No: 287 FEBRUARY 1995 Edited by ANDY SIMPSON
DIARY
Remember – new meetings venue for 1995 – Stephens Room, (1st floor), Avenue House, East End Road, Finchley, N3 – starting at 8pm for 8.30pm.
Tuesday 7th February Lecture: Mesolithic Sites in London – John Lewis from MOLAS describes some of the other sites in the London area contemporary with West Heath
Tuesday 7th March Lecture: Landscape Archaeology in North Wiltshire,
Andrew Reynolds from the Institute of Archaeology gives some recent results from the Compton Bassett Area Research Project. (We hope to be able to arrange a visit to Wiltshire this summer).
HADAS Outing dates for your diaries this year will be: Sat. June 17th, Sat. July 15th, Sat. August 19th. Details of locations in next newsletter.
Dorothy Newbury writes – As always with change, the new venue (Avenue House) suits some and not others. This is a three-month trial period, mainly brought about by the escalating costs at Hendon Library. But have we jumped out of the frying pan into the fire? The Hendon Times (12 January) reports that Avenue House has an annual deficit in running costs of some £13,000 and Councillors have been proposing to use the building as a venue for wedding services. Local residents are objecting on grounds of noise and traffic congestion, claiming the plan breaches the spirit of ”Inky” Stephens’ bequest to the borough. The Land and Buildings Committee are to consult with the Charity Commission to ensure the proposal complies with the Trust’s deeds.
(The Council stress that Avenue House must break even to ensure its future, and that if what the Council want is unacceptable to residents they will have to come up with alternative revenue-earning ideas. – Ed.)
We have received no backing for changing the meetings date to the second Tuesday in the month. In fact, some years ago we changed to the first Wednesday following a few requests but it didn’t work out. Unfortunately, whatever we choose will inevitably not please everybody.
The 32nd LAMAS Conference of London Archaeologists – Saturday 20th March 1995. Advance notice of the above conference, at which HADAS will have their usual display. It will be held at the Lecture Theatre, Museum of London, commencing at 11 am and finishing at 5.30pm. Tickets at (members), £4.00 (non-members) are available from Jon Cotton, Early Dept., Museum of London, London Wall, London EC2Y 5HN.
DR. RALPH MERRIFIELD, B.A., D.LITT, F.S.A., F.M.A.
HADAS members and all those involved in London’s archaeology will have been saddened to learn of the death of our past president, Dr. Ralph Merrifield, Ted Sammes provides an appreciation of this eminent archaeologist.
The London archaeological scene will be saddened at the death of Ralph Merrifield at the age of 82. To many, myself included, he was regarded as Mister Roman London. I first met him when the London Borough Secretaries,designed to bring together representatives of all London areas engaged in archaeology (mostly non-professional), was started in the 1960s , There were few professional units operating at that time,
He was of great help to us in looking at Brockley Hill material and my few Roman finds from the Church Terrace, Hendon dig of 1972-73. He was our third President, elected in 1989, and he retired at the 1994 AGM at his own request.
He was born in Brighton, and at the age of 17 worked in Brighton Museum. Always having a calm and critical eye for detail, his wartime service was in the Intelligence section of the RAF. After the war he returned to Brighton Museum but by 1950 he was Assistant Keeper of the Brighton Museum, London. On the combining of the London and Guildhall Museums in 1975 he was actively engaged in designing the Roman Galleries. He retired in 1978 as Deputy Director of the Museum of London. A few years later he was honoured by the University of London with a Doctorate for his historical contribution to London’s past history.
I never saw him really agitated and he always took time before he replied to any question or brick-batl His two books, The Roman City of London (1965) and London, City of the Romans (1983) are essential reading for anyone deeply interested in Roman London. He plotted all Roman find spots, walls included, a feat which greatly added to our knowledge of the shape of Roman London within the walls.
I will always remember him at the Bristol Conference of the Prehistoric Society, trying to interest us also in the Roman remains. Another memory is of his interest in the supernatural, witch bottles and walled-up cats and shoes near fireplaces. On this subject his book The Archaeology of Ritual and Magic (1987) is also interesting reading. His publications in Transactions of LAMAS and other journals are too numerous to list.
