Past Newsletters

Newsletter-261-December-1992

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

January no meeting

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

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

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

Mongols by Dr John Curtis (postponed from November)

Tuesday 6 April EXCAVATIONS AT FULHAM PALACE by Keith Waterhouse.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NEWS OF MEMBERS

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

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

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

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

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

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

TRIBUTES TO GEORGE INGRAM

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

REPORT ON FIELDWORK IN EDGWAREBURY PARK by Brian Wrigley

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

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

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

SCHEME OF WORK

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

OBSERVATIONS

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

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

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

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

CONCLUSIONS

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

FINDS

2 struck flint flakes, 1 of Mesolithic type

1 medieval body sherd

Sundry post-medieval, Victorian, and modern pottery sherds

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

FURTHER WORK

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

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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

co-operation on site.

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

COURSES AND CONFERENCES

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

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

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

NEWS FROM OUR NEIGHBOURS

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

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

CUTTING THROUGH A CONFUSION!

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

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

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

HOT NEWS FROM HENDON from Andy Simpson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TWO BOOKS FOR CHRISTMAS

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

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

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

NEWSLETTER NO. 260 EDITED BY REVA BROWN NOVEMBER 1992

AT HOME

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

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

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

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

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

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

DIARY

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

Lecture by Clare Halpin, Assistant Director, Herts Archaeological Trust

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

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

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

January : No lecture

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

THE ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF LONDON

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

INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS Bill Firth

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A MAN’S EYE VIEW OF A MINIMART Bill Bass

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

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

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

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

EXCAVATION NEWS Bill Bass

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

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

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

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

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

DAY VISIT TO SOUTHWARK (26th September) Jackie Brookes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE – SIGHTSEERS’ GUIDE

Ancient burial mound,

Dramatic ruins,

Battle site,

Steeped in history,

Internationally significant

Time has passed it by

Historic town

Roman heritage

Linked with Elizabeth I

Glassy lump in a field

Stones in a field

Field without grassy lumps or stones

Built over a Saxon cesspit

Featured in a Hollywood movie

Miles from the nearest motorway

No McDonald’s in the High Street

Takeaway pizzas in walking distance

She spent one night in a house five miles away

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

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

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

Contact: Citysights of London phone: 071 955 4791

or 24-hour ansaphone: 081 806 4325

ISSUE NO. 259 EDITED BY MICKY COHEN OCTOBER 1992

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

DIARY

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

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

SATURDAY 10th OCTOBER: MINIMART MINIMART MINIMART !!

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

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

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

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

A41 BYPASS at BERKHAMSTED/BOXMOOR’.

By MARE HALPIN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, HERTS ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRUST.

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

JANUARY NO LECTURE

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

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

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

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

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

NOTES ON WEEKEND IN DORSET AUGUST 1992 Deirdre Barrie

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MEMBERS’ NEWS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SITE WATCHING – THE FROZEN NORTHERN BOUNDARIES

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

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

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

38 Galley Lane, Arkley – single storey front extension

Cherry Tree Cottage, Barnet Road,Arkley – side extension

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

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

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

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

SATURDAY DAY SCHOOLS at REWLEY HOUSE, OXFORD

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Archaeology Course Secretary, OUDCE, 1 Wellington Square,

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

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

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

(24 hour Ansaphone : 081 – 806 – 4325)

NEWSLETTER No. 258 Edited by Ann Kahn SEPTEMBER 1992

DIARY

All of September – “London: the underground city”. The Building Centre,26 Store St., London WCI. (Tunnels, rivers, sewers and habitat] free.

Saturday 26 September Day trip round Southwark. Details and application form enclosed.

Tuesday 6 Ocotober The opening lecture far the coming winter is by our old HADAS friend, Harvey Sheldon, entitled “The Roman pottery manufacturing site in Highgate Woods”. Harvey was the Museum of London’s Archaeology Officer for many years and in 1983 became Head of the Department of Greater London Archaeology until it ceased to exist last year.

Saturday 10 October – MINIMART -MINIMART – MINIMART – With the huge expense of Avenue House, the only place we have to work on finds, keep our library and store our possessions, fund-raising is even more important. Please advertise the MINIMART as much as possible, and bring as many friends as you can. (See separate leaflet for details).

Tuesday 3 November – Our lecturer, Dr. John Curtis, has regretfully had to postpone his lecture till 1993. The British Museum has changed the dates of a tour he is scheduled to lead in Iran. A replacement lecturer has been found at short notice, and it should be a very interesting evening – on a current excavation near to home. Its title is “Archaeological investigations in advance of the A41 bypass at Berkhamsted/Boxmoor.” By Clare Halpin, Assistant Director, Hertfordshire Archaeological Trust.

Tuesday 1 or 8 December Christmas Dinner. To be confirmed and finalised.

January No Lecture

Tuesday 2 February – “Ancient Near Eastern Cylinder Seals”. By Dr. Dominique Callon

Has anyone heard of a Davies Estate, building or area in or near New Barnet? It will fill a gap on the archaeology map HADAS are working on. Thanks.

BILL BASS

MUSEUM OF LONDON. More bad news for some of the staff, as there is talk of shedding up to 20 jobs soon.

SITE WATCHING AT THE OLD FORD MANOR, BARNET 10 August 1992 by ROY WALKER

The August Newsletter carried Brian Wrigley’s report on the April site-watching at the Old Ford Manor where foundations had been dug for a greenkeepers’ building. HADAS returned in August to observe the results of the demolition of the tractor shed situated within the moated area (see p.5 of the August Newsletter for plan). The Museum of London evaluation of December 1991 expressed concern that as nothing was known of the occupation features of this part of the site and as trial pits had revealed archaeological deposits of between .30m to .50m below the surface, it was important that ground reduction should not go below 130.80m O.D. in preparation for the construction of a car parking area where the shed had been.

The shed, a wooden construction with a low brick wall base on a concrete foundation had been demolished prior to our arrival leaving the concrete floor which had not been penetrated. The footings of the brick wall had been left in the ground and all debris removed. The top surface of the area to the south of the shed had been mechanically scraped and some vegetation and trees had been stripped from the west of the site near to the north/south arm of the moat. These works did not contravene the ground reduction recommendation. A visual survey of the cleared area did not locate any evidence of structures, foundations or ditches which might have required further inspection or excavation prior to the commencement of the building works, although a few sherds of pottery were found out of any recognizable context.

HADAS IN EGYPT! BILL BASS

No not exactly, but it felt like it on some of the hot weeekends during June/July at 19-29 High Street, Barnet, the latest HADAS dig which was completed on 30/7/1992, with various trenches and pits being back-filled to make the area safe. Features included a trench approx lm x 2m by lm deep, butting a substantial wall (see Newsletter 256) packed with loose earth and many flint nodules. Suggestions so far have been a soak-away or an outside urinal! Any other ideas would be gratefully received.

An unusually shaped pit possibly another soak-away produced much roof-tile, bone, fragments of wine glass and a fairly wide range of pottery fabrics. Some of the sherds are currently being re-fitted. Part vessels include a porringer (one handled bowl) in Borderware of c1590, a meat dripping tray of reduced redware – late 16thc. Other fabrics recovered were Cistercian ware 1500-1600 and a decorated handle sherd of Late Medieval Herts Glazed ware 1350-1400.

Some of the (to us) sizeable sherds of Herts Grey ware 1150-1300 from elsewhere on site can also be re-fitted. Finds processing continues at Avenue House, it is hoped to display material at forthcoming HADAS lectures.

WITNEY IN THE RAIN SHEILA WOODWARD

The excellence of HADAS outings has never been dependent upon fine weather (remember Hadrian’s Wall in 1975?) (cf below] so a wet day for our July excursion did not quench our enthusiasm, at times we even considered the rain an advantage!

First to Cassington for coffee, with the weather briefly dry. There was time to visit the Norman Church, of considerable interest but badly lacking a guide book or leaflet. The medieval oak pews are in good condition, glowing with the patina of years. The wall paintings are tantalizingly fragmentary. There is some fine old stained glass including attractive Flemish roundels.

At Witney it was raining heavily so we appreciated the canopy over the excavated ruins of the 12thc bishop’s manor. The bishop was Henry of Blois, brother of King Stephen, who became Bishop of Winchester in 1129. Wealthy and extravagant, this was but one of the great fortified palaces he built or rebuilt. (We saw another, Wolvesey Castle, when we visited Winchester). It featured the finest ashlar masonry and such luxuries as a chimney, a ventilation shaft and “the most spectacular latrine in Norman England”. It needs to be to justify that canopy, erected at a cost of £300,000 – estimated life of 25 years!

After lunch in the coach we ventured on a (dampish) conducted walk round Witney, a delightful little town still famous for its blankets. Its large central Green gives a feeling of spaciousness, and the surrounding buildings of various periods are handsome and well preserved. They include Tudor cottages and a house which harboured Oxford students during the Great Plague of 1665. At the south end is the Parish Church with its soaring Early English spire; on the side of the latter, if you know where to look, you can see a tiny stone monkey, commemorating one which escaped from a travelling fair, and took refuge on the steeple. North of the Green is the old Buttercross supported by 13 stout pillars and the graceful 17thc Town Hall, its open arcade designed to shelter local merchants selling grain. A small modern shopping precinct blends remarkably well with the older buildings.

Across the River Windrush a short but delightful walk through the water-meadows leads to Cogges and the Manor Farm Museum. Here the wet weather favoured us – the museum was uncrowded. “Museum” is almost a misnomer. It is a small working farm reflecting life at the turn of the century. The cows are milked by hand, the milk “set” in the medieval dairy, the cream skimmed, the butter hand-churned. In the yard the hens scuttle from under one’s feet or roost peacefully in the barn rafters. In the Victorian pigsty, Edwina, a handsome Tamworth, has gorgeous ginger eyelashes! Inside the manor house (13th to 17thc) the parlour was peaceful, the kitchens bustling. “Cook” in a mob cap and capacious apron mixed a Victoria sandwich and baked it on the range. A maid was spinning wool. Through the windows we could see the walled garden, rain-sodden, but bright with geraniums, marigolds and cornflowers.

Because of the rain we left Cogges early and had a bonus visit to South Leigh Church with its superb medieval murals. The paintings of the Last Judgment, and The Weighing of the Soul, are particularly lively, with vicious-looking demons thoroughly relishing their work. The medieval sinner was left in no doubt about his fate.

We enjoyed our day; the rain could not spoil it. Thank you, Dorothy!

Hopes for a nice summer survey of “Aeges Weir”, a possible Saxon/Medieval mill site near Edgwarebury Park are receding into a slightly colder winter survey, due to need for animal grazing.

BENTLEY PRIORY TESSA SMITH

Security checks were strictly enforced when a group of HADAS members reported to the Guardroom before assembling near the fibreglass replicas of a Hurricane and a Spitfire. We were lucky to have the opportunity of a guided tour of this wartime Fighter Command Headquarters, and what a surprise was in store for us.

Instead of gloomy corridors and grim offices, the Priory has recently been beautifully restored inside to a high standard of craftsmanship and comfort. It was from Bentley Priory, surrounded by barrage balloons, and from a secret underground bunker that King George VI, Churchill and Eisenhower monitored the D Day landings. In the Dowding Room are Air Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding’s chair, table and binoculars, together with combat reports, written up from pilots’ accounts of wartime action.

The first, 12thc, Priory is thought to have stood further down the hill from the present building, possibly in the area of Clamp Hill. In 1546 Henry VIII gave the lands and the Priory to Robert Needham, one of his noblemen, and so the Priory’s religious days ended. The history starts in 1766 when James Dubberly built the basis. In 1788 the Earl of Abercorn, John Hamilton, commissioned Sir John Soane to extend the house “in a more lavish and sumptuous manner”. In 1846 Dowager Queen Adelaide leased the Priory, and finding the stairs too difficult, used a downstairs suite, which has small and delicately painted flower panels on the moulded ceiling and a gold framed monogrammed mirror. In 1863 the estate was bought by Sir John Kelk, who built the Albert Memorial. He built the Grand Staircase, and added the Clock Tower, the most eye-catching part of the Priory’s roof-line; and a cedar garden, trees of which are still in evidence on parts of Stanmore Hill today. He also added a deer park, which is now part of Bentley Priory Open Space. A pathway, open to the public, runs from Boot Pond, Uxbridge Road, past the deer park and south side of Bentley Priory. Since 1863 the Priory has been a hotel (1882-1905) and a girls school until 1924. In 1924 it was sold, part to the Air Ministry, part to Middlesex County Council and part for building plots. In its heyday many famous people have visited, including William Pitt, Wellington, Wordsworth, Lady Emma Hamilton, Sarah Siddons and Sir Walter Scott.

The entrance Portico was designed by Sir John Soane to give shelter to guests awaiting their carriages. It has the original vaulted ceiling, Doric columns and arched windows with modern glass portraying airmen and aircraft. Last year the ceiling was repainted revealing the original design recently found under the old paintwork.

Paintings of aircraft and of Royalty hang on all the walls. One of particular interest shows an RAF plotting room with WAAFs plotting the movement of. aircraft. One member of the HADAS group was a WRAF plotter working at Bentley Priory during the war. She pointed out the actual window of her office. There is also the magnificently intricate Nottingham lace panel, 15ft long by 65 inches wide depicting various scenes and insignia connected with “this glorious epic in our history.” Some 30 panels were made, after which the Jacquard which controlled the pattern was destroyed. But a few of them have been traced to date.

In 1975 dry rot had spread disastrously and a campaign began to save the Priory, championed by the Queen Mother. In 1979 while renovations were in progress a huge fire broke out and devastated most of the main staircase, the Dowding Room and the original clock. It has cost £3m to restore the buildings.

Now, the Grand Staircase really is the showpiece of the Priory. The Portland Stone has been cleaned and restored. It rises majestically past stained glass windows, its gilded metal panels having survived the fire.

As we know, Bentley Priory is guarded vigilantly, not because of its costly interior, but because it is the centre of Strike Command and responsible for British airspace.

So, our thanks to Bill Firth for organizing this outing, which had something of interest for everyone, and for getting us out safely! We are also most grateful to our excellent and knowledgeable guide F/L Hebbes and to the President of the Mess Committee, Wing Commander G. S. F. Booker, who gave permission for this splendid visit. A History of Bentley Priory can be obtained from the Priory, price £2.00, all proceeds to the RAF Benevolent Fund.

TIMBER PALACE FOUND NEAR HADRIAN’S WALL HELEN GORDON

Older member may recall the fascinating, if rather wet, visit in 1975 – this (edited] report from “The Independent” (6/8/1992) may well whet the appetite for a repeat. A team led by Robin Birley of the Vindolanda Trust believes that they have found Hadrian’s headquarters – a beautifully decorated yet massive timber palace. The building is without parallel on Hadrian’s Wall. Each side is up to 50m (164ft) long and made of oak, it is the grandest wooden building ever found in the frontier zone. It also had a 10cm (4in) thick concrete floor – unique for the early second century Border area. The palace had four sides, standing around a large cobbled courtyard.

The 50 or more rooms appear to have been adorned with sumptious wall paintings, hundreds of fragments of which are being recovered. The wall paintings in reds, greens, yellows and browns, include floral patterns, an as yet undeciphered inscription in 15cm (6in) high letters and portray at least three people, all bearded. Hadrian, a fanatic philhelline, was the first to introduce beards into Roman society, beards being a predominantly Greek fashion.

Eighty wax writing tables have also been discovered inside three of the sixteen rooms which have so far been excavated; some of the tablets are 25cm (10in) square – four times the normal size.

Other finds include a 10cm (tin) pointed iron rod, possibly a map pointer, topped by a beautiful bronze leopard; woven part-reed, part-hark floor mats, pottery, wooden mugs, pieces of barrells and buckets, bobbins, shovels; and a huge wooden lock, hand carved to receive the tumblers of a giant key.

The construction of the building has been dated to between 120-130AD; Hadrian is believed to have arrived in exactly 122AD. Vindolanda – whose excavated remains are open to the public – was the midway point along the frontier, and would have been ideal as a headquarters for the construction of the Wall. It is also idyllically situated in a valley with two streams.

Discussions and negotiations are fairly well advanced with a view to conducting a dig or evaluation at the former Victoria Maternity Hospital, Wood Street, High Barnet, which is being partly demolished for development; other parts are listed Georgian buildings.

AN ARMCHAIR WEEKEND IN DORSET ROY WALKER

The library at Avenue House has a small but interesting selection of books on the theme of West Country archaeology, ideal for those members who were unable to participate in the HADAS Dorset weekend. Although billed as a “Dorset” weekend, Glastonbury and the Somerset Levels were visited and the Archaeology of Somerset (D.P.Dobson 1931), King Arthur’s Avalon (G.Ashe 1973) and The Bowl of Glaeston (R.Nichols 1962) provide good background to Glastonbury. The last named “book” is a typed monograph published for the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids and adds to the mystique of the site. Similarly The Mysteries of Avebury: the Avebury-Stonehenge Axis of the Powers by the same author, enhances the aura surrounding these two monuments. The 1939 HMSO guide to Stonehenge and Avebury by R.J.C.Atkinson is more down to earth but interesting if compared with later editions by the same author to see how interpretations have changed in the last thirty years. Windmill Hill and Avebury (I.F.Smith 1965) is a detailed report and appraisal of Alexander Keller’s excavations from 1925 to 1939, an excellent starting point for the armchair archaeologist as is Arthur Bulleid’s The Lake Villages of Somerset, first published in 1924. The HADAS version is the sixth edition (1968) revised by the author who was joint director of the original excavations started in 1910. The library has reprints of Sir Mortimer Wheeler’s first and second interim reports on The Excavations of Maiden Castle, Dorset taken from The Antiquaries Journal 1933 and 1936. We may not have all the recent publications but our books are themselves of historic value!

Of general interest are Dorset Coast and Country by Car (P. and H. Titchmarch 1977), a guide suitable for those planning their own excursions and Wessex, a Regional Archaeology (P.J.Fowier 1967) aimed perhaps at the younger reader. For the specialist, The Lost Roads of Wessex (C.Cochrane 1972) may encourage some research with a map. Our most recent book is The Archaeology of Rural Dorset – Past, Present and Future – monograph of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1982, which was kindly donated by Alec Goldsmith. This covers all periods from prehistory to post-medieval as well as the problems of agricultural damage and natural decay. Views expressed on the amateur archaeologist are competently stated and reassuring.

