Newsletter

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IF THIS NEWSLETTER REACHES YOU IN TIME, PLEASE REMEMBER THE MINIMART, OUR ANNUAL FUND RAISER, AT HENRY BURDEN HALL, EGERTON GARDENS, NW4 ON SAT. MARCH 3, 1979, lO AM-12 NOON.
CHILDHOOD IN CRICKLEWOOD

In the last Newsletter a Cricklewood firm asked the help of HADAS members in preparing a history of the area. Six members responded at once; and we also found an interesting account by the MISSES WARDLEY (who are not HADAS members). MISS ETHEL spoke of her memories and MISS WINIFRED wrote it down – and added some recollections of her own. We thank them very much for allowing us to publish their artic]e below.

I was born in 1888 Eat 2 Cricklewood Lane, opposite the Castle Inn, Childs Hill. When I was 4 years old Father and Mother and my two sisters Alice and Grace moved down the steep hill a little way. Grandfather, a cheesemonger, had come there in 1860 from Kensal Green to live in Granville House, an imposing building with two shops below and two storeys of living rooms above, as well as cellars and stables. He and Grandmother, who came from the North and had been a cook had a family of 4 girls and a boy (our Father).

Grandfathcr built five little shops opposite, with one-storey living rooms and stables and mews behind, in about 1877, intended as businesses for his 5 children. These wore Nos. 1-5 Ridge Terrace. We went to live over No. 1, which was a Corn Shop, called Wardley’s Granary. No. 2 was Ironmongery and No. 3 Drapery, with Miss Button managing it. Grandfather, Grandmother and three aunts lived at Granville House and the shop below was Wardley’s Stores, selling grocery, meat, bread and cooked meat pies, etc. which Grandmother made. At the side of Granville House was a lane called The Mead (now called Granville Road,) but then Granville Road ran through fields up to the Finch1ey Road.

In 1877 the Baptist Church had been opened in The Mead and nurseries and laundries were there. There must have been wells and ponds behind. The laundries served the large houses on the Heath and along Finohley Road as far as Oxford Street. I remember the excitement when tents were put up in the fields opposite the Baptist Chapel for a Sankey & Moody Mission in the 1890s, at which I signed the Pledge. Beside the church there was a soup kitchen and Grandfather gave bones, peas, etc for soup.

Beside Granville House in Cricklewood Lane was the Red Lion Inn and a row of cottages with long gardens in front. Clark’s candle factory was nearby.

Opposite the Red Lion was All Saints Church and the National School with Mr and Mrs Harvey as the Heads. For two or three years before I was born Mother and Father had lived with them at Garfield House, No. 5 The Ridge, with a long garden and a gate at the bottom opening onto Church Walk and a quick approach to the school.
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Down Cricklewood Lane was farmland. Mr. Dicker’s farm stretched away to West Hampstead and there was another farm opposite Cricklewood Midland Station, which had originally been called Child’s Hill Station. Halfway to the station on the right was The Tavern public house, and beside it a little low cottage. This is the only building standing today exactly as it was in 1860. Our Mother said it was a Dame School to which she went in 1861 when she was 4. A pathway opposite, called The Avenue, led to Mr. Dicker’s farmhouse.

Our Mother was born in a cottage behind The Castle Inn. Her mother had a very large family and took in washing. Mother remembered when she was about 10 walking all the way to Oxford Street with her brother, carrying laundry. When it was paid for they could buy a bun or something to eat. Mother also remembered going to a little fountain in the Sandy Gallop (see footnote) to buy drinking water.

When she was 11 she had a job as a servant in a dairy in Albany Street. She helped the women to put on their wooden yokes and attach the full pails of milk. After a time she asked for 1s 6d a week instead of 1s 3d. When it was refused she left, and obtained a job as a “tweeny” in a large house. There she rose to be cook. Then she became a cook in Grandfather’s house and Dad fell in love with her. Although their mother had been a cook too, the aunts did not think their brother should marry a cook! So Mother ran away, Father followed her and they were married.

Buckinghamshire Connections

Mrs. Poulton, wife of the Baptist Minister, had come from Great Missenden, Bucks, and this led to a close connection between our family and the farms and little Chapels there. My earliest recollection, when aged 5, was being taken by Father in the pony van which was used to take orders to the big houses. We carried a magic lantern and cylinders of gas for Father to entertain at one of the little Chapels in Great Missenden. I remember staying in a beautiful farmer’s house and seeing my hostess wearing a lace cap.

