Past Newsletters

NEWSLETTER 251 Edited by Helen Gordon FEBRUARY 1992

DIARY

Tuesday February 4th ‘Paleolithic Cave Painting and Underground Artwork from Palaeolithic to Modern Day’ Sylvia Beamon M.A.

Mrs Beamon gave us a talk on Ice Houses after the HADAS A.G.M. in May 1988, just as we found our own ice-house in Hendon Convent grounds. Here is yet another success story of a mature student with a young family, reading Arch aeology and Anthropology at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. She is a founder member of Subterranea Brittanica started in 1974 – a Society to which several HADAS members belong. She lives in Royston and has studied the Royston Caves (which HADAS has visited) for over twenty years and put forward the theory that it may have been used by the Knights Templar, primarily as a store w.ith an addition of a chapel after problems with the local Prior. Her talk this time will be on Paleolithic cave painting end artwork up to the present day.

Wednesday February 26th HADAS members who missed the excellent lecture by Dr Essex-Lopresti in November 1990, on ‘The history of the New River’ from Amwell, Herts to Islington, have an opportunity to hear it at the City University at 6.30 pm – price £1 This is run in conjunction with Mary O’Connell’s City Guiding, and she says all HADAS members and friends are welcome.

Tuesday March 3rd ‘Ancient Monuments – Their care and Preservation’ – Helen Paterson

Tuesday April 7th ‘Achaeology and History of Sutton House, Hackney’ – Mike Grey

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

Tuesday October 6th ‘The Roman Pottery Manufacturing Site in Highgate Weeds’ Harvey Sheldon

Tuesday November 3rd ‘Excavating in Northern Iraq – from the Greeks to the Mongols’

Dr John Curtis

HADAS lectures are held at Hendon Library, The Burroughs, Hendon at 8.00 for 8.30 start. Coffee is available before the lecture. Members with cars please offer lifts home. The library is 5 minutes from Hendon Central underground, a few minutes from a

113 bus stop) and the 183 bus stops at the Burroughs.

Readers will have seen reports in the press some weeks ago of the finding of a Viking boat burial in the Orkneys. We are proud that Daphne Lorrimer was called to give an expert opinion on the bones as they lay undisturbed. Here is her first impression of the dramatic scene.

A Traveller’s Tale

A Viking boat burial is always exciting, but a Viking boat burial in peril from

storm and spring tide, is .an excitement of no mean order. So, it was with
considerable anticipation and a feeling of great privilege, that I answered a summons on the sixteenth of December, to examine the bones in the boat burial on Sanday, one

of the most northerly of the Orkney Isles. These bones had been discovered by the
local farmer and were being excavated by ADC Scotland Ltd, funds being provided by Historic Scotland and the Orkney Islands Council.

The setting was spectacular and the sky, when I arrived after a pre-dawn flight, was aflame from the rising sun and made a perfect backdrop – the fires of Valhalla (If a merchant rated Valhalla) – to this quite incredible excavation. The boat was quite small (a faering) but it had been chocked all round by stones and although the wooden planks had long since decayed, the metal rivets were still in place and there it sat, just as it had been left all those hundreds of years ago, a boat by the sea!

There were three burials and, by standing on my head, I gave them an inspection in situ and hazarded, what at that stage, could only be called the informed speculation, that they belonged to a man, a woman and a child. The man had been
separated from the other two by a small stone wall and was dignified by a sword, thought (beneath the rust) to be in its scabbard. On top of this was a lump of rusted metal which some said was a spearhead and some a bundle of arrows. He was clutching a decorated bone comb (which some again said was to remove the fleas from his beard!). He had a sickle and a disintegrated cloak brooch which, from the odd gleam, appeared to have been decorated with gold.

The woman not only had a comb, but an extrordinary and, in this country,

practically unique whalebone plate. About the size and shape of a kitchen chopping
board, it had a pair of handsomely carved horses’ heads at one end as an apparent handle.

One side of the plate was plain and the other proved, later, to have an intricately carved border – but no knife cuts. Only two similar plates have been found in Britain and forty in Norway. Its use is something of a mystery – it has been suggested as an ironing board using a lump of glass as a smoother, but the experts have yet to decide.

The boat also contained gaming pieces and weights. It was the presence of these weights which made Magna Dalland, the archaeologist in charge of the dig, think that the burial was that of a well-to-do merchant and, presumably, his family.Since the burial was elaborate, a nearby Viking settlement to provide the labour is postulated,

but the cause of death is, at the moment, unknown. Did illness, epidemic or
catastrophe overwhelm this little family? or were the ancient travellers’ tales from Russia true and slave girls had volunteered to accompany their master to the other world? It can only be hoped that the bones will speak but, alas, they rarely do!

The missing tomb of one of Britain’s most affable but luckless prime min­isters has been found sealed, unmarked and buried deep beside an abandoned parish church at Stanmore. Middlesex.

The discovery of the coro­net-surmounted coffin of the Earl of Aberdeen solves a mystery which has puzzled historians for more than 100 years. But it creates a new enigma: why was one of the most eminent Victorians left interred without inscriptions or memorials and with the door blocked by earth? His great-great-grandson, the Marquess et Aberdeen said last night that the discovery was “most interesting.” add­ing: “We had no idea where he was.”

George Hamllton-Gordon, fourth Earl of Aberdeen, called by Queen Victoria a “faithful friend”, was a no­table Foreign Secretary be­fore becoming PM in 1852. However, Britain drifted into the Crimean War under his leadership. He was forced to resign in 1855, dying five years later. According to one document. Queen Victoria sent her state coach in trib­ute for his burial in the grounds of St John the Evan. genet. Steamers, which was already roofless and disused because another church bad been built.

The earl’s disappearance has tantalised Roy Abbott. Harrow and Stanmore his­torical society treasurer for more than 50 years. He men­tioned it to Dr Frederick Hicks, who is hoping to raise £250.000 to make the ruined church safe for its 360th anniversary.

With a team of masons, Dr Hicks was removing ivy from the ruin. They were tracing some of the roots through the brickwork of a sealed vault beside the building when part of the vandal-weakened masonry collapsed. Inside the vault they saw empty shelves built to accommodate 16 coffins.

Low in the vault wall they saw “what looked like the top of a door almost hidden by earth”. They confirmed this by removing two flag­stones in the vault floor. Dr Hicks hung upside-down through the gap, holding a flashlight, a compact automatic camera, and a mirror. “I could hardly contain myself when I saw what was there,” he said. “There were coffins piled four high and five coronets — one of shin­ing gold — sitting on top. I was sure we had found the lost Lord Aberdeen.” Insig­nia on the uppermost coffin confirmed the find.

Beside it were the coffins of the earl’s two wives, and. apparently, those of three of their children who died in youthThe team respectfully re­sealed the vault. Dr Hicks wrote giving the news to the Marquess. “Decisions on what should be done next will have to be postponed until the family has recov­ered from its surprise,” he said.(Being personally distantly connected with the family the following may throw some light on this mystery – Editor)

The fourth Earl was a man of retiring character, preferring the quiet of Stanmore Priory to living in London. His first wife, daughter of the owner of this house, the Marquess of Abercorn, had been buried there on her death in 1812, and Aberdeen had worn mourning for her till the end of his life. (The vault where the coffin has been found is that of the Abercorn family).

As his great great granddaughter-in-law June Aberdeen wrote (Times 26.12.91)he was also a man of peace. While Prime Minister he wrote to a friend that “my strong feeling is that under the present circumstances war would not only be an act of insanity but would be utterly disgraceful to all of us concerned”. After a few months of war he had to resign and, during his remaining five years political recriminations must have been a torment to him; his grandson wrote in his Memoir ‘We Twa’ that “it might perhaps be said, without exaggeration, that he never smiled again”. His remorse is illustrated by his reply to a request from the villagers in Aberdeenshire for money to build a church; he is reported to have said that he would give them money for any other kind of building but he could not build a church because he had blood on his hands.

Did he himself give instructions before he died as to the manner of the disposal of his coffin, or did his heirs, fearing attacks from enemies/vandals, decide to place no inscription on the vault? His effigy and memorial are in the new church.

HARVEY SHELDON and The Department of Greater London Archaeology

TED SAMMES

One of the many casualties of the English Heritage’s re-organisation of London’s archaeological effort has been our friend, Harvey Sheldon.

I first met him in connection with his excavations in Highgate Wood, a site which was discovered in 1962. A trial trench was put down in 1966. Two other members were on the site between 1967 and 69, and HADAS also co-operated in doing a resistivity survey in the summer of 1969. This was later published in the London Archaeologist.

When an effort was made to co-ordinate the work of the various societies in London by the formation of the London Borough Secretaries, Harvey was very active, and HADAS joined in about 1974, as far as I can remember. It is fair to say that over the passing years Harvey has played a major part in enthusing archaeology in the minds of all he contacted, Developers, Contractors, and people alike. In more recent years, as head of the Department of Greater London Archaeology, he has built up the department from scratch.

More recently he was deeply involved in the controversy over the preservation of the Rose Theatre in which he clashed with English Heritage. He has also been, for the last five years, President of Rescue, a nation-wide action group in the archaeological field.

At present he has in mind to write up some past digs, and he has promised to talk to us on the latest interpretation of the Pottery Kilns at Highgate (see diary). Knowing Harvey, his optimism and cheerful attitude will carry him through this present period.

Short notes on Highgate appear in:-

HADAS Newsletters 11, 18, 29, 43

London Archaeologist Vol.1 pp 38-43, 150-4, 197 and 232

There has been a more comprehensive article on the Rose Theatre and Harvey’s career in

general in:- Current Archaeology No.124 pp 165-9, which should be read in conjunction with pp 163/4

LOCAL NEWS…. Brian Wrigley reports

As members know we were asked by the Museum of London and the developer to make an archaeological evaluation of the site of St Joseph’s Convent at the Burroughs, Hendon. We had hoped to get access by the end of November, but in the event we were not able to get on site until December19. Over the Christmas and New Year period a small band of devoted diggers completed the necessary investigation in the short time allowed. Fortunately (? ed.) there were very few features and a report is being prepared.

BRIGID and HADAS…. British Archaeological News writes in their obituary:-

…was a leading amateur archaeologist in the London area …She and her journalist husband moved to Hampstead Garden Suburb in the late 1940s and she became interested in the area’s archaeology and history. She took London extramural diplomas in both subjects and for twelve years was secretary of the Hendon and District Archaeological Society
A book of Cartoon to make environmentalists laugh (and think) aren’t all archaeologists environmentalists

Earthscan Publications and World Wide Fund £6.99TURES, MEETINGS, CONFERENCES

INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY

Wetland Archaeology Tuesday lectures 6.30 – 8.30 pm

A course of 14 lectures (started Jan 7th) by Robert Fellner, who has worked for three years at large wetland excavations in the Canton of Neuch&tel, Switzerland, where many waterlogged neolithic and bronze age villages have been completely excavated on a scale unknown in Britain.

Aspects of Iron Age Society Thursday lectures 6.45 – 8.15 pm

Feb 6 LIGs, MEBs and the Gundestrup Cauldron (Tim Taylor Ph.D.)

Feb 13 The Stanwick Oppidum (Colin Hazelgrove Ph.D.)

Feb 20 Agriculture in the Iron Age (Peter Reynolds Ph.D.,Butzer Archaelogical farm)

Feb 27 The Iron Age to Roman transition in Northern Europe (Gregory Woolf Ph.D.)

March 5 The Snettisham goldwork (Ian Stead Ph.D.)

March 12 ‘Celtic’ Iron Age Europe; the theoretical basis (Andrew Fitzpatrick Ph.D)

(Trust for Wessex Archaeology)

ROYAL ARCHAEOLOGIAL INSTITUTE

CONFERENCE: ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE LANDSCAPE : 3 – 5 APRIL : BRISTOL

(in association with Bristol University’s Dept. of continuing education)

Apply Ass.Sec. RAI, c/o Soc.of Antiquaries, Burlington House, Piccadilly, WLV OHS

MUSEUM OF LONDON

The Archaeology of the City Wednesday lectures at 1.10 pm, based on excavations by the Museum and given by the principal authors of four new books; in conjunction with LAMAS. The remaining 3rd and 4th are:-

Feb 12 Roman finds around the Bank of England (Tony Wilmott)

March 4 Medieval dress accessories from City excavations (Geoff Egan)

What is it? Exhibition until 26th April

Workshops on Thursdays at 1.10 pm on analysis and care of objects.

from Feb 6th – ceramics; bone, antler and ivory; handling history; (27th none) to April 9th) glass

“Behind the Scenes” at the Museum of London – an invitation to visit the Museum’s vast Reserve Collection of thousands of objects, not normally open to the public, housed in a specially converted warehouse in Finsbury. A group of HADAS members visited the collection last year. This is an opportunity for those who missed it. Visits at 2.0 pm on Feb 11, 25, March 10 and 24: entrance £2 by ticket only, available in advance by completing the form below and returning it with cheque or postal order payable to the Museum of London.

Newsletter

Edited by Deirdre Barrie
Diary

January 1992 – No Lecture

Tuesday February 4th: “Paleolithic Cave Painting and Underground Artwork in the Netherlands and France” – Sylvia Beamon.

Tuesday March 3rd: “Ancient Monuments – Their Care and Preservation” Helen Patexsoll.

HADAS lectures are held at Hendon Library, The Burroughs, at 8.00 for 8.30 start. Coffee is available before the lecture. Members with cars please offer lifts home.

The Christmas season began on 3rd December when, with a coachload, a visit was made to Doughty Street and the City of London. The visit to Dickens’ house was intriguing enough to whet the appetite for a repeat. The atmosphere was such that a knock at Mr. Dickens’ bedroom door would ~ not have been amiss: Thence to the “George and Vulture”, and while no sight or feeling was experienced of the ghost, we did have an excellent dinner and the opportunity to see part of the City of London at its best, i.e. in the evening. A prayer that such a wonderful eating house escapes the demolition squads.

Grateful members say a sincere “thank you” for a superb treat, so well organised. MR. AND MRS. W. N. FROUDE

(Dorothy Newbury would like to thank Stuart Wild for suggesting the “George and Vulture” in the first place. Ed.)
Medieval Ridge and Furrow in Clitterhouse Playing Fields?

Ted Sammes

Following a letter from a member, Brian Wrigley and myself visited the playing fields on October 1st 1991. The area in question was just to the south east of the Hendon Football Club pitch. At that point land slopes away from Claremont Road down to a stream.

Yes, there were lines running downhill and other disturbances also. We paced the distance between as being 5-6 paces apart – close, but not totally impossible for ridge and furrow. At one point close to what had possibly been a hedge, there was a deeper depression running down the hill. This had manhole covers at intervals.

After a while the groundsmen asked if they could help, and they said the parallel lines were the result of mole drainage lines. Before this work had been carried out, the Hendon Football Club pitch at the top was often waterlogged. They also said that much of the area had been used for allotments, and this could account for the other areas which looked like small medieval tofts (house platforms).

Since the site is close to the site of Clitterhouse Manor (a sub manor of Hendon) it is still just possible that some is ridge and furrow. It

could only be decided by cutting some sections in the future. A similar claim can be made for the ridges at the north east end of Sunny Hill Fields, Hendon.
Hadas Donation to the Phoenix Trust

(In memory of Brigid Grafton Green)

Dorothy Newbury received the following letter from Paddy Grafton Green: “I am writing to thank you very much indeed for your letter of 15th November last and for the cheque enclosed with it in favour of the Phoenix Trust made up of contributions from the many friends my mother had in HADAS. It is a great joy and comfort to find that during her life my mother had so many friends who had such affection for her; although she rarely displayed her emotions I know she was very attached to them and that they meant a lot to her.

Apart from the great sadness of losing someone so dear what has been most difficult to accept (and I am sure my sister would agree) is the loss of a person who had such extraordinary breadth and depth of knowledge and who had so much still to contribute that remains and is likely to remain unfinished. That must be so of many people but perhaps in mama’s case the consolation is that she did indeed contribute more than one realises and the kindness of those at HADAS is recognition of that fact. The generosity of you all is much appreciated.”

(The Phoenix Trust is an organisation for the advancement of reconstructive surgery.)
Hadas Library – Books for the December Outing

Books on the theme of historic London as opposed to archaeological London held in the library at Avenue House include the following:

The Lost Treasures of London W. Kent

The Heart of London H.V. Morton

The Vanished City R. Carrier & O.L. Dick

Discover Unexpected London A. Lawson

And, surprisingly, on the subject of Christmas, a small illustrated publication, “Christmas – a fact book”.
Members News – Reva Brown

Yet another mature member who went off to university (Bradford) and returned with a success story at the end of it. She is now Reva Brown M Sc, MA, BA, PhD, and Director of MBA Programme in the Department of Accounting and Financial Management at Essex University – congratulations:

Reva was a regular on outings, and did her stint as Newsletter editor before going to Bradford. She is prepared to renew that task during 1992, and maybe join us again for a lecture or outing occasionally.
Digging News

At the time of going to press, the contractors have been able to provide a machine for top stripping at the St. Joseph’s Convent site, and we hope to be working on the weekend of 21st/22nd December.
Tudor House in Whetstone

(December 1991 Newsletter)

John Heathfield writes that in this article “Le Westone 1485 it should read “Le Wheston in 1398”.

Anyone interested in the documentary evidence for early Whetstone should contact John Heathfield through Barnet Museum.
Finchley Manor House, East End Road, N3

Brian Wrigley

The Department of Greater London Archaeology of The Museum of London have recently made an an archaeological evaluation of this Scheduled site, at the request of the owners pursuant to their application for permission for a new building. The DGLA kindly invited some HADAS members to visit the site to see their exploratory excavations. The notice was too short for an announcement in The Newsletter, but a party of 4 members were able to visit and view the interesting new information shown.

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On this site, a medieval manor house is historically recorded as standing ‘within the moat’, and the L-shaped remains of a moat (see accompanying diagram) have interested HADAS for years and provoked much discussion as to where the rest of the moat ran. Now the DGLA work has provided atleast some answer.

The excavation, as is now usual for such evaluations, was confined to areas which would be disturbed anyway by the proposed building, and one trench at (about A in the diagram) turned out to be a cross-section of the continuation or the moat, at right angles, where it had been backfilled in the past. Thus the course of the moat originally was apparently between the dotted lines at B – settling a longstanding topic; of HADAS discussion’.

No structures were found in the investigation, and none of the finds went as far back as medieval. So where the medieval house was, remains unsolved: was it under the tennis court and nearby grounds between the 2 known arms of the moat? Or was it further north, under the present Sternberg Centre building, where any remains might have been removed by the basement of the present building? Questions remain for future archaeology.
Manor House Moat, East End Road, Finchley

Ted Sammes

Prior to development of an area close to the house on the north west area of the property the Department of Greater London Archaeology cut a section using a machine at a point, in the development area, on the assumed line of moat. It was hoped to establish that the dry ditch which is visible on two sides did in fact return on the west side.

The opportunity for HADAS to view was arranged by Mike Hutchinson of the DGLA. Victor Jones, Brian Wrigley and myself were able to view the mechanically-dug section on Monday November 18th.

The outline of the ditch in boulder clay was clear, and just where both Paddy Musgrove and Brigid Grafton Green would have expected it to be. The fill of the ditch was mostly boulder clay wash, with a few small brick sherds. From a finds point of view, it could be said to be disappointing. As a result of this work we now know that the moat existed on three sides. The chance of locating the fourth under or near the house is remote.

The December 1991 Newsletter gave news that the existing moat is to be cleared of scrub and maintained by agreement with English Heritage. Regrettably the site is not open to the public.

This work apparently concludes a saga which HADAS started in about 1970 with a survey of the existing moat by B.R. Martin. A copy of this plan was passed to the DGLA.
Lively Latin

Latin has never been livelier, according to Henry Beard of Novi Eboraci in his “Latin for All Occasions”. (What is more, there are no Romans about to correct your pronunciation.)

No more need to struggle with deponents, ablatives and gerunds: This handy volume will provide you with essential phrases for every occasion. There is material for bumper stickers: SI HOC ADFIXUM IN OBICE LEGERE POTES, ET LIBERALITER EDUCATUS EST ET NIMIS PROPINQUUS ADE5. (If you can read this bumper sticker, you are both very well educated and much too close); useful curses: UTINAM BARBARI SPATIUM PROPRIUM NUM INVADANT (May barbarians invade your personal space!); there is vital information you may need to convey to your psychiatrist: INTERDUM FEROR CUPIDINE PARTIUM PJA.GNARUM EUROPAE VINCENDARUM (Sometimes I get this urge to conquer large parts of Europe.)

Every situation is covered from starting relationships, the company meeting and answerphones to the cocktail party and (finally) epitaphs (SIC FRIATUR CRUSTUM DULCE – It is thus the cookie crumbles.) This could be the present your light-hearted Latinist has been waiting for.

D.R.

Latin for All Occasions: Henry Beard, Angus & Robertson £5.99
Archive Images

NEWSLETTER 249: DECEMBER 1991

DIARY

Tuesday December 3rd Christmas Dinner at ‘The George and Vulture’. This is now fully booked with a waiting list. If anyone has booked and cannot go, please ring straight away. Dorothy Newbury 203 0950.

January 1992 No Lecture

Tuesday February 4th: ‘Paleolithic Cave Painting and Underground Artwork in the Netherlands and France’ – Sylvia Beamon.

Tuesday March 3rd: ‘Ancient Monuments – Their Care and Preservation’ Helen Paterson

HADAS lectures are held at Hendon Library, The Burroughs, at 8.00 for 8.30 start. Coffee is available before the lecture. Members with cars please offer lifts home.

THE CONTINUING SAGA OF THE WITCH’S COTTAGE by Jennie Cobban

The witch’s cottage (or something, or someone) has quite evidently put a hex on me! Every time I decide that my file on the subject is closed, new snippets of information come my way to answer the points raised in the November newsletter:-

Location of the cottage

Yes, Margaret, you are quite right. The witch’s cottage does indeed stand in the grounds of a nudist club, which I visited with my husband and children during my research. Luckily it was a cold day and everyone was fully-clothed. I did not include this information

in my article as I considered the subject matter bizarre enough without introducing the nudist element! I also wished to protect the owners from possible adverse publicity. The lady in charge was fairly convinced I was ‘News of the World” masquerading as an historian, and she took some persuading that I was not. Indeed there was much information

left out of the article for the above reasons, e.g. that when the present owner of the club took it over, she found a witchcraft doll representing herself sitting on her office desk, stuck full of pins. I do not think my response of, “OOH, super, have you still got it, can I photograph it, please?” was quite what she was looking for. (As I am researching these dolls’ history, I thought this sounded like a splendid modern example.) Unfortunately she had destroyed the doll. Members will be reassured to hear that she remains in the best of health!

The Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology, Caboolture, Queensland, Australia

I was, of course, aware of the existence of this museum, which is still run by the religious community founded by the Reverend Ward. Its director today is a Mr. Michael Strong who recently, I am told, visited England. Unfortunately, I missed him as I began my research a couple of days after he left for Australia. Shucks! The story of the flight of the community from New Barnet to Cyprus in 1945 is an interesting one. I wondered in particular why the community chose Cyprus as its destination, and have recently been informed that Dr. Gerald Gardner gave the community the land in exchange for the witch’s cottage. I do not know how true this is, though it is certainly the case that Gerald Gardner owned land in Cyprus, where at one time he intended to set up a pagan Greek religious site for his own followers. Readers may be interested to hear what Gerald Gardner has to say on the subject of Ward and Cyprus:

“I do not for a moment doubt their sincerity,” says Gardner, “but it did seem to me that they fancied themselves as Abbot and Lady Abbess Ward wanted a secret society and liked to indulge his hobbies. Whenever he heard that the local council was going to tear down some nice old building, he would rush up with motor lorries and a gang of monks….””When Gardner saw him, he had to sell most of what he had, and wanted to go to Canada; but travel restrictions meant that people could not at that time go abroad without being able to prove need. Ward thought he might go to the Greek Church, his parent body. The Orthodox Church was powerful in Cyprus, where Gardner had his dream property, which he had decided to give to Ward. This gift meant that the Order had property which could be a reason for travelling. When he went in 1949 to Cyprus again, he found that the Community had been safely settled there for years. Father Ward was dead by then but Mother Ward was carrying on. They were well-liked, and were accepted as a genuine order by the Greek Church.” (Gerald Gardner: Witch, by Jack Bracelin,

p. 157-158, Octagon Press, 1960)

Within a few years of the community moving to Cyprus, EOKA guerillas forced them to leave the island, and they then travelled to Australia via Egypt and Sri Lanka. About ten years later (in 1966) the community moved to a permanent home at Caboolture in S.E. Queensland, and in 1978 a decision was made to resurrect the museum and make the remaining collections available to the public. Building commenced in 1983 with funds from various foundations, and the total cost was almost £1 million dollars. The new museum, the Abbey Museum of Art

and Archaeology, was opened in 1986 by Sir Gordon Chalk.

In the museum’s brochure, a copy of which rests in Barnet Museum files, is a photograph of students from a St. Michael’s College enjoying the Australian museum’s collections. If one examines Kelly’s Directory, for 1935, one will find that 89 Park Road, New Barnet the site of the original Abbey Folk Museum, is described as “St. Michael’s College, The Chapter

of the Abbey of Christ the King (C.of E. governors) Principal JSM Ward”.

Coincidence? I think not. It seems likely that the Reverend Ward’s ‘school’ lives on in Australia as well as his museum… I will certainly write to Michael Strong regarding the future of the witch’s cottage, although costs of transportation and the costof the cottage itself (asking price: £5000 ) may prove prohibitive.

May I finally take this opportunity to inform HADAS members and anyone else who happens to read this article that, contrary to popular belief, I am not a witch! I consider all religious beliefs worthy of study, and having no axe to grind means that information is made available to me which few people outside various cults will ever be aware of.

MANOR HOUSE, EAST END ROAD, FINCHLEY

We have heard from English Heritage Field Monument Warden that following a recent inspection it is hoped to conclude an agreement to clear the moat of scrub early next year and keep the site in good condition by regular strimming in the future.

YOU’VE HEARD THE LECTURE, NOW READ THE BOOK! Roy Walker

Andrew Selkirk’s introduction at the November lecture reminded members that Dominic Perring’s fame as an apologist for English Heritage in the war of words with the Museum of London had preceded him. Since his appointment, however, Dominic has written “Roman London” (B A Seaby Ltd) which draws heavily from the recent work of the Museum in the Square Mile and has collaborated with S Roskams on a CBA publication “The Development of Roman London west of the Walbrook”, a research report in the series “The archaeology of Roman London” . He was an excavations supervisor with the Museum of London from 1978 to 83 and has had his Roman knowledge no doubt sharpened by a period of work in Italy.

His lecture on the Rise and Fall of Roman London charted the rise of Londinium from its foundation in AD50, seven years after the Claudian invasion, on-a site with no immediate pre-Roman settlement. It would have been a military supply depot which by AD60 had become a flourishing merchant centre as the quality finds from this period indicate. The Boudiccan rebellion of AD60 may have led Nero to abandon Britain as a province, for there has been scant evidence of building in the period AD60-70. However, a revival commenced from AD70 with the construction of the first Forum, the waterfront quays with open-fronted warehouses and other public buildings including the Huggin Hill baths (now under Dominant House for the next twenty-five years), the Cheapside Baths of AD150 and the amphitheatre dating from AD120. A 1st century mosaic from the Winchester Palace site displayed a quality as good as Fishbourne or even Italy, illustrating the importance of London, by now a self-governing city. The second basilica/forum at Leadenhall Street commenced around AD100, the construction continuing until AD130.

This boom was followed by a marked contraction evidenced by dark earth deposits dated to around AD160-180 together with signs of demolition (the building materials being left, not re-used) and infilled cellars. The abandonment of the outer parts of the City including Southwark occurred between AD150 and 200. Dark earth is a garden soil which Dominic believes to have been deliberately introduced, a costly process indicating that there was still prosperity, despite the contraction. Under Hadrian, the Roman Empire had ceased to expand resulting in a form of recession – there being no new markets. London was a trading centre and the decline would have led to a migration from the City to the rural areas. The pottery production at Brockley Hill ceased around AD160 and that of Highgate Wood at AD180.

In AD193 Emperor Commodius was assassinated and the then governor of Britain, Albinus, claimed the title. Severus contested this claim, defeated Albinus in battle and then took much interest in Britain, campaigning in Scotland from AD208 and dying in York in AD211. The result of all this was a revival in London from around AD200-250 with the construction of the city wall – a status symbol not defensive, providing a toll income from the original five gates. Large new timber quays were constructed, the pottery dumps found nearby showing the wide range of imports. In his book, Dominic puts the view that the division of the province into two at this time would have stimulated activity in London although it has been held by others that London contracted due to this loss of importance. However, the evidence is well-presented in the book especially drawing attention to the confusion over dating.

At the lecture, Dominic apologized for devoting most of the time to the early history but from AD250 onwards the story is really one of a gradual decline with buildings being restored after serious neglect and some flurries of activity due to political acts. The riverside wall was completed around AD270 blocking the quays, some of which had fallen into disuse. In AD286 Carausius created himself Emperor in Britain and undertook a public works programme including a mint and a massive building recently excavated at Peters Hill with dendro dates of AD293. This was possibly a palace for himself, perhaps completed by his successor Allectus. Barbarian invasions in AD360 and 367 led to expeditions from Rome to restore order with defensive bastions added to the wall through the period AD351-375. The abandonment continued until total decline around AD450.

Dominic Perring has in his book made full use of the results of the most recent City excavations with tantalising references to “publication forthcoming”. The lecture provided a summary of the Roman history of London with some hypotheses which are perhaps debatable, but the book fairly and competently sets out the evidence and explains the author’s conclusions. This book is in the Society’s library and is available to all.

CITY WALK WITH MARY O’CONNELL SATURDAY 5th OCTOBER 1991

Mary had three city guide colleagues to assist her for this walk, including HADAS member Sheila Kellaway, Carol Mordecai and Peter Bear. Mary started with the stainless steel panoramic guide to the view from outside Tower Hill Underground – great fun for children of all generations. Perhaps by now the provenance of the giant sundial is recorded; in October it was too new for anyone to know: Next stop was for Carol, who enticed us through a basement of BMW’s to view a very large section of the Old City Wall and brought to life the sentries of long ago pacing their watch. There is a series of handsome illustrated information plaques at various points around the remains of the Wall – a walk in itself for Roman lovers.

Following the footsteps of Samuel Pepys, Sheila took us to the churchyard of St Olave’s, survivor of the Great Fire, with somewhat gruesome reminders of the plague burials. There we found the ‘media’ filming something for a Christmas programme, so we could not view inside. On then to Victoriana, the solid regular brickwork of Fenchurch Street Station. I have the feeling that Mary’s enthusiastic and energetic spirit is just what is needed by British Rail – certainly she kept us on the move – ‘Mincing’ and “Seething’ along the Lanes, learning all the wile of the romance and tragedy packed into a tiny fragment of the great Square Mile. Peter gallantly explained the curiosities of the grotesque Minster Towers, a vast pink stone and glass monument to the Market Economy, after which a short respite in the ruins of St Dunstan’s (destroyed by Nazi bombs and now a peaceful garden oasis for workers’ rest and walkers’ appreciation) was very welcome. Finally to ‘All Hallows-by-the-Tower’ for welcome coffee and biscuits in an ‘upper room’, opened specially for us, and then we were taken in hand by one of the staff for a tour of the-crypt and the church – twice a phoenix from the ashes of 1666 and 1940. The Roll of Honour of famous names connected with this most remarkable church is too numerous to mention, but Rev. ‘Tubby’ Clayton and Toc H must be noted. To walk freely over a Roman mosaic floor, handle a Roman door key and a ridge tile moulded on the leg of a Roman roofer, gingerly touch the Grinling Gibbons font cover (cost £12 ), muse upon a delicate silver crucifix from the Spanish Armada(among the many maritime connections) and wonder at the collection of beautiful Communion Plate – it was not to be absorbed in one visit.

Nor was the Tower Hill Pageant, which we visited after lunch. The demolition of a wine warehouse has given access to the vaults which have been turned into a ‘Yorvik-like dark ride’ (said Dorothy on the booking sheet). ‘Better than Yorvik!’ (said those who have seen both). Advertised as a ‘trundle off through time’ there are life-sized Dioramas with wax models depicting life in London from primeval times to the present day, complete with sounds and smells and enthralling exhibits authenticated by the archaeologists of the Museum of London.

This brief account is intended merely to tempt you to go walking ‘by-the-Tower’ during the Christmas holidays. Try a service at All Hallows or St Olave’s and don’t forget the pageant, especially if it’s wet and cold – open every day from 9.30 am to 5.30pm. Telephone 071 709 0081 for particulars.

Many thanks to Mary and her colleagues DAWN ORR

HADAS LIBRARY

This is currently being repaired, re-sorted and re-catalogued following the fire at Avenue House. Although smoke-damaged, most of the remaining books are in good enough condition to be loaned to members and it is intended, where possible, to publish a bibliography relevant to the Society’s lectures so that members can read further any subject which may have aroused their interest.

Publications specifically relating to the November lecture are listed below but there are books on Roman Britain generally, plus a set of “London Archaeologist” and “LAMAS Transactions”.

Excavations at Billingsgate

Buildings Triangle, Lower Thames Street LAMAS (1974)

Roman London Peter Marsden (1980)

Londinium, London in the Roman Empire John Morris (1982)

The Port of Roman London Gustav Milne (1985)

Excavations in Southwark 1973-76 DGLA/LAMAS (1988)

Roman London Dominic Perring (

Please contact Vikki O’Connor or myself on 081-361 1350 (evenings) if you are interested in borrowing any of the above. ROY WALKER

The Tudor Village of Whetstone
Re-discovered

Hadas has undertaken several projects in this village which, until early in 19th’s C. was a typical country village, as may be found on main roads.

The Great North Road, has been an important route between London and the North since the early Middle Ages, until the 14’th C. the route was south-east from Whetstone, Frien Barnet and Muswell Hill to London

It was changed to go via Finchley and Highgate to London to and later a toll-gate was placed at this point, then a junction, where Totteridge Lane from the west reaches the G.N.Road, with a little the south the old London Rd through Frien Barnet and Muswell Hill probably still in use on to London.

r The evolution of Whetstone, and of the market town of Barnet, after which the new

Borough was named, and Much else in the Borough also will have been influenced, was very much to meet the needs of travellers and transport through the Borough.

It has two very major national roads, Watling St (of Roman Origin) in the west and the, Great North Road in the East.

H.A.D.A.S. projects in the area, have previously included ,Site watching of

re development and recording old buildings, investigating an ancient well, the site of cottages, and the tape-recording interviews with older residents, some recalling experiences from the beginning of the century, which are recounted in one of our most popular booklets ” Those Were The Days”.

The Whetstone Tudor House

As some members will know there were a number of old property in the centre of the village some which listed and in 1981 the Society investigated one of those still

remaining. It then produced a splendid set of drawings and a report ( N/L No ).

.,\IF Happily, this property has now been very beautifully restored by its owner Mr Rodwell

senior, and serves as offices for a local development company. Is an example of both, conservation for useful future application, combined with the preservation of a rare example of a 500 years old building in a borough which has little of its past heritage left.

In 1989 we again were asked, to investigation another house next to this, No 1264 Whetstone High Rd which is adjacent to the Griffin Inn, and directly opposite Totteridge Lane. We were asked if we would explore the house and record it, and excavate the land at the back.

It is has unattractive appearance from the front, but has proved to be full of surprises being one of the most interesting of the society projects, and these are are still continuing, some reported N/Letters.

We found that, behind the shop frontage was a very different building to the next house or to the Griffin Inn.

The house had a massive timber-framed construction, it had a surprising with amount of

the original oak main timbers still intact,( some up to 12″ square and 20 or more Ft

long), an still so solid that test drills were quickly blunted by an inch or two

into them.

The building is a two storied early Tudor construction much modified in it’s long

life. It had with four rooms and a central stair case with a door into a court-yard

opposite this and a large garden area at the back.

An early discovery was of, smoked staining in the -front and rear of the building evidence it was possibly a Tudor “twin hall” design, but it had insufficient rooms.

The front of the house was still occupied by a photographer with developing equipment studios etc, so we could not then explore this but assumed it might be there.

Drawings of the general construction where we were able to go were made, and of joint types (for dating etc,) and record photographs of construction and remaining

“wattle and daube”partitions etc,

” Carpenters marks” on the “pre-fabricated” main frame etc were well in progress,

when we told to stop because the tenant complained of disturbance.

The Excavation

The excavation work had also progressed but was also stopped for a time, but after some discussion we were allowed to resume after some weeks, but had to make our own gate with lock to enter directly into the back garden.

The excavation proved to be complicated, as much Victorian drainage cut through the area but evidence of a considerable extension was finally found at the rear of the building ,these included Tudor foundations and footings, and the remains of a further frame corner post.

This confirmed the building was originally one or more hays bigger and therefor it was a twin house.

We also found below the foundation level iron working residues, and pottery fragments indicating that may have been still earlier habitation on the site.

The Documentary Research

Mr.Rodwell the owner of 1266 High Rd, the Property next door had visited the site and told us he held many deeds of surrounding property and very kindly offered to let us see them.These proved to be most interesting, and indeed led to an extensive Local History research programme for two or three years duration.It has resulted in the discovery of nearly every owner or tenant of the houses over most of the last 500 years and of that of a number of others in the vicinity.These were all on land in the centre of village, on the area between the present Whetstone High Road, and Oakley Rd. N.near the site of the toll-gate and Road junction. Ownership, tenancy, wills and other references dating back several hundred years were traced (and translated), confirming the general, archaeological and construction evidence, of and indicating early Tudor dating of a number of the house and a considerable Tudor Village at Whetstone.

There is also a reference to “Le Westone” in one document dated 1485 possibly an earlier name still to be followed up so there is more to do on this. However there were even more surprises in wait for us at Whetstone. Three weeks ago we were asked if we would like to return to complete the project, which we very much welcomed and returning two weeks ago. We for the first time entered the forbidden front part of the building.To our first surprise was to find complete six roomed Georgian residence, quite new separate from the other houses and probably patched onto the Tudor part at some stage after it’s construction. It also has a large well built cellar below,So we are now dealing with three houses on the site, with some new problems and much else to study, if time permits .

The Records Traced

A list of the various leases, deeds, wills and other documents found in the process of tracing the property titles back, some to the late 1400’s. is given below, this research was undertaken by John Heathfield.

The earliest are from St Pauls Cathedral Court Rolls ( at The Guildhall library) and are translated from Latin, and extracts of some a typical specimens records are below.

20 Henry VIII

1505 Thos Sunny Surrendered Backlease A Field and Cottage and Garden to John Sunny.

2 Edward V1 iia

1595 John Sunney a Cottage Called bakehouse, a Field of Pasture and Mead called Bakewell of 8 1\2 Acres a Tenement Lately built, and a Barn to Robert Sunny

1 James

1603 William Sunney the Messuage in which he Lives and Another Cottage to Nicolas Kempe of Middle Temple
1793

1718 Wm. Garland who Died in 1696 Left 3 Mess. now 2 and 2 Acres By to Andrew Gartland

1813 Anne Nixon to Eliz Cole Daughter of W Nixon

Following the recording, and, comment by the society, the first Tudor house was admirably restored..

After much public debate, the others are, it is now hoped, also to be preserved, and will we hope serve as a Group of examples of practical conservation, in addition to their interest for historic reasons.

Victor Jones

BOOK REVIEW Percy Reboul

“I Can’t Say Vinegar” by Alfred Matthews

Reading Alfred Matthews’ little book is rather like handling a piece of furniture made by a village craftsman: it gives pleasure, is nice to own but is not to be compared with the work of a skilled cabinet-maker. The book is an autobiography of Alf’s life in the Borough of Barnet area. It starts in 1911 in a tiny, cockroach-ridden cottage in Hendon and ends in today’s East Barnet. Everything he writes is a labour of love and one can enjoy the sheer detail: gob-stoppers, turnip Jam, stone-hewn kitchen sinks, crystal sets, ‘knock-down ginger’, mud pies ­to mention but a few that will jog the memory of older readers.

As some wag observed recently “nostalgia ain’t what it used to be”. Maybe not, but it is a powerful human emotion that drives people like Alf Matthews to place on record for posterity events which are rather inconsequential in the wider canvas of history but are a valuable record of the doings of ordinary people – arguably Just as important.

Much of the material is a re-work of the author’s part-works “Alf’s Memories” No information has been given about stockists or price but Alf will be pleased to discuss both matters with anyone interested. Ring him on 081-449 1373

NEWSLETTER 248 NOVEMBER 1991 Edited by Dawn Orr

DIARY

Tuesday November 5th : LECTURE “The Rise and Fall of Roman London” – Dominic Perring.

Dominic Perring, the author of an exciting new book on Roman London, will be presenting some of his ideas in a fully illustrated talk. Mr Perring, who directed work on several City digs between 1978 and 1983, has recently returned to the capital as English Heritage Archaeology Officer for London, having spent the intervening years excavating in Italy, lecturing in Roman archaeology at Leicester University, and as Worcester City Archaeologist. His new post is a controversial one and Mr Perring will be delighted to answer questions about English Heritage plans for London. (8 p.m. for 8.30 p.m. at Hendon Library.)

Saturday November 16th : LAMAS 26th Local History Conference at Museum of London. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tuesday December 3rd : CHRISTMAS DINNER at ‘The George and Vulture’.

Details and Application Form enclosed.

MEMBERS’ NEWS AND DOINGS – NO IDLE BONES HERE !!

How many mere members are hiding their illustrious kith and kin ? JANET FARADAY has been a member for nearly 20 years, and we never knew that MICHAEL FARADAY was her great-great-grandfather’s cousin ! Here is her account of the recent

MICHAEL FARADAY BI-CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

Next time you switch on the light, the T.V., the radio, toaster, washing machine, spin-dryer, electric drill, hair-dryer, lawn mower, etc., give a thought to the ‘Father of Electricity’ – Michael Faraday, without whom none of this would be possible.

I have been privileged these last three weeks to attend many celebrations of his birth in 1791. These have included two exceedingly good lectures at the Science Museum – aimed at all ages including children; also an Exhibition (open until Dec­ember) where actors re-enact his Christmas lectures, as featured on our £20 note. One lecture was given for a party of disabled children. On the actual anniversary, 22nd September, there was an ‘all-day birthday party’ where large balloons were given to all and sundry – mine burst on the way home! At another lecture, partic­ipating children were treated to a birthday cake. There was a preview of another Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery (also open until December). Here are many letters to and from his contemporaries, and notes of his famous journey through Europe with Sir Humphrey Davy during the Napoleonic Wars. Inexplicable that Nap­oleon should have allowed them !

The highlight was a Service of Remembrance and Thanks at Westminster Abbey. Here, everybody, including the Archbishop of York, had done their homework and gave thanks for all his discoveries. Wreaths were laid at a tablet (next to Isaac Newton’s) and eminent scientists carried up to the altar his ‘ring’ (electro magnetic induction), his Bible, and one of his many notebooks. The Lessons were read by the Presidents, past and present of the Royal Society. The Abbey was packed.

At the Royal Institution, distinguished scientists from all over the world gave talks on ‘The Scientific Legacy of Michael Faraday’ – a full day. Six lectures I could follow, two lost me half way through and two lost me from the first word! (However, I was pleased to find that one of the learned audience had found them rather difficult !) More light-hearted were re-enactments of his experiments by Lord Porter and Professor Meurig Thomas at an evening party – very entertaining

Two more days of lectures, which I did not attend : one at the Institute of Physics on ‘Faraday, a Man of Many Talents’ and the other at the Institute of Electrical Engineers on ‘From Faraday to the Stars’.

I believe there is also an Exhibition at the Bank of England on how the £20 note is designed. There is a Benzene molecule to the left of Britannia, iron filings representing the lines of force, North and South denoting the magnets. Faraday himself is shown in the Lecture Theatre at the Royal Institution, pointing to a wall where the words he introduced into the language are displayed : electrode, anode, ion, cathode, electrolyte, electrolysis, etc.,etc.

Memorable and enjoyable weeks …. The Exhibitions are well worth a visit

AND NOW – hats off to DEREK BATTEN a 60 year old member who has found time alongside his career as a surveyor to take an ‘Upper Second’ Honours degree at Manchester Univer­sity in American History and Society. Congratulations, Derek ! Some members may recall his short talk and slides following an A.G.M. a few years ago, describing and illustrating two weeks as a ‘volunteer archaeologist’ at the Custer Battlefield,Montana, in 1985. Here he continues his tale of

ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE WILD WEST ….

I was back on the Little Big Horn River for a week in 1989 and this year took part for one week of the four week archaeological investigation at the Big Hole Battlefield in Western Montana, close to the state borderline with Idaho.