Yes, he will be sadly missed by all of us and I for one will be eternally grateful for the unselfish support and advice he gave to all. Museums, and what they can convey, were his life blood.
TIME TEAM
In case you hadn’t noticed, a new series of Time Team started three weeks ago, 7pm, Sundays on Channel 4. So far, they have investigated sites at Islay (Western Scotland), a ruined castle in Sunderland and a hitherto unknown Roman villa site in Dorset. Although the programme format may not be everyone’s cup of tea, it is worth watching for the computer graphics alone, and the HADAS digging team are drooling over the expensive geophysical equipment used. Somebody – please win the lottery!
Bill Bass’s report on `The Thing’ (possibly a chemist’s mortar) in the January newsletter has prompted a reply from Roy Allen:
Support for identification of ‘the thing’ as a mortar comes from the church of St Enodoc in North Cornwall, nowadays best known as the last resting place of Sir John Betjeman. The path to the entrance is lined with similar receptacles and most of these are believed to be domestic mortars, once used for grinding corn; they are said to be medieval but this appears to be conjecture. A lady recalls that it was her grandfather who collected the relics and presented them to the church, holes were later drilled for drainage.
(Mr Allen sent photos of the St. Enodoc specimens, taken in 1977 and 7982, Ed.)
Further to the note asking for information on medieval bronze cooking pots and skillets and their foundries, also in the January newsletter, Peter Keeley has been contacted by John Enderby who has a skillette. Peter then put him in touch with his friend researching such items, who lives in Devon, This particular skillette was made by a founder in Bristol called ‘Rice’ who was one of the few founders who applied his name to some of his products, which makes him ideal to study. An article on this founder is planned for the next Metalware Journal. Peter would appreciate any further information on foundries or founders of medieval bronzeware and can be contacted on 0181-959 2864 (evenings),
NEWS FROM BROCKLEY HILL
Tessa Smith reports:
Walking along Spur Road, Brockley Hill, I noticed that the corner field had been trenched, all round the edges, to a depth of one metre, being half a metre wide.
I examined the trench for its entire length, approximately 200 metres, and found it to be pure loam and clay, with a short layer of pebble which could have been natural. However, this small patch of pebble lay on the line of a ‘buried’ road, the gravel layer of which was in evidence when excavated by Philip Suggett and Professor Grimes in 1954, and by Gillian Braithwaite (HADAS) in 1988.
PLANNING APPLICATIONS IN THE NORTHERN AREA
English Heritage have recommended archaeological conditions on the following sites:
• Land rear of 26 Kings Road, Barnet – a watching brief on any earthmoving.
• Part of Park Road Industrial Estate, Park Road, Barnet – an assessment of the archaeological implications.
• 58 High Street, Barnet – field evaluation and mitigation strategy (ways to avoid damaging any archaeology).
Applications for Planning permission have also been made for the following sites, reports Tessa:
Brockley Hill Area, Edgware:
• Brockley House • No 1 Brockley Hill
• No 17 Brockley Ave. • No 5 Newlands Close.
All the above lie close to the area of Pipers Green Lane where 2nd century AD cremation burials were found in 1953.
Annunciation Infants School – Thirleby Road, Burnt Oak
Work is due to start here shortly and HADAS members hope to observe the trenches and spoil heaps during demolition and rebuilding work, In 1971 HADAS dug at 33 Thirleby Road opposite the school and found two Roman pits with 52 sherds of late 3rd-early 4th century pottery and a radiate coin of 270-300. So this site will be worth monitoring.
15-17 Sunningfields Road Hendon Construction of fifteen 2-bed flats.
Please keep your eyes open and report any activities.
THE EARLY HISTORY OF MONKEN HADLEY Pamela Taylor
A recent enquiry concerning Monken Hadley’s early history set me checking the standard authorities, the parish histories by Cass and Lysons, the Victoria County History of Middlesex (VCH) vol. 5, and behind them Dugdale’s Monasticon and the original manuscripts in the British Library. It was all very enjoyable, but the main result was to confirm the reliability of previous accounts rather than to uncover much that was new. Unless new sources are discovered – and no medieval manorial records have ever been found – our knowledge will always remain distinctly sketchy. It nevertheless seems worthwhile to put down a few slightly new points, which may help to amplify answers to the basic questions: when did Hadley originate; was it originally part of Edmonton or of Enfield; and what is the history of its church?