Mother worked tremendously hard, not only looking after us but cooking for all the assistants in the shops. There was no Shop Closing Act then. When the Red Lion closed at 10 pm people thought of the food they needed and we were busy until we closed at 11 pm. I remember Dad waiting up for the van to return from Smithfield Market or from the Surrey Docks where it had gone for sugar, etc. If the roads wore icy it was very late. Even if it were midnight Dad would wait to rub down the horses and see them comfortable for the night. He loved his horses and pony. I watched him doctor them, give them medicine, rub them with. Ellimans Embrocation or poultice them with linseed or mustard. He used to treat us in the same way, with no mercy!

Sugar and flour came in hundredweight sacks and had to be weighed out. I used to watch my aunt cut blue paper into squares. She would then take a square and twist it into a cup, fill it with 1 lb. of sugar and press in the top. I saw Father open a large wooden box of eggs in shavings. He would take each egg separately and test it at a light to see if it was fresh. There would be many broken ones, with which Mother used to make custard and sponge cake. There wasn’t much profit in those days. We couldn’t afford to eat the biscuits, jam and sweets Dad sold, unless it was the broken biscuits which came in a large wooden tub, almost as tall a I was. I well remember climbing up and reaching down into the tub for a special favourite.

Footnote: Sandy Gallop is Sandy Road today, and familiar to many HADAS members – because it runs down to the Leg of Mutton pond and the West Heath dig. The “fountain” was on the opposite side of Sandy Road from the Pond, about half way down the road from West Heath Road. It has vanished now, but when we looked for it in 1977 we found the ground marshy where it had been, and many water-loving plants still growing there.
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When Mother was a girl she said she seldom had meat to eat. We had it once week – a glorious sirloin of beef, hot on Saturday, cold on Sunday, made into shepherd’s pie on Monday. For Sunday breakfast we had Dad’s home made sausages, the most delicious things you can imagine.

Grandfather was a preacher in the 7th London Circuit of the United Methodist Free Churches. We have a photo of him with 28 other worthies. His heart was in his preaching and not in business, and he liked nothing better than travelling on horseback to preach.

When he died in 1899 he left Father with debts. The folk in the large houses thought nothing of running up large bills, and not paying them. Costers in the cottages were cute, sending their children to buy one ha’porth of pickle in paper or a ha’porth of jam, and the scales in those days did not balance but must go down.

Greenery Arch

I remember when Princess Christiana (of Schleswig Holstein, sister of the Princess of Wales, who was later Queen Alexandra) came to open the newly built Institute (June 30, 1896). Dad made an archway of greenery from Granville House to our Corn Shop (what was the Men’s Institute in Cricklewood Lane is now Childs Hill Library).

I remember going in the wagonette to take Grandma and Grandpa to the Wesleyan Church opposite Willoughby Road. We went along the Finchley Road, up Frognal and through to Church Row, where we had to pay at a tollgate. We walked over the West Heath three times on a Sunday to go to Heath Street Baptist Church and Sunday School. As we walked up from The Castle to the top of the Sandy Gallop the fields belonging to Mr. Rickett of Sunnyfield were on our left. The Hermitage (pulled down in 1974) was on our right, followed by the horses’ drinking trough (very much needed, specially on the. nights before Bank Holidays when the fair people with their caravans and swings and roundabouts moved slowly up the hill) and Telegraph Hill on which was Miss Schroeder’s cottage. My eldest sister had an allotment oh the top of that hill, where the artist Sir Frank Salisbury later built Sarum Chase.

Grandpa died in 1899, aged 80, and Grandma in 1904, aged 92. Our family consisted then of Gordon 3, Winifred 5, Bernard 9, (darling twin’s had died in between), Alfred 12. I was 15, Alice 17, Grace 2O. Winifred remembers walking with Gordon down Cricklewood Lane to a private school in Elm Grove called Sparkbrook College. A sweet shop opposite The Tavern sold “wiggy waggy toffee” at 8 oz a penny. You could get a good-sized bag of the black wafery stuff for a farthing. Further down, on the left, was the Home of Rest for Horses.