Please telephone 081 361 1350 if you wish to borrow any of the above or require further information about the library and the services it can provide.

Talking of Avenue House – builders have been busy restoring the wing destroyed by fire three years ago.

HENDON AERODROME BILL FIRTH

English Heritage has received a letter from the Ministry of Defence about the buildings of Hendon Aerodrome and has kindly sent us a copy. The Ministry admits the problem in selling the site is the planning conditions requiring the removal of the hangar to the RAF Museum and, since there has been no commercial interest in the site, is reviewing its marketing strategy.

In the meantime, as a result of ‘the apparent increase in theft and vandalism’ the Ministry of Defence Police have taken over the caretaking of the site from the commercial firm which was responsible. The buildings are being secured as far as practicable and some missing fixtures and fittings have been recovered.

As a personal view I wonder if some compromise on the hangar should be looked into. I believe it will be very difficult to find a buyer, even when boom conditions return, if the removal of the hangar to the RAF Museum site has to be financed. In due course all the buildings will rot away and nothing will remain. This is of course what the Ministry wants.

The hangar itself has no particular merit, it is the offices which are the historic part. If a sympathetic removal of the offices to a suitable setting in the RAF Museum could be achieved, all the other buildings could be left in situ. I believe retention of these would not prove a major difficulty to the sale of the site. I would like to have members’ views.

RAILWAY SIDELINES…

Spurn Point guards the entrance to the River Humber, an estuary which drains water from the Pennines via the Rivers Trent, Ouse and Derwent. For generations Spurn Point was inaccessible, and cut off in times of great storms.

Roads in the area were either impassible or nonexistent and consequently all materials had to be brought down the Humber by water. Nevertheless the area was vulnerable to attack particularly during the two World Wars, and work on permanent coastal defences began in 1912. Bull Fort still stands in the entrance to the deep water channel.

For some reason a railway was built from Spurn Point northwards towards Kilnsea, but not connected to the main line. The Spurn Head railway remained isolated serving only the military, a few locals and the lifeboat station. (This station at Spurn is the only one in the country manned by a paid permanent crew). Although trains ran hourly during the day, the official service was augmented by the famous “sail bogies” – wind driven flat trucks, of which two are known to have been used. Sadly the last sail bogies ran at the end of World War II and the line was demolished in 1951. However parts of the track are occasionally exposed following storms or unusual tidal conditions. The appearance of the track is supposed to herald national disaster. It “appeared* recently in 1973, 1979 and 1982, years of General Elections and of the Falklands War.[Edited extract from Littleton Scene (Civil Service Sailing Association) July/August 1992. – Ed.1

P.S. It has been decided that the coastal defences are too costly to repair and to let nature take its course. The Times 22/8/1992 – Ed.

MEMBERS NEWS

BOOK REVIEW W. H. GELDER

No one can resist reading the history of their old school. Those who went to St. James’ or All Saints C. of E. School, Oakleigh Road, Whetstone, now have that pleasure to hand. John Heathfield and Percy Reboul, both Old Boys of the school in question, (and HADAS members] have combined their considerable talents to tell the story of The Origins, history and development” of their old primary schools.

Percy Reboul is a keen photographer and assiduous recorder on tape of other people’s memories, while John Heathfield is an ex-headmaster and schools inspector (of other schools), and now holds the scarcely less distinguished positions of chairman of Barnet Local History Society, curator of Barnet Museum (and HADAS committee member]. So who could tell the history of a school with more sympathy, understanding and authority?

The book, a 27 page large-size paperback, is called “Teach us this Day”, and disentangles, with the help of diagram and chart, the somewhat complicated metamorphosis of six different infant and primary schools on three different sites, leading finally to the establishment in 1969 of All Saints’ Junior Mixed and Infants’ School in Oakleigh Road.

It can’t, obviously, include names of pupils but it gives names of many class teachers and all headteachers, from the original 1809 Almshouse Charity School down to (or should we say up to?) Philip Elgar, present head of All Saints School, with his photograph. There are 14 other photographs, the earliest of a boys’ class in St. James’ School in about 1878. There is even a 1992 school dinner menu for four weeks, to make your mouth water (or stomach heave).

Not the least engaging part of the book are the memories of five old pupils (all girls) and one teacher, all of whom remain anonymous; from modesty one surmises, rather than possible retribution. The earliest was born in 1906 and went to school in 1911. They recall all aspects of school life, the sometimes fearful as well as the warmly nostalgic.

The book costs £3.50 and is available at Barnet Museum during its five open sessions a week, where Mr Heathfield may sometimes be on hand to enhance the value of a copy by signing it. It is also available from Percy Reboul; Whetstone Books in Oakleigh Road, or direct from the School itself.

Course Successes – Please let us know if there are any more.

Bill Bass – 1st year Field Archaeology Course with Paul Craddock at City Lit.

Roy Walker ditto

Micky Cohen – 4th Year Diploma at the Institute of Archaeology

Celia Gould – One-time Newsletter editor. Following a year studying Latin,

Celia has got the study bug and given up work to start a full time three year degree course in “Ancient World Studies” at London University.

Paul Wernick – One-time photographer for us. Not very archaeological but we’d like to congratulate him on gaining an MSc in “Computer Science”. He is a year into his PhD in “Software Engineering”.

OBITUARY

We are sad to announce, somewhat belatedly, that the husband of Mair Livingstone, also a member of HADAS, died suddenly last October. Our deepest sympathy goes to her and all her family and friends. She has asked that all future correspondence etc should be addressed to her:

Mair Livingstone, 21 Park Avenue, NW11 7SL (081 455 7600)

NEWSLETTER NO. 257 Edited by Anne Lawson AUGUST 1992

DIARY

Friday 21 August to Weekend in Dorset. No cancellations so far, but there still could be if anyone wants to go on the waiting list. (Tel. 081-203 0950).

Saturday 26 September – Mary O’Connell’s walk has developed into a full day outing with coach – there is so much to see in Southwark. Our visits will cover the Bear Gardens Museum including the photographic exhibition of the Rose Theatre excavations and the site of the new Globe. We will walk along the river to the old St Thomas’s Operating Theatre and Herb Garret, visit the Cuming Museum which will have an exhibition entitled “Immortal Remains’ – Southwark’s Mediaeval Past. Our day will end with a call at the Bramah tea and Coffee Museum. Details and application form will be enclosed with the September Newsletter.

Tuesday 6 October – “The Roman Pottery Manufacturing Site in Highgate Woods” by Harvey Sheldon. First in new season of HADAS lectures.

Saturday 10 October – MINIMART at St Mary’s Church House, Hendon.

Tuesday 3 November – “Excavations in Northern Iraq – from the Greeks to the Mongols” by Dr John Curtis. HADAS lecture.

SUBSCRIPTION REMINDER: There are still a number of subscriptions which haven’t been paid. Please would anyone who has not sent in their subs please do so as soon as possible. Subs. listed below.

Full membership £6.00, additional family members £2.00

Retired £4.00, each additional family member £2.00

Junior Members £4.00

Group Membership £8.00

VISIT ON SATURDAY 20TH JUNE to JOHN TAYLOR & CO. (BELLFOUNDERS) AND FOUNDRY MUSEUM LOUGHBOROUGH

On Saturday 20 June 40 plus members of the Society travelled to Loughborough to the Bell Foundry of John Taylor & Co. Ltd. After meeting with our guide for the visit, Mr Jennings, we proceeded into the moulding and casting shop, an early Victorian building of vast size dominated by a huge 10-ton crane, where 14th century methods meet the technology of the 20th century. Mr. Jennings pointed out that if a moulder or caster from the thirteen hundreds came into the shop today he would recognise most of the processes being used, the modern electric furnace replacing the earlier oil and coke reverberating furnaces being the main modern addition to a very old craft. We started with the mould forming process: a core of fire bricks and coke is covered with a mix of sand, fine chopped hay and horse manure, (the horse being the most efficient method of chopping the hay and mixing with manure!) The core shape was formed with a rotary scraper shaped to the inside of the bell. These scrapers are both inside and outside formers, and are the patterns for all bells from small hand to large church bells. The outer mould was made in a perforated bell shaped iron case, lined with the same sand/manure mix. This also was shaped with the same rotary former to the outer shape.

The moulds are baked at 1500C until dry, then all surface cracks are filled with the same mixture and rebaked. When removed the surfaces of both moulds are coated with graphite and the inscription and trademark are hammered into the surface – this entails working backwards around a curved surface. When all is ready the two halves are fitted together and clamped.

When sufficient moulds of a volume to make a furnace run practicable are ready, they are all buried mouth down in the sand floor of the shop (this is 15 feet deep), with gas vents running to the surface from each bell mouth. The sand supports the mould during casting. The furnace is loaded to give a metal mix of 77% copper, 23% tin. When poured in to the crucible, it is stirred with a willow branch to help remove oxygen and to act as a flux. The mould is filled with metal and allowed to cool for 3-5 hours depending on size.

We then moved to the tuning shop, again a Victorian building with a floor of oak blocks, end grain up, to protect the bell rims and absorb vibration. The bell is held mouth up in a vertical boring lathe. This machine was made to order, some parts were new with gears from a weaving machine, and a worm gear from a scrapped merchant ship. Metal is removed from inside the bell to tune it. The bell is rung by hand and they use tuning forks and modern electronic acoustic equipment to tune the bell, removing metal as required until perfect.

At this stage we had to curtail our very informative visit as time had defeated us, but we feel sure had we stayed all day Mr Jennings could have continued to explain the full procedure to us, a subject he is obviously enthusiastic about.

A further point of interest – in the parish Church in Loughborough are three bust relief plaques. These are of three generations of Taylors, cast in bell metal. The church bells were the first to be case by Taylors as an itinerant bell founder; they then remained and established the factory.

By THE FAMILY BROMLEY

and then on to:

LOUGHBOROUGH RECTORY

The appearance of the Rectory seems to have varied considerably since its first mention in the 12th century. (HADAS members who peered and puzzled over two sketches of earlier rectories and, tried to match up remaining wondows and archways will vouch for this.) For a while the medieval “bones” were covered up by a 17th century gabled facade – later there was a fire, then the rebuilt Rectory facade assumed a dullish 19th century aspect.

In the sixties the local authorities hoped to have the whole site cleared and used for an old people’s home. Cliffhanging and controver­sial dramas ensued. After partial demolition, Loughborough Archaeological Society carried out a valuable survey on what was left. What remains now is the ruin of the medieval great hall (two high, roofless walls) joining on to the reroofed buttery and solar. The Rectory has keen and knowledg­eable local devotees who shepherded HADAS members round a museum of very mixed donations. (It was mortifying to note that many of the items were still well within living memory, or even still being used in the kitchens of less status-conscious members!)

A 19th century tombstone gave the history of a local dropsical lady and showed a table of how often fluid had been drawn off, how much, the total amount, and the name of the doctor who had prolonged her life. (An early medical commercial!)

RUSHTON TRIANGULAR LODGE

The Lodge was begun in 1593 by Sir Thomas Tresham, an Elizabethan Catholic, often imprisoned, and fined over £7000 for non-attendance of church. (Our guide showed us his portrait, suitably sombre in an elegant suit of foreign-looking armour.)

This is a unique curiosity of a building, three-sided and with every detail symbolic of the Holy Trinity: trefoil-shaped windows (which also pun on the Tresham coat of arms), triple gables, three floors, and suitable Latin mottoes on each facade. We clambered around the spartan interior wondering vaguely if the building had ever been used for anything.

GEDDINGTON ELEANOR CROSS

The Eleanor Cross at Geddington was one of the memorial crosses erected in 1294 by Edward I to mark the resting places of the body of his Queen, Eleanor, on its way to London. The monument’s survival is quite remarkable – it seems so slender and delicate. There is an ancient well at its base which dates back to Roman times. HADAS members (in two shifts) enjoyed a delicious cream tea. Some of us visited the Church of St Mary Magdalene, where our guide pointed out a door in the North aisle which is still known as “the King’s Door”.

There was a Royal Palace in Geddington from the 11th to the 14th centuries.

This was another of Dorothy Newbury’s entertaining and educational days – luckily she has a hotline to the weathermen as well.

D. BARRIE

BARNET DIG (SO FAR BEFORE THE FINAL REPORT)

The excavation team continues to make good progress on the High Street Barnet excavation, now entering its final stages.

The “undated ditch” mentioned in the previous report turned out to be a modern pipe trench – only one of the many modern disturbances on the site. Further excavation of the substantial wall foundation, also men­tioned previously, suggests that this formed part of the former “Red Lion” (now “Dandy Lion”) pub when it extended across the present site of Fitzjohn Avenue. This particular wall may belong to a cellar.

Residual sherds of Herts grey and other medieval pottery continue to be found in later contexts, but as yet there is no sign of medieval or earlier structures, perhaps due to the heavy disturbance of the site by nineteenth century and later building activity.

A large post-medieval pot yielded quantities of possibly 17th-19th century pottery – the most notable concentration of finds on the site.

Turn-out from the Society has been good – we have been pleased to welcome a couple of new volunteers, in addition to reclaiming one or two regulars from previous digs in the area. The next stage, of course, will be the cleaning and study of the finds at Avenue House, and the preparation of the final report.

ANDY SIMPSON

REPORT ON SITE-WATCHING AT OLD FOLD MANOR, BARNET 21-25 APRIL 1992

On our arrival we found the contractors’ excavation for the building as shown in Fig 1. No sign remained of the archaeological evaluation trench, but we took measurements from the Tractor Shed to establish the position of the contractors’ trenches, using the plan in the evaluation report as a base.

John Heathfield (Curator of Barnet Museum) told us the area had been a tennis court built about 1925, going out of use some years ago; a thin (5-10cm) layer of brown above black representing this tennis court could be seen in virtually all the baulks of the contractors’ trenches, ending or fading out towards the north and east sides.

We had no bench mark from which to record any levels, and it was not possible to establish the ground level at the time of the evaluation – there appeared to have been backfilling and re-excavation. The contractors’ excavation did not go more than about 25cm below this tennis court layer.

Two photographs were taken at B on Fig 1, and at A-A’ where a section was drawn also (Fig 2). This position was chosen so as to give a section further north than the evaluation trench, and to take advantage of the contractors’ excavation. Only a few post-medieval sherds were found in clearing this section.

Under BDLHS supervision, a metal detector was run over the whole site, with no significant result. Two pieces of Victorian pottery were found.

TRAINING COURSE AT ROMAN VILLA IN WORTLEY, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

For anyone who has not had any theoretical or practical tuition on archaeology I can recommend the non-excavational training course which is run by Keele University near Wotton-on-Edge, Gloucestershire.

I have recently spent two weeks at Wortley, the first week was a non-­excavational course followed by a week of practical digging.

During the first week I was shown the technicalities of archaeology which included environmental archaeology, resistivity, surveying, animal bone analysis, soil analysis, how to deal with finds, how to keep records, and planning which included sectional drawing.

The second week was more exhausting; for anyone who has not done .digging, I suggest that you dig for a half day only and spend the after­noon washing and cleaning finds.

There are excellent bed and breakfast establishments located in the area especially at Nibley House, North Nibley, which is the local stately home. The Villa Site Director also lives there. Camping is also available at Nibley House – this is what I opted for, being a tent enthusiast.

There are excellent hostelries in the area for the evening meal, and of course the “apres dig” is excellent.

JIM SMITH

LONDON’S NEW CANAL MUSEUM

I recently paid a visit to the London Canal Museum at 12 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RT, just off York Way by Kings Cross Station. It was officially opened earlier this year by Princess Anne, but unfortunately did not receive much publicity.

It is housed in the former ice warehouse of Carlo Gatti, a Swiss-Italian immigrant who built a hugely successful business importing ice from Norway, and who died a millionaire in 1878. His first shipload in 1857 consisted of 400 tons at 17 shillings a ton. Although the ice business declined with the advance of refrigeration after W.W.I, several Gatti enterprises, including cafes, ice-cream parlours, restaurants and music halls, lasted until W.W.II.

The Canal museum, on two floors, has some interesting exhibits, including a fascinating video with archive film of London street scenes and life on the Regents Park Canal in 1924. The principal point of interest is however the two massive underground caverns, or ice wells, half-full of debris and as yet only partially excavated.

The Museum (tel: 071-713 0836) is open 10.00 – 16.30 hours Tuesday to Sunday until the end of September; car parking can be difficult on week­days. As its director/curator, Nigel Sadler, is a professional archae­ologist, we can be sure the building is in good hands.

STEWART J. WILD

CHURCH FARM, HENDON – “A HOUSE AND ITS FAMILIES” (Ends 1st November 1992)

This exhibition marks the “re-launch” of Church Farmhouse Museum, and looks at the building as a dwelling, as a farm and as a museum, and emphasises its importance in the development of Hendon. As well as material from the museum’s own collections from the Barnet Archives, farming and dairy equipment lent by the museum of English Rural Life at Reading is on show.

During the exhibition there will be various weekend events – with demonstrations of weaving, spinning and corn-dolly making already planned.

If you can’t come beforehand, why not combine seeing the exhibition with your visit to the HADPS Minimart in October?

(Please note our new opening hours: Mon-Thursday 10-S. Friday CLOSED; Saturday 10-1, 2-5.30; Sunday 2-5.30.)

A MAP OF ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE BOROUGH OF BARNET BRIAN WRIGLEY

In Newsletter 254 the Editor’s note to “Library News” referred to the Borough of Barnet’s request for a plot of the archaeology in the Borough and our work starting on this. Readers may like to know some more about this and how we are getting on – even though it may be a little boring:

The story of the current work really starts in 1990 with the discussions on Barnet’s new Unitary Development Plan, when we and the museum of London pressed for an archaeological map to be included in the UDP; however, the Borough(pressed as it no doubt was in obtaining consensus on a myriad of topics other than archaeology) preferred to leave the question of an archaeological map to be dealt with on the first review of the UDP, to take place about a year after its adoption. We accepted this – for after all, the Borough accepted virtually the entirety of our suggestions to amend the wording of the UDP. Now is the time when preparations for this first review are being made.