The first question is the only one for which new evidence has recently emerged. The recently discovered 1005 boundary description of the woodland which later became the manor of Barnet names Hadley along its circuit, and thus shows that there was at least a clearing and quite probably some sort of habitation well before Hadley was acquired by Geoffrey de Mandeville in the wake of the Norman Conquest, or transferred to Walden Abbey c.1136.
Domesday Book shows Geoffrey de Mandeville holding both Edmonton and Enfield, with the former including an outlier called (South) Mimms. Since the survey deals only with administrative units, the failure to mention Hadley is not remarkable, and it must be included within either South Mimms/Edmonton or Enfield. There has, however, been some uncertainty as to which, Geoffrey de Mandeville’s charter of c. 1136 stated that the hermitage at Hadley lay within his park (see below). Unsurprisingly, this has created a presumption that Hadley was within Enfield (e.g. David Pam, The Story of Enfield Chase ( 1984), p. 10). Cass kept an open mind, citing on the other hand Lysons’ reference to a list of the possessions of Walden Abbey which places the hermitage of Hadley within the parish of Edmonton. (P.37; Lysons’ source, BL MS Cotton Vespasian E vi, f 56, is a poorly written post-medieval copy; Cass makes a small mistake in transcribing ‘in hominibus’ for ‘cum hominibus’.) The VCH places Hadley unequivocally within Edmonton, and this is almost certainly correct. One of the best pieces of evidence comes in the Quo Warrant enquiries of 1294, in which the crown was challenging manorial lords’ titles to various legal jurisdictions over their tenants. The abbot of Walden was summoned to prove his right to hold view of francpledge and the assize of bread and ale in Edmonton, Enfield, Mimms and Hadley. He did very badly, first claiming that he had always exercised these rights, and then that he only claimed them in Enfield. Even here the local jury reported that he only exercised the assize of bread and ale (which checked that full measures were sold), and that even for this did not have the necessary scales. Fascinating as the detail is, the key point in this context is that Hadley is firmly placed with Mimms and Edmonton rather than with Enfield. In addition, areas of jurisdictional rights were fixed very early and not altered without good reason, so that the 1294 division probably echoes the Norman and Anglo-Saxon one. The connexion of Hadley to South Mimms and Edmonton might have been more obvious if its ecclesiastical history had been more normal. Geoffrey de Mandeville’s foundation endowment to Walden Abbey (Essex), given c,1136, included 18 churches, among them Enfield, Edmonton and South Mimms. In a later section of the same grant, after giving some land and mills, he gave ‘the hermitage of Hadley, with all things pertaining to that place, entry, and exit, and common pasture for their herds in my park, in which the hermitage is situated.’ It is unknown whether the hermitage already contained some sort of chapel or oratory, or what the arrangements made between the monks and hermit were. There was certainly some sort of church by the time of bishop Gilbert Foliot (1163-87), who included Hadley in list of 12 churches within his diocese which he confirmed to the abbey. The deed, found like the foundation charter in a Walden cartulary, BL Harleian MS 3697, is transcribed by Cass, p.38. (The revised edition of Le Neve alters Foliot’s death date from February 1188 to 1187.) Cass is also correct in stating that three later bishops of London (William, 1199-1221; Eustace, 1221-8; Roger, 1229-41) gave similar confirmations. He then moves directly on to provide a complete transcript of the 15 later medieval lay deeds concerning Hadley to be found in the cartulary. (His interleaved copy of his book, Barnet Museum SJ36, as well as his interleaved copy of his article on the parish in Transactions of the London and Middlesex Archaeological Association, SJ35, contain additional material, mostly 17th-18th century wills, genealogies and some 19th century press cuttings, but no further information on the topics under consideration here.)