In 1908 the trams came down to Cricklewood, and Granville House was pulled down to widen the Lane into a road. Trams with open wooden-lath seats and open tops ran down the Lane. Later they went all the way to Barnet. Horse buses went along Finchley Road from The Castle, all the way to Oxford Street for 4d. In 1974 the shops opposite Granville House were pulled down. Our house and garden at Ridge Road is now part of the site of two rows of maisonettes with a road in between. Our house and long garden next to the Hermitage, where we lived after Ridge Road, is now the site of a large block of greyish Council buildings.

But I still see things as they were.
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PROGRAMME NEWS

Many members will have cut their teeth, as far as industrial archaeology is concerned, on Kenneth Hudson’s Introduction to Industrial Archaeology, a standard work first published some 15 years ago.

Mr. Hudson will be our lecturer on March 6; his subject is the Archaeology of the Second Industrial Revolution. Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Adult Studies in Bath, Mr. Hudson is a first-class speaker who makes his subject really come alive. We hope he will have the usual large and interested HADAS audience.

Looking further ahead, the last two dates of the winter session are:

Tues. Apr. 3. The Etruscans Geoffrey Toms, MA.

Tues. May 15. Annual General Meeting

(please note: this is on the second, not the first, Tuesday of the month).

Meetings are at Central Library, The Burroughs, NW4. Coffee 8 pm, lecture or business, 8.30 pm.
A NEW DIPLOMA

The Council for British Archaeology has recently launched a Diploma in Archaeological Practice which can be taken either by full or part-time students. This, it hopes, will come to be a recognised qualification for field archaeologists in Britain.

The academic level of the new diploma is said to be a little below first degree level. It is hoped that it will provide a qualification recognisable by employers; and, for mature students with experience of archaeology, a proof that “their knowledge is on a scientific basis and of a high standard.”

The diploma consists of 7 certificates, each of which is separately awarded. A pass in 4 certificates (which must include Nos. II, III, VI and one other) will give you a Diploma at Ordinary level. For a Diploma at Higher level you must pass all 7 certificates. Exemptions in some certificates may be made, at the CBA Academic Board’s discretion, for students already possessing qualifications such as a first or higher degree in archaeology or possibly another diploma. The 7 certificates are:

I. Introduction: the history and nature of archaeology and outlines of British archaeology in its European setting

II. Field archaeology (excluding excavation)

III. Excavation techniques

IV. Artefacts and the history of technology

V. Archaeological evidence

VI. Post-excavation handling of material and the production of reports

VII. Present structure and administration of archaeology in Britain

The CBA will act only as the examining body. It hopes that extra-mural departments and institutes of higher education will take the idea up and start offering courses for students who want to take the diploma.
CALLING ALL SITE WATCHERS

More helpers are urgently needed for the important work of site watching – and it is something you can volunteer to do even if your archaeological experience is limited.
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HADAS tries to keep an eye on building operations on every large development site in the London Borough of Barnet where a planning application has been granted – and also on any site, large or small, in certain key archaeological areas.

One tricky problem is timing. Between the time the first application for planning permission is published (we get a list of applications from LBB each week) and the actual moment, after approval has been given, that the bull-dozers or mechanical grabs move in months or even years may elapse. Once the builders start work, however, there is often only a day or two during which any useful archaeological observations can be made. Trenches for drainage or foundations may be dug one day and filled in the next, particularly in fine weather, and it is only from the sections or the up throw of those trenches that useful information is likely to come.

For that reason we need a large number of HADAS members who will keep a regular eye – perhaps over a period of months – on a site in their own immediate neighbourhood which is known to be the subject of a planning application. The moment they see any sign of activity (either building or demolition) On the site, all they have to do is to ring our site-watching organiser, Myfanwy Stewart, and tell her that something is cooking.

From that point onwards she will take over, and will arrange for someone experienced to visit the site quickly and report on the sections.

Over a hundred members of HADAS indicated, on their membership application forms, that they would be interested in doing field work; and there must be many others who, for one reason or another, never even filled in a form. If all these members would be prepared to offer Mrs. Stewart their services, we would be able to blanket the Borough with observers, and could feel that HADAS was performing properly what is one of its more important functions. Help will be valuable everywhere in the Borough; but particularly so in East, New and Chipping Barnet; in Edgware and Totteridge; and in Friern Barnet and Mill Hill.

