he had been able to retain consciousness. Lieutenant Wood was a native of Johannesburg and had no relatives in this country.”

From Western Morning News Friday 14th December 1923

“Flt. Lt. (Medical) W. F. Wilson, MC, to RAF Central Hospital, Finchley, January 1st.”

From other sources:

From: http://airminded.org/2008/06/27/the-interwar-internet/

DODKINS, Lionel Claud, F/O – died 13 June 1921 – RAF Hospital, Finchley – malaria.

FOORD, Basil Arthur, F/O, MC, DFC – died 18 October 1922, in RAF Hospital, Finchley.

From: http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1919/1919%20-%200858.html

Capt. Howard Napier Walker, OBE., M.C., 2nd Welsh Regt., acting Lieut.-Col. R.A.F., who died on June 3 at the RAF Central Hospital, Finchley, from the effects of wounds received in action in 1914, was the eldest son of Charles Low Walker, Hopewell, Walkers Wood, Jamaica, and of Mrs. Walker, Home Lodge, Plymouth.

From: http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=169046

My Namesake Uncle, Lieut. Patrick W Anderson, Black Watch, RFC & RAF, was an Observer, flying DH4’s with 18 Squadron, when on 27th June, 1918, he and his Canadian pilot were attacked by ten enemy machines over Flanders during their morning bombing that day.
My Uncle received serious wounds to his stomach and thigh, and letters home that were published in the Arbroath and surrounding area newspapers said that he could not be moved due to his loss of blood in getting back to his lines.

His RAF Casualty Card shows that he was “dangerously ill, gsw left thigh” at “51 CCS France” and the following day “Wounded”. Then on 29th June, 1918 “Still critical;” then on 15th July, 1918 at 30 General Hospital, Calais: “Dangerously ill, GSW groin, buttock left.”

Then on 25th July, 1918: RAF Officers’, Eaton Square (London): “Bullet wound bladder and groin, admitted 24th July, 1918.”

Admitted 1st April 1919 to Swanage Hospital (Dorset); 8-9th September, 1919: RAF Hospital, Finchley. Discharged from RAF Hospital Swanage on 14 October 1919, 17th-20th October, 1919: RAF Hospital, Finchley.

We are very much still on the lookout for more information, so should you come across any reference please let us know.

Membership Renewals – a reminder Stephen Brunning

Many thanks to those who have already paid their subscription. If you intend to renew this year and have not yet done so, I would be grateful to receive payment by 17th August 2015 at the following rates: £15 (full), £5 (each additional member at the same address), £6 (student). My address is on the last page of this newsletter.

It is not necessary to return the renewal form enclosed with April’s Newsletter. A piece of paper with your name, postal address, telephone number and email address (if applicable) will suffice. I will then be able check the details we hold are still correct. It would also be helpful if you could indicate your willingness to receive the newsletter by email. This helps to keep our costs to a minimum. Thank you.

Cromer Road Dig Jim Nelhams

Over recent years, HADAS has undertaken digs with schools in the Borough, and for 2015 we returned to Cromer Road School in New Barnet. Our interest was sparked when researching for the 2014 dig, when we spotted parch marks on a grassy space at the front of the School.

As the dig was in open space, we were fortunate in obtaining council permission to go ahead.

Two Year-5 groups (9-10 year-olds) totalling 59 children were involved. They were given classroom sessions, the first explaining archaeology, the second looking at maps of the area. For the dig, each was given a handbook about the site and the processes that they experienced.

Thanks to Bill Bass, Roger Chapman, Don Cooper, Melvyn Dresner, Angie Holmes and Susan Trackman for giving up their time to support the dig and mentor the children. Thanks also to Jo Nelhams for liaison with the school.

Further reports will appear in future newsletters.

An enquiry received – can you help?

There was a WW2 Transmitter Out-Station of the R.A.F. Hendon. It was located at the bottom of Brockley Hill but could possibly have been sited in a caravan or vehicle.
Secondly, there was a Radio Direction-Finding Station in the centre of Copthall field, Mill Hill. Perhaps it was mounted on a brick and concrete base hexagonal in layout. Does anyone remember seeing any evidence or memories of these two sites?
Please contact Mr. D.H. Sullivan, 32 Silver Street, Great Barford, Bedfordshire MK44 3HX
Telephone: 01234 870620

OTHER SOCIETIES’ EVENTS compiled by Eric Morgan

Saturday 4th-Sunday 5th July, 12-7pm, East Barnet Festival, Oak Hill Rd., East Barnet, EN4 8JS. Lots of community stalls, including Barnet Arts Council (with HADAS information), music, dance, classic cars (SUV), food, bar.

Tuesday 14th July, 7.45 pm, Amateur Geological Society, The Parlour, St Margaret’s Church, Victoria Ave., N3 1BD (off Hendon Lane). Studying Planetary Impacts: From the Field to the Lab. Talk by Dr. Penny Wozniakiewickz (Natural History Museum).

Correction:

In the June HADAS Newsletter, the Barnet Local History Society Coach Outing to Greenwich was shown as Saturday 15th July. It should have been Saturday 18th July.