The flight of the erstwhile peaceful Nez Perce Indians in 1877 has been described as an American ‘Odyssey’. Traditionally living in the tip of Eastern Oregon, these Indians were compelled to agree to a treaty which confined them to a Reservation in Idaho. The subsequent discovery of gold on this land forced a new treaty in 1863, which reduced the original Reservation to less than one fourth of its previous size. Those chiefs whose lands lay beyond the new boundaries, refused to sign and remained in their home­lands for several years until demands from the homesteaders and settlers forced the Federal Government to tackle the problem anew. Threatened with force, the ‘non-treaty’ Nez Perce agreed to move, sacrificing precious animal stock, but three young warriors, seeking revenge, killed four white settlers. The U.S. Army attacked, were soundly beaten at White Bird Canyon in June 1877, and these ‘non-treaty’ Indians decided to leave their sanctuary, first heading for the Great Plains and then Canada.

Just 30 miles short of the border, at Bear Paw Mountain, they were finally forced to surrender to the Army after an epic journey of some 1,700 miles in less than four months. Pursued throughout, and occasionally brought to battle, some 800 men, women and children with more than 2,C00 horses and all their possessions, were reduced to 480. Their Chief Joseph, proclaimed, in one of the best-known speeches in the history of the North American Indians : ‘Hear me, my chiefs, I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever.’

Big Hole Battlefield is the site of the most significant of the battles between the Nez Perce and the U.S. Army – 9/10 August, 1877, in the valley of the Big Hole River. The archaeological work was similar to that at Custer Battlefield : a broad sweep of the area by metal detectors to locate possible artefacts, identification by pin spotters with coloured flags, exposure of finds with the help of detectors of different types of metal, and retrieval combined with accurate surveying of each object found.

By the end of the third week (the one week that I attended) some 800 battle-related pieces had been found, including the barrel of an old Civil War Mississippi muzzle-loading rifle and a trench bayonet. On my final day, we unearthed the skeleton of a young Indian that had laid undisturbed since the battle. The present day Nez Perce regard this land as sacred, and after a moment of silence, these remains were left in peace. Laboratory work will follow to confirm or amend the known details of thebattle and a report will follow.

The whole project was financed by the ‘Country and Western’ singer, Hank WilliamsJunior. (No – I hadn’t heard of him either!) Would that HADAS could find a similar benefactor ! It was tough going in temperatures in the high 80s, coping with ticks and hornets in the swampy river area and working up and down steep slopes of 300 feet – starting from an elevation of about 6,500 feet above sea level ! Needless to say, the spirit, good humour and kindness of my fellow volunteers was as wonderful as previously.Where next ? ?

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT – HELEN AND HUGH GORDON celebrated their GOLDEN WEDDING in September. Helen was a keen West Heah digger, but in her frantic preparations for a huge family party, she regrets that the West Heath party was overlooked I Congratulations to you both !

ANOTHER COUPLE who did make the West Heath party – PETER and JENNY GRIFFITHS, will be remembered for organising an outing to Rayston Caves a few years ago. We were all pleased to see them again, all the way from Litlington in Sussex. During the last two years Peter has been fully occupied in editing Volume II of PADWICK’S BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CRICKET, now published at £39.50 by Library Association Publishing. He now pro­mises to return to his archaeological interests – with more time for HADAS

TRIBUTES TO BRIGID GRAFTON GREEN have appeared in other publications, notably the ‘Ham & High’ and the Hampstead Garden Suburb Newsletter. It is good to know how much her wide variety of skills and sterling qualities were appreciated by all who knew and worked with her. The Committee is considering ways of commemorating her work for HADAS and is grateful for the several suggestions that have been made. Meantime this Editor sadly takes Brigid’s place in compiling this Newsletter and takes the opportunity to record a long-standing debt of gratitude to her for many years of friendship and kindly tutoring in all things literary. The respects paid by John Enderby at her funeral, Daphne Lorimer in her obituary, Percy Reboul in his letter and so many others in reminiscences and acknowledgements, all indicate the esteem, admiration, even awe, which she inspired. May we keep her memory green !

NEWS OF DIGS follows appropriately a reference to Brigid…

She would have been glad to hear from BRIAN WRIGLEY of the possibility of a dig in part of the grounds of St Joseph’s convent near The Burroughs. Please phone him if you would like to know more details : 031-959-5982.

Likewise ANDY SIMPSON’S ‘quick progress report’ on results of the excavations at the Old Forge at Golders Green would have greatly pleased her. Well named is this report, for much has been achieved there in the twinkling of an eye before the on­slaught of the earthmovers and the tin hat wearers. It is no doubt warmer in the Avenue House Garden Room, now the ‘site’ of sorting and identification of the cleaned material, which includes a bronze thimble, 16th century bronze coins, a bone knife handle, two unidentified flint flakes, and an excellent selection of 18th century pottery. A full list of material from each context will be made, but a policy of ‘samples only’ will be applied to building material and such material as Victorian pottery.

STOP PRESS !! St MARY’S SCHOOL at FINCHLEY — NEXT BIG DIG FOR HADAS ??

Further to the report in September Newsletter … THE HENDON TIMES records on 24th OCTOBER that the developers have won their Appeal. Conservation Area status has failed to protect the old landmark, which will be replaced by offices and car park. However, important trees will be spared, AND it states in the H.T. that ‘Building can cannot begin until an archaeological dig has been carried out.’ WATCH THIS SPACE….

THE WEST HEATH DIG – RE-UNION AND PUBLICATION OF REPORT – 24th SEPTEMBER LIZ SAGUES tells the tale:

It was an occasion for nostalgia – and for pride. As Daphne Lorimer said, when she welcomed members and guests to the Barnet Town Hall: ‘We had fun, and I think also we proved that a Society can be amateur in status but professional in its performance.

Desmond Collins, who, with Daphne’s constant help, directed those 27,000 hours of work, paid elegant tribute both to the Society and to the 250 members who dug at West Heath over the years and contributed to the follow-up research work. He congratulated HADAS on a ‘marvellous effort’ and an ‘epic excavation’. ‘HADAS has done a truly splendid job. I think no praise can be too high,’ he added. Councillor John Hedges, Barnet’s Deputy Mayor, and his Camden counterpart, Councillor Wyn Parsons, whose borough boundaries meet at the site, were welcome guests and joined in the commendations. But it was most of all an evening for those who took part in HADAS’s biggest, best-known and most important excavation, an excavation of the closest-known Mesolithic occupation site to central London and one which, in terms of the quantity of its finds, comes high in the list of the top 20 Mesolithic sites in Britain.

Some 80 members were there, coming from as far afield as Orkney, Berwick and Devon. Victor Jones, who masterminded it all, deserves the thanks of all of us.

The air was thick with memories – of the long hot summer of 1976, when the excavat­ion began, of the trepidation of those in charge of aspects of work for which they had huge enthusiasm but (then) little experience, of the mudlarking at the spring site, of the amusing misunderstandings among the watching public, of the back aching bending and twisting required for accurate three-dimensional finds’ recording, of the satisfaction of spotting the tiniest tools…

Margaret Maher added to those memories by compiling a display explaining the dig, ensuring that it contained as many photographs as possible of diggers at work.

‘Don’t we all look young!’ we all said, looking round from the photos to the greyer heads and wider waists of 1991. ‘Don’t you remember….’

Over an excellent salad supper organised by Tessa Smith and her helpers, with wine and fruit juice poured liberally by Alan Lawson, the conversations flowed back and forth over 15 years, from West Heath to other HADAS digs, from archaeological in­volvements to updating of family and career news.

Summing up the celebration, Daphne described it as ‘the culmination of 15 years hard but pleasant labour’. It was an occasion for thanks, to the many people who had contributed to making the dig possible, to ensuring that it ran smoothly and to publish­ing its results, and it was also an evening to enjoy. Yes, it was the very best of parties!

HADAS members who have not yet bought their copies of ‘Excavations at the Mesolithic Site on West Heath Hampstead, 1976-1981 (BAR British Series 217) can do so fromVictor Jones, 78 Temple Fortune Lane, NW 11 7TT, for the special Society price of £7 each – add for postage please.

JEAN SNELLING also recommends LIZ SAGUES’S further article in the ‘Ham & High’ of 4th October,1991

ANDREW SELKIRK SENDS US word of two ‘diggers’ who envy HADAS the publication of the West Heath Dig Report. PAULINE AND STANLEY CAUVAIN describe their discovery of Bath Abbey remains in the cellars of the ‘Sally Lunn Refreshment House’ in the centre of Bath. Alas they have so far been disappointed (since 1985 in patient hopes of having their report published by the Bath Archaeological Trust, and have appealed to the Editor of ‘Current Archaeology’ for advice, having noticed his ‘Diary’ item on HADAS’S own publishing problems. Good luck to them – and to the owners of ‘Sally Lunn’ Mr and Mrs Overton, who (given some warning) will happily show visitors round ‘one of the newest tourist attractions in Bath’.

THE WEST HEATH DIG – RE-UNION AND PUBLICATION OF REPORT – 24th SEPTEMBER

PROFESSOR GRAHAME CLARK, C.B.E., F.B.A., EMERITUS DISNEY PROFESSOR OF ARCHAEOLOGY in the UNIVERSITY of CAMBRIDGE sent a kindly letter of apology to ANDREW SELKIRK, regretting his inability to attend the West Heath Party, and to VICTOR JONES a very detailed and appreciative acknowledgement what he described as a ‘most valuable Report’…having read it ‘with close attention’ and admiring the ‘skilful editing’. Praise indeed from the master in the Mesolithic field.

Here are his letters:

To Andrew Selkirk, on 19th September,1991:

Dear Andrew,

I’m sorry , I will not be coming to London after all.

I would dearly like to have seen the exhibition of finds from the Hampstead mesolithic site, both on account of the special interest I have in the Mesolithic and because I admire the devoted work done by volunteer archaeologists.

Since the Mesolithic period lasted longer than the rest of pre-history and historic time, and the economy was not yet one that involved permanent settlement, it follows that they must have left behind very numerous settlements. As the account in the recent edition of ‘The Past’ shows, their settlements must in many cases exist below plough level. The site in the New Forest was only revealed when the topsoil was removed in the course of laying out a new road. It would be interesting to know how the Hampstead site came to light and what excavation revealed. I hope the meeting and the exhibition go well.

Yours,

(Signed – Grahame Clark)

Then, on 28th September,1991, having received a copy of the Report, Professor Clarke writes to Victor Jones:

Dear Victor Jones,

This is to acknowledge the copy of the Report published by the BAR British Series on the investigations by members of the Hendon & District Archaeological Society. I have read it with close attention and can only offer my sincere congratulations to all those who took part in the onerous task of retrieving the data in the field and to the many specialist experts who have scrutinised the arch­aeological and ecological evidence. Not least, I admire the skilful editing of the Report. (This last sentence is a hand-written insertion. – Ed.)

The result is that the Sodety has produced a Report which reaches the highest standards and may well serve as a model of what can be achieved by harnessing the enthusiasm of so many who have contributed their labours to recovering the data in such a disciplined and persistent manner.I must not comment in detail, but I was interested that the people who knapped the flint evidently obtained their raw material from elsewhere and that thanks to the excellent study of fitting flints and the occurrence of such a high proportion of micro-burins it would seem that the industry resulted from working on he site itself. I was also particularly interested in the investigation of organicmatter from successive levels of the spring site. I was particularly glad to note that so much attention was paid to insect material as well as to pollen grains. An excellent case has been made out for forest clearance and the maintenance of livestock in the area immediately following ..(its) use .. as a territory supporting a Mesolithic hunter/fisher life style.

Once again I would like to thank the Society for sending me a copy of their most valuable Report.

Yours sincerely,

(Signed – Grahame Clark)

EARLY CIVIL AVIATION IN HENDON

In a prompt response to TED SAMMES’S enquiry in the AUGUST NEWSLETTER for more information about a 1920 air crash in Golders Green, following his own researches

in the ‘Hendon and Finchley Times’, we have:

THE TERRIBLE AEROPLANE TRAGEDY AT GOLDERS GREEN

BILL FIRTH tell us:

After World War I civil aviation was not permitted in Britain until April 1919, and flying to destinations outside the country was not authorised until late July 1919. The first overseas commercial flight from Britain was operated by Air Transport & Travel Ltd. (AT & T) from Hounslow to Paris on the following day.

AT & T was a subsidiary company of the Aircraft Manufacturing Company (Airco) which had been building aeroplanes at Hendon since 1912. The aircraft was a converted single-engined DH9A light bomber, designed by Geoffrey de Havilland, who was Airco’s chief engineer from 1914 to 1920. He then founded the de Havilland Aircraft Company at Stag Lane, Kingsbury.

Frederick Handley Page was also determined to become a force in civil aviation and entered the business, using converted HP 0/400 twin-engined bombers. (There was nothing new about using converted bombers. as civil airliners after World War II.) Although some accounts state that the HP 0/400 only carried six passengers, other sources say tnat the aeroplane could carry up to ten – six in the after-cabin, two in the forward cabin, and (for those who chose to travel exposed to the elements) two in an open cockpit in front of the pilot. The pilot often seems to have been the only crew, although a mechanic was also carried on occasion.

The Golders Green Estate now occupies the fields which were Cricklewood Aerodrome, an historic aviation site. Pilots disliked Cricklewood, where they had to struggle over a ridge in the field before becoming airborne and then had to aim for a gap be­tween the hangars as they slowly gained height. If take-off into wind was in a north- easterly direction, there was the problem of the rising ground up to the Ridgeway in Golders Green, less than half a mile away.

On 14th December 1920, an HP 0/400 with six passengers, a pilot and a mechanic took off in this direction and had difficulty in gaining height. It hit a 50 foot tree and crashed into an outhouse in the garden of No. 6 Basing Hill (sic) in Golders Green. The pilot, the mechanic and two of the passengers were killed. How much worse a modern accident would have been. The main Continental destination in those days was Paris (no foreign destinations west of London) and the problems and hazards of circumnavigating London led to the decision to site the capital’s airport at Croydon, which was opened in April 1920 – but not at the famous Purley Way location. Handley Page continued to use Cricklewood for a time, because aircraft maintenance was cheaper. However, his aeroplanes used more fuel to cover the greater distance, and the fatal accident in Golders Green may have hastened his move to Croydon.

Subsequent events led to the amalgamation of the private airline companies into the state-owned Imperial Airways. Frederick Handley Page never achieved his ambition of running a great civil airline, but he will be remembered for the HP 42s, the remarkable four-engined bi-planes. They were the mainstay of the luxurious Imperial Airways London-Paris services right up to 1939, even when rival airlines were using faster monoplanes. Unfortunately, all the HP 42s were destroyed during World War II and we have only written accounts of what it was like to fly them and to fly in them.

There are a number of books on the fascinating subject of early civil aviation, in­cluding a series by Harald Penrose covering British achievements :

‘The Pioneer Years’ (pre-World War I); ‘The Adventuring Years’ (immediately following World War I); and ‘The Ominous Skies’ (pre-World War II).

(Apologies : this piece could not be fitted into the October Newsletter – Ed.)

OCTOBER LECTURE by PETER CLAYTON Reported by SHEILA WOODWARD

VALLEY of the KINGS – BURIAL PLACE of the PHARAOHS

Egypt exerted its old magnetism – or was Peter Clayton’s superb photography the crowd-puller ? There was a record attendance of over 80 members at the first HADAS lecture of the winter. I am sure no-one was disappointed:

The Old Kingdom Egyptians around 2,500 B.C. buried their kings magnificently in great pyramids visible to all – including the tomb-robbers. Some thousand years later the New Kingdom Egyptians were more circumspect. Their kings were still lavishly equipped for the after-life and surrounded in death by stupendous treasures, but the tombs were now rock-cut underground rooms, hidden deep in a remote valley – safe, it was hoped, from prying eyes and thieving hands.

Even today, visited by thousands of tourists and infested by the inevitable hawkers, the valley retains something of its austere beauty and majestic peace. A pyramid-shaped peak rises above it, reminding us that Mertseger, the Lady of the Peak, she who loves silence’, was worshipped by the workmen here. The Egyptians are and were a practical people. The precious fertile land of the Nile flood-plain must not
be wasted on burials – the City of the Dead is in the western desert, where the sun sets. Peter Clayton then took us on a tour of the valley : the Westminster Abbey of ancientEgypt. There are 62 tombs, numbered in sequence of discovery, Tutankhamun’s being the last. The lowest numbered were opened in antiquity; tourism began in the heyday of classical Greece. Not every tomb is kingly; other royalty and officials are in­cluded. Not every tomb is spacious; some are only pit caches. Some are no longer accessible, which is tantalising when one sees, for example, a picture of the mighty rock cleft leading to the now-closed tomb of Tuthmosis I. But many can be visited. Queen Hatshepsut, daughter, sister/wife and aunt/stepmother of three Pharaohs and herself sole ruler of Egypt for over twenty years, has a burial chamber and a sar­cophagus shaped like the royal cartouche and walls that ‘look like an unrolled pap­yrus’. Tuthmosis III, the Napoleon of ancient Egypt, only five foot four inches high, led his armies as far as Antioch on the Orontes and brought back in his train three young Syrian princesses. There was no stinting in their burial : thirty-two pounds of gold in a head-dress is generous indeed. Seti I has the largest and finest tomb, with richly-coloured wall reliefs of superb quality; his elaborate sarcophagus is now to be seen in the Sir John Soane Museum. Amenophis II’s sarcophagus is still in situ, as was his mummy when the tomb was opened in 1398. He was a mighty bowman, and his great long-bow was found in his tomb. It was subsequently stolen and has not been recovered.

Everyone knows the story of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, but Peter Clayton brought fresh life to it the excitement of the opening, the chaos within like a ‘real Steptoe’s yard’ – following a disturbed robbery in antiquity, the tell-tale footprints in the dust, a robber’s kerchief wrapped round seven gold rings, the staggering quantity and splendour of the grave goods, giving some hint of what had been looted from other tombs.

For of course the attempt to hide the tombs had never always one jump ahead of the officials. Some of the confessions, recorded by court reporters in hieratic ions have been done on the quantity of gold stolen ­earth could they have done with it . The last burial in the Valley of the Kings was in 1,035 B.C. In the tenth and ninth centuries B.C., when tomb-robbing was big business, the priests played hide-and-seek with the royal mummies and saved them from destruction. In 1881 and 1898 caches of royal bodies were found in a niche near Deir-el-Bahari and in the tomb of Amenophis II. They are now in Cairo Museum, no longer displayed to the public,but Peter Clayton had some impressive photographs of them. High cheek-boned, hook-nosed, haughty and remote,even in death and after the passage of over 3,000 years, each one looks every inch a Pharaoh.

THE ‘Spell’ OF THE WITCH’S COTTAGE CONTINUES ……….

MARGARET PHILLIPS writes from Ealing on 4th October :

‘It has been with great interest that I have read about the two articles from Jennie Cobban about the Witch’s Cottage… I lived there (Bricket Wood) myself during most of the 1960s. I used to walk in the area, which remained quite wooded… Round about 1960, a report appeared in the press (or..radio) that there was at

Bricket Wood a nudist club. This caused quite a stir… When out walking, I used to look for signs of this establishment. Never did I catch sight of a signpost or notice indicating that there was a club of any description whatever in the neighbor hood, and most certainly never saw the slightest trace of a swimming pool. I con-

cluded that the club… must be very carefully sheltered by woods. Could the’Witch’s Cottage be in the grounds of the nudist club ?

PAMELA TAYLOR, ARCHIVIST TO LONDON BOROUGH OF BARNET, writes on 9th October :

Jenny Cobban concluded her recent fascinating study of the Witch’s Cottage by doubting whether any museum would be interested in displaying it, but saying that to be assured of preservation this already well-travelled building might one day need to be “transported to another location”.

Transportation might indeed provide the appropriate answer. Barnet Archives… has recently been sent two attractive postcards of the ABBEY MUSEUM, CABOOLTURE, QUEENSLAND. These state that the museum was opened in 1986 and houses a range of collections “from prehistoric and medieval Europe, the Roman Empire, ancient Middle East and Asia. The ceramics, glass, metalwork, textiles and minor arts were collected by Rev. John S.M. Ward between 1890 and 1940”.

Ward was, of course, the founder of the Abbey Folklore Museum at New Barnet (see J.

Cobban’s first piece in the August Newsletter – Ed.) …and this is presumably the reason for the successor museum’s name. It ought surely to be very interested in the future, and past, of the cottage.’

Well…. QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA may sound far-fetched (so-to-speak) as a destination for the cottage in Bricket Wood, but ‘transportation’ to Australia is not unknown for human cargo, so why not for a provenly portable magical cottage ? The childhood home of Captain James Cock is now to be found in Melbourne; a Maori Meeting House was brought to Clandon Park by the Earl of Onslow a century ago at the end of his terms Governor of New Zealand … perhaps it is high time to despatch another building from ‘Up Top’ ? Looks like Jennie Cobban’s study has not concluded…?(Ed.)

CITY WALK WITH MARY O’CONNELL – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5th, 1991

Apologies to Mary, her guide colleagues, to those who went on the walk and those who would like to know about it. Space in this issue has run out, but there will be a report in the next issue, so that anyone who wishes to follow in our footsteps during the Christmas break will be well informed.

THE MIRACLE OF THE MINI-MART has happened all over again ! From the usual extraordinary collection of this and that, the delicious confections and con­coctions of our culinary experts, our own publications, a ‘green’ table of plants and harvest festival items, Hillary Press notepads, mountains of clothing and piles of books, sparkling baubles and exotic perfumeries, some very good shoes and gloves (all in pairs,too ) a completely cupless Poole pottery teaset, Rudyard Kipling’s typewriter (or at least one identical to that on his desk at Burwash ­if you haven’t visited there, you should !) – from all this plus Dorothy’s ‘I never close’ sales and wants which continued down the stairs after clear-up and out into the carpark … from all this WE CLEARED £1,218 – AT LEAST WELL DONE ALL

Special thanks to the organisers, who read like a jazz band in the roll of honour :Sheila Woodward on food, Tessa Smith on lunches, Gill Baker on gifts, June Porges on Bric-a-Brac, Percy Reboul on Books, Alan Lawson and Phyllis Fletcher on house­hold goods, Dorothy Newbury on whistle (sorry – on clothing) and of course to all the helpers who came for fun and stayed to sell. DAWN ORR, 12th OCTOBER

ISSUE No. 244: Edited by Vikki O’Connor JULY 1991

DIARY

Saturday 13 July HISTORIC CHATHAM DOCKS & FORT AMHERST: Dorothy Newbury. (Details & application form enclosed)

Saturday 10th August NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGISTS DAY, HERTFORD To be confirmed next month.

Friday 30th August to Sunday 1st September WEEKEND IN NORWICH Fully booked, but no waiting list. Please contact Dorothy Newbury (081 203 0950) if you wish to go on the waiting list.