Meanwhile, as we all know, the official organisation of London archae­ology has much changed – the Museum of London’s Department of London Archaeology has disappeared, and English Heritage have appeared on the London scene as the official archaeological advisers to London Boroughs. But at least all parties (the Borough Planners, HADAS, Museum of London and English Heritage) were agreed on the importance of a map and on the 27 February 1992 we were asked to help in its preparation. Unable, in the first instance, to establish whether any draft map already existed with any of the official bodies, and not hearing of any moves by others to start on one, HADAS got moving; (perhaps we had the advantage of not being troubled by budgets and funding, since we do it for fun anyway). The written catalogues available to us were:‑

DGLA Gazetteer of Barnet 1984 (revised about 1988), incorporating: HADAS Stone Artefact Gazetteer by Daphne Lorimer 1979 HADAS Roman Gazetteer by Helen Gordon 1979

Sites and monuments Record compiled by DGLA on computer (of which we have a printout now about 2 years old, of over 200 pages); this should include all the information from the earlier Gazetteers, which however should be checked.

We started on the DGLA Gazetteer, and indeed had spent quite some time on the laborious job of transposing the information on to a 1:10,000 map (abstracted from our copy of the UDP) before the Borough notified us, in response to our earlier enquiries, that they had a set of maps with this information plotted, which they could supply us with – which they did, very quickly, by special delivery. However, we found that their plot was based on the unrevised 1984 edition of the Gazetteer, so the numbering varied slightly from ours and all had to be checked through. Helen Gordon had meanwhile been hard at work checking our Roman road information, enabling us to check this against the Borough maps too. Bill Firth

rallied round also, at short notice, to prepare a gazetteer of Industrial Archaeology to be included in our draft. And then … we heard from the Museum of London that they had a draft map of findspots started some time ago, of which they could supply a copy. I went to the Museum and collec­ted this; it of course should show the same information, but using a different numbering of sites from any of our other sources, so that every marked spot has to be checked to see that we have it marked, and that our lists coincide….

(Are you still there, dear reader? I did warn it might get a little boring!)

It was at this stage that George Dennis of the Museum made a most help­ful suggestion to the Borough; that we should first concentrate, for UDP purposes, on marking areas of Archaeological Priority, i.e., generally known settlement nuclei such as medieval villages; this could be done quite quickly, leaving a detailed map of find spots to follow later, as essentially an informative tool for planners and developers. We immedi­ately went to work on this, using the oldest maps available in the Local History Library as our main research tool, and were able by 25 May to provide the Borough with a complete map with priority areas marked in draft; the Borough kindly and promptly made copies of our draft, supply­ing them to us, the museum and English Heritage so that consultation between us all can take place to finally approve the areas.

Meanwhile, we are still proceeding with the slog of preparing the second map, of sites and find spots, and collating our various sources, although this is at the moment somewhat interrupted by outdoor work while the fine weather lasts. But there is no doubt the hard work is well worthwhile for the benefit of archaeology in Barnet, which is entering a new phase of official integration into the planning process, with co-operation on all sides.

FREEDOM OF THE CITY OF LONDON FOR MARY O’CONNELL

On Friday July 24th, Mary O’Connell was honoured to be admitted to the Freedom of the City of London. The ceremony took place in the Chamberlain’s Suite at the Guildhall. It was a formal but friendly occasion. The walls of the small ceremonial room displayed richly illuminated certificates of Freedom of Nelson, Pitt and Wellington. However, any British subject can be admitted to the Freedom. There are three ways of admittance: by patri­mony, being the child of a Freeman; by servitude, apprenticeship to a Freeman; and. by redemption, being presented through a Livery Company. Mary was recommended by members of both the Basketmakers and the Skinners Livery Companies.

Standing in front of the clerk, who was robed for the occasion, Mary read the solemn declaration clearly, luckily no longer in Latin, vowing that she would “know no gatherings, nor conspiracies but would “warn the mayor thereof.” A privileged party of family and friends witnessed the short ceremony. Then we “gathered” but not “conspired” together at the Chapter House of St Paul’s Cathedral, which was opened especially for Mary, by the Friends of St Paul’s. On this occasion portraits of past Deans smiled down on the very happy gathering which toasted the newest and much admired Freeman of the City of London – Mary O’Connell. We all wondered – does this make Mary a Free Woman?

TESSA SMITH

DIARY

OUTING TO WITNEY – to see the recently excavated 12th century Bishop’s Manor which will shortly be open to the public. We had originally planned to also visit North Leigh Roman Villa but hadn’t realised that this was included in a recent outing organised by Sheila Woodward. We will instead spend the afternoon at Cogges Manor. Details and application form enclosed.

VISIT TO BENTLEY PRIORY –

contact Bill Firth, 49 Woodstock Avenue, NW11 Full details in May Newsletter.

WEEKEND IN DORSET, staying in Sherborne and visiting Avebury, Dorchester, Maiden Castle, Cerne Abbas, Abbotsbury, Somerset Levels Centre and Glastonbury. The trip is fully booked but we are happy to put any interested member on the waiting list. There can always be last minute cancellations.

Will booked-in members please send balance to Dorothy Newbury if they have not already done so – Thanks.

A WALK IN SOUTHWARK with Mary O’Connell

THE ROMAN POTTERY MANUFACTURING SITE IN HIGHGATE WOODS” by Harvey Sheldon First in new season of HADAS lectures.

MINIMART – at St Mary’s Church House, Hendon

“EXCAVATIONS IN NORTHERN IRAQ – from the Greeks to the Mongols” by Dr John Curtis HADAS lecture.

MEMBERS NEWS

MARY O’CONNELL, our member who lectures to us occasionally, and will in September be again taking us on one of her fascinating walks, has received the honour of being made a Freeman of the City of London. Mary, a City Guide, has no plans to exercise a privilege accorded to City Freeman – that of driving her sheep through the City! Congratulations, Mary!TAMARA BAKER, a long-standing member who came regularly to lectures and outings, has been laid low with a leg operation. We are pleased to hear she is recovering well.

DOROTHY THOMAS, joined the Society in 1973. She moved to Dunoon in 1984 and has continued membership with us till now. We would like to thank her for her 20 years of interest in the Society.

FRIEDA WILKINSON. Helen Gordon reports that Frieda is home again after another spell in hospital, and is improving. Frieda would be happy to hear from, and see, HADAS friends.

REDISCOVERING POMPEII FRED KING

This is an exhibition not to be missed by anybody interested in Roman history and the story of Pompeii in particular, I would heartily commend it to HADAS members. It has not been very widely advertised – it was mentioned in the “Ancient” magazine, it would be open until 21st June. I had not been able to find any more about it, until making an infrequent journey on the Underground and seeing posters displayed. Anybody not normally travelling by Tube could miss it altogether.

I had been keen to see the exhibition, having visited Pompeii (and also warmed my hands on the steam vents around the rim of Vesuvius!) Much of the city was unexcavated at that time – 1982 – and many acres still are. It was possible to see the great mounds of ash still covering parts of the city.

The exhibition is extremely well organised, and the 200 objects on display have never before been exhibited in the UK. All are finds from very recent excavations.

Due to the circumstances of the eruption most of the artifacts are complete and largely undamaged, and hence are more impressive than the shards to be seen in the Roman galleries of most museums. One of the first items to be seen is the body of a young woman, encased in transparent epoxy resin, personifying the tragedy of the disaster.

Amongst the domestic items is a magnificent food warmer, the workmanship of which would be difficult to equal today. In a small edition it resembles the old wood-fired stoves sometimes seen in early country churches. The wealth of the patrician Romans is exemplified by the fine statues and splendid frescoes which adorned their villas. These frescoes and the scenes shown on the many urns and bowls provide a fascinating picture of the Roman way of life. To highlight this further a number of examples are shown of graffiti – a lot more imaginative than that of today! Also, tablets of the love letters and poems sent by the young bloods to their girl friends.

Technology has been widely used to enhance understanding of life in Pompeii and the effects of the eruption. IBM was largely responsible for the audio-visual displays in each of the galleries. It is possible to see graphic simulation of the phases of the eruption, to walk through the streets of Pompeii and, by finger touch on the screen, visit houses and see many of the artistic displays. The rooms upstairs show the detailed history of the excavations of Pompeii from the earliest times. It was a very enjoyable and interesting afternoon!

Fortunately for us, Fred advises that the closing date has been extended to 2nd August, and the location is ACCADEMIA ITALIANA, 24 Rutland Gate, off Knightsbridge.

KEEPER “FLABBERGASTED” BY NEW LION

The British Museum recently acquired a 7th C BC Assyrian limestone relief carving of a wounded lion in its death throes. Originally excavated at Nineveh in the mid-1800’s by W K Loftus and artist William Boutcher, the 31x17cm carving had “disappeared” and was only known by photograph. It has now been donated by an anonymous descendant of Boutcher. The Keeper of the Dept of Western Asiatic Antiquities at the BM, Dr John Curtis described it as one of the museum’s most important acquisitions that he can remember. You will have the chance to quiz Dr Curtis further on his new pet when he gives the HADAS November lecture!

THEY’RE BACK AGAIN

As part of their master plan to excavate the whole of medieval High Barnet, on Saturday 6th of June the HADAS excavation team began work on a new site in Barnet High Street. The site, on the corner of Fitzjohn Avenue and High Street, opposite the “Dandy Lion” pub, was until recently occupied by small single-storey shops, and had been cleared by the site owners, Bishops, along with the adjacent Guyscliffe House. Readers may remember that in 1990 the team excavated the area to the south of the then-standing Guyscliffe House and revealed medieval pebble yard surfaces and deposits; the present site was identified as being of interest at the time and we are pleased to be able to investigate the area further through the kind assistance of Mr Bishop.

Using a borrowed JCB, the concrete shop floors and shallow brick wall foundations at the NW corner of the site were quickly removed and a 9×1 metre trial trench cut on a North-South axis also. The area under excavation was limited by the presence of adjacent rubble-filled former cellars. The area was then cleaned by shovel/trowel. Several features became apparent within the trench, including a possible post-medieval pot, an undated ditch, and a substantial flint/brick/tile wall foundation, sealed by demolition rubble, at the northern end of the trench, below the concrete shop floor.

The site is heavily disturbed in places, but trowelling of the less disturbed edge quickly revealed several very sizable sherds of thumbnail decorated (rim and body) Hertfordshire grey ware, C1200 AD, probably from the same vessel. It is hoped to investigate the site further over the coming weeks. As always, new volunteers will be welcome to join the band of regulars. Cheers, Andy.

EARLY MAN IN AFRICA – THE CRADLE OF MANKIND

We hear that Margaret Beesley, London University extra-mural lecturer in Archaeology, is getting up a party to go to South Africa in January 1993. This will be a ten-day visit to fossil hominid sites. It is being organised in conjunction with David Price-Williams who lectured to HADAS some time ago. There will be opportunities to examine fossil skulls in museum collections, and casts of recently discovered hominid fossils, as well as visits to a private game reserve and rock art sites. Accommodation will be in “Holiday lnn”-style hotels, and travel by minibus. The cost of £1,490 includes air fares to and from Johannesburg, accommodation, taxes, tips, the services of tour leaders etc. The only extras will be personal purchases and drinks.

HADAS members and friends are invited to obtain further details from Margaret Beesley at 65, Langham Road, Teddington, TW11 9HF, tel: 081 977 3524.

ISLE OF MAN PHYLLIS FLETCHER

Last May I went with Muriel Large, Diana Watson, Marjorie Errington and Eunice Wilson – all members of HADAS – on a most interesting week’s visit to the Isle of Man with the Historical Fellowship. We stayed with forty other friends at an hotel in Douglas. The tour was organised by Mr and Mrs John Shakespeare of Pennine Travel, with David Freke, an archaeologist.

The first day we went to the Manx Museum and had a lecture with slides on the history of the Island, then to Kirk Michael to see the Celtic Crosses. We visited many Iron Age and Norse houses during the week. At Castle Rushen the interior is being re-created as it was when built, with tapestries on the walls, roaring fires, and tables laid for banquets. We visited Tynwald Hill, the Manx Parliament where they proclaim new laws each year on July 5th. We travelled on the Steam Railway and Manx Electric Railway to see the Laxey Wheel, and were lucky to have a clear day to see all the beautiful scenery on the Island. We were taken to Cregneash Village, a Village Folk Museum where we saw the remains of a Norse Long House. We rode on a horse-drawn tram prior to visiting the top of Snaefell on another nice clear day. In all, it was a most enjoyable week with so much to see on a small island – I would recommend a holiday there!

Unfortunately, Mrs Frieda Wilkinson was unable to join us – her friends of the Historical Fellowship send their best wishes for her speedy recovery to good health.

Dorothy says: how about a HADAS week there in 1993?

OUTING TO SUTTON HOUSE, HACKNEY & WALTHAM ABBEY

Hot sunshine burning through clear blue skies followed forty of us from HADAS on our first outing of 1992, on Saturday 16 May. Our first stop was Sutton House. An hour or so investigating the successive stages of the house’s development enabled us to see for ourselves what an unusual acquisition this property is for the National Trust. Since restoration work was still in full swing we carefully picked our way around what had become a building site, incorporating elements of the original fine Tudor merchant’s brick house (called “the bryk place”), and later alterations of the 17th and 18th centuries. It was good to see panelling styles of three different centuries being skillfully renovated. On site it was easy to appreciate what a loss the theft of the Tudor panels had constituted and to rejoice in their return to grace, in keeping with original fireplaces. The present phase of restoration is scheduled to finish by September of this year. Both the full external renovation and imaginative community use projected for the house should make it a place for return visits.

Our journey continued through the bustle and heat of East London, passing through the trappings of more modern signs of successive settlers on the flat river lands, until we climbed out into the fresh fields surrounding Waltham and it’s abbey. Dr Ken Bascombe was our scholarly guide to the Visitor Centre, finely excavated Abbey Forge and outlying monastic precincts. In the cool of the Abbey itself we were treated to personal reminiscences of the recent excavations – would they could have been revealed before our eyes! In addition to the splendours of 12th century Romanesque columns, successive phases of architecture were discernable. Of particular interest is the medieval Domesday wall painting in the 14th century Lady Chapel.

Provision of cream teas taken in the delightful timber-framed row of buildings adjoining the Market Square complemented the afternoon tour. Abbey bells rang a peal across the sun-drenched precincts, a knell of contentment on yet another most worthwhile outing, so ably arranged by Dorothy – to whom, our thanks!

AIDING THE SOCIETY’S WORKS VICTOR JONES

HADAS provides a wide range of activities in which many people find interest and pleasure, evidenced by the continuing large membership over the years. Winter lectures are usually well- attended, visits and outings often have waiting lists, other occasions are often over-booked. We have a vigorous excavation section and study group working most weekends at our Avenue House room. The library has been reconstructed, catalogued and is available to members. Finds are being classified and sorted, and exhibitions of our work are frequently made. A report on a major discovery by the Society has just been published, and a series of booklets on the locality are in print. By no means least, our monthly Newsletter informs, keeps members in touch and records the results of our investigations. All these things require organising, and the Society urgently needs new helpers to keep the good work going.

1 Programme Secretary, Dorothy Newbury would like assistance with planning and leading some of the visits and outings. This would include helping choose and reconnoitering new places to visit, selecting eating places and leading visits if so inclined. “Reasonable expenses paid”. Dorothy’s telephone number is: 081-203 0950 or 081 203 4508.

2 Phyllis Fletcher, our Membership Secretary for the past ten years resigned at the last AGM and is now well into her retirement. She has many other interests and feels that she has ‘done her bit’ for HADAS. The job is now much simpler than when Phyllis took it on, as most of the Society’s records are held on our computer. The job involves liaising with the Treasurer and Programme Secretary, maintaining the membership list, chasing unpaid subscriptions, etc. It is an important job being in contact with new members and helping them and others to fully enjoy the Society.

3. We also need a volunteer to organise the distribution and sale of our publications. As most members will recall, we have published a number of booklets of local interest as well as the site report about our major discovery of the Mesolithic hunters’ site at West Heath. A lot of the Society’s reputation, and indeed reserves, are invested in these and it could be a pleasant and interesting task, involving a little correspondence and occasional visits to local societies and shops.

Finally, a new Treasurer is needed. The writer has done the job for ten years and would now like the opportunity to do other work. The office of Hon Treasurer has been vacant since the AGM. Again, this is a much simpler job than it used to be as all the records are held on computer, thanks to the help of one of our members, Terry Dawson. The recording and book-keeping activity requires noting the few transactions each month which can be by cheque book and bank paying-in records. The computer is programmed to balance the books and can be done with Terry Dawson’s help once every month or so. It is an interesting task, and keeps one in touch with all Society activities, and can now be done in a hour or so a week if done regularly.

If you would like any further information, PLEASE, do not hesitate to contact any Committee Member. We look forward to some positive response!

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVALUATION ON LAND AT ST JOSEPH’S CONVENT, THE BURROUGHS/WATFORD WAY, LONDON NW4 – SITE CODE BWW/92 INITIAL SUMMARY REPORT

ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE INVESTIGATION

These were set out in a letter of 17 October 1991 from New Age Homes, following discussion on 16 October 1991 at the Museum of London with a plan showing suggested trenches. This provided for access by HADAS from 25 November 1991 but, owing we understand to delay in legal documentation, we were in fact unable to get on site until 19 December. There was not site hut so we were obliged to bring and take away all tools daily which limited our capabilities. We were able to do some inspection and marking out on 19 December, following machine stripping, and to excavate and record on 21/22 December, 4/5 and 11/12 January, with some additional machining kindly done by the Site Foreman on 6 January. We think we have adequately investigated the few features revealed.

DESCRIPTION OF SITE

Grid Ref TQ 2245 8915 – a field sloping evenly down E to W from the glacial-gravel-capped ridge of the Burroughs towards the Silk Stream valley; obviously graded and turfed as a games pitch. Hendon was a Saxon and medieval settlement on the ridge (E Sammes excavations in the early 1970’s found a Saxon ditch near the Church) and there have been some Roman finds in the area. From Crow’s 1754 map, present Watford Way beside the site appears to follow the course of ancient Colindeep Lane up to The Burroughs crossroad; this map shows a cluster of buildings round the crossroad, but not extending as far as this site.