(Tel . 01707 858430 or 020 8440 8066 for more info. All welcome. Cost £15).

Wednesday 15th July, 7.30 pm, Willesden Local History Society. Meet at All Souls’ Church, All Souls Ave., Harlesden, NW10. Tour of the Church and the High Street, led by Fr. Michael Moorhead and Margaret Pratt (Hon. Sec.) Will inspect the restored Jubilee Clock and High Street from 8-8.30 pm, and return to the Church for tea.

Thursday 16th July, 7.30 pm, Camden History Society., Burgh House, New End Square, NW3 1LT. History of St Michael’s, Highgate. Talk by Roger Sainsbury. Visitors £1. Also, until Sunday 13th September, Old Hampstead Rediscovered – Art Exhibition displayed by Heath & Hampstead Society of rarely-seen old paintings of Hampstead. Open Wed-Fri and Sunday 12-5 pm. Free.

Also the Heath and Hampstead Society are jointly involved in The Summer open art exhibition, held at the top of Heath Street, NW3 on Sundays, from 28th June and 12th and 19th July from 12-5 pm, where works will be on sale.

Saturday 25th July 2-4 pm, Myddelton House Gardens, Bulls Cross, Enfield, EN2 9H9. Walking in the Footsteps of Mr Bowles – an informative tour highlighting the history of the man and his gardens. Cost: £4. (HADAS did resistivity here previously).

Tuesday 28th July, – Saturday 8th August, Barnet Guild of Artists, Christ Church, St. Alban’s Road, Barnet EN5 4LA. Summer Exhibition.

Saturday 18th –Wednesday 22nd July; and Saturday 15th-Wednesday 19th August. W.E.A.G. and Copped Hall Trust Archaeological Project Field Schools, 2015. Continuing excavation of the Tudor Grand House, Near Epping Forest. Cost £90 per week (non-residential). Course Directors: Christina Holloway, Lee Joyce and John Shepherd. For further information and to book, contact Mr. Andrew Madeley, 27 Hillcrest Road, South Woodford, London E18 2JL (Tel. 020 8491 6514, e-mail coppedhalldigs@weag.org.uk or access www.coppedhalltrust.org.uk )

Sunday 2nd August, 2.30 pm. Heath & Hampstead Society, Burgh House, New End Square, NW3 1LT: Flora of the Heath. Walk led by David Bevan (former Haringey Conservation Officer). Lasts approximately two hours. Donation £8.

Tuesday 11th August, 2pm, Guildhall Library, Aldermanbury EC2V 7HH. The Remarkable History of Temple Bar. Talk by Robert Stephenson (COLAS). Free, but please book in advance on Everbrite: e-mail GHLevents@cityoflondon.gov.uk . Tel. 020 7332 1869, or visit www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/guildhalllibrary (Robert gave the May Lecture on the Knights Templar).

Tuesday 11th August, 7.45 pm, Amateur Geological Society, The Parlour, St Margaret’s Church, Victoria Ave., N3 1BD (off Hendon Lane). Members’ Evening. Talks by members, including Sue Jacobs on Sixty Degrees North, and Mike Howgate (Chairman) on The River Stort and the Ice Age, and a display of entries for their competition.

Wednesday 19th August, 9 am. Mill Hill Historical Society, Coach trip to Thetford and Bressingham Gardens. Thetford was once the capital of the Iceni, and is believed to have been the residence of Boudicca. It is also the site of the tallest Norman motte in the country. Although all traces of the castle have gone, there are many Viking and Saxon remains in the town museum. After lunch we go to the Blooms of Bressingham Gardens. There are also a couple of miniature steam railways here. Depart Hartley Hall, Flower Lane, NW7 at 9 am. Latest date for booking is Friday 24th July to Keith Dyall, 26 Millway, NW7 3RB. Price £25. (Phone 020 8959 7147/07788 677103). Please send S.A.E. together with cheque payable to Mill Hill Historical Society, stating your name and address, telephone number and e-mail address. Trip will depart for home at 5 p.m.

Friday 21st August, 7 pm. COLAS, St. Olave’s Parish Hall, Mark Lane, EC3R 7LQ. Members’ Night: An Archaeological Miscellany. Members’ presentations. Visitors £2. Light refreshments afterwards.

Thursday 27th August, 11 am, Mill Hill Historical Society, Walking tour of City churches. We hope to visit around ten churches, a few of which survived the Great Fire, several built by Wren, and a later one built by his successors. Meet at Tower Hill by the food and drink “tram” at 11 am. Led by Anne Marie Craven (Blue Badge Guide). Book with Julia Haynes, 38 Marion Road, NW7 4AN. Price £9. Phone 020 8906 0563/ 07803 892496. Please send S.A.E, with cheque payable to Mill Hill Historical Society, stating your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address. We finish near St. Paul’s

Sunday 30th August, 3-5 pm, Avenue House (Now Stephens House), East End Road, N3 3QE. Bothy Garden. Annual Garden Party. (See also Sunday 16th August.)

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With thanks to this month’s contributors: Stephen Brunning, Don Cooper, Audrey Hooson, Eric Morgan, Jim Nelhams, Jo Nelhams and Mary Rawitzer.