Saturday 5th October CITY WALK with Mary O’Connell

Saturday 12th October MINIMART at St Mary’s Church House, Hendon

A REMINDER ABOUT LAST MINUTE BOOKINGS – If you’ve been unable to book seats or get on the waiting list for a trip, it may still be possible to get a place due to eleventh hour cancellations and to people on the waiting list having made other arrangements. It is always worthwhile contacting the organiser the night before a trip – you may be lucky!

WHAT DOES ARCHAEOLOGY MEAN TO YOU?

THE COMMITTEE INVITES YOU TO USE THE NEWSLETTER TO PUT A PERSONAL VIEW

We have a number of members, some of them fairly new, who enjoy visiting a site, a lecture, an exhibition, but who may then wonder WHAT NEXT? It is possible they could feel a little excluded, left out, with no way forward or particular focus for increasing understanding. Our members who have found a way on can perhaps help by passing on their thoughts, experiences, ideas through the Newsletter.

What is it that especially draws you to archaeology? What would you miss most if it all went? Is it fieldwalking – trowelling – metal-detecting; flints – pots – bones; stones ­banks & ditches – hedges; Romans – early peoples; markets – deserted villages; surveying – drawing – photography …. or any other aspect?

You may have contributed to the Newsletter from time to time or never until now – let’s hear from you, say 500-600 words. No theses are required, and not necessarily orthodoxies. Should the editors have the luxury of a backlog they will advise of any delay in publication.

RURAL AND RIVERSIDE E JOHN HOOSON

On June 15, under a rain-threatening overcast sky, 55 members and friends left the urban spread of Barnet for rural Reading, or more precisely, for the Museum of English Rural Life of the University of Reading’s Institute of Agricultural History. When founded 40 years ago in 1951, rapidly increasing mechanisation and scientific development were revolutionising farming. The general introduction of tractors, combine harvesters, etc, resulted in horse-drawn carts and ploughs, tools and other farming paraphernalia, developed over centuries, being discarded and left to be forgotten and to rot.

The objectives of the museum were to rescue and preserve these disappearing artefacts of the Horse Age and to record the knowledge of farming practices while still contained in living memories. The thematic displays show the success of this timely action, with the objects well displayed, clearly labelled and explained where necessary by well-illustrated posters. The objects range from a multitude of farm carts of different type, frequently known by their county name, to rooms furnished in the style of circa 1860. There are displays concerning basketry, smocking, smithing, saddlery and many others. The most recent item appeared to be a 1947 Ferguson tractor which, nearly half a century on, looked as antique as any of the other-exhibits.

After leaving the museum, we took lunch by the river. The rain held off and we could enjoy the views of the Thames although we came under the scrutiny of countless inquisitive swans. We then boarded the “Caversham Princess” for a leisurely journey to Mapledurham, which lies literally on a backwater. The manor belonged to the Bardolph family who sold it to the Blounts in 1490. It has remained with that family although, following the termination of the male line in 1943, it passed through the eldest of nine daughters, who had married into the Eyston family, in 1863 to her son. The present owner is his grandson.

We were met on the landing stage by a guide who escorted us to St Margaret’s church which was begun in the 13th century by William Bardolph the younger. Following Butterfield’s 1863 “restoration” little original work remains visible although the south aisle built in the late 14th century and known as the Bardolph Aisle survives unaltered. It became the Blount family Catholic burial chapel and remains their private property. The family survived the religious turmoils by maintaining a low profile in these isolated parts but it was necessary to separate the Aisle from the Anglican church by building a stone wall although this was not possible where tombs lay across two of the arcades. The tomb of Sir Richard Blount and his wife is particularly fine. This is one of five Anglican churches in this Country with a Catholic aisle.

After describing the church our guide left us free to visit Mapledurham House and the watermill. The present house was commenced in 1588 and remains mainly unchanged apart from some alterations in 1828 and 1863. Taking advantage of the Catholic Relief Act 1791, a chapel was incorporated in 1797, built in the Strawberry Hill Gothic Style. The rooms on public display together with their original furniture, furnishings and family portraits provide a good impression of life in a manor house over the last 400 years.

The views from the windows were impressive but would have benefited with some sun. On the other hand, it was probably an advantage that mist enshrouded 20th century Reading on the horizon.

A watermill has been on the site since Domesday. The present mill, dating from the late 15th century, is the last one still working on the Thames. The taped description provided (inclusive in the ticket) gave a good account, of the mill with some interesting asides such as when the miller adjusted the critical speed of the wheel, he did so using the sound of the water without the need for meters.

Our thanks go to Ted Sammes, who as a Founder Member knows the correct ingredients and recipe for a successful HADAS tour, and arranged this excellent tour by land and water. As he had not selected the date, he was able to deny responsibility for the weather which fortunately provided very little water from above.

THE APRIL LECTURE ON JORDAN was given by Ted Sammes based on a holiday twelve months previously. Sadly there was only time for 40 slides from his 18 rolls of film. He began with some background information on the region, the Jordan Valley has always been a prized settlement area with fighting recorded since Biblical times. Main rock types found are limestone, sandstone and basalt. The Great Rift Valley runs through Jordan and resultant earthquakes are identified by archaeologists as destruction levels. We saw manifestations of the geological fault: in Southern Jordan a crater plugged with basalt; Zerka Ma’in, a canyon east of Madaba, Central Jordan has a series of some fifty hot springs and a waterfall with a temperature of 59° spilling into the largest pool. Herod the Great came here to ‘take the cure’, today it’s a popular modern mineral water health spa.

Deir ‘Alla (House of God) is the site of an ancient sanctuary overlooking the Jordan Valley 50km north of the Dead Sea. First settled in the late Bronze Age through to 500BC, it has a temple mound dating from c.1500BC which was not re-built after destruction by earthquake in 1200BC BC. However, Deir ‘Alla remained a holy place. Aramaic text on a fragment of 7thC BC wall plaster from a mud-brick wall mentions the Deir ‘Alla Sanctuary, apparently supporting the theory that it was separate from Hebrew influence during the Judean Kingdom. Ted was disappointed to see how trenches from the 1960’s excavation had been left open and were rapidly deteriorating.

Nearby Tell es-Sa’idiyeh is identified with the Biblical city of Zarethan where the Israelites crossed the Jordan. Jonathan Tubb had completed a 5-year dig for the British Museum two days before Ted arrived, and the finds were already boxed up. These subsequently formed part of the BM exhibition “Archaeology and the Bible” which ended this April. In case you missed this, there is a book of the same name by Tubb and Rupert L Chapman, price £7.95, and finds from the site will again be displayed at the Museum later this year. The site, comprising eastern Upper and western Lower Tells, was occupied from the Early Bronze Age, 3rd millennium BC, until about 700BC. A building in stratum XII in the upper Tell is identified as a 12th century BC Egyptian Governor’s Residency, with Egyptian building techniques: deep brick foundations and external double walls with a channel between for drainage. Excavation in the mid-1960’s by James Pritchard of the University of Pennsylvania revealed a staircase, Tubb continued on down to a small pool, confirming this was part of a water system. An interesting feature of the lower Tell was the cemetery associated with stratum XII, with “double pithos” burials where pottery coffins are made by joining two large storage jars at their shoulders.

North of Deir ‘Alla, on the banks of the Wadi Jirm, Pella was one of the cities of the “Decapolis” – ten cities built by Rome to defend their eastern empire. The site was continuously occupied for 10,000 years and, like Petra, prospered from being on two main trade routes. Named after the birthplace of Alexander the Great in Greece,

Pella is currently is undergoing a long-term programme of excavation and reconstruction. Part of the old town is unfortunately under a modern town, nevertheless, temples and a small theatre from the Greco-Roman period have already been reconstructed.

North of Amman another Decapolis city, Jerash, is one of the best preserved Roman cities in the world. The site was occupied in Neolithic times but Jerash (ancient Gerasa) is thought to have been founded by soldiers of Alexander the Great c.332BC. The city expanded early in the 1st century AD, but was abandoned in 747AD following a series of earthquakes and remained buried in sand over a 1000 years until re-discovery in 1806 by German explorer Ulrich Seetzen. Today it’s a big tourist attraction with regular Son et Lumiere performances and a two-week Festival of Culture and Arts each August. ‘Sights’ include Hadrians Arch (1291 130AD); the oval stone-walled Hippodrome; an oval Piazza; Zeus Temple complex; the “Cardo” – a colonnaded street with paving stones rutted by chariot wheels; a 2nd c. AD Nymphaeum (a public fountain with some original coloured painting remaining); Byzantine churches with mosaics, etc etc….

At this point Ted muttered something about “if you’ve seen one Roman Theatre you’ve seen them all”. Sacrilege! Perhaps Jerash has too much to digest at one sitting?

Amman, capital of modern Jordan, the site of one of the earliest farming communities 7000-6000BC, has a history of continuous occupation. This was another Roman Decapolis city, Philadelphia. The old city consisted of lower and upper sections. Worth visiting are the Forum and Roman 5,000-seat Theatre (still used today) in the lower area, and on Citadel Hill, the Temple of Hercules and fortress, which the Romans re-built. As a point of interest, Ted pointed out an unusual modern structure in. Amman – their “emblem”, a huge coffee pot the height of a two-storey building!

At the outer point of the Moab Mountains, Mount Nebo is a traditional site of the tomb of Moses. Franciscan excavations at Siyagha revealed a 6th century Byzantine church and monasteries containing many well-preserved mosaics. Nearby Madaba, dating from the middle Bronze Age, 2000BC is known as the city of mosaics. In the Greek Orthodox Church of St George is an exceptional mosaic – a map of Palestine showing Jerusalem with a gate and the street names in Greek. Madaba was destroyed in 614AD by the Persians then abandoned following damage by earthquake in 747AD.

No journey to Jordan would be complete without visiting the legendary rose-red city of Petra which was- re-discovered in 1812 by Swiss- explorer, John Burckhardt. In his day the journey would have been by camel or horse over mountain, stream and desert, but the modern road from Amman has removed some of the mystery with accessibility. It was first settled around 800BC by the Nabataean Arabs, and developed from a few cave dwellings into a wealthy city as the Nabataeans established their control of two major trade routes between Arabia and the Mediterranean, and the Red Sea and Syria. Roman expansion in the 1st century BC eroded the Nabataeans power and in AD 106 Palestine and Jordan were incorporated into the Roman Province of Arabia. Through Ted’s superb slides we were there – entering Petra via the “Siq”, the winding 1 km gorge through overhanging cliffs that change colour according to light, reflecting red, yellow, pink, purple. Emerging from the Siq one is confronted by a two-storey building carved in the rock, known as “Al Khazneh” the Treasury as it was thought the urn carved at the top contained a Pharaoh’s treasure. “Pot shots” taken at the urn by Turks and Arabs scarred it but proved fruitless, the building is in fact a royal tomb styled as a Greek temple.

As the valley widens you come to the Amphitheatre built by the Nabataeans but enlarged by the Romans (to accommodate 7,000 people) by cutting through houses and chambers at the back. Nearby is an ancient rock-cut stairway, now restored, lined with temples , houses and tombs and leading to Mt Nejr, the High Place of Sacrifice. Another climb from the Theatre via a Roman Road leads to a cliffside series of Royal Tombs. The area of the canyon is two square miles and there are over 800 buildings and façades still to be seen. Petra was gradually abandoned in favour of other cities, Jerash, Amman and Palmyra ai was uninhabited from the 3rd century AD save as a secret Bedouin refuge. In the 12th century Petra was captured by the Crusaders who built two fortresses but after Saladin’s victory in 1189 it was again abandoned.

5 miles north of Petra is Aklat, dug by Diana Kirkbride in the 1960’s. Earliest levels, c.7000BC are pre-pottery Neolithic. Ted’s guide noted there are less quernstones than a couple of years previously – it’s not easy to see how tourists could be “pocketing” them? The adjacent site of Beida has an entrance similar to the Siq at Petra and an ancient stairway leading to a lookout over the valley.

Wadi Rum, east of Aqaba, is littered with rock carvings in early Thamudic script made by long-gone travellers. Ted told us they were too poor to screen and by way of contrast showed some beautiful hibiscus blooms! Wadi Rum is an awe-inspiring valley with sandstone cliffs and pink and white sands. This was the route taken by T E Lawrence and Sherif Hussein on their way to fight the Turks in World War I.

Lawrence made a study of “Crusader Castles” as an Undergraduate; he continued adding to the work which was published in 1936 after his death, and an updated edition was published in 1988. The Crusaders built a chain of hilltop fortifications extending from Turkey through Jordan along the ancient King’s Highway, Amman to Aqaba, to guard the trade routes. In 1132 they built a fortress at the walled town of Kerak which Saladin took in 1187. Built on a precipice to accommodate several thousand people and animals the castle had many galleries with cross-vaulted ceilings. A museum has been made in one of the battlement passages and remains of a reservoir can be seen.

The “Desert Castles” in the desert area east of Amman had differing purposes: palaces, baths, caravan stations or farming centres. Ted mentioned three sites:

Azraq castle is built of black basalt, the front gate is one huge basalt block on two pivots. Earlier Roman and Nabataean structures were re-built by the Umayyads (7th/8t h century AD) and again in the 13th century by a Mamluke Governor. Azraq was the only oasis in the Eastern desert, hence the fortress. In the 20th century Prince Faisal and Lawrence used it as their HQ whilst planning their final advance on Damascus.

Qasr El-Kharaneh, another Umayyad building has two floors of 50 rooms each. This was possibly a “caravanserai”, it is square with a central courtyard with large rooms which could have been stables.

Finally, Qasr Amra, an Umayyad bath complex/palace, similar to the earlier Roman baths. The hydraulic system has a well, tank, pipes, with a series of dams and cisterns. Frescoes on the walls and ceilings have been restored and Ted found it unusual in the Muslim world as they were representations of human images with scenes of hunting, wrestling, dancing… Thank you Ted, for the magic carpet ride.

WEST HEATH AND LATER PROJECTS Victor Jones

In the June Newsletter I reported on the Excavations Committee’s review of this season’s possible programme. I had intended to include a short description of projects the Society completed in recent years for those of our newer members who may not know the scope of these activities, and for those who have missed one or more of the items.

Our more recent activities all followed what was the Society’s largest and most ambitious undertaking, the long and complex “West Heath” excavation. This project resulted from a very observant younger member of the Society noticing some man-made flint pieces whilst out walking. Further investigation and excavation revealed a Mesolithic hunters’ camp site dated to about 8,500 years BP, not long after the end of the last glaciation, situated at the edge of Hampstead Heath just outside Golders Hill Park. Many items of worked flint including a number of tools and weapons were found, and the working areas where these were made were traced. Aspects of prevailing local climatic and environmental conditions could be studied from residues of various plant, insect and pollen remains.

In the number of members involved, range of subjects studied, public interest shown and prestige generated for the Society, it exceeded anything else we have undertaken. The project proved to be a major task and a great deal of planning and organisation were required. The work was undertaken in two stages, the first from 1976 to 1981 directed by one of our Vice-Presidents, Daphne Lorimer. The second 1982 to 1984 by Margaret Maher, another senior and highly qualified member of the Society. The project was guided and supervised by Desmond Collins.

The report was delayed for some years due to various publishing problems, and deals with the larger, first stage of the project. It describes the processes used to investigate the camp of the Mesolithic hunting people. Included are a wide range of aspects of their lives and environment: climatic conditions; kind of shelters they probably used; weapons and tools; cooking techniques; plants and trees. The report also includes drawings and photographs, reflecting great credit to its authors and to the Society. The special members’ price is £7.00 (£8.00 with p&p) and £13 to the public.

In the year following completion of the West Heath project no major work was undertaken by the Society.

The Hadley Wood Earthwork

A detailed survey of the Hadley Wood earthwork was made in 1982/3. This is a quarter-mile approx. trench and residual bank in the north east of the Borough. It was rapidly being lost by motor-cycle and bicycle erosion. No evidence for the date of the construction could be found. Further investigation could be considered and possibly documentary research might be used to this end.

The Burnt Oak investigation

The first large project was commenced in 1986 on an open area site near the centre of Burnt Oak, and was rescue work in advance of proposed development of the site for a car park. It is near to Roman “Watling Street”, now the Edgware Road, and the field has a stream running through it. It was thought it could possibly have been a stopping place for water and refreshment for horse and man, and of course, Roman finds have been made in this district.

The investigation used resistance surveying, the results of which showed points of interest and subsequent exploratory trenching located several pits. Most of these contained pottery sherds and other materials, none of these earlier than Victorian time, and much modern rubbish.

Most members will know the term “Rescue”. It is used, as it suggests, to describe excavation to recover any possible archaeological remains before building development disturbs the site.

Another newer term coming in to use is “Archaeological Assessment” . This describes the archaeological sampling of a site before planning consent is given, and then (with safeguards) leaving it below the new building for future, and perhaps better, archaeologists to find.

The Chipping Barnet, Spires Centre Project

This was commenced in 1987 arid continued into 1988. It was also a “Rescue” excavation, in advance of the building of the large central shopping precinct and new public library for the area, now completed and forming the new centre for Chipping Barnet.

It was undertaken to see the early building and/or remains of the original 12th century market which might be in this area. A number of exploratory trenches were dug as sites became available, as the very large-scale project proceeded. These were on the east side of the site as near as possible along the line of the old Great North Road and as close as we could get to the rear of the buildings along the road.

We found black, well-cultivated type soil about one metre deep on all sites. All had much modern and Victorian pottery and other remains, and a few late Georgian items.

We concluded that the area had long been used for cultivation, so it is unlikely that Chipping Barnet extended much further north of St Johns Church on the west side of the old Great North Road.

The Brockley Hill 1987 Project

During 1987 a two-months “Rescue” project was undertaken at Brockley Hill on the field to the east side of Watling Street, where the Society had on earlier fieldwalks found Roman pottery etc. This was in advance of the then proposed route of The Rivers pipeline, finally dug in 1990. A trench was dug across the route and exposed a road surface about 0.5m below the soil level, approximately 100 metres south of the present pipeline.

This road was judged to be a Middle Ages Roman-Road-bypass, perhaps at a time when this was unusable. Roman pottery, tile and brick had been found during previous exploratory fieldwalking. In the dig some medieval material was recovered. Later fieldwalking found Neolithic worked flint, and some possibly used tools and arrow head. Further areas in which flint fragments occurred were noted but could not be searched as the crop in the field was already too high to allow this.

The Hendon Ice House

In 1988 an Ice House in the grounds of St Joseph’s Convent School, Hendon was excavated. It had been suggested by former pupils of the school that there was a possible underground connection with the nearby St Mary’s Church. A large effort was made to remove a great volume of rubbish and soil accumulated within a large oval chamber about 10 ft high by 7 ft diameter.

What we had found was an ancestral version of the modern refrigerator as used in Europe from the 15th to 17th centuries and tracing back to possibly Greek origin as Alexander the Great is said to have used one. (Industrial archaeologists please note!) It uses the best available insulating methods – evaporate cooling, as do modern refrigerators.

More remarkably, we learnt of others in nearby Hampstead and other parts of London. The Hendon version is similar in size and design to one built for Charles II in the 17th century, situated in Green Park. Another of the same type is preserved and open to view in Kew Gardens, and was also built for Royal use.

The Hendon Ice House was well built and in good condition. We hoped to get it preserved as a feature of interest for the area (next to the Town Hall), but so far have had no response. Unfortunately we did not find evidence of its construction date except by association with the date of the rather late rebuilding of the nearby Grove House in the early 19th century. It’s presence seems to put the Hendon Manor in very good company as many Royal and “Great. Houses” of the Aristocracy had them in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The Whetstone Tudor House

In 1989 we were asked to investigate a house in Whetstone next to one we had studied some years previously which had been beautifully restored by a Whetstone building and development company. We quickly commenced the house study and an excavation in the grounds at the back of the property. The internal construction indicated an earlier construction date than suggested, and the excavation indicated that the house had at one time extended further to the rear by one or more structural bays. The excavation and the documentary studies were completed and proved the house was earlier than the listed date and was probably built in 1495.

English Heritage were this year called in to draw the timber roof structure and this explained why the document sometimes referred to two adjacent cottages and sometimes to three. It appears that these and the adjoining cottage were at time jointly owned.

An excavation near St Mary’s Church, East Barnet

This project was also undertaken in 1989, a result of a collapsed well-cover on the site of a farm cottage adjacent to the Church. The collapse was found to be in the capping of a well, and further excavation of the cottage area found Victorian construction with a natural soil level below.

East Barnet remains an enigma. The church is very old (earlier than St John’s in Chipping Barnet), and is a Dependency of St Albans, but there is no trace of the village community which it might serve.

The Mitre Inn, Barnet

The-Mitre is said to be 17th century and is the only example now left of the 100 or more public houses and inns which were Barnet’s Main activity in pre-railway times.

The project commenced in September 1989 and was undertaken in advance of development of land at the rear of the Mitre. We had much help from Barnet Museum and the Local History Society.

The ground here has a natural slope and had been built up and surfaced to provide vehicle standing. Clearance was a considerable problem, taking several weeks. It was necessary to dig through various layers of tarmac and brick rubble to reach the first Victorian building remains, then deeper still to earlier construction. We found various 17th and 18th century pottery sherds. Below this was a deep stony soil layer containing mainly Medieval pottery fragments of 11th to 13th century date. Among this material was also found some datable Roman material. This, together with similar items found in an earlier dig in the area, may indicate some Roman connection. The project continued throughout 1989.

The “Charity House”, 19/25 High Street, Barnet

In 1990 a site on the opposite side of the road to the Mitre was being cleared for,
development. This was a somewhat disturbed site, however we found several small
undisturbed areas with pottery of 12th to 14th century date as well as later materials.

A further 1990 project was to watch the Three Rivers pipeline construction which has been described in recent newsletters. Copies of these are still available if required.

Newsletter Newsletter No. 246 September 1991 edited by Jean Snelling

Diary

August 10th – September 15 Two Mill Hill Exhibitions at Church Farm House Museum Hendon; see below.

Tuesday September 24 West Heath Report: celebration at Town Hall, Hendon. See enclosed application form.

Tuesday October 1 Lecture, Valley of the Kings. Peter Clayton. 8 for 8.10 pm.

Saturday October 5 City Walk with Mary O’Connell.

October 12 MINIMART Another plea for members to turn out their good saleable items. See enclosed leaflet for details.

At the Annual General Meeting Brian Wrigley indicated his wish to stand down after his sterling service as Hon Sec.. Now we are happy to greet a long-standing member, Liz Holliday, as Honorary General Secretary to HADAS.

Officially – Miss E A Holliday, c/o 66 Brookfield Avenue, Mill Hill, NW7 2DD Telephone (after 7.0.pm) 0923 267 483, (Delete old address on members’ list)

A bonus is the special responsibility being taken by Brian Wrigley for Excavations and Archives.

Our affairs are in good hands. May they both have sound health and long lives.