If you feel you can help, would you ring Mrs. Stewart or drop her a line and let her know? Then when an application comes up near your home she will tell you about it and ask for your help.
OBITUARY

We are very sad to have to report that a HADAS member of long standing, Nancy Sato, died suddenly on February 21. Many members will remember Miss Sato as an enthusiastic supporter of outings and a regular attender at HADAS lectures. She also took part for 6 or 7 years in the course on Roman archaeology run in Hendon by the WEA.

Miss Sato was partly Japanese, although she had always lived in England. A physiotherapist by profession, she had a serious illness last year, but was hopeful that she had made a good recovery; as one of her friends put it, “she had the courage of a lion,” and she insisted on returning to work. She also planned to join our Welsh weekend next September. We shall greatly miss her quiet, gentle, cheerful presence at HADAS events.
BAPTISTS IN BRENT STREET

By F. M. Gravatt.

The earliest date given for the Baptist Chapel in Brent Street, Hendon, is 1832. This is in Dr. Whitley’s’ “Baptists of London,” where the entry reads:

Hendon Church formed 1832. Jonathan Gundry last mentioned 1843.
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A later entry adds the following information:

Chapel re-opened by the Shouldham Street Baptists, 1845. George Warne, 1847-57. When the Chapel was once more c1osed and the minister George Warne went to the Chapel at Sarratt.

Obviously, for Hendon Baptists to have their own chapel and minister in 1832, they must have been meeting together for some time prior to this in order to have acquired sufficient resources.

The Tithe Map of 1841 numbers plot 12O4 as The Chapel. There seems to have been a paddock and probably a cottage for the Minister, Jonathan Gundry. The chapel itself was constructed of wood and was situated in Brent Street, at the rear of what is now Holbrooks fish shop, opposite the Bell. The adjoining plot was occupied by a grocer, John Smart, from 1833: cottage, forecourt, paddock and yard. On the other side to the south was Heriot House, where Dr. Holgate lived. It was built in the 18th c, and its gardens extended to where Christ Church (built 1881) now stands.

By 1848 John Smart owned the grocery business himself, had married and had five children, Emma, John, William, Edwin and Alfred. Sadly, the three eldest died in the early 185Os, probably in an epidemic.

In 1849 John Smart added a Post Office to his enterprises, and this would have led to the erection of new premises in the forecourt of the plot. The original cottage where the business began and where all his children were born was retained as a warehouse. When the Baptist Chapel was forced to close through declining numbers, he also took this over, using it to store goods and to serve as the Post Office sorting office. Ben Walker, one time owner of much Hendon property, recalled that blocks of salt were stored in the pulpit.

The elder remaining son, Edwin Smart, opened the ironmongery in Brent Street in 1863, and later a coal business and estate agents at West Hendon. The younger son, Alfred, came into the grocery business and the use of the old chapel. John Smart died in 1897. The business and its branches at Finchley and other centres continued to flourish and by this time a new Baptist church had been formed (1873) and in 1886, had a large church in Finchley Lane.

Alfred Smart collapsed and died suddenly in Brent Street in 1913, and for a while his wife ~ Mary, carried oh the business. Eventually in 1919 it was sold to Thomas Hawes. It was his son, Timothy – a schoolboy when the family came to Brent Street – who supplied the only description of the old chapel.

“Attached to the rear of the grocer’s shop was an ancient wooden building with small dark rooms and a shaky staircase which gave access to a large room which was the GPO sorting office. This building, which was covered with ivy on the outside, the wood of this being over a foot in diameter at the base, became unsafe in the 192Os and had to be demolished. On stripping the structure the formation of the old beams and rafters showed that it had been a chapel or church and this was agreed by all taking part in the demolition. In a small loft at the top of the building a large quantity of heavy ledgers were stored, with boxes of tallow dips and lamp glasses. The weight of these contributed to the building becoming unsafe.”
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Timothy Hawes also remembered the old coach house at the rear, which actually housed an old coach. So disappeared many records of local Baptist history.

These notes on Baptists in Hendon were written by HADAS member Mrs. Frances Gravatt as part of George Ingram’s survey of the history of non-conformist churches in the Borough of Barnet.

