No. 661 April 2026 Edited by Sue Willetts
HADAS DIARY – Forthcoming Lectures and Events
Tuesday 14 April 2026 Scott Harrison on ‘Behind the Battle of Barnet banners: People of the War of the Roses.’ The lives of people that fought at the Battle of Barnet and the life, society and culture of the late fifteenth century. See below for details of the Barnet Medieval Festival.
Tuesday 12 May 2026 Grace Jarvis from the West Essex Archaeological Group (WEAG) on ‘Copped Hall – a mansion of pleasure and privacy’.
Tuesday 9 June 2026 Annual General Meeting at 7:30pm followed by a lecture given by our President, Jacqui Pearce, entitled ‘The Parish Scavenger’s Tale’. More details to follow.
Lectures are held in the Drawing Room, Stephens House & Gardens, 17 East End Road, Finchley N3 3QE. 7.45 for 8pm. Tea, coffee and biscuits available for purchase after each talk.
Buses 13, 125, 143, 326, 382, and 460 pass close by, and it is a five to ten minute walk from Finchley Central Station on the Barnet Branch of the Northern Line, where the Super Loop SL10 express bus from North Finchley to Harrow also stops.
Subscriptions
A polite reminder that HADAS membership renewals are due on the 1st of April. Please pay by direct bank transfer if possible, to CAF Bank Account 00083254, Sort Code 40-52-40, stating your surname and Memfee 26 (or shorten to Mem26 if there is not enough space). Members who pay their subscription by standing order need take no action. Please send cheques to Roger Chapman; his address is on the back of the newsletter.
Membership fees are still only £15 per person; add £5 per person per household. Fees for the under 18s and full-time students are only £6.
Barnet Medieval Festival
The Barnet Medieval Festival will return on 6th–7th June 2026 to the beautiful setting of Lewis of London for another action-packed weekend of medieval history. This year marks the 555th anniversary of the Battle of Barnet, fought on Easter Sunday 1471. The Festival team is working closely with the War of the Roses Federation to create a really memorable festival weekend. We are delighted to announce that we will have two brilliant equestrian teams at this year’s Festival – History’s Maid and Destrier – as well as falconry displays by HawkingAbout. Updates will follow in due course and tickets will be available to purchase in April.
Update on the Proposed Trip to Derbyshire
Unfortunately, the numbers required to make this trip viable were not reached. It might be possible to go ahead with this later in the year if it were possible to invite another local group, as the number taking part affects the pricing, especially regarding the travel arrangements.
Sue Loveday has done a good deal of research including visiting the area, and can provide details of what was planned if anyone feels they would like to take this further to organise or help. It was hoped that the trip would involve working with a travel company, but if anyone feels otherwise we would be pleased to hear from members regarding advice or suggestions.
Remembering Sheila Woodward
Bill Bass with HADAS contributors
Sadly, we must report the death of Sheila on the 3rd of February 2026. She was 101 years old (approaching 102). She was a long-time and prominent member of HADAS, digging at West Heath in the 1970s (where she impressed fellow diggers by speaking to visitors in fluent French!) and joining the HADAS Committee in 1976. She held a Diploma in Archaeology. Originally from Derbyshire, she was a Senior Civil Servant by profession. In later life she travelled to Syria, Africa and China.
Sheila was keen on organising and taking part in HADAS outings and events, and was fondly remembered being at the front of the coach with her cohorts such as Dorothy Newbury, Tessa Smith and Bridgit Grafton-Green, directing matters. One member mentions “her outings which were always educational (for me at least) as well as enjoyable”.
Up to a few years ago she was a regular at HADAS lectures and talks, being given a lift by her friends. Sheila was for many years an active member of the congregation of St Lawrence’s Church, Little Stanmore (another place where she organised for HADAS to visit), and where her funeral took place on 20th March.
Whalebones Park, Barnet
There have been concerns raised about the development of this 14-acre site in Chipping Barnet, featuring a 19th-century Grade II listed house and an iconic arch made from blue whale jawbones. Following approval in 2024, construction is set for late 2025 on 115 homes, with 50% of the land becoming public space.
The following information is from the Barnet Post. The development, which was approved by Barnet Council’s strategic planning committee in March and then referred to the Mayor’s office where it was also approved, has been controversial due to its use of a conservation area.