From the Membership Secretary, Phyllis Fletcher

I should like to welcome to the Society the following New Members;

Mrs M Glaser, Mrs A Littlewood, Mr F M J Pinn, and Miss T Sheehan. I also welcome back to membership Miss J N Blason.

Some of our members have still not paid their subscriptions for the year, so they will receive a reminder from me. If you have paid by the time you get this Newsletter please accept my apologies.

The Newsletter

Will a computer-minded member volunteer for a project on Newsletter data? A selective list of Contents for the years 1985 to 1990 is much needed in a form which will subsequently facilitate a yearly update. A design for the data base is to hand, and the Society’s computer is available.

Enquiries to Jean Snelling, 081 346 3553.

REPORT ON THE EXCAVATION AT ST MARY’S SCHOOL, FINCHLEY (extracts)

The Museum of London’s Department of Greater London Archaeology have produced an evaluation report on their excavations at St Mary’s School earlier this year. Those few who attended the seminar on this which The Museum put on for us in May have received copies of the report; it is very well and concisely set out, that many other Members will find it extremely interesting.

Starting off with a description of the geology of the Finchley area, it proceeds to the historical and archaeological background quoted below, which is illustrated with reproductions of extracts from maps of 1754 (Rocque), 1822 (OS). 1877 (OS), and 1902 (OS).

HISTORICAL. AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND

There is little archaeological evidence for prehistoric settlement in Finchley or its immediate vicinity. Of the entries in the Sites and Monuments Register, many of the stone tools referred to show signs of having been redeposited in the late glacial gravels by ice sheets and streams, so their find spots do not necessarily indicate sites of manufacture or use. Four Mesolithic flakes found by the Hendon and District Archaeological Society during the Rectory Close excavations, close to the present site, were found in a disturbed layer and need not indicate settlement at this period. If any of these finds are in situ, they may represent chance loses by communities exploiting the local fauna and flora but living elsewhere, but the cautionary note should be added that small prehistoric settlements are only likely to be located by controlled scientific excavations and there have been few of these in the area.

Finds from the Roman period may indicate increasing settlement and agricultural production as a result of the need to supply the growing urban centre of Londinium. The nearest large scale settlement is at Brockley Hill, adjacent to an arterial road with evidence of industry, pottery manufacture and the import of luxury items. A reorganisation of the local landscape is shown by the minor N-S road at Hendon golf course (possibly early-mid 2nd century AD) and the scatter of finds, particularly the cluster at Hendon which includes building material and a burial (SMR), may show the establishment of small farmsteads at this time.

Although Finchley has an Anglo-Saxon name, meaning “the wood frequented by Finches” (Weinreb and Hibbert 1983 pp276-77), there is as yet little hard evidence for a settlement here at this period. Saxon foundations have been claimed for St Mary’s Hendon,

St Mary’s Finchley and St James the Great Friern Barnet, but without reliable historical or archaeological evidence. Grass tempered pottery found beside the church at Hendon (LA 2, 10, 1976 p370) suggests a rural community here and further excavation work may find the site of its dwellings.

Finchley is not mentioned in the Domesday book, but the fact that it was part of the ecclesiastical manor of Fulham means that a settlement here could have escaped mention. The 1086 survey does show that the county of Middlesex was already divided up into large estates supplying produce and revenue to Lords and religious houses before the conquest of 1066 (Cockburn et al 1969 pp84-85).

The medieval period is far better represented than the preceding millennia. This may in part be due to the lack of detailed archaeological excavation on the less substantial remains of earlier settlements, the existence of relevant historical documents (almost all are post 1066), and the destruction of earlier material by superimposed later settlements, but almost certainly is related to improving agricultural technology, enabling heavier soils to be satisfactorily farmed. An additional factor may have been the re-emergence of London as a major centre of population and trade, placing increasing demands on its hinterland. At Finchley, St Mary’s church has 12th and 13th century fabric, but no other standing medieval structures have survived.

Finchley remained a largely rural and agricultural community until the 1870’s (Figures 2 and 3) and it was only the arrival of the Great Northern Railway in 1867 that led to the expansion of the settlement to join Church End, East Finchley and Friern Barnet (Figures 4 and 5).’

Machine clearance of the playground surface and leveling dump below showed the various features shown in Figure 7 ( reproduced below): this is all no more than a handspan below the original surface of the playground. The concluding sections of the report are (quoted below:

FINDS

All features investigated produced sherds of pottery. Most of the assemblage is made up of fragments of early medieval domestic and cooking pots. The fabrics are unusual and were probably produced locally, though some may be imports from the south Herts area. Because little work has been done on pottery types in this area, dating has been derived from comparisons of the vessel forms and rim shapes with securely dated pottery from other areas.

Most of the pottery falls within the period 1150-1250 AD, but there are a few earlier sherds – [013] produced a probable pre-Norman form – and several later ones, the latest being 1270-1350 AD. Much of the pot is heavily abraded, suggesting that it may have weathered prior to its incorporation into the archaeological deposits.The fragments of lava stone are significant. Such stone had to be imported from the Rhineland and was used to make quern stones for grinding agricultural produce.

INTERPRETATION

The post-holes and slots are the remains of timber buildings that once stood on the site, the post-holes holding vertical timbers and the slots holding sill beams into which either doorways or wall timbers could be set. A full plan of these structures could be recovered by full excavation. Two hearths probably belong within the buildings, and it is possible that some of the layers that were not investigated may be occupation deposits associated with them.

Large amounts of pottery recovered indicate the active use of the site in the early medieval period, some of it imported, but some probably made locally. The slag and lava stone point to other aspects of the industrial and economic life of a rural community.

The surviving deposits are quite shallow, the deepest features less than 0.50m deep, so a check was made of the damage caused by the footings of the school buildings. Although the walls would have destroyed all but the deepest features, the rest of the subfloor area appears to overlie undisturbed soil, at a level where archaeological survival should be considerable.

CONCLUSIONS

The site appears to offer one of the first opportunities to make a detailed archaeological investigation into the core of the historic village of Finchley. This evaluation exercise has shown that the evidence is there, together with a considerable quantity of dating evidence and the remains of structures.

The Museum of London recommends that discussions are commenced with the applicant to seek opportunities for preserving as much of this important archaeological site as possible in situ, by suitable design measures in areas where damage is likely to be unavoidable, an agreement is sought which will allow archaeological rescue investigations (and suitable archive and publication of the results) to take place prior to any development.

The Museum of London are currently discussing with the developers the possibility of rescue excavations of the area affected by the Development Mike Hutchinson of the DGLA hopes that any such further dig can be so arranged that HADAS members can participate at weekends.

The site of St. Mary’s primary school is in Finchley Church End, on the west side of Regents Park Road where it is joined by Hendon Lane.

Figure 7: site plan showing:

post holes

layers

pits

hearths

slots

REVIEW: Excavations at the Mesolithic Site on West Heath, Hampstead 1976-1981 By Margaret Beasley MA

Here in one volume is an informative and useful compilation of reports stemming from investigations by HADAS at West Heath during the period 1976-81. There are contributions from HADAS members (too many to name in a short review) and from specialists; providing plenty to interest anyone concerned with the Mesolithic, whether as amateur, student or professional. Overall, the presentation is good but Roman numerals on the horizontal axis of the plan of the hearth on p 69 are almost too small to read and the key on the same page does not match the style of the rest of the figures. The views of the site on p.8 are worthy of greater enlargement.

Dated by thermoluinescence to an average of 7641±900 BC, the site yielded a large quantity of worked flint. A first reaction to this might be to imagine that West Heath was densely populated in Mesolithic times. However, phosphate levels in the soil were very low, suggesting sparse occupation and as anyone who has tried flint knapping will know, large amounts of debitage are quickly generated. The lithics are well described and clearly illustrated and charts show how the various classes of tools and waste material were distributed over the site. The size of some cores indicates a supply of raw material larger than that available from river gravels and a search of members’ gardens duly came up with several fair size pieces, indicating that some of the demand for flint could have been satisfied by casual finds. The range of tools and debitage suggests that a wide variety of activities were carried out. Over 130 pieces of flint have been refitted into 51 sets. Whether the knapping events represented all occured during a single phase occupation, or on repeated visits as part of a seasonal round is uncertain. Either way, much of the material appears to be a homogenous assemblage of earlier Mesolithic character, but it included some geometric microliths which Desmond Collins suggests may be a natural element in such assemblages or, alternatively, may represent a different or later group of people. Other stone artefacts are an ‘arrow smoother’, a ‘hone’, a piece of engraved flint cortex, possibly a sur­face for cutting on; and two arrowheads of Bronze Age type, one a modern fake and the other of uncertain origin, presumed to have been introduced as a hoax, as were some ‘pigs’ of metal stamped LFG XX!

Charcoal from the hearth, initially thought to be Mesolithic, yielded a radio carbon date in the range 1015-1165 Cal. AD at 95% probability. There is, neverthe­less, other evidence for the use of fire, in the form of charcoal and burnt store. Postholes imply structures, yet there is no substantial evidence for huts or enclosures and it is feasible that the site represents a palimpsest of repeated seasonal occupations, with traces from the individual fires and shelters of any one time blurred by repeated activities.

As a zooarchaeologist, I regret that the dry and acidic sandy soil (pH 3.5) has long since destroyed any bones and teeth. Despite this lack of faunal remains, there is, fortunately, a wealth of paleo-environmental data from the West Heath (Spa) site. Pollen, seeds and insects survived in its waterlogged sediments. James Greig’s analysis of the pollen and macrobotanical remains documents 5000 years of change from lime wildwood to heathland. Beetles are quite specific in their environmental and food requirements, and the late Maureen Girling’s study of the coleoptera offers fascinating glimpses of past landscapes. Two impressive scanning electron photomicrographs show the thorax of a tiny bark beetle which feeds on lime trees and the eye arrangement of a spider. Both beetles and pollen document the elm decline, which was due, it is suggested, to the combined effects of human activity and beetles.

This document is a credit to all those who have contributed their own individual areas of interest and expertise to the team effort. I shall be adding it to the list of recommended reading for my Extra Mural students.

In the manuscript of her review Miss Beasley gave the full title of the West Heath Report. In order to complete the record this is given here.

“Excavations at the Mesolithic Site on West Heath Hampstead 1876-1981 Investigations by members of the Hendon and District Archaeological Society edited by Desmond Collins and Daphne Lorimer with an associated paleoecological study by the late Maureen A Girliing and James A Grieg. BAR British Series 217, 1991”

Lower Paleolithic Site at Boxgrove Sussex P.Killpack

The Lower Paleolithic site at Boxgrove, near Chichester, is known to professional archaeologists as the oldest horse hunting and butchering site in Europe (see Current Archaeology No.123 Feb./March 1991 p 138).

A HADAS member excavated there during the month of May and participated in the unearthing of a 17cm ovate biface handaxe from a sealed layer dated to 500,000 years ago. Nearby were found rib bones, probably of horse, and numerous flint flakes. As all artefacts and associated evidence from the site are unique, excavators are required to work barefoot.

Mark Roberts of the Field Unit of the UCL Institute of Archaeology heads the project, which is funded in part by English Heritage. He has refitted flint flakes and waste to handaxes found at the site to determine the actual knapping process employed in the manufacture of the tools.

Close study of the geology of the area determined that the butchery site was a beach below chalk cliffs during a temperate period. With the onset of glaciation the sea withdrew and the site was covered by cold condition sediments. As the age of the undisturbed site is well beyond radiocarbon capabilities, the site has been dated by using bio-stratigraphic methods.

The good news is that the Natural History Museum is considering a special exhibit of finds from Boxgrove. Unfortunately the excavation ended August 11 1991, having been oversubscribed. The director informed us that there was simply no room for more volunteers.

FINCHLEY MANOR MOAT

Members who penetrated the overgrown moat during our visit to the Sternberg Centre on May 12 1991 will be interested in further news.

Our Committee has been in touch with English Heritage to raise the question of its condition, while the Museum of London (Department of Greater London Archaeology) is considering making an archaeological assessment of the scheduled ancient monument.

Newsletters will report developments.

Members News

Marion le Besque (nee Newbury) had a baby daughter, Grace Louise, on Sunday August llth. Both are doing well.

LATE MEDIEVAL IRONWORKING IN WHETSTONE

Brian Wrigley

In Victor Jones’ note on the Tudor house in Whetstone (Newslet­ter No 231, June 1990) there was reference to the evidence of iron- working found in the excavations of the back yard. We kept samples of the material which has now been examined by Dr Paul Craddock of the British Museum, and his report follows:

Report on metalworking debris excavated at Whetstone Cross roads, Middlesex

The material was excavated from a medieval context beneath a Tudor house by the Hendon and District Archaeological Society. The context was a small hollow of burnt material containing the burnt partially vitrified ferruginous waste and charcoal visual examination of the burnt material showed it to be heavily burnt and partially vitrified. Some pieces resembled clay lining. All the material was ferruginous. There was no true slag in the material examined.

The context was almost certainly a small smithing hearth, where iron was forged to shape by hammering and annealing. In the course of these operations a great deal of oxidised iron fragments (Hammer scale) and some residual slag from the bloom of iron are given off, and the debris can superficially resemble a smelting operation. However here the hearth does not resemble a furnace and there is no true smelting slag.

P F Craddock
30 May 1991

File 6117

For the record, it should be explained where the samples came from and why they are regarded as ‘from a medieval context’.

Below is a sketch plan of the site, indicating the outlines of the surviving part of the timber building and its relation to our excavation.It also shows the areas where evidence of burning and iron-working residues were found. The samples seen by Dr Craddock were from the two concentrations of burning, Features F19 and P20. These two features appear to be connected by a trail of combustion material between them; such a double hearth would fit in quite well with known techniques of early ironworking (like the ‘Walloon double hearth’ described in Tylecote’s A History of Metallurgy) where successive processes are being carried out on the metal, and two hearths are close together to avoid the metal losing heat in the transfer.

The foundation for an extra bay to the house, referred to In the note in Newsletter 231, is marked F4 and F5 in the sketch plan: the lowest course of F5 is a line of chalk blocks, which I under­stand would fit in very well with the proposed dating of late 15C. The spread of burnt material was evident in Layer 4 (which contained features F19 and F20) and in Layer 23; both were similar disturbed clay, but separated by the footing F5.When we removed part of one of the chalk blocks of F5, we found that 4 and 23 were in fact one continuous layer below the chalk, and the signs of burning continued also; in fact, lifting the chalk block showed at least 3 fragments of charcoal on the surface thus exposed

Hence, on a reasonable assumption that the spread of burning is associated with the hearths, the ironworking activity must have been earlier than the laying of the footing, and if we are correct in dating the footing to the late 15C, then the ironworking must be at least as old as that date.On a strictly non-academic note – how intriguing to find a smithy so close in place and time to the legendary sharpening of swords for the Battle of Barnet on THE WHETSTONE which stands just outside this site and has been rumoured to give the settlement its name!

Mill Hill exhibitions August 10-September 15

Two together at Church Farm House Museum, Hendon. Open weekdays 10.0-1.0pm and 2.0-5.30; but closed on Tuesday afternoons. Sundays, 2.0-5.30.pm

Pictures of Old .ill Hill (87of them) from Barnet Borough’s collection. His Own Man – John Collier; Writer, Craftsman and local Historian.

Dorothy Newbury writes ; This is of special interest to HADAS as John Collier (1900-1989) had so many links with us in the past, as Secretary to the then Mill Hill & Hendon Historical Society. As HADAS grew it was John who had the ‘Hendon’ dropped from their title, leaving the Hendon patch to us. He liaised with Brigid Grafton Green in a campaign for more Blue Plaques in the Borough. He led a HADAS Walk in Mill Hill in 1985.

Coming shortly.

Part 2 Jenny Cobban’s tireless pursuit of the Witch’s Cottage.

Also responses to Ted Sammes’ enquiry in the August Newsletter about the Terrible Aeroplane Tragedy of 1920 in Golders Green/Cricklewood.

The dig at 296 Golders Green Road NW11 continues at the time of going to press but may have finished when this Newsletter circulates. A pebble layer is being uncovered; as yet there are no artefacts to help in dating.

Grafton Green is having another spell in hospital. We all wish her well again soon.

ISSUE No. 245: Edited by Ann Kahn August 1991

Saturday 10th August NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGISTS DAY, HERTFORD

Friday 30th August to Sunday 1st September WEEKEND IN NORWICH Fully booked, but no waiting list. Please contact Dorothy Newbury (081 203 0950) if you wish to go on the waiting list.

Saturday 5th October CITY WALK with Mary O’Connell

Saturday 12th October MINIMART at St Mary’s Church House, Hendon

HADAS DIGGING BRIAN WRIGLEY (081 959 5982)

We have now been given permission to dig until the end of July, with probable extension into August, on the site we have been negotiating for, the former forge at 296 Golders Green Road, NW11 (next to the Prince Albert PH). This site is of interest as it is only about 150 metres from The Woodlands where remains of a medieval road were found by HADAS in 1968.

Time was, of course too short to notify Members via the last Newsletter, but we managed to get together a small group who started work on Sunday 14 July. We have opened 4 trial trenches and although we have only got down a few inches it looks as though we are already beginning to get through the top surface of packed building rubble and starting to get down to archaeological layers.

It is intended to continue work on Sundays and (depending on the availability of helpers!) on some weekday evenings. Our permission does not allow Saturday work. If you would like to help in any capacity, please let me know so that I can keep you informed when we are on site. Look forward to seeing you in the trenches!

MUSEUM OF LONDON forthcoming events and exhibitions include:-

Treasures and trinkets: jewelry in London from pre-Roman times (till 26. 1. 1992)

– Out and about in London Summer 1991: a season of lectures, visits, walks, workshops and special exhibitions.

Details from Education Department (071 600 3699 ext 200). To Join the Museum’s free mailing list, send your name and address to: The Marketing Office, Museum of London, London Wall, London, EC2Y 5HN

CHATHAM HISTORIC DOCKYARD AND FORT AMHERST STEWART J. WILD

It was exactly a year ago, last July, that I read an article about Chatham in the Daily Telegraph and suggested to Dorothy Newbury that the old dockyard seemed worthy of a visit from HADAS.

It was certainly worth waiting for. On 13 July some 40 of us set off round the M25 en route for the Dartford Tunnel and the County of Kent. Once again we had the pleasure of a HADAS member, Nigel McTeer, in the driver’s seat.

Chatham Dockyard, on the tidal river Medway, has its origin in Henry VIII’s time. Since 1547, over 400 Royal Navy ships have been built at Chatham, including such famous ‘wooden walls’ as HMS Victory, Temeraire and Revenge. The last ship, a submarine for the Canadian navy, was launched in 1966, and the dockyard, by now spreading over 400 acres, was finally decommissioned in 1984, with 80 acres put in the care or Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust under the chairmanship of Sir Steuart Pringle.

Now a living, working museum, the Dockyard has 47 listed buildings, many of which have been turned into galleries to tell the story of Britain’s fighting ships and the lives of the dockyard craftsmen who built them. Our guide showed us the covered slipways, the Commission’s fine Georgian house, and the 400-yard long Ropery, where we enjoyed a demonstration showing how ropes are made using equipment largely unchanged since Victorian times.

The highlight of our visit was the Mast House, with its upper-storey mould loft (where wooden templates were made from design lines drawn on the floor). The building has been brilliantly restored and now houses the ‘Wooden Walls Audiovisual Experience’. This innovative exhibition, opened last year at a cost of £4M, shows in detail how a warship, the Valiant, was made in 1758, as seen through the eyes of a young dockyard apprentice, William Crockwell.

There is a small exhibition of artefacts recovered from the Invicible, a 74-gun French warship captured in 1747, which inspired the design of the Valiant. On leaving the building we watched a craftsman actually making masts for the 1878 sloop Gannet which we saw being restored in one of the dry docks nearby.

Around mid-afternoon we drove the short distance to Fort Amherst, a vast area of tunnels and fortifications dating from 1765, and enlarged during Napoleonic times as part of the Chatham Lines. Our guide, Jack Maude, a naval historian, guided us with admirable humour and great knowledge and enthusiasm.

As we toured the tunnels, Jack gave us a vivid insight into the daily life of conscripted soldiers two centuries ago, then from the top of the walls and the gun batteries we enjoyed views over the Medway and Rochester beyond. Much of Fort Amherst is still completely overgrown, including a huge casemated barracks building which used to house 3,000 men; but the Trust is making good progress with the Herculean task of restoring it to its former grandeur. Perhaps we could make another visit next summer to see how they’re getting on.

Thanks again to Dorothy Newbury for organising such an enjoyable outing.

Finchley Friends of Israel – lecture Roy Walker

Half a dozen HADAS members accepted an invitation from the Finchley Friends of Israel to attend a lecture by Alexander Flinder on “The Secrets of the Bible Seas” held in June this year.

Mr Flinder was the founder Chairman of the Nautical Archaeological Society, his interest in diving having started during his wartime service with the Royal Engineers. Although an architect by profession with a practice in London, his experience and expertise in the undersea world of archaeology must be second to none – especially in the Middle East.

The experience, certainly in London, is that the opportunity to dig a site is governed by availability – it is dug when the chance presents itself. Mr Flinder’s lecture showed a different approach, sites were investigated, researched and excavated often following exploration or discovery of an artifact or object giving rise to speculation. For instance, a terracotta figurine found in a shipwreck at Shave Zion (one of over three hundred!) was handed to him in London for his comments. A visit to the British Museum confirmed it was of a Phoenician goddess, Tanit, worshipped by a cult of child sacrifice. But why was this found off the coast of Israel when the Phoenicians had resettled in Carthage? Excavation followed by research led to the conclusion that the ship had been on a mission to revive this cult in the Eastern Mediterranean but the sinking put a stop to that.

Another piece of research involved the Herodian harbour of Sebastos at Caesarea. The historian Josephus in “The War of the Jews” claimed that this harbour was truly magnificent. For years his report was doubted, the harbour remains were insignificant especially compared with the remains of Herod’s work on land. It was felt in the 19th century that Josephus, known to have betrayed fellow Jews to the Romans for personal gain, had exaggerated. However, aerial photographs studied after World War II revealed certain structures offshore which on closer inspection and excavation proved to be the missing harbour in all its decayed glory.

Another story told by Mr Flinder in a refreshingly anecdotal style, was of the port of Ezion-gebor on the Gulf of Aqaba. The Old Testament in 1 Kings 9 tells of King Solomon building a fleet of ships at Ezion-gebor near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea. Hiram (the King of Tyre, a Phoenician) sent men of his own to serve with the fleet as they were experienced seamen. This was a trading arrangement. An American archaeologist thought Ezion-gebor was at Tell-el-Kheleifeh as he had found the “smelters” of Solomon’s copper refineries. These turned out to be grain stores and he rescinded his claim.