For several years now George has been collecting everything he can lay hands on about the history of the churches of the Borough, apart from C. of E. He is on the look out for booklets produced by churches themselves; notes such as those made by Mrs. Gravatt, photographs and so on. He badly needs, however, some more help with this long-term project – particularly volunteers who would be prepared either to take photographs of churches (interiors as well as exteriors) as they are now or who would go along and talk to the minister or secretary of their local church and find out what they can about its history. All too often nowadays local churches close or amalgamate without such a record having been made, and sometimes even the building is demolished before it has been properly recorded.

If you would be prepared to help George, please give him a ring. He will be delighted to hear from you.
THE NEOLITHIC IN BRITTANY

ENID HILL reports on the last HADAS lecture.

We were lucky on February 6 to have such an expert as Dr. Barbara Bender to talk to us. She began by describing Brittany c. 10,0QO BC, at the end of the Ice Age. She showed how hunter gatherers of the Mesolithic period found there a fertile coastal plain with many sea inlets which, with the numerous rivers, made communication in small boats easy, and provided fish and shell fish, as proved by shell middens which date back to 10,0QO BC.

Fertile coastlands meant good vegetation, and geometric microliths found in the area were probably used for cutting and grating food. Flint was rare, but in the central upland of Brittany there is good hard stone; dolerite A was used for tools. At Seledin a vast axe factory has been found, dating from 3000 BC or before, and though axes of very early date have not been found, it seems that early man would have used this site for his tools.

Dr. Bender therefore concluded that life was fairly settled for Mesolithic man in sites on the coast with only a few temporary settlements on the uplands. Possibly a few people were leaders; in a male burial at Teviec, Morbihan, there was an enclosure of stone slabs, with a pile of stag antlers, suggesting importance. Unfortunately, at about 6000 BC the rise in the sea level which created the English Channel and the Gulf of Morbihan drowned many of the coastal sites of the Mesolithic period.

However, by the time the first farmers reached Brittany, probably from southern France where the Chassey culture had developed, the local people had domesticated cattle and were probably moving towards farming themselves. The evidence for the origin of the new colonisers is slight, but the plain Breton pots are similar to early Chassey ones.
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It is also not known why so many megalithic tombs were built from 3800 BC onwards. There were no big megalithic graves in southern France, but they might have been an indigenous development or copied from Iberia. Dr. Bender showed slides of several of the megalithic tombs. There are a great number in southern Brittany and a few in north and central Brittany. Owing to the acid nature of the soil few bones survive. There are a variety of megalithic graves, the early ones being passage graves, while later ones had the passage and a chamber at the far end.

At the end of the period gallery graves were very large and could take up to 200 bodies. Barnenez in the north is a vast mound of stones covering about 12 passage graves of different age, while Gav’rinis in the south – an island site in the Gulf of Morbihan dated to 3000-2500 BC – has a long passage with a square chamber at the end. This tomb is famous for its art. Of the 29 orthostats, 23 are decorated with abstract designs of spirals, half-circles and axes, all chipped in relief. This grave must surely have been that of a ruler who organised his tribe in ritual as we1l as work, such as making axas and tools and ritual pottery.

Towards the end of the Neolithic in Brittany the creation of the Carnac a1ignments necessitated great organisation. Here there are thousands of menhirs in 3 alignments, each having 11, 10 and 13 lines of stones, about 1/2 mile in length and ending at the west end in a square or circle of standing stones presumably for ceremonial purposes. Yet not long after there was a breakdown in society, and there seems to have been a shift of population to the interior.

Dr. Bender’s book, Farming in Prehistory, is in the HADAS Bookbox, and may be borrowed on application to our Hon. Librarian, George Ingram.
IDEAS FOR A SUMMER BREAK

The range of summer courses linked with archaeology increases every year. You can find everything from a weekend to a fortnight – at commensurate prices. Here ara a few, taken at random from the brochured:

April 12-25. Archaeology of S.E. Sicily. Dr. David Trump. A course based on Syracuse, Agrigento and Catania. Fee of £348 includes demi-pension accommodation, air fares, local travel and normal holiday insurance.

Apri1 18-22. How to write Local History. David Dymond at Flatford Mill Field Centre, East Bergholt, Colchester. Fee £56.