INITIAL STRIPPING OF TURF LAYERS

The initial turf stripping (done on half the site by the time we arrived on site at the agreed time on 19 December) went down about 30cm to remove virtually all tha turf and turf undersoil which, from inspection of soil, included some Victorian and post-medieval artefacts. However, any features missed through this could only have been very shallow, and likely to have been disturbed by smoothing of the gradient when the field was made into a games pitch. The surface exposed was mainly grey humic sandy pebbly gravel, which we took to be natural, possibly disturbed in grading for turfing. On this surface were a number of stray finds of pot and clay pipes (we noted an unusually high proportion of complete bowls with some stem attached) dating back to the 1600’s. This formed an interesting group of brown clay-fabric pipes of the period 1640-1700, in good condition, with 7 bowls and over 60 stem fragments of similar date. There were also several pottery sherds of similar date, including Tudor Green ware, Staffordshire Slip ware, and Tinglazed sherds. Noted across the west end of the field, nearest the retaining wall of the A41 sliproad, was a darker area of brick rubble/humic.

FEATURES NOTED: (See plan, Fig 1)

1 There appeared to be a concentration of sherds and clay pipes in an area 3x2m (Trench 1) was trowelled down to sterile natural clay, no feature revealed, so the artefacts appeared to be a chance scatter. Topsoil (101) here yielded one medieval greyware body-sherd; layer 103 yielded possible Tudor Green, Cistercian ware, Midlands yellow ware (all possibly 1600- 1700).

2 Two or three postholes approximately in the centre of the field, with broken pieces of wood, apparently quite modern – ?, postholes for tennis nets of courts running N/S across the slope. These had disappeared under caterpillar tracks by Saturday 21 st when we next came on site (the machine had been transferring spoil to the boundaries).

3 Six or more field drains running parallel NE/SW diagonally across the field, quite recent in appearance (red cylindrical tile, trench filled with small pebbles).

4 Two ashpits, one in the SE corner (feature F1), one approximately in the middle of the N edge of site (feature F2). Later sectioning of these confirmed both are modern. Both contained bottle glass, white glazed earthenware, with the bulk of the fill consisting of large lumps of clinker.

MACHINED TRENCHES IN HOUSE ‘FOOTPRINTS

Contractors machine-dug trenches approximately 1m wide in each of the three marked-out house plans A, B, C (Fig 1), N/S in Houses A and B, E/W in House C; whilst this was not precisely in accord with our discussion on 16 October, it seemed adequate, particularly as in fact no features appeared down to

(House A) natural pebble/sand/clay at 50cm approximately below original turf surface (House B) natural solid clay below pebble/sand/clay layer at 70cm approximately (House C) natural clay/gravel at 50cm approximately, except at W end which was within the darker disturbed area near the slip road referred to earlier.

FEATURES F3 AND F4

A darker disturbed area at the west end of House C was hand-investigated by spade and trowel (Trench 3), showing some features including a black silty layer. On 6 Jan 92 the Site Foreman kindly extended to the west by machine the 1m-wide trench, revealing the sections of what appear to be two ditches running N/S (features labelled F3 and F4). Section drawings appended (Fig 2). Clearly there are two ditches, the later, western, one cut through the W side of the first, the respective fills appearing to be different episodes, and silty layer 305 accumulating whilst the feature was open. In feature F4, layer 305 was overlaid by a clearly visible buried turf line. There was no dating evidence in the lowest part of the ditches; the only finds in silt 305 were 1 nail and some brick fragments.

All three sections clearly showed that humic layer 305 was overlain by ashy layer 302, with a thin (c 1cm) ferrous layer at the interface of the two layers – its exact nature being unclear. Layer 302 contained a large quantity of stoneware, earthenware and bottle glass in addition to building rubble, suggesting a post-Victorian date for deposition.

DISCUSSION OF DITCH FILLS

The stratigraphy of the ditches is quite complex; it appears that humic layer 305 may be the earliest definable deposit, overlain by relatively modern (ie Victorian or later) dump/fill ashy deposit 302, which itself was even more recently cut by the clay dump layers 303/304, the whole overlain by modern turf topsoil.

CONCLUSIONS – FURTHER WORK

It does not appear that the building work proposed will disturb any archaeological feature proposed will disturb any archaeological features of importance. The ditch F3 we can give no date to, but it may be of interest for the record. F4 was clearly later, cutting through the modern fill of F3. A further report will be prepared if needed.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

We are grateful to the Developers and Contractors for their co-operation and help. ADDENDUM: SITE VISIT 27 JANUARY 1992

Two members observed a building trench machine-dug north-south along the apparent line of ditch F3. A black silty layer, obviously the silt of the ditch, was at the bottom (c 90cm deep) of the trench extending about 5 metres southwards from our excavation, where it appeared to curve westwards and disappear into the baulk. Trowelling the surface of the silt layer yielded no artefacts, so the ditch remains undated.

DR HUGH CHAPMAN, President of LAMAS and General Secretary to the Society of Antiquaries, though not a member of HADAS, was known to many of us. In January 1973, when he was Assistant Curator at the City of London Guildhall Museum, he gave us a lecture on excavations at Aidgate. Then, in November 1980 when he was Keeper in the Department of Prehistoric and Roman Antiquities at the Museum of London, he gave us another lecture on “Roman London – an archaeological and antiquarian history”. Sadly, we have to report that he died in June following a tragic fall in the street, from which he never regained consciousness. He was only 46.

HENDON AERODROME BILL FIRTH

I am pleased to be able to announce that, following representations, English Heritage have added the listed buildings at Hendon to the Buildings at Risk List. Further, EH is writing to the Ministry of Defence, expressing their concern about the condition of the buildings. It is difficult to believe that the MoD will take much action – but at least the matter has been brought forward again.

(This item relates to Bill’s article in the April ’92 newsletter.)

HOLIDAY READING JEAN SNELLING

Perhaps only more frivolous members would care to mix their archaeology with thrillers. Tony Hillerman writes of crime in New Mexico and Arizona, pursued by the Navajo State Police. “A Thief of Time” (Sphere Books 1990, also in public libraries) tells of archaeological raids on ancient graves and ancient pottery sites in a mysterious background of canyons, pictographs, and the wide desert skies and distant mountains. One reader, unaccustomed to Navajo and Anasazi history and magic, said that the first third of the book required close concentration and the rest became ‘unputdownable’. By any criteria, Hillerman can write!

THE TUDOR HALL, WOOD STREET, BARNET

The Barnet Times reported on 11.6.92 that Barnet College Educational Trust, formed recently, intends to refurbish this building which began life as the Queen Elizabeth Boys’ Grammar School. It is intended to provide a function, meeting and conference centre. They have the inevitable problem with cash to go ahead with the works this summer, but to help raise funds for this project a history of the hall by Dennis Marshall is being re-written by designer and lecturer John Marsh. The HADAS library copy of the Marshall book was lost in the fire, so we look forward to adding the new version to our shelves.

Many thanks to the members who contributed articles to this edition. Please keep them rolling in as we are currently low on articles in hand. Ed.

NEWSLETTER 255: JUNE 1992 Edited by Jean Snelling

DIARY

Saturday June 20th: Outing to Loughborough, Rushton and Geddington

(Details and application form enclosed with this Newsletter)

Saturday July 11th: Outing to Witney – to see the recently excavated 12th C Bishop’s Manor which opens to the public in June. Also North Leigh Roman Villa on the outskirts of Witney.

Saturday July 25th: Visit to Bentley Priory. Contact Bill Firth, 49 Woodstock Avenue, NW11.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday August 21/22/23: Weekend in Dorset. We are awaiting confirmation of bookings from a couple of members who are abroad at present, so there may be vacancies still. In any case we have NO waiting list if anyone would like to be added to it. Accommodation is at Sherborne School Study Centre. We plan to visit Avebury Village and Stone Circle on the way out, spend a day visiting Cerne Abbas, Dorchester, Maiden Castle and Abbotsbury. On Sunday we shall see the Visitor Centre and reconstructed prehistoric Somerset Levels Trackways and Lake Village at Meare. This year is the centenary of their discovery by Dr Bulleid in 1892. Many of his and John Coles’ finds will he on show. Our final stop will be at romantic Glastonbury to see the Abbey ruins, the Glastonbury Thorn, and the Tribunal museum which houses the Lake Village canoe.

(Ring 081-203 0950 if you want to go on the waiting list.)

Saturday September 26th: a walk in Southwark with Mary O’Connell.

Saturday October 10th: MINIMART

Lectures start Tuesday October 6th with “The Roman Pottery Manufacturing Site in Highgate Woods” – Harvey Sheldon.

Tuesday November 3rd: “Excavating in Northern Iraq – From the Greeks to the mongols” – Dr John Curtis

THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – MAY 5TH 1992

An amiable though hardly over-crowded meeting was chaired by the President, Dr Ralph Merrifield.

The following elections were made: Chairman, Andrew Selkirk; Vice-Chairman Brian Wrigley; Honorary Secretary, Liz Holliday.

Committee: Bill Bass, Micky Cohen, John Heathfield, Victor Jones, Margaret Maher, Dorothy Newbury, Peter Pickering, Edward Sammes, Andy Simpson, Myfanwy Stewart, Micky Watkins. Two vacancies remain.

Retirements from the Committee: Christine Arnott, Alan Lawson, Jean Snelling.

Vice-Presidents confirmed in office: Miss D.P. Hill, Mr. Brian Jarman, Mrs. Daphne Lorimer, Mr. Edward Sammes, Mr. Andrew Saunders. Councillor Mrs. Mary Phillips was elected as Vice-President.

Great regret was expressed at the departure of John Enderby, the former Vice-Chairman, whose understanding of HADAS and of the area and leadership of Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute contributed so much for many years.

At the meeting we missed Dorothy Newbury, unwell and breaking attendance for the first time ever.

Where are our new Membership Secretary and Hon. Treasurer? Could one be you? They are needed greatly. Let modesty not inhibit; if you are stirred, please explore possibilities with one of our officers. You will have friends for life, as have our retiring two, Phyllis Fletcher and Victor Jones.

We were warned of and agreed to a rise in subscriptions from 18 April 1993. Consider how little we pay in comparison with other societies generally. And how many supply a monthly Newsletter, lectures, outings and excavations? The Minimart does wonders but we need a reasonable income.

Selling our products could be helped by members are you in touch with other people or societies who would be interested in our Mesolithic West Heath Report, now accepted as a serious scholarly work? Would your local bookshops sell our book “A Place in Time”? It could help borough residents to more awareness of Barnet as a whole entity and less of an odd collection of parishes.

Visit our Garden Room at the back of Avenue House, East End Road, N3 (not N2). See our HADAS Nibelung activity, on Sunday mornings. The room, having an excess of corners, houses library, finds, archives, the computer and looks out on the lovely garden. We hope we can continue to pay a reasonable rent.

Our meeting ended with slides of digs – the Old Forge, Golders Green Road, with its fragments of medieval road; the medieval house of 1264 High Road, Whetstone, sadly disintegrating as its history continues to intrigue. And lots of glorious local mud.

See you at the next AGM.

CATCHING UP WITH LAMAS (London & middlesex Archaeological Society)

Our slightly ambiguous relationship requires an update from time to time. HADAS is an Affiliated Local Society, which opens LAMAS Conferences, visits etc. to our members. In addition, a number of us are also Ordinary (Individual) members of LAMAS with direct access to its activities.

Cash List. Ordinary members should subscribe £10.00 as from 1st

October 1991 through to 30th September 1992. Joint members, £11; Students (full-time education) £3 (Newsletter only). Affiliated Schools £6.50. Subscriptions to Mrs. Anne Curtis, 34 Alexandra Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 7JZ.

Full members are entitled to receive LAMAS publications. Volumes 39 and 40 are expected soon, and a Special Paper Series on Aspects of Saxon and Norman London will be available. The May 1992 Newsletter (75) is out now

We can expect to hear more of SCOLA, the new Standing Conference on London Archaeology; this is being formed by the Surrey Archaeological Society, the Council for British Archaeology, the Society of Antiquaries, and the Joint Working Party on London Archaeology. MOLAS and English Heritage are giving support, also LAMAS.

This move is stimulated by the replacement by MOLAS (Museum of London Archaeological Service) of the Museum’s former Departments of Greater London Archaeology and of Urban Archaeology. SCOLA would aim to provide a forum for debate and resolutions on archaeology in London; to advance study and practice in London and its hinterland; to commission a report to assess the value of existing research agendas and point the way to a

more comprehensive research framework, acknowledging archaeology as a cultural and educational resource; the report to set a standard against which future work can be measured. Thus SCOLA would monitor the quality of archaeological work in the London area. It is envisaged that member­ship would be open to invited representatives of organisations concerned with archaeological and historical research and fieldwork including

planning in the London region.

Affiliated societies of LAMAS are encouraged to get their trowels out again. We can claim that ours are never retired.

The May Newsletter of LAMAS includes an article on Great Stanmore Old Church c. 1040, and the Lord Aberdeen burial (see also HADAS Newsletter February 1992).

Two LAMAS visits may tempt HADAS members. Saturday, September 12th to Minster Abbey, Isle of Sheppey, Kent, arrive 12 noon. Independent travel, Victoria to Sheerness, change at Sittingbourne, then cab to Minster, about £14, or by car. Those intending to go should telephone Malcolm Harden, 0895 638060 before September 1st.

Saturday October 24th – Visit to Bromley-by-Bow House Mill (restoration in progress), West Ham Parish Church and the Passmore Edwards Museum. Meet at Bromley-by-Bow Station at 11.00 am. No charge, donations welcome. If you intend to go, please telephone Pat Wilkinson on 081-472-4785 before 14th October.

Recent local publications: Palace on the Hill – a history of Alexandra Palace and Park by Ken Gay. £3.00 (p & p 60p). Published by Hornsey Historical Society 1992. From HHS, The Old Schoolhouse, 136 Tottenham Lane, London N8 7EL.

The Building of Bradford Park by T & A Harper-Smith. £3.00 (p & p inc.) from 48 Perryn Road, London W3 7NA, 44pp illustrated.

The Story of Ealing Common by T & A Harper-Smith, £2.50 (p & p incl) obtainable from above, 3Opp illustrated.

Both books are part of the”Acton, Past and Present”Series.

A VISIT TO SYRIA by PETER PICKERING

We have recently returned from a week in Syria, the wealth of whose ancient remains is staggering. I will mention them chronologically. Earliest we saw was Ebla, where a great archive of the later 3rd millenium was found in 1974, and the mud brick buildings are quite well preserved. The second millenium produced Ugarit, with a rather confusing mass of wall-foundations. Then a neo-Hittite site called in Dara, with a gorgeous and beautifully preserved black lion, lying where it had been quarried, and enigmatic giant footprints in the floor of a temple. The Phoenician settlement of Amrit with a shrine in the centre of a sacred pool. Then the Seleucid city of Apamea, of enormous extent to judge by its walls.

Yes, I am coming to it. We had a day in Palmyra, deservedly renowned, and not just because of its celebrated Queen Zenobia. The existence of such an oasis in the desert is remarkable, but the extent of the remains and the quality and quantity of the distinctive sculpture, much more so. One of the tower tombs, and one of the hypogea, are well restored and displayed, with all those expensively dressed Palmyrenes looking impassively at us from their funerary banquets. How well, how very well, one can do out of trade, until an over-ambitious queen tries to take the Roman Empire on. The temple of Bel is halfway between decent, human-scale Greek temples and the elephantiasis of the Egyptians.

The Roman period also has a most impressive, but far from straight, stretch of road, Philippopolis, the birthplace of the Emperor Philip the Arab,(244-249) and, perhaps more amazing than Palmyra because less anticipated, Bosra with the best Roman theatre in the world, besides a massive reservoir, a ruined cathedral, gates, colonnades etc. The people of present-day Basra live all round, just as in nineteenth century Oriental prints. Then from the Christian period, several functioning, but rather musty, churches of the fifth century, and the very fine and extensive ruins of the Basilica of St Simeon, who stood on top of a pillar, whose base is still there, for thirty years until his death in 459.

Then the Ummayad mosque of Damascus, the most wholly admirable castle in the world, as T.E. Lawrence called it, of Crac des Chevaliers, the citadel of Aleppo, and its historic houses. Aleppo was an unexpected delight, a much more attractive city than Damascus. The collections in the museums of Damascus, Aleppo and Soweida are as impressive as you would imagine, though a guided tour is not the best way of seeing any museum, and there are also many fine collections of mosaics. The Syrian antiqui­ties department is to be congratulated on its maintenance and management of a heritage which is of enormous richness. It scarcely seemed to be doing it for the tourists, of whom there were very few about.

DISCOVERING AND RECORDING EARLY REFERENCES R. HYATT

TO ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS

An original publication made at the Hague, Holland, in 1697 is abstrac­ted here from the “Monthly Mercury”, to illustrate the pleasure of noting such references.

“There has been a remarkable discovery lately made at CARHAIX in BRETAGNE. Carhaix is a small city in the Diocese of QUIMPER, seated upon the top of a little hill, and watered with the little RIVER YER, which gliding at the foot of the hill, by the suburb ROUG le BIZAN, waters a great number of meadows, that render the country very fertile pasturage, and fruitful in cattel (cattle?).

This city, though at present of a mean extent, was anciently one of the biggest and most considerable in Bretagne. It was plundered, and almost reduced to ashes by the English, in the year 1578, though the Counts of Bretagne made it the usual place of their residence. There are still to be seen ruins of an old castle; and the Ways that lead to the city still retain the names of the ancient streets. The Convent of the Austin Friars, which is very large, and very ancient, is a convincing proof that the place was formerly very considerable.

Near this City it was, that M. Estienne, a Burgess of the same place, and a person of very great understanding, having employed certain labourers to work in a garden which he had made near adjoining to the city, which is one of the most neat and curios pieces of workmanship in all those quarters, found a well, the entrance into which was closed up. But after he had caused it to be opened, and digged about two fathoms deep, the labourers met with a very fine Vault, well painted, and about eight foot wide, of a round figure, and between six and seven foot high. Upon which, digging on, they discovered a subterraneal passage which was arched, and about six foot broad, which seemed to lead a man very far, with an easie descent, that was hardly perceptible presently notice was given of this to

M. de la Raudiere Kaguideau, the Seneschal or Chief Magistrate of the city, who repairing to the place, with the most considerable of the inhabitants, sent for several wax candles, with which being lighted, he ordered several men to go into the said passage; but they had not gone above thirty or forty foot, before they observed a kind of descent, and that it was very cold. In short, all the lights went out; which obliged them to make use of lanthorns, wherein they put several lighted candles, by means of which they went on about fifty paces, still descending; and it was observed, that then the cold increased. The candles also went out in the lanthorns, and

they that were in the passage, found that they should all perish, if they went any farther, for they found themselves ready to swoon, so that they were forced to make bast back again. Which is the reason that it cannot yet be known whither this subterraneal passage leads, no body daring to venture any more. But this is proof, that formely the city was very large. However ’tis said, that new attempts will be made, in order to the making

of farther discoveries.”