Alexander Flinder had long been attracted to the Island of Jezirat Fara’un nearby. Sited on it were a medieval fortress and some Byzantine remains. There was a calm anchorage between the island and the mainland and a natural inlet and harbour, well fortified. Pottery was found in the harbour but underwater exploration found much more – built up harbour walls, towers, casemates – all very similar to known Phoenician works at Sidon and Tyre. The audience were actually two steps ahead of the lecturer, we had guessed it was Ezion-gebor before he told us!

This invitation, which incidentally appears to be the second in three years to HADAS to attend one of Mr Flinder’s lectures (see Newsletter 220 July 1989) received from another Society, has shown how worthwhile it is having contact with other local Societies. We give our thanks and appreciation to the Friends of Israel for their hospitality.

The Witch’s Cottage (Part 1)

This is the tale of a building whose whereabouts I have been attempting to track down since January 1991. The building in question is called “The Witch’s Cottage”, and the piecing together of its somewhat bizarre history has, over the past few months, sometimes led me to believe that I had, perchance, strayed out of the real world and into an episode of David Lynch’s supernatural soap opera, Twin Peaks

The Abbey Folklore Museum, New Barnet

The Witch’s Cottage first came to my notice in a perfectly orthodox manner, while I was researching the history of the Abbey Folklore Museum, which at that time existed in Park Road, New Barnet. This open-air museum comprised many fascinating artefacts and buildings collected from all over the world by a Reverence JSM Ward. It opened in 1936, and by 1936 the museum’s attractions included a C13 tithe barn, a reconstruction of a prehistoric village, a parade of period shops, and East Barnet’s C17 forge and C17 wheelwright shop. The latter building still stands on the site at New Barnet, adjacent to the great iron plate on which in former days the cart wheels were fitted with iron tyres. It was last used in 1920 (1).

Various articles about the museum mentioned a building called the “sixteenth century witch’s cottage”. As JSM Ward remarks: “A most interesting building this, of half-timber work, thatched with reeds and with a central hearth and a louvre instead of a chimney. It is furnished with the pottery and furniture of the period and all the appurtenances of a witch, including blasting rod, and the like” (2). Further: “Hanging from the walls and roof are weird emblems and the grim implements of her trade: a stuffed crocodile, a human skull… the sword of exorciscm and the magic circle on the floor.” (3)

Having visited the site of the old Folklore Museum (now an Arts Centre) and established that The Witch’s Cottage was no longer present, I decided to attempt to locate the present whereabouts of the building and the artefacts
Dr. Gerald Gardner

I was at this point helped by a number of coincidences and by friends made in the course of researching the history of ancient and modern magical practices. In January of this year, I was fortunate enough to be the guest of Mr. Cecil Williamson, a one-time World War II MI6 operative (yes, really!) who owns a

fascinating witchcraft museum and research centre, in Boscastle, Cornwall. W. Williamson, at 83 years old, had been collecting magical paraphernalia and investigating apparently supernormal incidents all his life (with very refreshing cynicsm) and he kindly allowed me to photograph his remarkable collection of witchcraft dolls, the history of which I em presently researching.

In January then, in the course of the most interesting discussions, Mr. Williamson mentioned that a Dr. Gerald Gardner was connected with the Folklore Museum at New Barnet, and specifically with a cottage associated with a witch. The late Dr. Gardner (a somewhat dubious title) caused quite a stir in the 1950’s with his book Witchcraft Today, which was the first book published to explain the workings of modern witchcraft. He is known today as the “Father of Modern Witchcraft”. Many historians consider that he drew on the materials of such occult figures as Aleister Crowley to invent modern witchcraft practices while the witches themselves (and some historians) claim that he merely popularised and saved from oblivion an ancient religion which had never entirely died out.

Be that as it may, the fact remains that Dr. Gardner was responsible for a massive upsurge of interest in witchcraft in the 1950’s, and that today many thousands of people throughout the world follow his path (or a variation) as their chosen religion. For it is a religion no matter how recently and under what circumstances it was founded. This is not the place to go into the beliefs of witches – (5) suffice it to say that they do not worship the devil. Witches do not, on the whole, believe in such an entity.

From New Barnet to Bricket Wood

I further discovered a reference in F. King’s book Cult and Occult which suggested that Dr. Gardner was in fact a friend of Revd Ward and something of an amateur archaeologist. (6) But if he had removed the cottage from New Barnet, as all the evidence was beginning to suggest, to where had he taken it?

At a loss on how to proceed from here, I was then extremely fortunate to receive a letter from Mrs. Lois Bourne, a friend who happens to be a witchcraft leader and authoress. (7) She described her association with Dr. Gardner in the 1950’s, and where the witches used to meet in those days – at a club in Bricket Wood, near St. Albans. “There is an old .cottage in the. grounds where the witches met. There is an old four poster- in it and cabalistic marks on the floors and on the walls.” To clinch matters, within another day or so, I received a further communication from Mr. Williamson which concluded: “I do have photographs of the Witch’s Cottage moved by Gerald Gardner from the house grounds in Barnet to Bricket Wood. Also quite a few of the hut’s artefacts.”

It seemed as if I had found my Witch’s Cottage, and most of its artefacts. From being displayed merely as a witchcraft exhibition at New Barnet it had moved to Bricket Wood to become a ritual centre for a coven of practising witches! The next thing to do was to ‘establish that the cottage still existed, and this I duly managed to do by the simple expedient of finding out the telephone number of the club, and ringing the owners. The cottage was indeed still there.

(1) East Herts Archaeological Society Transactions, Vol.IX, 1936, JSM Ward (Barnet Museum archives)

(2) Ibid

(3) Extract from Homes and Gardens, August 1939 (Barnet Museum archives)

(4) National and local press cuttings (Barnet Museum archives)

(5) A History of Witchcraft. Professor J. B. Russell, 1980, pp. 148-155.

(6) Cult and Occult F. King, 1984. p.210.

(7) Witch amongst us” and “Conversations with a witch”. Lois Bourne.

To be continued

SITE WATCHING

The following sites are listed in recent Planning Applications and past evidence indicates that they may prove to be archaeologically sensitive. Members living nearby are asked to keep an eye on them and report anything of interest that is discovered in the course of development to John Enderby (081 203 2630)

CENTRAL AREA

Victoria Avenue, Church End, Finchley

White Swan P.H., Golders Green Road

NORTHERN AREA

Arkley Manor Farm, Rowley Lane, Arkley

10, Union Street, Chipping Barnet

Cottage Farm, Mays Lane, Barnet

Bells Hills Allotments, Barnet

Rear of 39/41 High Street, Barnet

WESTERN AREA

30 Hartland Drive, Edgware

Ross Cottage, Church End, Hendon

Belmont Farm, The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, NW7

Brockley Grange, Brockley Hill, Edgware

SIMMS, EAST FINCHLEY

Mrs Sarah Isaacs, 29 Seebright Road, Barnet, ENS 4HR (081 440 1295); the ex librarian and archivist of Simms Motor Units Ltd at Oak Lane, East Finchley is researching into the early history of the company and its founder Frederick Simms. She mentions that the Museum of London has a “tiny display” which she hopes to enlarge. (Letter in the Barnet and Finchley Independent, 11 July).

[No connection with J.O. Sims below!)

WINCHESTER PALACE

A fruit and vegetable firm in Borough Market, J.O.Sims, has been fined a record £5,000 for “the almost total loss of the archaeological record”. The company’s premises are next to the Winchester Palace. The company’s builders drilled through a mosaic floor and undertook other work to underpin a building, half of which is a scheduled monument, without permission. The builders had then spread hardcore over the area making it impossible to be sure what had been lost. All this came to light by a discovery of historic stones in a skip by a passer-by two years ago; which led London Museum staff to alert the English Heritage inspector Ellen Barnes. The newspaper article reports that archaeological investigations of Winchester Palace have always been hampered by the existence of buildings and. warehouses on top of the remains and the entire area has been protected by law to prevent permanent loss or damage. (Evening Standard 12 June)

(HADAS members saw the visible remains of the Winchester Palace on their Christmas excursion to the George Inn last year].

SIXTY YEARS ON TED SAMMES

No, it is not HADAS yet! Life is often giving out pleasant surprises and one happened to me last week, when a copy of Sixty years on 1931-1991, dealing with the Lawrence Hasluck Trust arrived in my post. This is a sixteen page booklet on the history and vicissitudes of the Trust set up in 1931 for deserving married couples, widowers and bachelors living in the area. Today the Trust has 44 bungalows and flats off Parkside Gardens, East Barnet, and six flats at 48 Station Road, East Barnet.

There is a full description of the life of Lawrence Hasluck, born in Enfield in 1863, and member of the East Barnet Valley UDC for 40 years. The booklet was written by one of our members, Andrew Pares, who himself knows much about public service from personal experience.

TERRIBLE AEROPLANE TRAGEDY TED SAMMES

“On December 14th 1920 a Handley Page “Airliner” which took off from their Cricklewood Aerodrome on its way to Paris crashed at “Golders Green” with the loss of four lives.”

The above note caused me to look for more information in the pages of the Hendon and Finchley Times”. For December 17th 1920 on page 5, I found a nine inch column, but alas no picture. It was stated to be the first accident in the civilian flying career of Messrs. Handley Page Ltd.

The plane appears to have had difficulty from the start in gaining height; finally hitting a tree, then an outhouse of no. 61 Basing Hill (I assume this to be Basing Hill Road) so it is possibly more accurately described as being in Cricklewood. Amongst the killed were the pilot and a mechanic; and two out of the six passengers: Mr. Sam Sallinger of Broxmoor, Herts and Mr. Van der Elst from Paris.

One wonders just what type of plane this was and was that really all the passengers on board at the time? Perhaps one of our Industrial Archaeologists might like to take this subject a little further?

MEDIEVAL READING

A new journal: Medieval World: the magazine of the Middle Ages Annual subscription (6 issues £13.50), (single specimen issue £2.50) to Medieval World c/o KT Subscription Services, Lansdowne Mews, 196 High Street, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 lEF

Forthcoming articles include an interesting mix:-

The Battle of Maldon, the Bayeux tapestry and the town of Bayeux,

Medieval German craftsmen, Anglo-Saxon missionaries, new archaeology in St Albans Abbey, medieval images in the cinema, race and gender in medieval literature, medieval archives and how to use them.

The British Museum is publishing a new series on medieval arts and crafts:-

Medieval craftsmen: embroiderers. By Kay Staniland.

Medieval craftsmen: glass painters. By Sarah Brown and David O’Connor.

Medieval craftsmen: masons and sculptors. By Dr. Nicola Coldstream.

Medieval craftsmen: painters. By Professor Paul Binski.

All priced £6.95 and published by the British Museum Press.

NATIONAL POSTAL MUSEUM

A leaflet has been received from the National Postal Museum, London. The Museum includes an almost complete record of every postage stamp issued throughout the world and various artefacts such as stamp cancelling machines and the official Post office collection of letter boxes.

Chief Post Office, King Edward Building, King Edward Street, London, ECIA ILP (071 239 5420)

A possible HADAS visit? And is the fascinating underground mail train still running?

OBITUARY We very much regret having to report the death of Bob Stewart, husband of Myfanwy. Our deepest sympathy goes to her and all her family and friends,

ISSUE No. 244: Edited by Vikki O’Connor JULY 1991

DIARY

Saturday 13 July HISTORIC CHATHAM DOCKS & FORT AMHERST: Dorothy Newbury. (Details & application form enclosed)

Saturday 10th August NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGISTS DAY, HERTFORD To be confirmed next month.

Friday 30th August to Sunday 1st September WEEKEND IN NORWICH Fully booked, but no waiting list. Please contact Dorothy Newbury (081 203 0950) if you wish to go on the waiting list.

Saturday 5th October CITY WALK with Mary O’Connell

Saturday 12th October MINIMART at St Mary’s Church House, Hendon

A REMINDER ABOUT LAST MINUTE BOOKINGS – If you’ve been unable to book seats or get on the waiting list for a trip, it may still be possible to get a place due to eleventh hour cancellations and to people on the waiting list having made other arrangements. It is always worthwhile contacting the organiser the night before a trip – you may be lucky!

WHAT DOES ARCHAEOLOGY MEAN TO YOU?

THE COMMITTEE INVITES YOU TO USE THE NEWSLETTER TO PUT A PERSONAL VIEW

We have a number of members, some of them fairly new, who enjoy visiting a site, a lecture, an exhibition, but who may then wonder WHAT NEXT? It is possible they could feel a little excluded, left out, with no way forward or particular focus for increasing understanding. Our members who have found a way on can perhaps help by passing on their thoughts, experiences, ideas through the Newsletter.

What is it that especially draws you to archaeology? What would you miss most if it all went? Is it fieldwalking – trowelling – metal-detecting; flints – pots – bones; stones ­banks & ditches – hedges; Romans – early peoples; markets – deserted villages; surveying – drawing – photography …. or any other aspect?

You may have contributed to the Newsletter from time to time or never until now – let’s hear from you, say 500-600 words. No theses are required, and not necessarily orthodoxies. Should the editors have the luxury of a backlog they will advise of any delay in publication.

RURAL AND RIVERSIDE E JOHN HOOSON

On June 15, under a rain-threatening overcast sky, 55 members and friends left the urban spread of Barnet for rural Reading, or more precisely, for the Museum of English Rural Life of the University of Reading’s Institute of Agricultural History. When founded 40 years ago in 1951, rapidly increasing mechanisation and scientific development were revolutionising farming. The general introduction of tractors, combine harvesters, etc, resulted in horse-drawn carts and ploughs, tools and other farming paraphernalia, developed over centuries, being discarded and left to be forgotten and to rot.

The objectives of the museum were to rescue and preserve these disappearing artefacts of the Horse Age and to record the knowledge of farming practices while still contained in living memories. The thematic displays show the success of this timely action, with the objects well displayed, clearly labelled and explained where necessary by well-illustrated posters. The objects range from a multitude of farm carts of different type, frequently known by their county name, to rooms furnished in the style of circa 1860. There are displays concerning basketry, smocking, smithing, saddlery and many others. The most recent item appeared to be a 1947 Ferguson tractor which, nearly half a century on, looked as antique as any of the other-exhibits.

After leaving the museum, we took lunch by the river. The rain held off and we could enjoy the views of the Thames although we came under the scrutiny of countless inquisitive swans. We then boarded the “Caversham Princess” for a leisurely journey to Mapledurham, which lies literally on a backwater. The manor belonged to the Bardolph family who sold it to the Blounts in 1490. It has remained with that family although, following the termination of the male line in 1943, it passed through the eldest of nine daughters, who had married into the Eyston family, in 1863 to her son. The present owner is his grandson.

We were met on the landing stage by a guide who escorted us to St Margaret’s church which was begun in the 13th century by William Bardolph the younger. Following Butterfield’s 1863 “restoration” little original work remains visible although the south aisle built in the late 14th century and known as the Bardolph Aisle survives unaltered. It became the Blount family Catholic burial chapel and remains their private property. The family survived the religious turmoils by maintaining a low profile in these isolated parts but it was necessary to separate the Aisle from the Anglican church by building a stone wall although this was not possible where tombs lay across two of the arcades. The tomb of Sir Richard Blount and his wife is particularly fine. This is one of five Anglican churches in this Country with a Catholic aisle.

After describing the church our guide left us free to visit Mapledurham House and the watermill. The present house was commenced in 1588 and remains mainly unchanged apart from some alterations in 1828 and 1863. Taking advantage of the Catholic Relief Act 1791, a chapel was incorporated in 1797, built in the Strawberry Hill Gothic Style. The rooms on public display together with their original furniture, furnishings and family portraits provide a good impression of life in a manor house over the last 400 years.

The views from the windows were impressive but would have benefited with some sun. On the other hand, it was probably an advantage that mist enshrouded 20th century Reading on the horizon.

A watermill has been on the site since Domesday. The present mill, dating from the late 15th century, is the last one still working on the Thames. The taped description provided (inclusive in the ticket) gave a good account, of the mill with some interesting asides such as when the miller adjusted the critical speed of the wheel, he did so using the sound of the water without the need for meters.

Our thanks go to Ted Sammes, who as a Founder Member knows the correct ingredients and recipe for a successful HADAS tour, and arranged this excellent tour by land and water. As he had not selected the date, he was able to deny responsibility for the weather which fortunately provided very little water from above.

THE APRIL LECTURE ON JORDAN was given by Ted Sammes based on a holiday twelve months previously. Sadly there was only time for 40 slides from his 18 rolls of film. He began with some background information on the region, the Jordan Valley has always been a prized settlement area with fighting recorded since Biblical times. Main rock types found are limestone, sandstone and basalt. The Great Rift Valley runs through Jordan and resultant earthquakes are identified by archaeologists as destruction levels. We saw manifestations of the geological fault: in Southern Jordan a crater plugged with basalt; Zerka Ma’in, a canyon east of Madaba, Central Jordan has a series of some fifty hot springs and a waterfall with a temperature of 59° spilling into the largest pool. Herod the Great came here to ‘take the cure’, today it’s a popular modern mineral water health spa.

Deir ‘Alla (House of God) is the site of an ancient sanctuary overlooking the Jordan Valley 50km north of the Dead Sea. First settled in the late Bronze Age through to 500BC, it has a temple mound dating from c.1500BC which was not re-built after destruction by earthquake in 1200BC BC. However, Deir ‘Alla remained a holy place. Aramaic text on a fragment of 7thC BC wall plaster from a mud-brick wall mentions the Deir ‘Alla Sanctuary, apparently supporting the theory that it was separate from Hebrew influence during the Judean Kingdom. Ted was disappointed to see how trenches from the 1960’s excavation had been left open and were rapidly deteriorating.

Nearby Tell es-Sa’idiyeh is identified with the Biblical city of Zarethan where the Israelites crossed the Jordan. Jonathan Tubb had completed a 5-year dig for the British Museum two days before Ted arrived, and the finds were already boxed up. These subsequently formed part of the BM exhibition “Archaeology and the Bible” which ended this April. In case you missed this, there is a book of the same name by Tubb and Rupert L Chapman, price £7.95, and finds from the site will again be displayed at the Museum later this year. The site, comprising eastern Upper and western Lower Tells, was occupied from the Early Bronze Age, 3rd millennium BC, until about 700BC. A building in stratum XII in the upper Tell is identified as a 12th century BC Egyptian Governor’s Residency, with Egyptian building techniques: deep brick foundations and external double walls with a channel between for drainage. Excavation in the mid-1960’s by James Pritchard of the University of Pennsylvania revealed a staircase, Tubb continued on down to a small pool, confirming this was part of a water system. An interesting feature of the lower Tell was the cemetery associated with stratum XII, with “double pithos” burials where pottery coffins are made by joining two large storage jars at their shoulders.

North of Deir ‘Alla, on the banks of the Wadi Jirm, Pella was one of the cities of the “Decapolis” – ten cities built by Rome to defend their eastern empire. The site was continuously occupied for 10,000 years and, like Petra, prospered from being on two main trade routes. Named after the birthplace of Alexander the Great in Greece,

Pella is currently is undergoing a long-term programme of excavation and reconstruction. Part of the old town is unfortunately under a modern town, nevertheless, temples and a small theatre from the Greco-Roman period have already been reconstructed.

North of Amman another Decapolis city, Jerash, is one of the best preserved Roman cities in the world. The site was occupied in Neolithic times but Jerash (ancient Gerasa) is thought to have been founded by soldiers of Alexander the Great c.332BC. The city expanded early in the 1st century AD, but was abandoned in 747AD following a series of earthquakes and remained buried in sand over a 1000 years until re-discovery in 1806 by German explorer Ulrich Seetzen. Today it’s a big tourist attraction with regular Son et Lumiere performances and a two-week Festival of Culture and Arts each August. ‘Sights’ include Hadrians Arch (1291 130AD); the oval stone-walled Hippodrome; an oval Piazza; Zeus Temple complex; the “Cardo” – a colonnaded street with paving stones rutted by chariot wheels; a 2nd c. AD Nymphaeum (a public fountain with some original coloured painting remaining); Byzantine churches with mosaics, etc etc….

At this point Ted muttered something about “if you’ve seen one Roman Theatre you’ve seen them all”. Sacrilege! Perhaps Jerash has too much to digest at one sitting?

Amman, capital of modern Jordan, the site of one of the earliest farming communities 7000-6000BC, has a history of continuous occupation. This was another Roman Decapolis city, Philadelphia. The old city consisted of lower and upper sections. Worth visiting are the Forum and Roman 5,000-seat Theatre (still used today) in the lower area, and on Citadel Hill, the Temple of Hercules and fortress, which the Romans re-built. As a point of interest, Ted pointed out an unusual modern structure in. Amman – their “emblem”, a huge coffee pot the height of a two-storey building!

At the outer point of the Moab Mountains, Mount Nebo is a traditional site of the tomb of Moses. Franciscan excavations at Siyagha revealed a 6th century Byzantine church and monasteries containing many well-preserved mosaics. Nearby Madaba, dating from the middle Bronze Age, 2000BC is known as the city of mosaics. In the Greek Orthodox Church of St George is an exceptional mosaic – a map of Palestine showing Jerusalem with a gate and the street names in Greek. Madaba was destroyed in 614AD by the Persians then abandoned following damage by earthquake in 747AD.

No journey to Jordan would be complete without visiting the legendary rose-red city of Petra which was- re-discovered in 1812 by Swiss- explorer, John Burckhardt. In his day the journey would have been by camel or horse over mountain, stream and desert, but the modern road from Amman has removed some of the mystery with accessibility. It was first settled around 800BC by the Nabataean Arabs, and developed from a few cave dwellings into a wealthy city as the Nabataeans established their control of two major trade routes between Arabia and the Mediterranean, and the Red Sea and Syria. Roman expansion in the 1st century BC eroded the Nabataeans power and in AD 106 Palestine and Jordan were incorporated into the Roman Province of Arabia. Through Ted’s superb slides we were there – entering Petra via the “Siq”, the winding 1 km gorge through overhanging cliffs that change colour according to light, reflecting red, yellow, pink, purple. Emerging from the Siq one is confronted by a two-storey building carved in the rock, known as “Al Khazneh” the Treasury as it was thought the urn carved at the top contained a Pharaoh’s treasure. “Pot shots” taken at the urn by Turks and Arabs scarred it but proved fruitless, the building is in fact a royal tomb styled as a Greek temple.