Gina Theodorou, the chair of the local residents’ association Quinta Village Green, launched a petition in the lead-up to the Mayor’s decision that received over 2,000 signatures, urging the office to refuse the plan. Gina said the development would cause “substantial harm” to the area: “It will result in the loss of the last remnant of countryside in the conservation area and would be out of character, too dense and would blur the conservation boundary. Objectors do not believe that the benefits of the development outweigh the harm, particularly as it would only contribute 0.76% to the borough’s five-year housing target. It would result in a significant loss of green space and cover and cause harm to the historic environment and local character, as well as a loss of habitat network and increased fragmentation.”
In contrast, Barnet Residents Association member Gordon Massey said the association considered the plan “one of the best schemes” they had ever seen. He did acknowledge the “negative impact” of the loss of green space, however he noted that of the green space that would remain, almost 50% would qualify as public open space, while the area currently was not publicly accessible. He did not think the plan was dense and approved of the housing mix.
What Did the Romans Ever Do for Us? They Brought Cats to Britain.
Stewart Wild
Cats arrived in Britain in the first century AD as a result of the Roman conquest, a study has found. The origin of the domesticated cat has long been debated, with some people believing they emerged in ancient Egypt and others saying they came to Europe from Stone Age farmers in what is now Turkey.
A genetic analysis of 87 cats dating back 10,000 years, including seventy ancient specimens, found that the lineage of felines seen in the modern world only emerged around 2,000 years ago in North Africa. The Roman Empire, with its famed network of roads spanning from the Levant to Scotland, then allowed cats to conquer the continent alongside humans. The household cat evolved from the African wildcat, and domestication led to a new species being created.
“Since the Roman imperial era, cats more genetically similar to present-day domestic cats were spread across Europe from a distinct North African population,” the scientists write. “The earliest sample carrying the ancestry found in present-day domestic cats was dated to 50BC to 80AD, from the site of Mautern in Austria.” This was an important port on the Danube known as Favianae in Roman times.
After the cats began to appear, they spread rapidly. A cat in Fishbourne, southern England, that may have lived at the time of the Roman conquest, proves this. “The ancient DNA records a quick spread of these domestic cats throughout much of Europe, often in concert with the Roman military, appearing in Britain around 100AD,” said Prof Jonathan B. Losos, an evolutionary biologist at Washington University in St Louis.
The exact origin of the pet cat we know and love today remains unknown. The scientists traced it back to North Africa but were unable to narrow it down any further. Scholars have long touted ancient Egypt as the birthplace of the pet cat because of that society’s veneration and deification of the animals. However, the latest study is unable to prove this and suggests that Moroccan or Tunisian wildcats may be more likely than the Egyptian Pharaohs’ animals as a source population.
“Our results suggest that the dispersal of domestic cats occurred several millennia after the Neolithic, and likely from North Africa rather than the Levant,” the scientists write in their latest paper, published in Science. “Our studies offer a new interpretive framework for the geographic origin of domestic cats, suggesting a broader and more complex process of domestication that may have involved multiple regions and cultures in North Africa.”
The scientists also found that the modern domestic cat arrived in Sardinia and Corsica about 1,000 years before it spread to the rest of Europe. This initial wave created a wildcat colony on the island which still exists today and is closely related to wildcats in Morocco.
“The study is part of an ongoing programme, Project Felix, which also aims to tackle other outstanding questions concerning cat domestication,” Prof Losos added. “Ever sphinxlike, cats give up their secrets grudgingly.”
Source: The Daily Telegraph, 28 November 2025. Item edited by Stewart Wild.
Other Societies’ Events
Eric Morgan
As always, please check with the societies’ websites before planning to attend, since not all societies or organisations have returned to pre-Covid conditions.
CORRECTION
Friday 10 April, 7.30pm. Enfield Archaeological Society. The talk shown in the March newsletter has had to be changed. It is now at Jubilee Hall, 2 Parsonage Lane / Junction Chase Side, Enfield, EN2 0AJ, and is Everyday Life and Accidental Death in Tudor Middlesex by Steven Gunn. Please visit www.enfarchsoc.org for details. Visitors pay £1.50. Refreshments from 7pm.