STOW’S SURVEY OF LONDON, 1603 (Editor)

Following Mr. Hyatt’s line of thought, let me draw this extraordinary Survey to the attention of those who have never poked about in it. A book for poking, not for wholesale assault. John Stow, Elizabethan historian, reflected that during his long life London had changed beyond recognition. How would people like us know what had been there if he and others did not tell us? He drew on his notes and those he had gathered carefully from others in 1598, to record all that he could.

See Stow hurrying after Roman cremation burials in Spitalfields, and after Roman finds in St. Paul’s Cathedral. His well-thumbed book is still a great source for the London excavations of today and yesterday.

As a bonus he gives us Walter Fitzstephen’s recollections of his London boyhood under Henry II. The old monk, companion of Becket, looked back on Sunday walks, classroom cockfights in school holidays, and the great takeaway restaurant on the bank of the Thames.

HAMPI, INDIA by BEVERLY PERKINS

“The city of Bijanagar is such that the eye has not seen, nor ear heard of any place resembling it upon the whole earth.”

“What I saw….seemed to me as large as Rome, and verybeautiful to the sight … ”

So wrote visitors to Hampi in Karnataka, South West India, in the 15th and 16th centuries. Also known as Vijayanagar, the city was founded around 1336 as the capital of one of the largest and richest Hindu empires in history. Surrounded by seven lines of massive fortifications, Hampi and its satellites covered an area of 12 square miles and sheltered a population of half a million. It was reported to have a standing army of at least 90,000 men (rising to over 1,000,000 in times of war), 20,000 cavalry and 900 elephants. Its wealth derived from its monopoly of the spice and cotton trades, its bazaar was world-famous for its splendour. But all this came to a sudden end when, in 1565, the army was defeated by the Deccan Sultans and the city was ransacked and destroyed. Its popula­tion fled, and six months after the battle an Italian visitor found nothing but wild animals roaming its deserted streets.

Excavations were started in 1976 and around 500 monuments have so far been identified, most dating from the city’s golden age, the reign of Krishna Deva Raya (1509-29). Scattered widely over a partly barren, partly lushly-cultivated landscape, the atmospheric ruins are dominated by huge granite rocks. They require at least a day to visit, preferably two.

Although the civic buildings are largely in ruins, numerous temples survive, some dating as far back as the 9th century. The tallest is the Virupaksha temple (16th C) with its impressive, richly carved 9-storey “gopuram”. The temple complex is still in daily use, and is the focus of an annual Temple Car festival.

The Vijaya Vittala temple is one of only three in India designated as a World Heritage site. Its outstanding feature is its exterior pavilion known as the Hall of Musical Pillars. These slender columns produce three or four different musical notes when struck with the fingers, but it seems that their musical properties are due to the crystal structure of the stone, rather than to any skill on the part of the masons. In front of the temple stands a stone cart similar to the wooden carts still used in religious processions. Its wheels, also of stone, were designed to turn and so give the illusion of movement.

The Vijayanaga emperors fought bitter battles against their Muslim neighbours who had established supremacy in the Deccan; but by the mid-15th century Muslims were accepted at court and had taken service in the army. A mosque was built and Islamic architectural styles began to blend with those of the Hindus. This is evident in a number of buildings at Hampi, notably the Lotus Mahal, a small palace in the Queen’s Quarters, the layout and the lower storey of which are Hindu, the upper storey Islamic.

The imposing Elephant Stables also incorporate Islamic elements. This long rectangular building housed 10 elephants, each in its own vast compartment entered by a high arched doorway and topped by a dome.

Clearly also Islamic in style is the Queen’s Bath, an enclosed bathing pool fed by a channel surrounding the building which supplied constant running water. Balconies on each side of the interior overlook the pool. Regrettably this graceful building is being inexpertly restored with crudely applied concrete …

Built on the banks of a wide river, Hampi had no shortage of water and was famed for the sophistication of its waterworks. Aqueducts intersect the Royal Enclosure or Durbar area, supplying its extensive network of channels, wells and pools. The most fascinating of these is a stepped pool: like an inverted ziggurat, it descends in four steps to a depth of 20 feet, each stage decorated in turn with rows of small, upright stepped pyramids. Its precise geometric design and near-perfect state of preserva­tion (it was excavated only recently) make it hard to believe that it was constructed over 400 years ago.

Inside the Royal Enclosure is one of Hampi’s most impressive monuments, a massive granite and greenstone podium rising to a height of 75 feet. It is believed to have been topped by a wooden pavilion in which the ruler would have sat to receive homage and review parades involving thousands of people and animals. These parades are reflected in the carvings which cover every stone of its walls – horses, elephants, camels, soldiers, hunters, merchants, dancing girls forming a never-ending procession. It must have been a truly awe-inspiring sight – small wonder that a Portuguese visitor to Hampi in 1500 described the city as “a second paradise”.

NEWSLETTER 254 MAY 1992 Edited by Andy Simpson

DIARY

Tuesday May 5th: HADAS Annual General Meeting. To be followed by slides of HADAS excavations and fieldwork 1991-2. Do attend this important event and catch up on recent events and progress.

Saturday May 16th: Outing to Sutton House, Hackney and Waltham Abbey (Details and application form enclosed with this newsletter). You’ve heard the lecture, now see the house:

Saturday June 20th: Outing to Loughborough, Rushton and Geddington.

Saturday July 11th: Outing to Witney.

Saturday July 25th: Visit to Bentley Priory. See note by Bill Firth in this Newsletter (see page 4).

Friday, Saturday, Sunday August 21-22-23: Weekend in Dorset.

Saturday September 26th: A Walk in Southwark, with Mary O’Connell

Saturday October 10th: M I N I M A R T

REMEMBERING THE BATTLE OF BARNET

On Easter Monday, 20th April, several HADAS members enjoyed the sight of a dozen or so members of the White Company, in full armour in some cases, march briskly from Barnet centre to Hadley Highstone, where a wreath was laid. The menfolk were accompanied by several of their ladies acting the part of camp followers: it is hoped that up to 200 members of the Company will be involved in a re-enactment of the battle next year. The standard of the reproduction clothing and armour was most impressive, covering the range from impoverished and ill-equipped Billman to plate-and-mail-equipped professional.

“GRAPHIC NOUVELLE at Church Farm Museum. Dubious about Judge Dredd? Wary of the “Watchman”? Puzzled by pizza-eating turtles? Then go to the exciting new exhibition at Church Farm Museum that chronicles the growth of cartoon-strip characters and “visual storytelling”. Running to 31st May. Admission charge (E1.00) Saturdays only. Free other. days.

IT’S NICE TO BE APPRECIATED:

The “Society News’ column of the March 1992 issue of the CBA’s “British Archaeological News” carried the kind comment that “The News­letter of the Hendon & District Archaeological Society is often full of incident, the February 1992 issue being no exception with its report on recent observations at Stanmore Church:”

“A” LEVEL ARCHAEOLOGY COURSE: this largely postal course, which can be followed without necessarily taking the exam at the end, covers a range of archaeological issues. Details from Sam Garin, Newarke Sherwood College, Friary Road, Newark, Notts. NG24 1PB.

OLD FOLD MANOR, BARNET BRIAN WRIGLEY

In December 1991, the Museum of London carried out an archaeo­logical evaluation at the Old Fold Manor Golf Club, Barnet – a site where interest centres on the remains of a moat. A copy of the evaluation report which the Museum kindly supplied, is now

in HADAS library available to Members. The report includes a couple of pages of historical background, largely on the Battle of Barnet. The site location plan reproduced here shows the area. The excavation was confined to 3 test pits within the moat (an area proposed as a car park) and a 20m X 4m trench outside the moat to the North, where a new building is proposed. The 3 test pits were taken down only to the archaeological layers, a maximum of half a metre below the present surface, and recommendations are made for the protection of these layers when the car-park is surfaced. In the trench outside the moat, various dumped layers were found, including a possible ditch or foundation trench suggesting occupation at some period. Apparently no dateable features were found; again, recommendations are made to minimise disturbance to the stratigraphy in using piles for the new building.

(SEE ALSO NOTE BY BILL BASS – ED.)

A LOAD OF OLD COBBLERS GRAHAM A. JAVES, MA

Recent renewed interest in the Barnet medieval shoe in Barnet Museum led to the visit in January of June Swann, consultant in the History of Shoes and Shoemaking and to a reassessment of the shoe. Miss Swann considers it to be the remains of a man’s right foot ankle boot (1350 ­1360) though the upper part, above the ankle is missing. Detailed notes are available at Barnet Museum.

During her reappraisal, Miss Swann examined the pile of leather, which in living memory, has been displayed with the boot. This proved a revelation. Firstly, she found the insole of the medieval boot in three pieces which fit together like a jigsaw.

Then there is a fragment of a leather garment, possibly from a jerkin 16th century, possibly Elizabethan. It has two rows of design, visible when viewed with an oblique light. Its irregular shape includes one whip-stitched edge, and an overlapped seam.

Thirdly, Miss Swann discovered two pieces of leather sole from a Roman woman’s or teenager’s sandal. That’s right, a Roman find in Barnet ­and at the Museum. These date from circa 2nd to early 3rd century AD. One piece has wear at the heel. It may be an integral layer near the sole, or the sole for the left foot. If the latter, it does not belong with the other piece. It may be a clump repair. It has hobnail impressions – Roman women did wear hobnails. The other piece is defin­itely a right foot insole. It has outlining for the toes and two holes for the V-straps which went between the first and second toes to hold it on. Parallel slots round the edge are for thongs to hold layers of soles together.

After that discovery, the last find pales into insignificance. It is a piece of heavy leather, probably the outside counter, from a man’s right boot (17th to mid-18th century).

Now the anticlimax the provenance of these objects found Barnet Museum, 1992: The ankle boot was found in 1956, at a depth of 4.5 to 5 feet, by workmen laying a new storm water sewer in the Bottleneck in the High Street beside Barnet Church. The find was recorded in the Museum acquisition book and published in the “Barnet Press”. Clearly, the insole to the boot was also found there, but where did the rest come from?

In the absence of further evidence, it is far from certain that the Roman, 16th and 17th/18th century objects all came from the Bottleneck. As well as a sewer, new concrete foundations were laid. This presumably involved excavating the full width of the road to a depth of at least five feet: a very big hole: Work lasted some ten weeks, during which time traffic was diverted around the town centre. A horseshoe, thought to be 16th century, and some animal bones were found, but no other leather finds were recorded, nor apparently was any pottery found.

It is particularly galling that the Roman objects must remain of very doubtful provenance to tease us, like the story of the “Roman” bricks said to have been found at the turn of the century on the Old Cottage Hospital site at the corner of Barnet High Street and the Meadway. Personally, I am inclined to the opinion that these objects came from elsewhere and that this little collection of leather fragments, represen­ting a remarkable variety of periods, came together in Barnet Museum.

There is, of course, a moral to this story for both curators and archaeologists leave good records for those coming after you. June Swann, MBE, BA, EMA, was formerly Keeper of Shoes at Northampton Museum. Her published work includes “Shoemaking” (Shire Album 155, 1986) and “Recent research in Archaeological Footwear” edited jointly with

D.E. Friendship-Taylor and S. Thomas (Association of Archaeological Illustrators & Surveyors in association with the Archaeological Leather Group, 1987) 49pp.

(It is a great shame that the Roman material is of doubtful provenance. The HADAS excavation of the nearby “Mitre” car park in 1989/1990 unearthed a single sherd of Roman pottery – an interesting coincidence, at least: Ed)

25 JULY 1992 – VISIT TO BENTLEY PRIORY

By kind permission of the President of the Mess Committee, Wing Commander G.S.F. Booker RAF, an afternoon visit has been arranged to Bentley Priory which, from July 1936 until April 1968 was the Headquarters of Fighter Command and which is still the RAF Officers’ Mess. Applications for a limited number of places together with a sae for return of joining instructions to:

BILL FIRTH, 49 Woodstock Avenue, London NV11 9RG

PLEASE NOTE: RAF security is stricter than it was and drivers coming by car must let me know the make, model, colour and registration of their vehicle together with the names of their passengers. If you are coming by public transport please let me know so that I am in no doubt about who is arriving by car. The RAF is very insistent that these details are supplied and I will not give the names of anyone who does not send them to me.Bill Firth

EDGWAREBURY PARK BILL BASS

During February/March 1992 the London Borough of Barnet commissioned the Museum of London Archaeological Service (MOLAS) to make an archaeo­logical and landscape assessment of Edgwarebury Park’s north section as this area is to be replanted as part of the Community Forest Programme. This area (TQ 1895 9360) covers 2-5 hectares and is situated on the junction of Edgware Way (A41) and Edgwarebury Lane. It lies approxi­mately 1 Km east of Brockley Hill with associated Roman kilns on Watling Street. Other evidence in the general area includes prehistoric, Saxon and medieval. Some of the field boundaries are at least 400 years old as shown on a map of 1599 and can still be traced on modern maps.

HADAS were asked to conduct a sample resistivity survey to try and locate any possible buried features. The surface here seems to have escaped ploughing or other serious disturbance and at present consists of scrubland which borders Edgwarebury Farm to the North and hest, and according to some air photos may have contained ridge-and-furrow,

although no sign of this as yet can be found at ground level. Underlying geology is London clay with a surface of top/plough soil as observed when a trench was cut 2-5m deep for the Three Rivers Pipeline which ran across Edgwarebury Farm in 1989 (HADAS Newsletter 241).

At the beginning of March, the official HADAS survey team made a series of 5 resistivity runs north-south of the site, 3 of approx. 50m in length one of 75m, and one of 100m. Results of this limited survey were incon­clusive; variations recorded existing field drains. Other anomalies are difficult to interpret – these areas may be observed under site-watching conditions. The informative assessment by MOLAS will be lodged in HADAS library.

“Aeges Weir” (from the MOLAS report). While fieldwalking for the above project, an opportunity was taken to look at some earthworks which may form the basis of a further HADAS research and survey site: ie the remains of a dam are present on the stream just west of Edgwarebury Park. This stream makes a sharp kink around a series of earthworks that may well represent the site of a former mill. The map of 1599 also shows the fields upstream of the dam position, on either side of the stream as having once contained millponds. It has been suggested that this may be the Saxon origin of Edgware in “Aege’s Weir” but there is no proof, or may be the site of a medieval fish-breeding complex.

(Extract from MOLAS Report, 1992).

Old Fold Moat, Hadley. Work on demolition and rebuilding of the green-keeper’s store and pro golf shop in and around the moat (see report else­where) lasting several months started in April. Plans are being made to site watch and record anything of interest that emerges which is most likely to be with initial stripping (John Heathfield reports that metal detectors will be used in the hope of finding relics of the Battle of Barnet. – Ed.)

19-25 High Street, Barnet. Guyscliffe House and shops adjacent to Fitzjohn Avenue are no more, they currently form a neat pile of rubble under which HADAS would like to conduct a small rescue dig, extending an area last examined in 1990 producing medieval pottery. (Enquiries are being made into the possibility of excavating the shops site. – Ed.)

Church House, Wood Street, Barnet. This site is to become a doctor’s surgery with adjoining offices. Being a listed building in a conservation area, archaeological researches will have to be carried out and may be useful in the continuing hunt for Barnet’s medieval and later occupation. The nearby St John the Baptist Church was first built over 750 years ago and was rebuilt in 1420.

LIBRARY NEWS ROY WALKER

It is pleasing to report that the HADAS library at Avenue House is growing by the week thanks to generous donations from members. This month, Miss A H Ningo has kindly given the Society several books including many by Leonard Cottrell. The niece of Elizabeth Mason thought of HADAS when clearing her late aunt’s effects. Miss Mason’s books have filled some of the gaps left by the fire and included volumes of the series “Ancient Peoples and Places”. Last month’s Newsletter accredited the donation of this series to Barnet Library, however some of the titles listed were from Margaret Maher to whom our thanks are given. Thanks are also given to Mrs. D Rookledge, Miss M Large and Andy Simpson for their much appreciated contributions received since Vikki and I took over the Library. Finally, many thanks to Arthur Till who is set to spend his retirement making more bookcases for Avenue House if the collection continues to expand at the current rate.

Editor’s Note – Glad my contributions were of use

Activity at the Garden Room, Avenue House is quite intensive at present with work also under way on the report of the Forge Site, Golders Green excavation last autumn. The Borough of Barnet have also asked us to produce a plot of all archaeo­logical finds and areas of archaeological importance in the Borough; a first draft has now been completed. Members of the excavation team are present most Sundays – visitors welcome, but ring one of us first in case we are out on site.

LAMAS CONFERENCE, MARCH 1992

The Annual Conference of London Archaeologists held at the Museum of London last March was a day of glimpses into other people’s archaeology. We were able to view examples of work by other local groups and in return offer a photographic record of recent excavations and projects undertaken by HADAS. Seven copies of the West Heath Report and other Society publica­tions to the value of £90 were sold and a valued contact made with a

member of the Pinner Local History Society with an interest in timber-framed buildings who has kindly inspected the Whetstone House and added to our survey.

The morning session provided glimpses into five excavations on sites in central and outer London covering all periods from prehistoric to medieval. The lecturers, all but one from the newly-created Museum of London Archaeology Service, MOLAS, – no more DUA and DGLA – detailed the problems, the initial results and the main finds. A speaker from the Passmore Edwards Museum outlined a rescue dig on the Essex gravels identi­fied from crop-marks as a series of enclosures. Due to lack of funding, this late Bronze Age to Roman site with a 4th century AD kiln and timber-lined well had not been fully excavated. However, due to the building recession gravel extraction had been postponed … it’s an ill winds

Two Iron Age sites at Old Malden were reviewed in the light of other excavations in the Hogsmill Valley to compare settlement patterns and usage with the conclusion that one site was defensive and the other purely a non-defended settlement. Another riverside site, this one on the Thames at Bull Wharf in the City of London, had an unusual but macabre find – a bark burial. In post-Roman silts a skeleton was uncovered which had been left on the foreshore between high-and low-water levels with a moss cover. It lay on reeds and bark, similar to a burial found only once before, in Denmark. A later gravel embankment with a number of stakeholes gave evidence of a probable Saxon beach market.