June l-3. Field Archaeology. Dr. David Trump, at Madingley Hall, Cambridge. Fee £20.

June 30-July 28. Four weeks of courses designed for both beginners and experienced students. They cover digging techniques (on a dig), surveying, archaeological photography, recording, biological data sampling and recognition of archaeological material. Based on Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. Fee £60 weekly.

J.uly 4-18. Two weeks at Kindrogan Field Centre, Blairgowrie, Perthshirc (bookings are taken for single weeks) on an Introduction to Excavation. Local Iron Age site. Suitable for beginners or those with some experience. Tutor L Thomas, fee £58 a week.

August 8-15. The Making of the Lakeland Landscape. Course, which includes a good deal of walking, is based at Brathay Field Studies Centre, Ambleside. Fee £65.

Any member who would like further particulars of any of these courses can get them from the Hon. Secretary.

Newsletter

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TREASURE HUNTING – A MAJOR THREAT TO ARCHAEOLOGY

It is good news that the Council for British Archaeology has finally come out with a statement -unanimously passed by the Council sitting in general meeting on January 12 – condemning the growing practice of treasure hunting and the use of metal detectors. The statement says:

In the view of the Council for British Archaeology, treasure hunting constitutes a major threat to the country’s archaeological heritage, and is thus contrary to the national interest.

The concept of treasure hunting is totally at variance with the – objectives and practices of archaeology in studying and safe-guarding our tangible past for the public good of present and future generations.

The Council recognises that many users of metal detectors are motivated by a genuine interest in the past and its remains and that they would not knowingly damage those remains. Such people are we1come to join the active membership of British archaeology but they must accept the methods and disciplines of archaeology.

CBA will publicise this view as widely as it can. No doubt its next step will be to meet other interested bodies – for instance the Museums Association and Rescue – to discuss further concerted action.

This kind of authoritative lead has long been highly desirable and greatly desired both by individual archaeologists and by county and local societies. For years archaeologists have known that treasure hunting was wrong because it destroyed valuable evidence, but they have been uncertain about the best way to combat it. Some people believed that treasure hunting should not be condoned in any way; others felt that, as it appeared to have come to stay and there appeared no legal redress for it, we must try to guide its practitioners into the right paths. With no lead at the top it was difficult to know whether to follow the advice of hawks or doves. CBA has now come down from the fence and openly declared itself a hawk. We believe that archaeologists should close ranks behind the Council and present a united front, by refusing to condone treasure hunting – and by taking all other possible measures, both at national and local level, to curtail or prevent it.
SUMMING UP WEST HEATH 1978

By Daphne Lorimer.

Weather, to a large extent controlled the progress of excavations at West Heath in 1978. A poor spring and early summer delayed the completion of trenches which had been left unfinished from 1977. It was gratifying, however, to find that protective backfilling had proved highly effective and the trenches had survived last winter undamaged. Seven new trenches, specifically opened for the training dig, will be completed in 1979. Meantime they have been protected as last year’s were.
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From August onwards fine conditions enabled digging to continue until the beginning of December, the area opened being the richest part of the site to date. The recording of the number of struck flakes, and tools is not yet complete, but will be in the order of 10,000-11,000 – more than double the number retrieved in the first year of excavation.

There was a definite increase in the number of geometric microliths, and the first axe-sharpening flake and subsequently the first core axe were recovered from the site. In addition, burnt stones and charcoal were retrieved and post holes excavated and cast. A number of postholes contained significant quantities of charcoal.

The conservation of the hearth during the winter proved very satisfactory and there was little shrinkage. Some shifting, however, did take place when the hearth was turned onto its base; prior battening of this surface would have been advisable. Samples were taken for the magnetic survey and for TL dating and Cl4 dating. The results have not yet been received for either method.

Then conventional excavation of the hearth was undertaken and all the spoil was passed first through the sieve and then through a soil flotation unit kindly lent by the Extra-mural Department of London University. A large sample of charcoal was obtained and a quantity of small carbonised globules discovered (average diameter 1-2 mm.) which are the object at the moment of considerable curiosity, speculation and research.

A second successful training dig was held last, June and over the season 101 HADAS members took part in the dig. Local interest appeared undiminished, both in the press and from passers by. A number of school parties visited the site and the BBC Schools Department recorded a programme at West Heath with the Director, Desmond Collins. An exhibition of West Heath material was mounted at Swiss Cottage Library during May, and talks on the dig, have been given to other local societies, including the London Natural History Society.