Cass did however skate over some interesting aspects of the episcopal section of the cartulary. First, bishop Foliot gave three other confirmations, covering 7, 11 and 15 churches respectively, in none of which is Hadley mentioned. Secondly, under dean Geoffrey de Lucy (1231-41) the dean and chapter of St Pauls gave a differently worded confirmation, which separates Geoffrey de Mandeville’s foundation grant from later acquisitions, and finishes its list of the former’s grant of parish churches ‘Enfield, Edmonton and Mimms with the chapel of Hadley’ (ecclesias parochiales de…cum capella de Hadlele). The distinction between churches (ecclesiae) and chapels was always of considerable importance and, despite the inconsistency, almost certainly explains Hadley’s non-appearance in 3 out of bishop Foliot’s 4 confirmations. The confirmation of the 15, for instance, itemises the ‘churches’ but concludes generally with chapels, lands…,’ Presumably because of its distinct origin, the chapel of Hadley does not seem to have been attached to a parish church.
Hadley seems to have remained a chapel until after the Reformation. As Cass notes (p.47) the grant of Walden in 1549 to Sir Thomas Audley includes ‘our manor of Hadley in the county of Middlesex with its appurtenances in the county of Middlesex and the rectories and churches of Edmonton, Enfield and South Mimms’, Equally telling is the entry for Walden in the Valor Ecclesiasticus, which was made shortly before the Dissolution and distinguishes incomes from temporal (i.e. secular), and spiritual (le ecclesiastical), sources. Walden’s spiritualities include Edmonton, Enfield and South Mimms rectories, but Hadley appears only among the temporalities, as a manor. As an interesting addendum, in terms of actual value Hadley was assessed in the Valor at 2 10sAd, while the values of Edmonton, Enfield and South Mimms rectories were respectively 20 3s.0d, 28 Os.Od, and 7 Os .0d. Either this is a relative fall, or Hadley had had an atypical period of higher value in the late 13th century, The Walden return for the Taxation of Pope Nicholas of 1291, which does not mention South Mimms and fails in Middlesex to distinguish between temporalities and spiritualities, gives incomes from: ‘Edmonton from land, rent and meadow 2 4s,2d; Enfield from land rent and meadow 3 I Is.8d; Hadley from land, rent, coppice wood and produce (silva cedua et foetu) 3 10s.2d’.
There is a famous 12th-century phrase comparing contemporary scholars to dwarves standing on the shoulders of giants. This exercise has felt remarkably similar, but I hope the view has been at least slightly extended. A file of notes is stored at the Archives and Local Studies Centre.
ST. MARTHA’S CONVENT (The Moat House), Camlet Way, Monken Hadley
Jennie Cobban has been studying the Monken Hadley area, and possible forthcoming classroom rebuilding at the school at St Martha’s – a grade II listed building within Monkey Hadley Conservation Area, may permit site observation at this important site.
Jennie has hoped to produce a detailed research design, and the HADAS excavation team made a preliminary site visit in mid-January to ‘see the lie of the land’, paying particular attention to the site of a new levelled mound within the school grounds that may have been a medieval windmill mound. There is also a legend that the Battle of Barnet Chantry Chapel stood on the present site of Mount House. The chapel was already ruined by the sixteenth century, and exact proof of its location has yet to be found.
Following last month’s mention of the ‘Museums on the Northern Line’ leaflet comes a reminder of another useful London Transport publication:
The official London Transport guide to all LONDON’S MUSEUMS, 5th edition 1993
This invaluable 80-page guide lists all the museums in Greater London, includes comprehensive travel information and uses clear symbols to indicate admission charges, refreshment facilities, etc. Main entries are listed alphabetically by name but there are also listings by borough and by subject, plus the address of a further 77 galleries, archives and other useful institutions and organisations. Available from London Transport Information Centres and Church Farmhouse Museum shop, price £3.50.
OTHER EVENTS
Members will remember the recent review of David Sullivan’s book The Westminster Corridor’, in which Hendon figures frequently, Until March 26th, Hampstead Museum, Burgh House, New End Square, NW3 1LT (0171-431 0144) are hosting an exhibition ‘The Westminster Corridor and the Medieval Manor of Hampstead’ featuring the book and David Sullivan’s associated research, HADAS hope to be involved in fieldwork on Hampstead Heath connected with establishing boundaries described in the book.