(The burial was of a woman, aged 20-40, killed by a blow to the skull. – Ed.)

Gordon Malcolm, who recently supervised the excavation at St Mary’s School, Finchley, reported on a mid-Saxon site at Long Acre, Covent Garden. His findings were of a burial area (possibly a family plot but not a cemetery) later sealed by settlement from an expanding Saxon London with a trade zoning taking over from residential use. The evidence for trade came from a number of hearths with reused Roman tiles and associated slag with crucible fragments.

The afternoon session allowed us a glimpse behind the scenes of the environmental department of the museum, now called the Special Services Unit of MOLAS. The specialisations covered were archaeobotany, formal remains, dendrochronology and human skeletal remains. The environmen­talists illustrated the use of scientific examination as a guide to archaeological interpretation and as an independant source of historical data. It was shown that even a key dating-tool, dendrochronology, has not been without its problems. Reused timbers provide a date of original use and imports from the Baltic in the medieval period caused mismatches with the museum chronology. To overcome these problems investigation has been made into changes in timber supply and a Baltic chronology is in course of preparation to join the London oak and beech ones. Dating, we were told, could also be deduced from wild mammal and bird remains. Fallow deer in Britain dates from the Iron Age or Roman period and the rabbit was a Norman import. The natural history of the animal when applied to the human environment can indicate hygiene standards, social status, wealth and dietary and ethnic preferences. Trade networks can be traced from exotic imports and local crafts and industries would have left butchery or skinning marks on bone.

The archaeologists have their own chronology based upon preserved plant and foodstuff remains. Certain environments favour the preservation of one type of remains; for instance waterlogged sites suit seeds and plants, cess preserves foodstuffs by mineralisation from body-secreted acids and grain is preserved by charring. A progression of food sources from Roman to post-medieval has been compiled although there is a bias in the nature of the finds – few waterlogged Saxon sites in London, mainly cess-pits for Roman finds, both favour only one type of find.

However, the history shows the use of grains for breadmaking by the Romans and Saxon with a reduction of grain finds in the medieval indica­ting the use of flour for domestic purposes, the grain being milled elsewhere. Roman imports of dill, fennel, grape and fig were reintro­duced in the medieval and dumps of this period show an increase in corn­field and wasteland flowers and a greater use of straw (for bedding?). Archaeobotany has been able to indicate such diverse items as changes in diet, trade routes and the national economy.

The excavations at the Royal Mint Site since 1972 had produced 1200 burials, 80% of which were removed for examination and analysis by age, sex and pathology. The main burials were Black Death victims of 1350 and contained a high number of infants and juveniles. Height had been regarded as a sign of nutritional standards, but the famines of the 14th century were not reflected in a comparison of height and year of birth although those burials removed from the Church of St Mary Graces once on the site were taller than those buried outside. An analysis of disease by type had main groups of degeneration 45%, dental 30% and trauma 10%. One was the victim of beheading. Broken bones had been competently set with no sign of shortening. Arthritis, as to be expected, was more prevalent with age but more common in the male unlike the situation today. The areas afflicted were predominantly the shoulder, spine and hand.

Currently there are over 4,000 skeletons from various sites from the Roman period onwards awaiting research. It will be possible to use tests for blood protein, DNA and for the presence of antibodies to trace diseases and continue to provide us with more glimpses of our past.

(This was an excellent conference, with fewer displays, but more delegates, than the past couple of years – Ed.)

ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE HISTORY OF SUTTON HOUSE HADAS Lecture, Tuesday 7th April 1992

A large and appreciative HADAS audience enjoyed Mike Gray’s well-illustrated talk, no doubt inspiring many of us to follow up with a visit on May 16thl As a derelict and vandalised shell has been given new life by careful restoration, excavations and careful analysis of the building fabric has revealed many clues as to lost fittings and floor/staircase arrangements. Fascinating wall paintings have been revealed. Study of documents and contemporary paintings tells us something of former occupants such as Sir Rafe Sadleir, who served both Henry VIII and Elizabeth T. Ed.

STOP PRESS

HADAS Micromart last Saturday, April 25th, attracted quite a crowd—a bit of a crush the first hour as we were only using the ground floor of Church House. We disposed of quite a bit of summer wear and bulky bric-a-brac, and exceeded expectations by taking about £250. Hall and advertising expenses have to be deducted.

Many thanks to our usual stalwart helpers, Tessa provided home-made biscuits and cakes to

have with coffee, and John Enderby and Mary Rawtzen did the usual heaving back and forth. I was a bit under the weather but everyone had happy smiling faces and that soon cheered me up. Dorothy.

CAHOKIA MOUNDS, ILLINOIS—A WORLD HERITAGE SITE
by Stewart J. Wild

The mid-Western state of Illinois is not the sort of place you’d expect to find a United Nations World Heritage Site, but on a recent visit I was surprised to find an archaeological site on the banks of the Mississippi with just that designation.

The prehistoric city is referred to as Cahokia, although the original name is unknown. It is named after a sub-tribe of the Mini Indians who arrived here much later, shortly before the French in the 1670’s. Cahokia is sometimes referred to as ‘City of the Sun’, the name deriving from the sun symbolism on certain artifacts, and the belief that the inhabitants worshipped the sun as a deity or spirit.

The Indians of the late Woodland Culture inhabited the area for 150 to 200 years, beginning around 700 AD. A second, more sophisticated race—the Mississippian Culture—developed between 850 and 900 AD.

The Mississippians built over 120 earth mounds in the area, some for burials, others for cere­monial activities. Although many have been destr Dyed by modern housing and urban development, 65 mounds have been preserved within the boundaries of the historic site.

Monks Mound is the largest prehistoric earth construction in America. Covering more than 15 acres, this 100 ft. high four-tiered platform was built in four stages over a period of 300 years.

At its height. Cahokia’s 2,200-acre site had around 20,000 inhabitants. Four sun calendars, dating from around 1,000 AD, display the sophistication of Mississippian science and engineering. Called ‘Woodhenge` because of their functional similarity to Stonehenge, they marked the different seasons of the year by the alignment of perimeter posts at sunrise.

By 1,500 AD Cahokia was abandoned, perhaps because natural resources were depleted. A climate change in the 13th century may have affected their food supply, war, disease or social unrest could have played a role. What became of the Mississippians remains one of Amercia’s enduring mysteries.

NEWSLETTER 253 Edited by Micky Watkins APRIL1992

DIARY

Tuesday April 7th Archaeology and History of Sutton House, Hackney – 457 years of History by Mike Gray.

Mike Gray is chairman of the Sutton House Society, the group which successfully campaigned for the restoration of the early 16th century house, the oldest in London’s East End. Two years ago this property lay derelict after squatters and architectural thieves had vandalised it. It is now half way through a two million pound restoration programme funded by the National Trust and English Heritage. A research programme began two years ago. Mike Gray, in his talk, will show how above ground research by English Heritage and below ground by the Museum of London Archaeologists, and archival research, have all contributed to the understanding of its structural and social history. This lecture will be a good follow up to our March talk by Helen Paterson on the care and preservation of ancient monuments. It will also interest members researching and excavating old buildings in our own borough.

Saturday April 25th A low key HADAS morning Minimart to dispose of our substantial stock of summer wear (we can never sell it in October) and an accumulation of bric-a-brac etc. (Please see separate slip for details)

Tuesday May 5th HADAS Annual General Meeting – possibly followed by slides of HADAS 1991-2 activities. Please let us know if you have any suitable slides of excavations, exhibitions or outings.

Saturday May 16th Our first outing of 1992 is a follow-up to the April lecture – To Sutton House and then on to Waltham Abbey with Peter Huggins of Waltham Abbey Archaeological Society

June- July-September Outings as programme card.

August 21, 22, 23 Weekend in Dorset PLEASE NOTE NEW DATES.

October 10th MINIMART This is now BOOKED for October 10th Please mark you programme card. October-November Lectures as programme card.

December 1st or 8th Christmas Dinner. Unfortunately our evening visit to Freemasons Hall is not now possible. We may incorporate a visit there in a walk next year. In the meantime a really super venue has been found, but it is pricey!!! (Please see attached sheet and give me your comments as soon as possible.).

HADAS LECTURE, 3 MARCH 1992 by MIKE PURTON

About 60 members were held spellbound for the March lecture when Helen Paterson told us of her experiences as a part time warden for scheduled monuments under English Heritage

She started by outlining the legal history from the first Act on ancient monuments in 1882, up to the establishment of English Heritage in 1983. Despite Acts of Parliament, monuments still get destroyed – a pilot survey in the 1960s indicated the loss of 25% of field monuments.

The part time wardens for English Heritage each have about 600-700 monuments to visit and each monument is visited on a regular basis every three years. This is done on the basis of only 10 hours per week’ The job requires reporting on the condition of the monuments, filling in record forms and sending them off to English Heritage for recording on a computer.

The monuments don’t look after themselves and the most important part is liaising with owners explaining what they have on their land, its background and why it is important Without their enthusiasm the monument is likely to deteriorate or become lost.

Mrs Paterson went on to show slides of an extremely wide range of monuments, mostly within her area of Middlesex, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Bucks.. These covered a complete range of archaeology from prehistoric times to recent industrial archaeology. The sheer variety, all illustrated with excellent photographs was amazing. It covered: major monuments such as Stonehenge and the Tower of London, linear earthworks, Iron Age ditches, crop marks, ridge and furrow and deserted villages,long barrows, round barrows and hillforts, Roman sites, moated sites and motte and bailey castles, guildhalls, churches, country houses, gatehouses and barns cathedrals, castles and parks,canals, bridges, pumping stations, kilns, windmills, lighthouses and Martello towers,crosses, street furniture, obelisks and many other curiosities

The final part of the talk covered examples of how monuments become damaged and given these examples, it was a wonder that many still exist. Besides the more obvious examples of weathering she dealt with destruction by plants and by animals. Trees can cause enormous damage ­overhanging branches can cause structural damage and when the trees are uprooted by gales or by farmers they create large hollows which allow further erosion to take place. The weight of ivy can also pull brickwork over. Undergrowth and thick scrub can blot out light and prevent the growth of ground vegetation, which again leads to erosion.

Cattle can churn up mud, horse riding over banks can cause damage to field monuments and rabbit burrows can also do damage About the only activity which helped preservation appeared to be sheep grazing on grass, and this could have a visible effect in as little as ten days.

The worst culprit was man. Farmers using heavy machinery, grading fields and ploughing up barrows, people eroding paths, treasure hunters digging holes, motorcyclists, traffic hitting buildings, vandalism and graffiti all took their toll.

The key to conservation is proper management and most of this had to be done through persuasion, talking to owners and advising them about solutions and availability of grants. This involved advice on keeping tree planting clear of monuments, providing footpaths to stop erosion, unobtrusively steering people away from vulnerable areas and avoiding ploughing around earthworks. This was particularly effective when working in partnership with the Wildlife Trust in thinning scrub and pollarding willows,etc..

Buildings decay when they fall into disuse and examples were shown where sympathetic restoration had taken place when they had been used for a different purpose. Management was easier where sites were under the direct control of English Heritage and there were uniformed custodians on site, information was available and shops selling appropriate items which brought in a steady income.

The most rewarding thing was catching the enthusiasm of children. The talk finished with an example of children managing a motte and bailey site in their school grounds. They were proud of this and it was a good omen for future conservation when they became adults.

Altogether it was a full, instructive and interesting evening.

A CELTIC KING’S TOMB AT ST. ALBANS by MARGARET TAYLOR

Verulamium Museum archaeologists under the direction of Mrs Ros Niblett have uncovered a most significant archaeological find on the high ground behind the Runcie Wing of the City Hospital where a housing development is planned.

Originally it was thought a Roman barracks had been found on the lower slopes, with graveyards and an industrial estate. Higher up the slope a temple emerged and right next to it a large Celtic grave dating to around 30 AD has been uncovered. The pit had a wooden but at the base, the body had been cremated and the ashes put back in a wooden coffin and the pit filled with turf and a mound built on the top.

The size of the burial and the richness of the goods found with the cremated remains – two pieces of bronze horse harness decorated with enamel, fragments of chain mail – show that the dead man was a member of a royal family.

The Roman temple was built next to the grave in about 70 AD and in use for 200 years and ceased when the Christian followers of Alban worshipped at his shrine on the opposite hill where the Cathedral now stands.

Evidence of human skulls, including one female, oxen and pottery found in the perimeter ditches await further analysis and we look forward to further interpretation and publication as to who the dead man was, and how important the settlement was before the Roman conquest, both of which remain a mystery.

HENDON AERODROME by BILL FIRTH

A number of people have asked recently about what is happening to the historic, listed buildings at Hendon Aerodrome. The short answer is nothing and, in the meantime, they are deteriorating further

The problem is that , in these recessionary days, the Ministry of Defence cannot find a buyer for the site – the situation may be aggravated by the restrictions on development posed by the listed buildings. Being a Government Department the Ministry is not statutorily bound to maintain listed buildings, unlike a private owner and so dereliction continues.

Last year the buildings were reported to English Heritage as “listed buildings at risk” but they did not appear on the published list of “at risk” buldings. Barnet planners are trying to persuade English Heritage to put the buildings on the “at risk” list, although I am not sure that listing will achieve more than just that The planners are also hoping to persuade English Heritage to put pressure on the Ministry to do something about the buildings, which may be more effective than the “at risk”listing. The planners have also told me that the site is secure against entry.

Until the election is over there does not seem to be much we can do but, afterwards, we can try some pressure of our own again.

AUSTRALIA DAY Cambridge,March 2, 1992 by AUDREY HOOSON

Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology organised this day meeting when papers were presented on the old and the new in Australian archaeology. As stated at the meeting “Australian archaeology is not much known outside Australia. This meeting, the first devoted to Australian archaeology in Britain, may be the first outside Australia itself” Several HADAS members with a special interest in prehistory were present.

The first speakers discussed luminescence, racemization and radiocarbon dating techniques with emphasis on their accuracy and reliability particularly for dating the earliest arrival of humans in Australia. Luminescence dating (both thermal and optically- stimulated) of artifact-bearing quartz sands at two sites in the western Arnhem Land region of northern Australia currently suggests that this took place 50-60,000 years ago.

Australian archaeologists need to engage with the Aboriginal people in the developing of research agendas and in the management of archaeological materials which are part of the Aboriginal heritage and culture. The presence of contemporary groups of hunter gatherers also provides ethno-archaeologists with evidence that can be considered in site interpretation.

Robert John Ware was an interesting speaker on this aspect. He is manager of the Aboriginal Heritage Branch of the South Australia State Government and administers the Aboriginal Sites Protection legislation. He is an Aboriginal and his responsibilities include evaluating and discussing with the relevant local Aboriginal communities projects which researchers wish to undertake in Aboriginal territory. He described some of the problems involved, especially when the researchers have failed to gain the respect of the Aboriginal people.

Presentations on the rock art in Arnhem Land and the Katherine region, Northern Territory, were given by Josephine Flood and Christopher Chippendale. Rock art is extremely difficult and sometimes impossible to date. In addition to excavations in rock shelters the relative antiquity of the very broad range of styles, techniques and subjects is being studied by analysis of superimpositions and differing degrees of weathering on art on the same rock surface.

Seven of the speakers were Australian and all ten are active in Australian archaeology. From the application of the recent developments in scientific dating, it was anticipated that Australian archaeology will have an important significance for future interpretations of the Palaeolithic.

NOTE FROM THE MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY by PHYLLIS FLETCHER

With this April Newsletter you will find reminders of subscriptions due on 1st April. I should be pleased to receive your subscriptions as soon as possible. Those who pay by Standing Order, or who have joined since lst January 1992, please ignore this request.

THIRTY YEARS ON

The Society’s Prospects for Its Fourth Decade by VICTOR JONES

The Society’s 1962 Constitution contained as a principle objective, the study of Archaeology and Local History of the area. This aim later changed to include the area of the whole of the newly created Borough of Barnet. Other aims were to widen the general understanding of the subject, and to arrange visits, lectures and active field research.

The Society has a few founder members stilt active, a large contingent of members of many years standing, and a lot of new members who joined in recent years. These include 8 who joined us since January: we welcome them and hope they will enjoy our 1992/3 season of activity.

The First Thirty Years

The 30 years of the Society’s work covered a wide range of archaeological projects. Among the earliest was the location of a small section of a Roman road in Copthall fields area following a series of investigations by leading archaeologists searching for a Roman road running from the Midlands to London. This involved excavations and surveys near Arkley, at Barnet Gate, and further south in the Copthall area these have not been followed up.

A series of building sites were excavated in the Burroughs and Greyhound Hill in Hendon during the 1960s Material was found from the Middle Ages, and on one site material of Saxon date was found, thus confirming the Saxon origin of Hendon.

In the early 1970s, projects were undertaken at sites in Finchley, East Barnet, Colindale and Edgware. There were field walks to search for Roman material in the Brockley Hill area and resistance surveys at various locations. There were digs in Golders Green, Finchley and Barnet, many leaving unanswered questions. Various finds were made, some of Roman material, more from the Middle Ages, and an occasional prehistoric item.

Other projects included studies for the Chipping Barnet Quincentennary Celebrations. This was followed by excavations at the Old Bull Pub in High Street , Barnet, yielding an interesting range of early Middle Ages materials as has later work at the Mitre Inn and the Charity House on Barnet Hill. A long survey was made in the Hadley Wood area of a suspected Iron Age earth work: Though now well documented, no date confirmation was possible, In Whetstone a very interesting Tudor House near the cross roads was surveyed and drawn and is now well restored.

The Prehistoric Hunters of Hampstead

A very major undertaking was commenced in 1976 which turned into a wide ranging series of projects. It came to be known as the West Heath Dig, and developed like ‘Topsey’ from very small beginnings into a very large project indeed.

The start was when a HADAS member walking on the Heath noticed some man worked flints. This led to the discovery of a Middle Stone Age (6000 BC) Hunter camp, involving a six year excavation of a woodland site, followed by a further 2/3 year second stage project to expand some aspects.

Both projects resulted in interesting discoveries and scientific studies, and some of these took several years to complete. The report on the first stage was published by the Society at the end of last year, and the second report is due to follow soon.