As the valley widens you come to the Amphitheatre built by the Nabataeans but enlarged by the Romans (to accommodate 7,000 people) by cutting through houses and chambers at the back. Nearby is an ancient rock-cut stairway, now restored, lined with temples , houses and tombs and leading to Mt Nejr, the High Place of Sacrifice. Another climb from the Theatre via a Roman Road leads to a cliffside series of Royal Tombs. The area of the canyon is two square miles and there are over 800 buildings and façades still to be seen. Petra was gradually abandoned in favour of other cities, Jerash, Amman and Palmyra ai was uninhabited from the 3rd century AD save as a secret Bedouin refuge. In the 12th century Petra was captured by the Crusaders who built two fortresses but after Saladin’s victory in 1189 it was again abandoned.

5 miles north of Petra is Aklat, dug by Diana Kirkbride in the 1960’s. Earliest levels, c.7000BC are pre-pottery Neolithic. Ted’s guide noted there are less quernstones than a couple of years previously – it’s not easy to see how tourists could be “pocketing” them? The adjacent site of Beida has an entrance similar to the Siq at Petra and an ancient stairway leading to a lookout over the valley.

Wadi Rum, east of Aqaba, is littered with rock carvings in early Thamudic script made by long-gone travellers. Ted told us they were too poor to screen and by way of contrast showed some beautiful hibiscus blooms! Wadi Rum is an awe-inspiring valley with sandstone cliffs and pink and white sands. This was the route taken by T E Lawrence and Sherif Hussein on their way to fight the Turks in World War I.

Lawrence made a study of “Crusader Castles” as an Undergraduate; he continued adding to the work which was published in 1936 after his death, and an updated edition was published in 1988. The Crusaders built a chain of hilltop fortifications extending from Turkey through Jordan along the ancient King’s Highway, Amman to Aqaba, to guard the trade routes. In 1132 they built a fortress at the walled town of Kerak which Saladin took in 1187. Built on a precipice to accommodate several thousand people and animals the castle had many galleries with cross-vaulted ceilings. A museum has been made in one of the battlement passages and remains of a reservoir can be seen.

The “Desert Castles” in the desert area east of Amman had differing purposes: palaces, baths, caravan stations or farming centres. Ted mentioned three sites:

Azraq castle is built of black basalt, the front gate is one huge basalt block on two pivots. Earlier Roman and Nabataean structures were re-built by the Umayyads (7th/8t h century AD) and again in the 13th century by a Mamluke Governor. Azraq was the only oasis in the Eastern desert, hence the fortress. In the 20th century Prince Faisal and Lawrence used it as their HQ whilst planning their final advance on Damascus.

Qasr El-Kharaneh, another Umayyad building has two floors of 50 rooms each. This was possibly a “caravanserai”, it is square with a central courtyard with large rooms which could have been stables.

Finally, Qasr Amra, an Umayyad bath complex/palace, similar to the earlier Roman baths. The hydraulic system has a well, tank, pipes, with a series of dams and cisterns. Frescoes on the walls and ceilings have been restored and Ted found it unusual in the Muslim world as they were representations of human images with scenes of hunting, wrestling, dancing… Thank you Ted, for the magic carpet ride.

WEST HEATH AND LATER PROJECTS Victor Jones

In the June Newsletter I reported on the Excavations Committee’s review of this season’s possible programme. I had intended to include a short description of projects the Society completed in recent years for those of our newer members who may not know the scope of these activities, and for those who have missed one or more of the items.

Our more recent activities all followed what was the Society’s largest and most ambitious undertaking, the long and complex “West Heath” excavation. This project resulted from a very observant younger member of the Society noticing some man-made flint pieces whilst out walking. Further investigation and excavation revealed a Mesolithic hunters’ camp site dated to about 8,500 years BP, not long after the end of the last glaciation, situated at the edge of Hampstead Heath just outside Golders Hill Park. Many items of worked flint including a number of tools and weapons were found, and the working areas where these were made were traced. Aspects of prevailing local climatic and environmental conditions could be studied from residues of various plant, insect and pollen remains.

In the number of members involved, range of subjects studied, public interest shown and prestige generated for the Society, it exceeded anything else we have undertaken. The project proved to be a major task and a great deal of planning and organisation were required. The work was undertaken in two stages, the first from 1976 to 1981 directed by one of our Vice-Presidents, Daphne Lorimer. The second 1982 to 1984 by Margaret Maher, another senior and highly qualified member of the Society. The project was guided and supervised by Desmond Collins.

The report was delayed for some years due to various publishing problems, and deals with the larger, first stage of the project. It describes the processes used to investigate the camp of the Mesolithic hunting people. Included are a wide range of aspects of their lives and environment: climatic conditions; kind of shelters they probably used; weapons and tools; cooking techniques; plants and trees. The report also includes drawings and photographs, reflecting great credit to its authors and to the Society. The special members’ price is £7.00 (£8.00 with p&p) and £13 to the public.

In the year following completion of the West Heath project no major work was undertaken by the Society.

The Hadley Wood Earthwork

A detailed survey of the Hadley Wood earthwork was made in 1982/3. This is a quarter-mile approx. trench and residual bank in the north east of the Borough. It was rapidly being lost by motor-cycle and bicycle erosion. No evidence for the date of the construction could be found. Further investigation could be considered and possibly documentary research might be used to this end.

The Burnt Oak investigation

The first large project was commenced in 1986 on an open area site near the centre of Burnt Oak, and was rescue work in advance of proposed development of the site for a car park. It is near to Roman “Watling Street”, now the Edgware Road, and the field has a stream running through it. It was thought it could possibly have been a stopping place for water and refreshment for horse and man, and of course, Roman finds have been made in this district.

The investigation used resistance surveying, the results of which showed points of interest and subsequent exploratory trenching located several pits. Most of these contained pottery sherds and other materials, none of these earlier than Victorian time, and much modern rubbish.

Most members will know the term “Rescue”. It is used, as it suggests, to describe excavation to recover any possible archaeological remains before building development disturbs the site.

Another newer term coming in to use is “Archaeological Assessment” . This describes the archaeological sampling of a site before planning consent is given, and then (with safeguards) leaving it below the new building for future, and perhaps better, archaeologists to find.

The Chipping Barnet, Spires Centre Project

This was commenced in 1987 arid continued into 1988. It was also a “Rescue” excavation, in advance of the building of the large central shopping precinct and new public library for the area, now completed and forming the new centre for Chipping Barnet.

It was undertaken to see the early building and/or remains of the original 12th century market which might be in this area. A number of exploratory trenches were dug as sites became available, as the very large-scale project proceeded. These were on the east side of the site as near as possible along the line of the old Great North Road and as close as we could get to the rear of the buildings along the road.

We found black, well-cultivated type soil about one metre deep on all sites. All had much modern and Victorian pottery and other remains, and a few late Georgian items.

We concluded that the area had long been used for cultivation, so it is unlikely that Chipping Barnet extended much further north of St Johns Church on the west side of the old Great North Road.

The Brockley Hill 1987 Project

During 1987 a two-months “Rescue” project was undertaken at Brockley Hill on the field to the east side of Watling Street, where the Society had on earlier fieldwalks found Roman pottery etc. This was in advance of the then proposed route of The Rivers pipeline, finally dug in 1990. A trench was dug across the route and exposed a road surface about 0.5m below the soil level, approximately 100 metres south of the present pipeline.

This road was judged to be a Middle Ages Roman-Road-bypass, perhaps at a time when this was unusable. Roman pottery, tile and brick had been found during previous exploratory fieldwalking. In the dig some medieval material was recovered. Later fieldwalking found Neolithic worked flint, and some possibly used tools and arrow head. Further areas in which flint fragments occurred were noted but could not be searched as the crop in the field was already too high to allow this.

The Hendon Ice House

In 1988 an Ice House in the grounds of St Joseph’s Convent School, Hendon was excavated. It had been suggested by former pupils of the school that there was a possible underground connection with the nearby St Mary’s Church. A large effort was made to remove a great volume of rubbish and soil accumulated within a large oval chamber about 10 ft high by 7 ft diameter.

What we had found was an ancestral version of the modern refrigerator as used in Europe from the 15th to 17th centuries and tracing back to possibly Greek origin as Alexander the Great is said to have used one. (Industrial archaeologists please note!) It uses the best available insulating methods – evaporate cooling, as do modern refrigerators.

More remarkably, we learnt of others in nearby Hampstead and other parts of London. The Hendon version is similar in size and design to one built for Charles II in the 17th century, situated in Green Park. Another of the same type is preserved and open to view in Kew Gardens, and was also built for Royal use.

The Hendon Ice House was well built and in good condition. We hoped to get it preserved as a feature of interest for the area (next to the Town Hall), but so far have had no response. Unfortunately we did not find evidence of its construction date except by association with the date of the rather late rebuilding of the nearby Grove House in the early 19th century. It’s presence seems to put the Hendon Manor in very good company as many Royal and “Great. Houses” of the Aristocracy had them in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The Whetstone Tudor House

In 1989 we were asked to investigate a house in Whetstone next to one we had studied some years previously which had been beautifully restored by a Whetstone building and development company. We quickly commenced the house study and an excavation in the grounds at the back of the property. The internal construction indicated an earlier construction date than suggested, and the excavation indicated that the house had at one time extended further to the rear by one or more structural bays. The excavation and the documentary studies were completed and proved the house was earlier than the listed date and was probably built in 1495.

English Heritage were this year called in to draw the timber roof structure and this explained why the document sometimes referred to two adjacent cottages and sometimes to three. It appears that these and the adjoining cottage were at time jointly owned.

An excavation near St Mary’s Church, East Barnet

This project was also undertaken in 1989, a result of a collapsed well-cover on the site of a farm cottage adjacent to the Church. The collapse was found to be in the capping of a well, and further excavation of the cottage area found Victorian construction with a natural soil level below.

East Barnet remains an enigma. The church is very old (earlier than St John’s in Chipping Barnet), and is a Dependency of St Albans, but there is no trace of the village community which it might serve.

The Mitre Inn, Barnet

The-Mitre is said to be 17th century and is the only example now left of the 100 or more public houses and inns which were Barnet’s Main activity in pre-railway times.

The project commenced in September 1989 and was undertaken in advance of development of land at the rear of the Mitre. We had much help from Barnet Museum and the Local History Society.

The ground here has a natural slope and had been built up and surfaced to provide vehicle standing. Clearance was a considerable problem, taking several weeks. It was necessary to dig through various layers of tarmac and brick rubble to reach the first Victorian building remains, then deeper still to earlier construction. We found various 17th and 18th century pottery sherds. Below this was a deep stony soil layer containing mainly Medieval pottery fragments of 11th to 13th century date. Among this material was also found some datable Roman material. This, together with similar items found in an earlier dig in the area, may indicate some Roman connection. The project continued throughout 1989.

The “Charity House”, 19/25 High Street, Barnet

In 1990 a site on the opposite side of the road to the Mitre was being cleared for,
development. This was a somewhat disturbed site, however we found several small
undisturbed areas with pottery of 12th to 14th century date as well as later materials.

A further 1990 project was to watch the Three Rivers pipeline construction which has been described in recent newsletters. Copies of these are still available if required.

Newsletter 243 June 1991 Edited by Jean Snelling

Saturday June 15 Outing to the Museum of English Rural Life, Reading, with River Trip to Mapledurham. With Ted Sammes.

(Details and application form enclosed).

Saturday July 13 Historic Chatham Docks.

Saturday August 10 National Archaeologists Day, Hertford.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, August 30, 31, Sept. 1, Weekend in Norwich.

Saturday October 5 City Walk with Mary O’Connell.

Saturday October 12 Minimart at St Mary’s Church House, Hendon.

Members are invited by the Finchley Friends of Israel to a lecture at 8 pm on Wednesday June 12, to be given by Mr Alexander Flinder, the Underwater Archaeologist, on “Secrets of the Bible.Seas”. This will be his personal account, with slides, of underwater investigation over 20 years,

The lecture will be held in the Methodist Church Hall, Ballards Lane, N3. Refreshments will be served. The entrance to the Hall is in the side street, Essex Park. The Church is opposite Victoria Park.

Our invitation comes from Mr M Grossobel, of 61 Tithe Walk, London NW7 2PY to whom any further question should be addressed.

Members and Membership

Membership of HADAS for the year ending 31 March 1991 was 369.For the previous year it was 372.

We are very happy to welcome 28 new members who have joined from April 1990 up to mid-May 1991. Our welcome is rather late for the earlier ones, we apologise.

Miss J Belgrave, Miss J Blason, Mr J Cymberg, Mr Adam Daniels, Mrs J Gibson,

Mr W Griffiths, Mrs A Hardy, Mr M J Hutchinson, Mr P Kilipack, Miss L Minney,

Mrs E Moss, Mr J D Noonan and his parents ,11″ & Mrs Noonan, Miss L K Northcroft,

Ms K Owen, Mr B Schroder, Mr J Przybyla, Mr S M Redmond, Mr J Ryan,

Mrs J G Shepherd, Miss S J Smith, Miss E G Taylor, Mrs N Towler,

Miss C E M Troddin, Mr P A Wheatley, Mr J A Williams, Mrs M Marshall,

A tweed cap was found in the Hendon library lecture room soon after the April lecture. Is it YOURS? If so phone Dorothy Newbury 081 203 0950

Back Garden Archaeology

At the recent LAMAS conference the voluntary societies were urged to revive the good old practice named above. Now we are indebted to Mr C Silvertown, a resident of Temple Fortune, for extending the concept to allotments and for following up the research. He has kindly sent his report.

Over the past several years I have found a total of four early clay pipes (partial) on my allotment site, enclosed between Asmuns Place and Asmuns Hill NW11.

The two complete bowls (tulip shaped) are milled just below the lip, but the size of the foot or spur differs. The Guide to the Department of Urban Archaeology Clay Tobacco Type series, Museum of London, which is based on that devised by Atkinson & Oswald (1969) identifies a Type 2 bowl (c 1580-1610) and a Type 9 bowl (c 1640-1660).

The fragment of spur and stem found would appear to be Type 28 (c 1820-1840).

Note – The Barnet Museum , 31 Wood Street, Barnet, has a regular display of clay tobacco pipes showing proposed dates. Open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursday 2.30 – 4.30. Saturdays 10.0-12.0, 2.30-4.30. Tel. 081 440 8066.

News from English Heritage

Stewart J Wild quotes from the Guide to English Heritage Properties 1991 –

“In 1066 William the Conquror landed in Sussex at Pevensey. He then marched to Hastings and defeated King Alfred, irrevocably changing the course of English history”.

Annual General Meeting 7 May 1991

The following were nominated and elected as officers for the Society for 1991-2

Chairman Andrew Selkirk Vice Chairman John Enderby

Honorary Secretary Brian Wrigley Honorary Treasurer Victor Jones

Committee Christine Arnott, Micky Cohen, Phyllis Fletcher, John Heathfield, Alan Lawson, Margaret Maher, Dorothy Newbury, Peter Pickering, Ted Sammes, Andrew Simpson, Jean Snelling, Myfanwy Stewart.

Brian Wrigley and Victor Jones indicated their intentions to resign their posts in the coming year.

Elizabeth Holliday has agreed to assist with the Secretary’s duties.

The Committee’s decision was announced, to employ the title HADAS (Based on the Borough of Barnet).

After the Meeting Andrew Simpson and Bill Bass showed their clear and informative slides of the recent dig at 19-25 High Street, Barnet.

Phyllis Fletcher has informed the Committee of her wish to be relieved of her post as Honorary Membership Secretary during the coming year.

She, with Brian Wrigley and Victor Jones will have clocked up between them almost thirty years of service in their three posts. Without wishing to intimidate their successors, members will want to appreciate their longevity, and their stalwart work for the Society..

Of course they are not leaving HADAS, they just want more time for their other activities with us.

Obituary

We sadly announce the death last month of Diana Wade. She and her husband Christopher were historian and Curator of the Hampstead Museum., Burgh House. Both were HADAS members as was their daughter Joanna, who will be remembered by West Heath diggers.

Ironbridge

June Gibson reports that the Secretary of State for the Environment has turned down the application for planning permission for the proposed new bridge.

He considers that “there is a need to bring forward, as a matter of urgency, proposals which will meet the traffic needs of the area but which are compatible with the Conservation Area and the World Heritage status of the Gorge”.

HADAS members who visited Ironbridge last year, and no doubt many others, will await developments with much interest. Both the public enquiry and the other expressions of public opinion have contributed to the present respite.

ARIZONA Peter Pickering

We recently visited Arizona to see our son. We had not previously realized how many well-preserved Indian ruins there were. It was hard, however, to get a clear picture of the history of the American South-west, since there were several tribes and a good deal of migration, while the differences between the cultures were often subtle. But it seems that many sites were abandoned and peoples moved away or died out sometime before the coming Europeans, perhaps following a climatic change.

Indian sites are found throughout Arizona, amid the high pine forests near the Grand Canyon, in the Painted Desert to the East, and surrounded by the giant saguaro cacti of the southern hills. The Holakam round Phoenix dug extensive canals for their farming, and had courts like the inhabitants of Central America, they disappeared about 1400 AD (“Holakam” means “those who have gone” in a later language). The Anasazi were the major culture of the North-East, living in pueblo villages, and migrated at the end of the thirteenth century – among their descendants may be the Hopi Indians of to­day. We stayed in a motel on the Hopi reservation, and were captivated by the lively “Kochine” dolls they make. The Sinagua round about Flagstaff disappeared in the early fifteenth century, and the Salado, whose pottery is particularly attractive, vanished or were absorbed at about the same time. The sites are very varied. Many of them were apparently undefended settlements, with the different dwellings built contiguously, access being by ladders. But others – “Montezuma’s Castle” and Tonto – were built high up steep cliffs, with what must have been defensive intent. In one, but only one, Casa Grande, there was a single dominant building with massive walls of caliche and openings oriented on the sun at the solstice and the furthest point of the moon’s 18.5 year cycle. In another there was sunken room of probably ritual purpose, with benches and what was said to be an altar. Some sites were very small, and not large, though there are a very great number – for instance the rather meagre remains of one site close to the Grand Canyon is representative of some 2000 which have not been excavated or preserved. In the Painted Desert we saw petroglyphs, a mixture of representations of humans or animals (one striking one of a heron with a frog in its beak) and abstract designs, reminiscent of prehistoric art elsewhere. In the South, between Tucson and the Mexican border, Jesuits and, later, Franciscans established mission stations, with striking churches in a distinctive version of the baroque.

The ubiquitous visitors’ centres, and the fine museum of Indian art in Phoenix, had good collections of pottery – almost all with attractive bold designs in two or three colours – and less impressive collections of woven vessels, stone tools and a few textiles.

All but one of the sites we visited were run by the National parks Service, extremely well labelled, and sometimes with informed guides, but slightly antiseptic. I was amused by the way they made visitors keep to the paths.

I wonder if a pictogram of a snake would help at Stonehenge. One site, Besh-na-Gowah, however, was run by the local town Council, and the curator was much more like a HADAS person. She was obviously working on the pottery from the site, some of which she let me handle, and she sold me a tee-shirt with one of their finest (but now stolen) pieces depicted on it. This site had had much reconstruction work done, so that it could easily be comprehended by schoolchildren.

Finchley Walk 12th May 1991

A diversified programme was planned by Dorothy Newbury which walkers were able to juggle according to choice. The elements were Church End Finchley, Avenue House grounds, the HADAS workroom there, the Sternberg Centre for Judaism and the moat of Finchley C13 manor house, both at Manor House, East End

Mr David Smith, Vice president of the Finchley Society, led us in the Conservation Area of Hendon Lane/East End Road. His old-boy knowledge of Christs College enlivened that listed building. After a nod to the Church we imagined the excitement of Britain’s first motorised fire engine spluttering out of the old fire station, now disguised as shops. Park House (1739) and Flora Cottage (1850) represented the elegance of the old village centre, where Gravel Hill lost its gravel to the incoming turnpike of Regents Park Road (1826). Avenue House stood gaunt with its burnt wing but surprised many walkers with its remarkable public garden, unusual in its exotic trees collected by Henry Stephens on ink-selling travels and now reaching maturity. Wishes to return with more leisure were expressed.

Mr Smith delivered us safely further along East End Road to the Sternberg Centre. Coffee and a sit-down led up to the small but intense London Museum of Jewish Life with its collection of documents, photographs, maps, posters of East End London and memorabilia. A reconstructed tailors’ sweat shop looked deserted only minutes ago and a kitchen added to our party’s exclamations of “I remember – – “. Down stairs in the old drawing room was a special
exhibition based on the Jews of Aden, an ancient Arabian community which was forced to leave its last refuge of Aden in 1967, most people going to Israel but a minority settling in Stamford Hill. life in Aden and in London was the theme of the largely photographic collection, showing, a interesting community, totally new to most of us.

A dozen of us went to the garden to see the moat o the earlier manor house. Well – first find your moat. You would think it large enough – about 90 metres long in an L shape and 20 metres wide; but recently so overgrown in a wild garden that it is almost lost. The area was levelled to make a formal garden when the present Manor House was built by Thomas Alien in 1723, and in the 1920s the then convent school made it a sports ground. We know of the Old manor only from records. Belonging to the Bishops of London, possibly from Saxon times, it was leased from 1244 to a long series of London merchants who used the house and collected rents from the local families who leased all the farm land. In 1504 a lease listed the manor house, an orchard and another building as being within a moat” and a great barn and a long stable as being adjacent to the moat. In 1664 the Hearth Tax was paid on 19 hearths in the house. All this was cleared in 1723. A long islanded fishpond, first recorded in 1692 but of unknown age, remained alongside Squires Lane (opposite the present house) until this century, when it was drained and later built over for the Manor View houses. This pond appeared on old postcards erroneously titled “Finchley Moat”. All this felt a long way off as our party stood among the weeds in the old moat.

Most walkers then returned to Avenue House grounds to visit the garden room that is now the HADAS work place. The library, the computer, desks, a small committee table, some finds, some records, a sink, with access both to Avenue House and the garden; even with 20 people blocking one’s view it all looked very good. Victor Jones, Andy Simpson and Bill Bass had arranged for us a small exhibition of potsherds, drawings and photographs of recent HADAS sites. It was a fitting end to a very good, and sunny, afternoon with something for everyone to enjoy and remember.

Bounty for your Bookshelf

Full marks to Finchley’s Christs College School for the booklet it has produced to mark the school’s move from its long-time home in Hendon Lane to the Brookland site in East End Road. This is a copiously illustrated history of the school and its scholastic and sporting triumphs from its beginning – with three pupils – in 1857 in what had been, until then, a notorious Tudor-built pub, the Queen’s Head. Within a year a new wing had been added and there were 150 boarding pupils; within three years an entire new building had been built, in Gothic diapered brickwork and with a distinctive tower which was to dominate the Finchley skyline and to act “as a focal point architecturally and aesthetically in the develop­ment of Church End.” Sadly, the fate of those buildings, very much a part of Finchley’s history, hangs in the balance as we write.