NEIGHBOURING SOCIETIES
Barnet & District Local History Society – Mon. 20th February 245pm for 3,00pm The Hyde Room, Chipping Barnet Library, Staplyton Rd, Barnet
Costume – talk by Sandra Hildreth-Brown
Enfield Archaeological Society – Fri. 17th February at 8.00pm Jubilee Hall, Parsonage Lane, Enfield
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta – a talk by Stephen Gilburt
Oxford University summer school for adults
5-12 Aug. The Anglo-Saxon Church David Beard
The Glorious Age of Egypt (Tutankhamen & 18th Dynasty) Annette Depla
Place-Names and Landscape Margaret Gelling
The Census & 19th Century Local History Edward Higgs
Archaeological Excavation Gary Lock
12-19 Aug, Environmental Archaeology Gill Campbell
Archaeological Excavation Gary Lock
The Crusades Colin Paine
The View from the Vicarage: Rural England 1750-1850 Kate Tiller
Domestic Industries in England Barrie Trinder
Further details from Hon.Secretary or for prospectus phone: 01865 270396
Byzantium – the new exhibition at the British Museum which opened on 9 December, features treasures of Byzantine art and culture in the context of 1,000 years of history. This stunning exhibition is on show until 23 April.
Museum of London – Events in February
Gallery talk – 2,30pm Thursday 2nd February
Knitting Nettles – Prehistoric Clothing by Barbara Wood (40 minutes)
Gallery Workshop – Conservation Matters 2pm & 3,15pm Sunday 5th and Sunday 12th February.
Tour of new Resource Centre at Eagle Wharf Road, Hackney
2,30pm – Wednesday 15th February. Tickets (including tea) £4.20, concessions £2.10.
Sites to See in Northern and Eastern Herts – this useful leaflet produced by Herts County Council is available from Herts Environmental Information Service (0992 555244/5) gives brief descriptions of 18 sites, most privately owned, and includes clear instructions on how to find them together with National Grid References.
GENEALOGY – A recent publication ‘London & Middlesex – A Genealogical Bibliography’ by Stuart A. Raymond, published by the Federation of Family History Societies will be useful to those studying family links in the London area. Price £7.00, available from S.A. & M.J. Raymond, Genealogical Bibliographers, 6 Russett Avenue, Exeter, Devon, EX1 3QB.
ANOTHER NIGHT TO REMEMBER…
The New Year Dinner at the Old Bank of England attracted another 30 members and friends. It was unfortunate that the room was not big enough to hold all of us in one go but the New Year group were able to enjoy the ambience of the building and bar as it was so much less crowded than before Christmas.
Our thanks to Mary O’Connell for making the second trip to guide us round the Temple Church and tell us the history of Fleet Street.
Our thanks also to our Vice-Chairman Brian Wrigley who, at a moment’s notice, drew the raffle and gave us a few witty words at the end of the evening. We were pleased to have Joan Wrigley with us now that she is up and about again.
Bearing in mind that prices are escalating – any ideas for next December?
A FOOTNOTE TO THE CHRISTMAS OUTINGS Roy Walker
It was noted in the last Newsletter that The Cock and The Haunch of Venison pubs were demolished in the 1880s to make way for the Bank of England office recently converted into our Christmas venue. Relics of The Cock, including an inn sign claimed to be by Grinling Gibbons, were transferred into a new public house on the south side of Fleet Street now called Ye Olde Cock Tavern which is still standing but unfortunately suffered a tragic fire in 1990 which destroyed some of the old furnishings. In the 17th century there was another Cock Tavern on the south side which is the subject of a pottery report in the LAMAS Transactions, Vol 37, 1986, as pottery from the Fulham Potteries was evidently made especially marked with a cockerel and the initials of the then landlord, Henry Crosse.
MEMBERSHIP NEWS Vikki O’Connor
Our membership year ends on 31st March – renewal forms will be sent out with the March newsletter, except to those members with Standing Orders.
We notice that Bill Bass gets a mention in the 25 January edition of the Barnet & Finchley Press – the Barnet Planning Sub-Committee have agreed an application to build a swimming pool at Hadley Lodge “on the proviso that Hendon & Barnet Archaeological Society member Bill Bass inspects the site”. It seems they have overcome the problem of re-naming the Society!
The Committee will be considering the re-establishment of the HADAS Research Committee in a new format; details to follow shortly.