Later Projects

More recent Society projects included a dig in 1987 at Brockley Hill. New water supply works were being undertaken near this major Roman site and the dig was to salvage possible Roman remains. We discovered a section of an unknown medieval road, and also a number of interesting Roman tile and pottery fragments. New Stone Age flint artifacts were found in a field area near the site, including one arrow head and a number of flint tools, some partly finished. As far as we know , these had not been previously reported in the area and the full extent of the deposit remains to be explored.

A large new shopping precinct was developed next to the old Chipping Barnet market area. A number of test excavations were made and indicated there had been a little early development to the north of St. John’s Church, but most was to the south and east of it.

Later excavations in Barnet High Road at the back of the Mitre pub and on a site previously occupied by the Charity House were made in 1990/1, Early Middle Age (1150 AD) material and one or two items ,possibly of Roman origin were found.

Another excavation near the oldest church in the area, at East Barnet, found only the remains of a Victorian Farm Cottage, instead of the hoped for evidence of an early village. In Whetstone, work on early Tudor houses produced records throwing new light on the development of this area at the time when the route of the Great North Road was changed in the late 15th century.

It will be seen that little investigation has been made in some of the peripheral areas of the Borough, such as Cricklewood. West Hendon, and the area near there west of Watling Street, The area beyond Arkley and Barnet, and in the East in Friern Barnet and East Finchley.

Members suggestions as to future projects would be welcome.

The Archives and the Library

The Society now has a wide range of finds including Stone Age tools, Roman pottery, Middle Age material, some coins and a few other objects. Most are now collected together, with the written archives, in our newly equipped room at Avenue House, East End Road, Finchley. By arrangement with committee members the finds can now be seen. As many members know, The Society is fortunate in having a substantial collection of reference and general interest books on archaeology and local history. These were damaged by fire at Avenue House but have now been restored and indexed by our new librarians Roy Walker and Vicky O’Connor (Tel: 081,361.1350)

THE STRANGE STORY OF THE MYLODON by STEWART J. WILD

I recently spent some time on holiday in South America, including Tierra del Fuego and the Beagle Channel. It is a vast, largely empty part of the world, with magnificent scenery but not much in the way of archaeological interest.

However, some 15 miles north of Puerto Natales in southern Chile, there is a huge cave (500 ft wide, 100ft deep) where in 1895 were discovered the skin and bones of a strange hairy mammal, later identified as Mylodon Listai, or the prehistoric Giant Sloth.

The story will be familiar to HADAS members who have read Bruce Chatwin’s excellent book In Patagonia, published in 1977 and still available in paperback. Various archaeologists were involved in the 1890s; some of the mylodon ‘s remains were sent to the British Museum, but only the bones survived the journey.

Not much is known about the animal or why only one specimen has been found, There is evidence of human habitation in the cave, but the mylodon, dating from around 10,000 years ago, may have been deposited there by a later glacial action. All that one sees today is a fibreglass replica in the cave to show what a giant sloth looked like – its the size of a grizzly bear with a long neck and snout.

HADAS LIBRARY by ROY WALKER

The recent acquisitions included three books which may be of interest to members who attended Helen Paterson’s lecture on March 3rd. They date from the early `fifties which gives them a curiosity value, and are from the HMSO illustrated regional guide series of ancient monuments under Government care. Unfortunately, the series is not complete.

Volume 1, Northern England (1951) Lord Harlech

Volume 2, Southern England (1952) Lord Harlech

and Volume 4, South Wales and Monmouthshire (1954) Sir Cyril Fox

Another incomplete series, donated by Barnet Libraries, is Ancient Peoples and Places, edited by

Glyn Daniel (Thames and Hudson). The volumes at Avenue House are

3. Sicily before the Greeks, L.Bernabo Brea (1957)

11 Malta, ID Evans (1959)

15. The origins of Rome, R Bloch (1960)

35 Sardinia, M Guido (1963)

37 Bones, Bodies and Disease. C. Wells (1964)

45. Poland, K. Jazdzewski (1965)

61. Spain and Portugal, H.N. Savory (1968)

69. South East England, R Jessup (1970)

76. Northern Italy before Rome, L. Barfield (1971)

Finally, for those visiting Waltham Abbey with HADAS on 16th May the Library holds one copy of “Old Waltham Abbey in Pictures” by K.N. Bascombe (Waltham Abbey Historical Society – 1985).

THE ATLANTIS OF THE SANDS by STEWART J WILD

In the shifting desert sands of southern Oman, a combination of space-age technology and ancient literature may, according to Newsweek have located the ancient city of Ubar.

Mentioned in the Koran as a ‘city of towers’ called ham and by Ptolemy who referred to it as Omanum Emporium, the entrepot city of Ubar has been the subject of many legends over the centuries. Captivated by references in The Arabian Nights, T.E. Lawrence called it the ‘Atlantis of the sands”.

In 1981 a couple of Americans started to search in earnest. Using computers to comb ancient texts, and satellite experts to aid in location they teamed up with Sir Ranulph Fiennes last year to mount an expedition. When digging began the first finds were astonishing – an octagonal walled fortress emerged from the desert.

Outside the walls, archaeologists found more than 40 campsites – consistent with classical accounts of vast camel caravans which assembled at Ubar. The first artifacts from the site include Roman, Greek, Chinese, Egyptian and Syrian pottery shards, the latter dating from 2,800BC.

The site was found by two NASA scientists who scanned the region with sand-penetrating radar mounted on the space shuttle Challenger. They cross-checked the findings with images from US and French satellites, producing a map of the desert which showed ancient caravan routes and aquifers. Digging began at a point where a known route crossed an aquifer.

Some American archaeologists are sceptical that the remains are in fact those of the fabled city. However, sufficient funds have been raised to allow 40 workers to continue excavating for up to five years, and some Omanis are hoping they might find a treasure trove on a par with Pompeii.

MEMBERS NEWS

CONGRATULATIONS to Pamela Taylor on being elected both a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and President of the Mill Hill Historical Society. Our distinguished editor of “A Place in Time” will also appear in print again, as the paper she presented to last summer’s Battle Conference entitled “The Endowment and Military Obligations of the Bishopric of London, a Re-assessment of Three Sources’ will appear shortly in its proceedings, Anglo Norman Studies.

Frieda Wilkinson – almost a founder member – is in the Royal Free. She will have returned home by now and we hope to see her back at lectures and outings again soon.

Mrs Crimbley and Mrs Kuttner – two more recent members who have joined us on many outings and weekends, have reluctantly decided to leave the Society. due to advancing years. But they would like to thank us all for the enjoyment we have given them and for all the places and excavations they have visited with us.

EXCAVATION TRAINING

The annual excavation training school organised by Keele University will be continuing in its eighth season on a Roman villa site in Gloucestershire, in two-week sessions, in June July and August. Beginners or diggers with some experience can attend for any or all of the six weeks, and training in all aspects of archaeology will be provided during all the weeks. Tuition fee is £65 a week. For application forms, which should be returned as soon as possible. contact Liz Holliday. TEL .0923 267483.

PROGRAMME NEWS MICROMART-April 25th

Saturday Morning Only — MICROMART. (Have we invented a new word) at St. Mary’s Church Hall, Church End, Top of Greyhound Hill, Hendon same place as our October Minimart. Members very kindly give us good summer wear to sell, which is difficult in October, so we are going to attempt a low-key Spring effort to dispose of that and other various general items which have accumulated—bric-a-brac and a few books. Tessa will be doing her usual duties in the kitchen, serving coffee, tea and biscuits. Small notices will be available at the April lecture for anyone who can display one in a car, shop or notice board. Offers of help from our regulars or new members will be appreciated. Our Society costs are going up—higher Library charges for lectures and higher rent and charges at Avenue House. So please advertise this fund-raising Spring Sale and come along to it with your friends. For further information ring Dorothy Newbury on 203 0950.

Combine the Micromart with a visit to Church Farm House Museum to see an exhibition entitled GRAPHIC NOUVELLE—The History of Stories in Pictures from 1066 to the present day. The exhibition will be open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (price on Saturdays £1).

DORSET WEEKEND—August 21, 22 & 23

We have had a good response to our Dorset project and accommodation has been booked in the medieval town of Sherborne. A few more places are still available and the time has come to ask for deposits and firm book­ings. We plan to visit Avebury Village and Neolithic Stone Circle, Maiden Castle, the most famous pre-Roman earthworks in Britain, and Dorchester. It will not be possible to visit Tyneham so we will delete Corfe as well, but will possibly include Abbotsbury, Cerne Abbas or Glastonbury. The final itinerary has yet to be arranged. Departure will be on Friday morning as usual, returning Sunday evening.

COST £85 to include coach throughout, breakfast, packed lunches and evening meals, and single or double room accommodation in modern study centre attached to 8th century Sherborne School. Please complete the slip below as confirmation of your booking and return it with a deposit of £20 by May 1st latest.

THE GOVERNORS’ HALL

The newly refurbished Governors’ Hall at St. Thomas’ Hospital provides prestigious central London conference and banqueting facilities. The magni­ficent historic main hail, associated rooms and riverside terrace are located directly opposite the Houses of Parliament within a few minutes walk of Westminster and Waterloo stations.

All income generated by The Governors’ Hall is used to improve patient facilities and care within the hospital.

The Governors’ Hall, with its lofty ceiling, oak panelling and tall cupola, combines grandeur and history with first class modern services and a location second to none.

St. Thomas’ was founded in the 12th century and since then has achieved many landmarks in caring, teaching and research including the foundation of the first school of nursing in the UK by Florence Nightingale. St. Thomas’ is one of London’s great teaching hospitals.

The Governors’ Hall was constructed at St. Thomas’ in 1904 by Percival! Currey as the riverfront extension to his father Henry Currey’s Victorian hospital of 1871. The block also housed the Grand Committee Room (an ante room to the Governors’ Hall), Treasurers Department, the Almoner’s Room and Counting House.

The rooms were, sadly, only in use for a short time in their original form. The hospital suffered extensive damage during the London Blitz of 1940 and the Hall was subdivided horizontally and vertically to form much needed office and residential accommodation. Windows and panelling were removed and only the fine ceiling hinted at the suite’s former splendour.

In 1990, work began to restore The Governors’ Hall, an architectural treasure of the hospital. The work, which was generously commissioned by the Special Trustees of St. Thomas’ hospital, has recreated one of London’s grand meeting places.

The project was completed in October 1991.

NEWSLETTER 252 Edited by Liz Sagues MARCH 1992

Diary

Tuesday, March 3 Ancient Monuments — Their Care and Preservation

by Helen Paterson, AIFA (HADAS lecture)

Miss Paterson has been Field Monuments Warden for English Heritage since December 1978. She will show slides of ancient monuments in the Greater London area, Hertfordshire and possibly Essex and will talk about the whole legal position and the problems to be overcome with ploughing and redevelopment.

Saturday, March 21 29th Annual Conference of London Archaeologists,

at the Museum of London, 11am – 5.30pm The theme is Recent Archaeological Work in the London Area and the talks cover excavations at Upminster, Tolworth and Old Malden, Cheapside, Long Acre and Bull Wharf. The afternoon session is entitled Cess Flies and What They Are … There will be the usual displays of recent work undertaken by local societies, HADAS included. For tickets (£3 for LAMAS members, £4 for non-members, including afternoon tea) apply to LAMAS, c/o Museum of London, London Wall, London EC2Y 5HN.

Tuesday, April 7 Archaeology and History of Sutton House, Hackney

by Mike Gray. (HADAS lecture)

Tuesday, May 5 HADAS Annual General Meeting

Saturday May 16 Our first outing of 1992 is a follow-up to the April 7 lecture ­a visit to Sutton House and then on to Waltham Abbey with Peter Huggins, Waltham Abbey Archaeological Society

Saturday, June 20 Outing to Loughborough, Rushton and Geddington

Saturday July 11 Outing to Witney to the recent excavation by Oxford Archaeological Unit (see article on page 6)

August 28,29,30 Weekend in Dorset — to be confirmed. Please see separate enclosure with this Newsletter

Tuesday, October 6 The Roman Pottery Manufacturing Site in Highgate Woods

by Harvey Sheldon (HADAS lecture)

Saturday, October 3 or 10 Minimart

Tuesday November, 3 Excavating in Northern Iraq — from the Greeks to the Mongols by Dr John Curtis (HADAS lecture)

Tuesday, December 1 or 8 Christmas Dinner

HADAS lectures are held at Hendon Library, The Burroughs, at 8pm for 8.30pm.

Dorothy Newbury writes: As you will see the above dates are not all confirmed yet. It is hoped a complete programme card will accompany this Newsletter. It has been suggested that we have a small Mini-Minimart one Saturday in the spring, morning only, with coffee, to dispose of the vast amount of summer wear which we can never sell in October and also the accumulation of other goods we already have to hand.

The items “wanted and for sale” on the slip issued monthly are most welcome. Please continue to send in your sales and wants. Although we don’t sell everything, it is very lucrative and goes a long way towards boosting our takings at the annual Minimart.

Pamela Taylor provides some answers to:

The question of Temple Fortune

I hope the following note will answer Ann Kahn’s query concerning Temple Fortune, although the early history of the area still has to be disentangled and no attempt has yet succeeded.

The Place-Names of Middlesex (1942), p.59, gives the earliest reference as Rocque’s map of 1754 and derives “Temple” from the Templars, who held land within Hendon in 1243. This is almost certainly the correct derivation, but a linking reference which it makes to The Temples in the 1574 Hendon Manor survey is largely irrelevant. The survey makes it plain that The Temples lay on the southern bound­ary, west of Hodford Wood corner, and it must therefore be the adjacent former Templar estate within Hampstead.

The Victoria County History of Middlesex (vol.5, 1976, p.21) almost certainly confuses the history of the Temple Fortune estate with that of a later Templar acquisition in west Hendon, which became part of their Kingsbury manor of Freren (for which see the same volume, p.60). It was the estate including Temple Fortune which was given to the Templars in 1243. Like most of the Templar property, it seems to have passed at their suppression to the Hospitallers. The history after the Dissolution is obscure: part (the Wyldes estate) passed to Eton College in the 16th century, but the Finchley part (known as Temple Croft, and including the site of Avenue House) re­mained in private hands. There is a detailed account of the Finchley descent in VCH vol.6, 1980, p.60.

The Place-Names of Middlesex says the mean­ing of “Fortune” is not clear, but cross-refers to

Ann Kahn writes: I am most grateful to John Enderby, George Ingram and Jean Snelling who have replied to my query on the origins of Temple Fortune. Other members may also be interested in the results I have had so far. I have had no definite explanation yet, but there seems to be a connection with the Knights Templar who may have had a staging post in the area. Templars and Temple are fairly common elements in street names in Finchley Church End and Temple Fortune. Fortune Gate in Willesden, which may be foran-tune that is in front of the tun of Harlesden. There is no archaeological or other actual evidence concerning early settlement of Temple Fortune, but it seems on more nebulous grounds by far the most likely loca­tion for the centre of Bleccanham, the Westminster estate separately acquired by the abbey in the 10th century (and it may even have belonged previously to the small earlier foundation) but soon amalga­mated with Hendon. We know that Bleccanham was the area south of the Brent, and it must have had an estate centre. All our early settlements are on high or rising land, and south of the Brent the only hills are at Temple For­tune and Childs Hill. The latter is almost certainly the centre of another estate, Codanhlaw, appearing separately in the early Westminster charters.

Another indicator comes from the routes of early roads. The importance of the road junction at

Temple Fortune, long before the creation of the Finchley Road, is still obvious on maps such as Cooke (1796). This was the junction of the route from Hendon via Mutton Bridge and the old route from Finchley later replaced by the Finchley Road. The route southwards already terminated abruptly, as Wild Hatch still does, but this was obviously a later development, which has been well charted by stu­dents of Wyldes and Hampstead.

It is at least possible that the “Fortune” part of Temple Fortune commemorates Bleccanham, which became the tun in front of the tun of Hendon. Ar­chaeological help would be highly welcome!

Ekwall’s Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Placenames (4th edition) ignores Temple Fortune, but gives Forton, Lancs, and Forton, Shropshire, as “For­tune” in D.B. (Domesday Book), and includes Fortun, Staffordshire, as “tun by a ford”. This seems to tie up with the information received that the line of the Finchley Road was further west, nearer Bridge Lane. It may be that there was a ford there and this is the origin of the second part of the name.

In brief …

Wembley History Society is celebrating is 40th anniversary with a talk 1952-1992, The Years In Be­tween, on March 20 at its usual venue, Old St Andrew’s Church, Kingsbury, from 7.30pm to 9pm.

The annual excavation training school organ­ised by Keele University will be continuing in its eighth season on a Roman villa site in Gloucester­shire, in two-week sessions in June, July and August. Beginners or diggers with some experience can at­tend for any or all of the six weeks, and training in all aspects of archaeology will be provided during all the weeks. Tuition fee is £65 a week. For application forms, which should be returned as soon as possible, contact Liz Holliday, 081-204 4616.

Bill Bass sends

St Mary’s School, Finchley Central: Following an evaluation dig in January 1991, the Museum of Lon­don has returned for a full-scale excavation, which started on February 3 and is intended to last six weeks. The main body of the Victorian building has been demolished and is being cleared by contractors. Staff from the MoL and the Passmore Edwards Mu­seum are cleaning the underlying layers by hand. In the original evaluation finds included hearths, slot beams, post holes, pits and a ditch, with large amounts of associated pottery. The pottery was varied: grey wares, sandy shelly wares and some splashed glazed wares. Most dates to around 1150­1250 AD, with some possibly late Saxon.

The new dig has already recovered a large rim sherd, evidence of plough soil and some very clear post holes. The MoL has invited HADAS to participate and arrangements are being made for Sunday and week-day digging. If members are interested in this or any other dig, please contact Brian Wrigley, Andy Simpson, Arthur Till or myself (081-449 0165).

News from previous digs: In February 1982 HADAS organised a rescue dig at the Old Bull Arts

Centre, this site being close to the medieval heart of Barnet. Most evidence was Victorian, but some sherds of medieval pottery were recovered.

The Old Bull now has permission for an exten­sion which will house a visual arts gallery and pro-

vide access for people with disabilities, including a lift and staircase at the back. Limited observation of the trench for the lift foundation did not reveal any further finds or features. Site watching will continue as building progresses.