Friday 10 April, 7pm. Geologists Association. Talk on Zoom. Hertfordshire Pudding Stone: History, Uses and Folklore by Gerald Lucy (Essex Rock and Mineral Society) and Mike Howgate (Amateur Geological Society). For further details and how to get the link please visit www.geologistsassociation.org.uk or telephone 0207 434 9298.
Wednesday 15 April, 7.30pm. Highgate Society. 10A South Grove, Highgate, London N6 6BS. The Saving of Copped Hall – talk by Alan Cox, also on Zoom, on the restoration of the burnt-out shell of a Georgian Hall in Epping (HADAS did a resistivity survey here a few years ago). Cost £7.50 (includes a glass of wine) or £3 on Zoom. Please visit www.highgatesociety.com for booking and the Zoom link.
Wednesday 22 April, 7.30pm. Friern Barnet and District Local History Society. North Middlesex Golf Club, The Manor House, Friern Barnet Lane, London N20 0NL. On the Beat at Kings Cross – talk by Chris Foster. Please visit www.friern-barnethistory.org.uk. Non-members charge £2. Bar available.
Friday 8 May, 7.30pm. Enfield Archaeological Society. Jubilee Hall (address as for Friday 10 April above). Bermondsey Square – Prehistoric and Roman Settlement, Medieval Abbey and Post Mansion – talk by Alastair Douglas (PCA). Please visit www.enfarchsoc.org. Visitors charge £1.50. Refreshments from 7pm.
Monday 11 May, 3pm. Barnet Museum and Local History Society. St John the Baptist Church, Chipping Barnet, corner of High Street and 2 Wood Street, Barnet EN5 4BW. The Life and Times of Oscar Linkson – Barnet F.C., Manchester United and the Somme – talk by Dennis Bird (Barnet LHS). Please visit www.barnetmuseum.co.uk for details. Visitors £3. Refreshments available.
Tuesday 12 May, 11am. Enfield Society. Jubilee Hall (address as for Friday 10 April above). Discovering MacDonald Gill: Architect, Artist and Mapmaker – talk by Caroline Walker. ‘Max’ Gill was the younger brother of sculptor Eric Gill and worked in the first half of the 20th century on map posters for the London Underground and painted map panels for the Palace of Westminster. Visitors charge £1. Please visit www.enfieldsociety.org.uk for further details.
Friday 15 May, 7.30pm. Wembley History Society. St Andrew’s Church Hall (behind St Andrew’s new church), Church Lane, Kingsbury, London NW9 8RZ. Letters to Miss Baker – talk by Jeremy Waxman. Visitors £3. Refreshments available in the interval.
Wednesday 20 May, 7.30pm. Willesden Local History Society. St Mary’s Church Hall, bottom of Neasden Lane (round the corner from the Magistrates’ Court), London NW10 2DZ. Brave New World: Step into the Past with AI – talk by Irina Porter (Chair). Please visit willesden-local-history.co.uk for further details.
Exhibition
Until Thursday 30 April. The Guildhall Library, Aldermanbury, London EC2V 7HH. Exhibition marking the 600th anniversary of the library’s founding in 1425 – how the library was created, what a medieval library looked like, and what books would have been included.
Also on Thursday 30 April, 2–3pm – History and Treasures of Guildhall Library. Join the librarians and view the collections.
Also on Saturday 11 April, 11am and 2pm – Exhibition viewing and Curator’s Tours.
With thanks to this month’s contributors: Bill Bass, Eric Morgan, Stewart Wild.
Contact Details
Chair: Sandra Claggett, c/o Stephens House & Gardens, 17 East End Road, Finchley N3 3QE. Email: chairman@hadas.org.uk
Hon. Secretary: Janet Mortimer, c/o Stephens House & Gardens, 17 East End Road, London N3 3QE. Email: secretary@hadas.org.uk Phone: 07449 978121
Hon. Treasurer: Roger Chapman, 50 Summerlee Ave, London N2 9QP. Phone: 07855 304488. Email: treasurer@hadas.org.uk
Membership Secretary: Vacant. Email: membership@hadas.org.uk
Website: www.hadas.org.uk
The May 2026 Newsletter Editor will be Sue Willetts
3 Sunrise View, The Rise, Mill Hill, London NW7 2LL
Sue.willetts@london.ac.uk
07702 424435
Copy to her by 18 April 2026, please.