If you would like to add this booklet to your own collection of local history, you can get a copy from Judy Berle, 271 Creighton Avenue, London N2 9BP, price 6£. Profits will go to school funds.

Another local offering, also highly commended, is The Streets of Belsize, published a month or so ago by the Camden History Society. This is a revised and enlarged edition of More Streets of Hampstead, originally published in 1973, and has been compiled by the Society’s History Group and edited by Christopher Wade (who is also a member of HADAS).

Again, it is well-produced and illustrated (maps, line drawings, photographs, reproductions of paintings and advertisements) and packed with facts. Not the least interesting of these is the litany of famous and notorious names of those who have lived on the streets of Belsize ­ranging from Edward Elgar to Dr Crippen, from the heavy-weight Dame Clara Butt to the feather-weight Twiggy. This will cost £5.95 to add to your collection, and you can get it by post from the Belsize Bookshop, 193 Haverstock Hill, NW3 kQL. Add 90p for post/packing.

Not specifically local, but a general book which should be on every local historian’s shelf: a recent addition to the Shire “Discovering” series, Discovering Parish Boundaries, by Angus Winchester. This 88 page booklet, illustrated with maps and plans and a central clutch of photo­graphs, is a solid and concise exposition of how the admimristrative units of medieval England grew up; and despite the title, Dr Winchester doesn’t confine himself to the parish. He covers lordships and townships, hundreds and wapentakes, dioceses and deaneries. He describes boundary stones and markers, surveys and perambulations, and adds a chapter on parishes in Scotland and Wales.

There is also a full and useful appendix on further reading, and finally a note on which place-names record boundaries. Price £2.50 from Shire Publications, Cromwell House, Church Street, Princes Risborough Bucks HP17 9AJ.

The Newsletter looks forward greatly to Professor Colin Renfrew’s latest publication – the third, as it were, in a series of blockbusters. The first, in 1973, was Before Civilisation, which took apart radio-carbon dating and its effect on pre-history. The next, in 1987, put the cat among the linguists, with Archaeology and Language, in which Professor Renfrew (recently created a life-peer) turned Indo-European origins upside down. The latest – the publishers’ blurb calls it “a watershed achievement” – is “Archaeology – Theories, Methods and Practice”, and is written with Paul Bahn.

Thoughts in Avenue House Garden Room Micky Cohen

Many of us who visited Finchley landmarks on the HADAS May outing finished up at our Garden Room at Avenue House. Victor Jones and Andy Simpson had kindly set up a small exhibition for our benefit. There were examples of finds made recently, our large exhibition screen panels on the Barnet Market Place and Whetstone digs and a selection of publications.

First, congratulations are due to those who worked so hard to set our books and records in good order following the fire. The pleasant garden room was spick and span, finds neatly labelled and stored on shelving, books in good order. Those of us making our first visit were impressed. The Room is large enough to accommodate all this plus a sink and essentials for tea making equipment.

As a relative newcomer to HADAS I was most intrigued by the display of Transactions of the North Middlesex Archaeological Society (now part of LAMAS) and their Roman digs at Brockley Hill. These started in 1937, were interrupted by the war and continued in the 40s and 50s with HADAS participating. The site Sulloniace was certainly a pottery and may have been a Roman staging post although there is no direct evidence. That may well be lost to us under the Orthopaedic Hospital on the brow of the hill. Nevertheless the finds were important. Same of the pottery from the post war digs was lodged with the then Hendon Borough Council, later Barnet Council. Storage conditions were not entirely satisfactory so HADAS assumed responsibility and through the good offices of John Enderby the material has been stored at the Institute in Hampstead Garden Suburb.

About ten years ago some of the material was exhibited at Church Farm House Museum. I wonder if the time has come to exhibit again. Many of us more recent members may have no idea of the breadth of practical work the Society has undertaken in the past. It includes excavation in the Greyhound Hill area ­Saxon Hendon; and at St Mary’s Hendon – Roman finds – and of course the West Heath prehistoric dig. All this with recent work at Barnet and Whetstone would make a fine ‘retrospective’ – an opportunity for existing members to catch up on the past and perhaps an attraction to draw in new members. It would need a lot of work, but what about it, HADAS?

Plans for the 1991 season. Victor Jones

The Excavation Subcommittee has met to consider possible projects for this year. So far no urgent ‘rescue digs’ require the immediate action that has kept us so busy in the last few years. Three planning applications for development on sites of possible archaeological interest will need investigation. There are also possible projects which in my view should be looked at again now that the rescue work has diminished.

Some members who have joined the Society In recent years might be interested in an account in outline of archaeological undertakings in the recent past, which will be included in a coming Newsletter. Earlier work of the Society is incorporated in the general archaeological and historical account of this area in our publication, Barnet, A Place in Time, which we hope most members will have bought and read.

The three possible development sites mentioned above are – Golders Green Road near the North Circular Road; West Heath Road; and Old Folds moated site near Arkley.

In Golders Green Road is the site of Sutcliffes’ demolished gardening shop, just beyond the Prince Albert pub, now Harvester Restaurant. It was a blacksmith works in the 30s, going back to about 1820 and may have been there much earlier. It is near both the Woodlands and the Old Swan pub sites where HADAS conducted excavations and found medieval pottery and traces of an early road.

The West Heath Road project is for a development on the south side of the road. Although some distance from our West Heath site, it might be interesting to watch and perhaps trial trench, if we can get permission. In addition to the Mesolithic hunters’ site we also found a Saxon hearth, probably made for charcoal burning. It is possible that other occupation areas might exist in the surroundings.

The Old Folds redevelopment application is for the remaining moated area of this very old interesting and listed site. It is now the work and vehicleparking space for a golf club. This is thought to be right in the centre of the area where the Battle of Barnet commenced in 1471 and where many died. The memorial Highstone is only a short distance away, at the junction of two roads. It is thought possible that the foundations of the original moated building may be on the site.

Other possible undertakings being discussed include the following – field walking an area of Brockley Hill where more Neolithic flints, worked, might be found, like those collected in 1987examining an open space in Childs Hill where there was an ancient farm investigating the area near the Hadley Brewers Arms called I believe Dead man’s Ditch or Galley, very near the battle site. Resistance testing at St Joseph’s Convent near the Burroughs where earlier HADAS excavation found a medieval site assessing by documentary and map research and visits the more distant and peripheral areas and other less investigated parts of the Borough tracing by resistance testing the boundaries in the Borough of the mediaeval park of the Bishops of London.

Visiting the site of the 13th c moated manor of Finchley

University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education

Bewley House, 1 Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JA phone 0365 270369/270360

Archaeology and Local History Summer School August 3-17 1991

Computing for Archaeologists (beginners) 23-24 November 1991

The Hundred Years War 8-10 November 1991

The Urban Form in Europe 3000 BC to AD 1000 13-15 December 1991

Landscapes of the Past: Archaeology and Social History Tours Spring & Autumn 1991, Lucy Walker & Diana Williamson 10 Mayorswell Close. Gilesgate, Durham DH1 1JU

Newsletter 242 May 1991 edited by Andy Simpson

Diary

Tuesday May 7th Annual General Meeting. Minutes of the 1990 AGM included in this newsletter. Come and help plot your society’s course for the coming year. “BE THERE OR BE SQUARE” Slides of our activities after the meeting.

Sunday May 12th Walk and afternoon visit to the Museum of Jewish Life, Finchley Application form enclosed.

Saturday June 8th Essex History Fair – part of the battle of Maldon Millennium year – see separate leaflet enclosed.

Saturday June 15th Outing to Mapledurham with Ted Sammes

Saturday July 15th Outing to historic Chatham Docks- ships, figureheads, dockyard railway, and the 1878 built steam-powered sloop HMS Gunnet undergoing restoration. A true relic of gunboat diplomacy.

Saturday August 10th Outing to Hertford for National Archaeologists’ day

Friday, Saturday, Weekend In and Around Norwich. Now fully

Sunday, August booked, but contact Dorothy Newbury (203 0950)

30, 31 and Sept 1st to join the reserves bench.

STONEHENGE TO BE MOVED? Stewart J. Wild

I wonder how many members were shocked by the article about Stonehenge on

page 3 of the Daily Mail recently. It seems that the gradual slowing of the Earth’s rotation has resulted in the misalignment of the stones such that sunrise on Midsummer’s Day is badly out of line. The plan is therefore to dismantle the monument and build a new motorway through the site. Stonehenge would then be re-erected in a more prominent place, such as the summit of Snowdon.

A Japanese consortium has put in an alternative bid worth £2 billion to buy Stonehenge and re-site it on top of sacred Mount Fuji in order to enhance Japan’s reputation as the Land of the Rising Sun.

The article concludes with the news that a decision will be taken today and that work will start in exactly one year’s time. The date of the article? April 1st!

PRIORY COTTAGE COACH HOUSE Bill Bass

HADAS members may remember Priory Cottage in Hadley Green Road, whose listed 19th century coach house was demolished without permission in 1984. The owner was fined £10,000 for the offence, later he wanted to build a new three bedroom house on the site, this plan was rejected by Barnet Council. Councillors were willing only to allow the owner to re-build the coach house with a small extension at the back. There was an appeal to the Department of the Environment, John Davies an inspector of the DOE said: “To allow replacement dwellings so significantly larger than the originals would, in my view destroy the historic character in the areas of Monken Hadley”. Mr Davies said the plans were out of keeping with Green belt policy and would damage the setting of a nearby house The Grove.

(As Reported in Barnet Borough Times 28th March 1991)

HENDON AND DISTRICT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

MINUTES of the 29th Annual General Meeting held at Hendon Library, The Burroughs, NW4 on Tuesday May 8th 1990 at 8.30 pm.

In the Chair: The President 51 Members attended

1. The Chairman welcomed Members.

Apologies for absence: Ann Lawson, Camilla Raab, Ted Sammes, Brian Wibberley, Shiela Woodward.

2. Minutes of the 28th AGM on 9th 1989 were approved and signed.

The Annual Report (copy in Minute Book) was given by the Chairman, Andrew Selkirk.

The Accounts (copy in the Minute Book) were presented by the Hon Treasurer, Victor Jones.

The Annual Report and the Accounts were accepted nem con.

3. Vice-Presidents: the following were confirmed in office:

Mrs Brigid Grafton Green Miss D P Hill

Mr Brian Jarman Mrs Daphne Lorimer

Mr E Sammes Mr Andrew Saunders

Election of Officers: there being one nomination for each vacancy, the following were declared elected:

Chairman: Andrew Selkirk Hon Secretary: Brian Wrigley

V-Chairman: John Enderby Hon Treasurer: Victor Jones

Election of Committee: There being 11 nominations for 13 vacancies, the following were declared elected:

Christine Arnott, Deirdre Barrie, Phyllis Fletcher, Ted Sammes, Alan Lawson, Margaret Maher, Andrew Simpson, Peter Pickering, Dorothy Newbury, Jean Snelling and Myfanwy Stewart

Consideration of organisation of HADAS library/librarians: debate was introduced by the Chairman, Andrew Selkirk, who pointed out the situation that after damage to many of our books, our insurance claim has been paid so we have the money to begin to replace our collection and must consider afresh what we want to do. comments were invited. Points made in discussion included:

Did we need a library and what purpose(s) should it serve?

There is some possibility of a joint venture with the LBB library service to make our books available to the public as well as more readily to Members.

We should bear in mind the importance of information being available to schools, and of interesting the young generation in our current excavations.

We should organise exhibitions in schools, with suitable equipment, to arouse interest.

We should now set out to equip the library with books useful for Members taking archaeological study courses.

Members appreciated the system of having books available for loan/return at monthly lecture meetings.

Discussion concluded with a recommendation by the President of appointing a sub-committee to consider the matter, taking account of all the views expressed.

The following resolution (proposed by Percy Reboul, seconded by Andrew-Pares) was carried by a large majority (2 against):

This Meeting calls upon the Committee to consider changing the name of the organisation to reflect more accurately the scope and geographical boundaries of its activities to-day.

Points made in discussion included:

That to express the geographical boundaries accurately required the phrase “Barnet Borough” and for this such a change there was a need to consult other Societies as well as the London Borough of Barnet itself.

To change a name already widely known could be an overall disadvantage.

The suggestion of “Hendon Barnet & District AS”.

Some potential members were deterred from joining by not realising the Society covered the whole Borough.

Opinions and suggestions could be asked for in the columns of the Newsletter.

There being no other business, the formal part of the Meeting ended at 9.35 pm.

After the formal Meeting, there was a short talk by Andrew Simpson on the Whetstone dig.

SERIAC 91 One Day Conference – 23 March 1991 Stewart J Wild

As members of Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society, Bill Firth and I attended the South East Regional Industrial Archaeology Conference at the Science Museum on 23 March. A series of well-illustrated and well- researched dissertations included some case histories from Southampton, the role of English Heritage in the preservation of significant industrial sites and their conversion to modern uses, and the work of the Railway Heritage Trust.

After lunch we heard about the work of the National Trust, with particular reference to a success story in the Vale of Neath where an early watermill and tin smelting works has been restored to such an extent that water power is now generating electricity which the NT sells at 6 pence a unit.

Dr Thomas Wright of the Science Museum spoke about the difficulties of keeping up with the pace of technological advances, particularly in science and medicine. There was good news that the PRISM fund (i.e state funding) was now empowered to give money for pro-active early conservation of buildings, machines etc as well as re-active acquisition at a later stage. An eminent professor from Canada spoke of the growth of Industrial Archaeology internationally, with particular reference to the USA, Canada and Spain, and the Director of the Science Museum, Dr. Neil Cossons, brought the conference to a close with a call for more IA training, university courses etc., and the pleas that there should be more emphasis on the

Archaeological aspect of IA.Overall an enjoyable and worthwhile conference left me with the impression that although funds are scarce, IA is certainly a growth industry. Delegates were later invited to visit Kirkcaldy’s Testing Museum in Southwark where David Kirkcaldy’s amazing 1864 Testing Machine was demonstrating its awesome power in testing steel, concrete etc to destruction exactly as it did when it was installed 127 years ago.

GLIAS membership costs £7 per annum – further details from Hon. Secretary Bill Firth on 081-455 7164

PHANTOM TRAMS CAUSE EERIE SILENCE Bill Bass

“Tram lines have caused hundreds of telephones to be cut off more than 50 years after the streetcars stopped running. Old cables laid along the Great North Road by Barnet Odeon caused up to 800 phone lines around the area to go down, the tram lines were tarmacked under the road surface and over years they sank under the weight of all the traffic and damaged the cables underneath”.

The above was a report in a local newspaper, the lines in question belonged to the Metropolitan Electric Tramways (M.E.T) in conjunction with the Middlesex and Herts County Council, the terminus was sited at Barnet Parish Church.

Towards the end of the 19th century tramway operators in London began rapidly to decline and most were absorbed into municipal control as a result of the 1870 Tramways Act. The M.E.T. system was by far and away the largest company operator and second in size only to London County Council, it was incorporated in 1894 as the M.E.T Tramways and Omnibus Co. Ltd. Services reached Whetstone in 1905 and Barnet on the 28th March 1907. Rapid growth brought the total of route miles worked to 53.5, including 42.5 miles owned by Middlesex County Council and 1.5 miles by Hertfordshire County Council at the northern end of the Barnet route. There was a depot at North Finchley and a Depot/Works at Colindale.

The M.E.T. was noted in its later years for experiments towards improved tramcar design, unfortunately one such experimental vehicle was involved in a collision on Barnet Hill due to a fault in the air-braking system, the driver, who was not used to the characteristics of the vehicle, received fatal injuries

On the 1st July 1933 the London Passenger transport Board took over the M.E.T together with all other London Transport undertakings.

Tramcars finished their last journeys around 1938 when they were replaced by Trolley Buses which, not being restricted to following rails laid in the road, were able to pass around obstructions such as parked vehicles and they were more comfortable and quieter then the trams.

(The Trolleybuses themselves last ran to Edgware and Barnet on 2nd January 1962, an event marked by heavy snowfall. The depot at Colindale was used to scrap many of London’s trolley buses the last in September 1962, four months after London’s last trolleybus on the Fulwell route in South London. It was demolished in 1965.-Ed).

LAMAS – 28th Conference of London Archaeologists Andy Simpson

Museum of London 22nd March 1991

The event this year was moderately well attended, with a small HASAS contingent present, some of us being involved with our sales/exhibition stand. Our new exhibition got much attention, but like the few other exhibitors the sales left something to be desired, since most people seemed rather parochial in their archaeological interests!

The morning session offered an excellent selection of talks. The Roman period was covered by Taryn Nixon’s talk on DUA excavations on the roman cemetery at Smithfield, 1 of 3 main extra mural settlements of the period. Ms Nixon was at pains to point out that the dead were being studied to learn about the living. The cemetery had been intensively used – 120 burials in an area 15m square! – so there was little regard for previous burials, which were all coffined and had differing alignments – too mixed to differentiate ‘christian’ or ‘pagan’. There was some jewellery but no sign of monuments or tombstones, suggesting a fairly low status. The oldest person was barely 40 – many died in their teens, and there were few women.

John Mills of the DGLA covered excavations of a Saxon site at Winslow Road, Fulham, adjacent to the Thames, in advance of office development. Shallow stratigraphy included saxon clay, pottery, gullies, pits and postholes, the latter associated with sunken-floored huts, often 12 post’ buildings. Some postholes contained bone comb fragments of the fifth-seventh century. An unusual find was some lead weights and an articulated house burial. At 5 miles from central London, this is the nearest early Saxon settlement to London yet found. The Saxon period was also covered by the Passmore Edwards Museum excavations at Barking Abbey, near the river Neding.

Here too, Saxon evidence was sought, and found in the shape of traces of saxon buildings slumped into backfilled gravel pits, leaving traces of beamslots and postholes. Saxon finds in the fill of these pits included bone comb fragments and glassware, mostly imported, and a splendid iron weaving sword of middle saxon dates, and some gold thread. 8 sceuths of C. 730 were recovered, together with a whistle made from a gooses’ leg bone!

Traces of outbuildings of this Saxon abbey, probably of the 10th century included a stone built celler, a glass kiln, and a timber-lined well.

Mike Webber described excavations at Lambeth in search of the Duke of Norfolk’s palace, built in the 16th century. Residual prehistoric, roman and saxon material was found on the Lambeth road site, together with a well preserved wooden medieval silt scoop, pitched with leather 14th Century flourkley and re-used 14th Century architectural fragments.

Docklands archaeology was covered by Mike Hutchinson’s talk on rescue work prior to building of the linear E-W routeway. This was partly illustrated by an interesting short video describing the project. Trial trenching and selective larger excavations, for instance at Dunbar Wharf, were carried

out, in advance of this ‘Limehouse link’ road. The Dunbar Wharf excavations revealed extensive remains of the short-lived Porcelain Works of Joseph Wilson, in production 1744-1748. The material recovered gave a securely dated porcelain collection – useful comprehensive source for porcelain sundries.

The afternoon session was given over to Politics – the effects of the proposed changes imposed by English Heritage upon the Museum of London and the result this will have upon the museum’s ability to carry out effective archaeological work.

Dominic Perring of English Heritage pointed out that the ‘developer pays’ principle was spreading from London, so the developers needed good guidance from local authorities and planning depts, and guidance through ‘briefs’ and research designs. Targets had to be set and digs written up more quickly.

Harvey Sheldon, Head of the DGLA, felt no confidence in the future, though he appreciated the value of developer funding, it should not be relied upon exclusively. He opposed project funding and the progressive withdrawal of the MoL’s establishment grant by English Heritage. He feared that, with English Heritages’ own planning advice team working in London from summer 1991 it would become a reactive rather than a creative organisation.

David Barker, Bedfordshires County Archaeologist stressed need for efficient use of resources and involve all interested parties – the doers and the users.

Colin Bolt, as ‘amateur’ representative, pointed out the value of use of societes for small digs and on slow moving sites, giving HADAS a good plug as one of the few active societies in the excavations fields, and that standing buildings – ‘upright Archaeology’ should receive more attention, these being ideal items for amateur groups to study.

Local groups could also re-assess previously exhausted material.He suggested that LAMAS should create regional groups from the ranks of active amateur archaeologists.

A member of the Southwark planning Dept reminded us that developers need to make a profit – around 15% on the average site, and planning authorities could be held financial responsible for affecting development through archaeological or other priorities.

Richard Hughes, consulting archaeologist with a developer, suggested that archaeologists should study the ‘natural’ more as a way of understanding how the buildings that stood on it actually worked.

Tim Schadla – Hall of the Society of Museum Archaeologists stressed the need for good management – and that London Archaeology needs independent status to be able to make feasible responses and provide information and action, whilst providing quality and value for money.

LAMAS Day Conference – Discussion Session Jean Snelling

In the general discussion, forceful views came from the floor and contributions had finally to be cut off as time ran out. The general theme was alarm for the future of the Museum of London’s excavation work and for its necessary support by conservation, environmental and other technical investigations, research and publication.

All these were seen to be threatened by diminution or diversification by English Heritage of financial support, as it had been initiated by the former Greater London council. Speakers emphasised that reputable archaeology could not be achieved by excavations financed only project by project which no continuing planning and support service. The English Heritage panel member expressed empathy with these views while feeling unable to forecast his organisation’s policy.Other speakers stressed the value of renewing cooperation between professional archaeologists and volunteers, and also between professional services and local societies; mutual need for each other was expressed, and the hope that local societies would not wither away or cease to undertake excavations and to publish their results.

On the issue of having a central body for London which could advise on possible sites which could be worth excavating (this was getting at E H again), it was pointed out that some of the most significant discoveries of recent years turned up on sites where they had not been expected (eg the Guildhall amphitheatre). The preference of Developers was underlined, for direct and continued contact with the archaeologists who were to excavate or were actually excavating their sites; they would not value rather generalised advice from a body without the closest concern. A further shot from Developers stated that archaeologists could benefit by being more knowledgeable about geological conditions encountered on sites.

A speaker recommended the several excellent museums of archaeology to be found in Japan.This led to exclamations that local archaeological discoveries belonged to the local people, that good museums could channel such interests, and that government should not be the arbiters of policy for archaeology.

Finally, the Chairman repeated his initial question. How many of you feel confident about the future of London archaeology? Not a hand was raised.

LOCAL EVENTS

Exhibition – Pharmacy Past, Present and Future. Church Farm House

Museum 4th May – 9th June and at Barnet Museum 2nd July ­31st August.

Exhibition – The Rota Tracts and Pamphlets 1620 – 1712.

Church Farm Museum 21st March – 23rd June –

Covers Stuart tracts and pamphlets, from Royalists to witchcraft to Sermons and verses.

STOP PRESS !!

Readers will be glad to know that at long last the West Heath report is with the printers and will shortly appear as part of the BAR series. It is hoped to hold a special launch event in late May or early June.