In 1990 the society conducted an excavation at 19-25 High Street, Barnet (Newsletter 237). This yielded a large quantity of medieval pottery sherds associ­ated with a pebble yard feature, also post-medieval wall footing, pits and pottery. The site is now being developed into a three-storey office/shop building, which involves the demolition of Guyscliffe House (former Barnet College extension) and 1, 3 and 5 Fitzjohn Avenue, which is now taking place. Hope­fully some form of site-watching will continue.

New sites: Other sites on which HADAS Exca­vation Committee members have their eyes include the former Victoria Maternity Hospital, Barnet (be­ing developed into “posh” offices), and Old Fold Manor Golf Club and Two Brewers pub, Hadley, both on the site of the Battle of Barnet. The Two Brewers is apparently to be demolished following a fire. In Edgware, at Edgwarebu ry Park (near Brockley Hill) HADAS has been asked to conduct some field walking and excavation. This is now being organ­ised.

Weight training for diggers: For the last 20 years or so eight (heavy) boxes of Brockley Hill Roman pottery have lain in the depths of the Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute. Recently we were asked to remove them, to free the space. So on February 5 a team from HADAS Removals Ltd, with the whip cracked by John Enderby, shifted the boxes to our storage room at College Farm, Finchley. Thanks to the Institute for looking after the material over the years.

A section dug as footings by the builders was examined and photographed and a trench two metres by one was dug on lower ground to check whether the soil profile was similar. It was not — unfortunately this section showed a truncated subsoil on to which topsoil had been placed. There was very little evidence of soil weathering and no iron pan development.

Conclusion: between one and two feet of topsoil had been placed on a truncated subsoil (Claygate Beds). This, as walking and earlier examination had shown, was very disturbed by various gardening and construc­tion activities. Thus the many miscellaneous finds were all assumed to be derived.

The southern boundary area from which most of the flint flakes had come was re-examined, but appeared as disturbed as the rest of the area (or even more dis­turbed) and not worthy of further attention.

Finds, inventory and photos are to be stored at Avenue House.

Margaret Maher writes:

Seven members met at short notice at 9am on February 6 to inspect the site of 61 West Heath Drive, Hampstead, which is to be redeveloped. We had permission to investigate the rear part of the two-acre sloping site, in an area of the garden which appeared to have been unaffected by previous building activity.

The next four-and-a-half hours were spent walk­ing over the ground and loosening the smeared (ma­chine cleared) topsoil in a search for finds. A few modern and Victorian potsherds were recovered, a clay pipe stem and two rusted metal objects so corroded as to be unidentifiable. The most interesting fragments came from a white glazed earthenware milk jar. Unfortu­nately, the name of the company was missing.

From the bottom (literally) of the garden at the far end of the site just by the boundary fence a number of small flint flakes were recovered. Probably Mesolithic, they were of considerable interest because of the prox­imity of the West Heath site, some 600 metres to the NE. Peter Pickering reports on the first lecture of 1992

An underground feast

The first event of 1992 had a similar structure to the last event of 1991. It had three courses. The first, or appetiser course, took the form of a few absolutely superb pictures of cave paintings from Lascaux. The third, or dessert course, was to some tastes macabre — the catacombs of Paris, ossuaries with the bones arranged in decorative patterns on the walls.

But it was the entrée on which Sylvia Beaumon had lavished all her culinary skills, and it was a feast indeed, which few of us could have anticipated when we arrived that mild winter evening in Hendon Library.

Maastricht is well known now to all who follow current affairs with any interest. But very few will have known that nearby are miles and miles of underground passages, disused mines, wherein for 400 years people have been drawing, painting and sculpting on the walls.

They have used different mediums, with differ­ing degrees of professionalism, and of course have depicted a wide range of subjects. Many relate to wars — a picture of Napoleon, a list of families who suffered in the Second World War; many were religious in inspiration, for the passages had been used by trainee Jesuits for their periods of recreation; there were advertisements for margarine; and fan­tasy landscapes of the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth. It was, literally, amazing.

We cannot have been alone in finding the talk provoked more conversation and reminiscence than many of the more academic lectures we have heard. What we had seen underground, when and where. What was the fascination that surrounded the sub­terranean? Whether this was the true “pop art”.

Thank you, HADAS, for the capacity always to surprise.

Roy Walker links books to talk

Art on the library shelves

Though books relating specifically to the February lec­ture on subterranean art are few, the HADAS collection does contain a number of works on prehistoric art. These are:

Cave Drawings: An Exhibition of Drawings by the Abbe Breuil of Palaeolithic Paintings and Engravings (Arts Council, 1954),

Larousse Encyclopaedia of Prehistoric and Ancient Art (Gen. Ed R. Huyghe, 1957),

Lascaux: Paintings and Engravings (A. Laming, 1959),

Secrets of the Ice Age: The World of the Cave Artists (E. Hadingham, 1979).

And the rest of the list:

Nearly 200 new accessions have been catalogued since the Avenue House fire, including several books from the Barnet Library reserve collection kindly do­nated by the borough. Of local and society interest are the following:

Finchley’s Countryside: A Glimpse into its Past and Threats to its Future (O. Natelson),

Industrial Monuments in Hertfordshire (W. Branch Johnson),

Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (London Borough of Barnet),

Archaeological Collections in London (London Museums Service),

The Archaeology of Ritual and Magic (Ralph Merrifield),

Paleolithic Europe: A Theoretical and Systematic Study (Desmond Collins).

If you are interested in borro wing any of the above or would like access to the room at Avenue House to browse through the library, then please telephone 081­361 1350 or make contact at the next HADAS meeting.

Nothing new in nefarious habits

So there’s nothing new in thieves’ habits, according to a report last month in the Daily Telegraph.

The report describes how archaeologists in York were puzzled by the number of empty 13th century purses they found on a site in the city. But medieval purses were not the only finds. Each Monday, when they returned to the site, they discovered more empty purses and wallets — 20th century ones.

Just as the modern thieves tossed their un­wanted booty away in a quiet alleyway, so did their counterparts 700 years earlier, the archaeologists concluded.

“It seems quite a nice example of behavior which hasn’t changed,” Nick Pearson, senior field officer with the York Archaeological Trust, is re­ported as saying.

Not a magical experience

Liz Sagues follows the argument against a long-held theory

The long-contentious “cave art was hunting magic” theory surfaced briefly during the February lecture. For members who’d like to know the latest state of argument, Paul Bahn summarises it cogently — and comes down firmly against a major hunting symbolism in the art of the palaeo­lithic hunters — in Rock Art and Pre­history.

This monograph, edited by Balm and Andrée Rosenfeld, comprises pa­pers presented to the first congress of the Australian Rock Art Research Association, held in Darwin in au­tumn 1988.

De-mythifying the Montespan bear: Cartoon by Laurent, one of the illustrations in Paul Bahn’s paper in Rock Art and prehistory, where it is reproduced by kind permission of Pierre Fanlac.

Bahn uses the example of the bear at Montespan (“the bear facts” is one of his sub-headings) to per­suade readers that hunting magic is in the mind of the interpreters, not the originators, of the art. Hunting, he argues, may well have played a role in the production of some palaeolithic art, in some functional or more mystical way, “but it is clearly not a dominant feature”. His words are entertaining, his thesis convincing.

As might be expected, the main emphasis of the volume is on Australian prehistoric art. But there is plenty, too, to interest anyone with a general enthu­siasm for the subject. Ireland and Indonesia, for example, are among other locations of prehistoric art which are considered, while female artists, “the un­recognised factor in sacred rock art production”, are the subject of another paper. The bibliographies, also, are invaluable for anyone who wants to take the subject further. One warning, though: you’ll find that not all the contributions share the lightness of touch of Bahn’s.

Rock Art and Prehistory is the tenth in a series of archaeological mongraphs published by Oxbow Books, whose Oxford headquarters are a treasure-house of archaeological publications. Other subjects in the series range from The Early Roman Empire in the West to the The Trireme Trials 1988, from Amber in Prehistoric Britain to Anatolian Iron Ages. Prices vary; Rock Art and Prehistory is £15.

Any member visiting Oxford could happily spend hours browsing through Oxbow’s shelves, which contain a huge variety of in-print archaeologi­cal titles, remaindered ones hard to find elsewhere (Bahn and Vertut’s Images of the Ice Age, £15, is among them), obscure monographs including a good number published overseas, bargain books and sec­ond-hand volumes.

And if you can’t get to Oxford, or can’t face the lengthy climb up to the bookshop, everything is available by post: write to Oxbow Books, Park End Place, Oxford OX1 1HN (0865 241249) for a list. Postal charges are 10 per cent of order value, up to a maximum of £2.50, and you can pay by cheque or credit card.

If you are going in person, Oxbow is very close to Oxford station and is open all day Monday to Friday and on Saturday morning. A recommended stopping-point for HADAS members.

Contributions wanted!

The schedule for Newsletter editors for the remainder of 1992 has been published

This list includes one new editor and one returned after a lapse of four years. We have no reserve editor — there must be someone out there who could stand in in an emergency, so please volunteer.

Will ALL members please send in any news or reports, local or otherwise, to the editor of the relevant month’s Newsletter by the due date. Life would be made much easier for the editors if they didn’t have to ring around.

The society’s thanks must go to all 12 editors for keeping the Newsletter going. It is much appreciated by all our members and is an important factor in keeping up our membership numbers to around 360. Thanks are due also to Alan Lawson, who delivers some 30 Newsletters in Hampstead Garden Suburb every month, thus saving the society about £60 a year.

Ted Sammes reports on

A sad event, a happy occasion

In an upstairs room of the City Pride pub in Farringdon Road, Clerkenwell, on the evening of February 12 there gathered a cross-section of every­one engaged in the archaeology of Greater London in one form or another.

The room was packed almost to capacity, though not quite to the extent of drinking out of your neigh­bour’s glass! There must have been more than 100 people assembled there to wish Harvey Sheldon all the best for the future.

As mentioned in last month’s Newsletter, Harvey led the first team of full-time professional archaeologists in London from 1970, becoming the Museum of London’s Archaeology Officer and later, in 1983, head of its Department of Greater London Archaeology.

Appropriately, the farewell party was held close to Ray Street, where the processing of archaeological material has taken place for many years under his guidance.

This was not an “organised do” but a spontane­ous happening. Among the people present I spotted our own President, Ralph Merrifield. I don’t know if it ran to speeches, but the overall atmosphere was buoyant and I’m sure very heartening to Harvey.

A hard-hitting commentary on what led up to this event is provided by Gromaticus in The London Archaeologist, Winter 1991, Vol 6, No 13, page 341. A more general article on Harvey appeared in Current Archaeology, 1991, No 124, page 165.

Under canvas …

The site of the HADAS July outing is something special in archaeological terms — but in its modern construc­tion, rather than its ancient.

English Heritage has built a £300,000 computer-designed, Teflon-coated canopy over the remains of the 12th century fortified manor built by the Bishops of Winchester at Witney, Oxfordshire, recently uncovered by Oxford Archaeological Unit in a 10-week rescue dig.

The tent is designed to be maintenance-free and to last for 25 years, and its anchor points avoid damaging any buried structures. It covers the massive stone foun­dations of the solar, which retains its original 12th century exterior rendering and also has the largest Nor­man lavatories known in England.

The manor survived to the 18th century as a pictur­esque ruin and final above-ground traces were obliter­ated at the beginning of this century. The present excavation was in advance of planned redevelopment of the site as retirement homes, but the outline planning permission for this has been successfully overturned in favour of preservation of the Norman remains. It willed open to the public in early summer, with a full-scale interpretative display, including audio facilities.

papers from the past reveal

The crimes and the sentences

It didn’t do, in the 17th century, to disturb the neigh­bours. Witness the example of Agnes Miller, wife of a Finchley yeoman, who in January 1616 was sen­tenced “to be duckt in some pond of water” for being “a notorious and common scoulde and disturber of the neighbours and honest inhabitants of Finchley and Fryarn Barnett”.

Worse was the fate of Elizabeth Rutter, also a resident of Finchley, who a year earlier had been convicted of bewitching two sisters and their brother and murdering them by sorcery. A fourth child had also fallen beneath her spell, and she must hang, the justices decided.

For these and many more accounts of past jus­tice, Dorothy Newbury is indebted to a friend, John Harley, whose son has carefully researched, tran­scribed and annotated entries contained in the Calen­dar of the Sessions Books 1689-1709, published by W.J. Hardy in 1905, and volumes of Middlesex Sessions Rolls from the reigns of Tudor and Stuart monarchs, edited by J.C. Jeaffreson and published in the late 19th century.

The entries cover, in the main, happenings in Hendon, Finchley, Edgware and Hampstead. Ten sheets of Mr Harley junior’s work have been pre­sented to the society.

Tantalisingly, given the interest in witchcraft shown in recent HADAS Newsletters, information on such cases is limited. The details of the case of Helen Beriman, of Laleham, who was found not guilty of killing four calves by “witchcraft, inchantements, charmes and sorceries”, are not de­scribed. And those of Alice Bradley, of Hampstead, acquitted of committing witchcraft against two heif­ers, four hogs, a six-year-old boy and a woman, are omitted because of their length.

But there is information on Joan and William Hunt, of Hampstead, who featured in several witch­craft cases. In January and March 1614 they were cleared of allegations that “at the instigation of the devil (they) practised and exercised certain impious and diabolic arts, called witchcraftes, inchantments, charmes and sorceries” on a neighbour. But two years later Mrs Hunt was convicted of the same offence — this time against a three-year-old child ­and was sentenced to death.

Mr Harley notes that she was one of only three people to be hanged for witchcraft in Middlesex during the reign of James I. Six were acquitted, one dropped dead after pleading not guilty, and one was imprisoned and forced four times to make public confession in the pillory.

He adds: “Although no English county was ever seized with a real witch-craze, many parts of the country reached fairly high levels of persecution during the first half of the 17th century.” Essex, it seems, was particularly enthusiastic in its pursuit of alleged witches, though “nowhere near” as severe as many continental countries. Middlesex was “nota­ble for its high acquittal rate”.

His researches are full of other intriguing infor­mation on Tudor and Stuart justice and other legal affairs. There are, for example, the inn-keepers who protested at the suppression (or cancellation) of their licences. Edward Clarke, of Hendon, contended that the order closing his “ill-governed and disorderly house” was obtained by “surprize”, convinced the justices that his was “the most fitting house in the neighbourhood for the accommodation of travel­lers”, and got his licence back.

Six years after that, in 1697, the head constable and petty constables obtained an order preventing “the concourse of disorderly persons at Burrows Green, Hendon, in Whitsun week, assembling there under pretence of holding a fair”.

There were cases of blocked public ways and neglected bridges, information on the amount of aid outer London parishes were ordered to pay to inner London counterparts intolerably stretched by the plague, details of inquests — including one of a nine­year-old servant boy in Hendon, who stumbled and drowned in a pond while carrying an earthern pot of water — and domestic assaults.

And crime, of course. Two yeomen, Thomas Turner and John Church, who broke into a house at Finchley in 1563 and stole pieces of cloth worth 46 shillings, were sentenced to be hung. So, too, was Richard Fage, who with his wife Elizabeth robbed a woman on the highway in Edgware in 1569 and stole clothing worth 30 pence. Mrs Fage, who pleaded pregnancy, was allowed to bear and nurse her child but faced the death penalty two years later.

Less brutal, but still severe, was the sentence meted out to Alice Arthur, spinster, late of Hendon, convicted of vagrancy in 1572. She was ordered to “be whipt severely, and burnt on the right ear”.

There is much more of interest in the records, and Mr Harley’s sheets can be borrowed before they are deposited in the library. Contact Dorothy Newbury on 081-203 0950.

Sensible, but short on discussion

Lithics, the annually-published Newsletter of the Lithic Studies Society (No 11, 1990), has reviewed the HADAS report on the first five years of excava­tion at West Heath. Here we summarise the review and note some of the comments made by Alison Roberts, of the Quaternary Department of the Brit­ish Museum.

Describing the excavations as “a model of the type of work that can be achieved by an archaeological society”, Alison Roberts commends the report as “of very good value for the concise details with which the results are presented”. It is also, she says, “well-balanced and sensible”.

But she is less happy with the “lack of continuity in quality and style of the contributions” and with the failure to allow space for fully detailed discussion on several topics — the interpretation of “strike-a-lights”, for example, or the refitting project. On that latter subject, she remarks: “West Heath is one of the largest and best recorded Mesolithic assemblages in the coun­try, and the technological and spatial information possi­ble from the analysis of conjoining artefacts would be of considerable importance.”

She congratulates HADAS on the range and vari­ety of the post-excavation work and concludes: “The volume is packed full of interesting and useful informa­tion about this large Early Mesolithic site in North London… However, my major criticism … is that there was very little discussion or interpretation of the wealth of information presented. My appetite has been whet­ted and I look forward to hearing more about this site ­and especially to the report of the more recent phase of excavations…”

Copies of Excavations at the Mesolithic Site on West Heath, Hampstead 1976-1981, edited by Desmond Col­lins and Daphne Lorimer, BAR British Series 217, are available to members at £7, plus £1 postage, from Victor Jones, 78 Temple Fortune Lane, NW11 7TT.

Opening a shutter on the past

The firm which turned skills acquired in assaying to good use in the development of photography is the subject of the new exhibition at Church Farm House Museum — Johnsons of Hendon, Memories of a Major Photographic and Chemical Company.

The exhibition, which continues until March 22, explains that the company’s expertise with such chemicals as silver nitrate led to it becoming promi­nent in producing photographic chemicals and equip­ment. Johnsons acquired a site at Hendon during the First World War, when the expansion of aerial pho­tography for military purposes greatly accelerated the photographic chemical side of its work.

The activities of the firm in Hendon — where it was a major employer — are traced in the display, through its products and through the memorabilia of those who used to work for it.

Ted Sammes writes: Johnsons’ factory stood, until demolished in the 1970s, roughly where the car park of Brent Cross Shopping Centre is located to­day. There was also a warehouse in Brent Street, Hendon. The black and orange of the Johnsons’ advertisements and labels became a familiar “trade mark” to anyone involved in photography.

In an act of mindless commercial vandalism the records were burnt, and what is on display now has been assembled by Gerrard Roots over a period of at least two years, by patient contact and inquiry across the country. I am proud to have played some small part in its collection.

Getting better

Victor Jones, our treasurer, has had a short spell in hospital and is now home again. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope he will soon be in circula­tion again.