It is hoped that an interim report on the first three years of the West Heath excavation will be published towards the end of 1979. Meantime a considerable amount of help is needed in treating and counting the finds. Processing sessions take place every Wednesday at Avenue House, East End Road, F1nchley, from lO am-5 pm (please ring Daphne Lorimer if you would like to come to these)” There will also be processing weekends on Feb 3/4 and March 10/11, at the Teahouse, Northway, NWll, from 10 am-5 pm each day. All members will be welcome at these and, as help is urgently needed on various projects for the report, we hope to see as many people as possible at the first one on Feb. 3.
HADAS MINIMART

Another important date for your diary is Sat. March 3, 19791 l0 am- 12 noon, Henry Burden Hall, Egerton Gardens, NW4: the HADAS Minimart. Have you done your spring cleaning yet? Even if you haven’t, please remember the Minimart, our main fund-raising effort of the year. All objects in good condition will be welcome, and contributions can be-brought to the February lecture or the February Teahouse processing weekend. Collection can be arranged if required – please ring Christine Arnott or Dorothy Newbury.

We propose to have a notice board at the Minimart on which people can display details of large goods which they have for sale or second-hand goods which they would like to buy (we already know, for instance, of a hopeful grandmother who is in the market for pushing, riding and rocking toys). If you have anything you want to advertise in that way, either as a buyer or a seller: please let Christine Arnott know.
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THE FEBRUARY LECTURE

…will be on Tuesday, Feb. 6 at Central Library, The Burroughs, NW4. Coffee 8 pm, lecture 8.3O.

Several members will know our lecturer, Dr. Barbara Bender, PhD, through having taken part in her archaeological trips to Brittany. Though she trained in archaeology, Dr. Bender is at present a lecturer in the Anthropology Department of University College, London. Her PhD thesis was on the Neolithic in Normandy; she has written a book on Farming in Prehistory.

The lecture programme for the rest of the season is:

Tues. Mar. 6 Archaeology of the second Industrial Revolution – Kenneth Hudson MA

Tues. Apr. 3 The Etruscan& Geoffrey Toms M.
TRIP TO NORTH WALES, Sept. 19-23, 1979

We apologise for omitting from the January Newsletter the promised application form and further details of this trip. Christmas caught up with some of us. An application form is now enclose. Please complete it if you to join the trip and send it as soon as possible to Dorothy Newbury.
TONY ROOK’S DRAINS

A report by HELEN GORDON on the first lecture of 1979.

Arctic weather on January 2 made a mockery of any need to exclude non~members from this HADAS lecture. Nonetheless, A good audience braved the snow to hear Tony Rook’s amusing account of the architectural development of Roman baths, which here must be not only abbreviated, but bowdlerised.

Early Roman baths were heated by braziers, the building being kept small, with little window, to conserve the heat. The introduction of under floor heating of the hypocaust led to the problem of chimneys. Early hypocausts vented into the room, like pottery ovens, but by the last c. BC narrow chimneys were set into the walls (as at Herculaneum). Later, special tiles, ‘tegulae mammatae’ were introduced; these had spacers on the back such that when nailed to the wall smoke could pass between tile and wall. Pompeii baths (79 AD!) show this cavity connected with the hypocaust and it must have acted as a flue.

However, while nails could readily be driven into walls of tufa, hard stone masonry presented a problem which was solved by the introduction of tubuli, or box tiles – a great improvement in heat efficiency besides being easier to fix. The resultant large radiating surface permitted such all increase in size of building that the central room of the public baths became an immense sunbathing lounge with vast unglazed windows facing south west to catch the afternoon sun.

The invention of concrete at this time enabled the architecture of these Vast new baths to develop in a revolutionary way, exploiting the potential of vaulting.

Tony Rook’s particular concern is the little bath at Lockleys, on which he spent 12 years excavating with the Welwyn Archaeological Society only to have it overrun by the Al motorway. But as a result of his campaign for its preservation, it is now enclosed in a steel vault under the motorway (open to the public on Sunday afternoons).
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FUTURE EVENTS

Here are details of a mixed bag of courses and conferences which will take place later this spring:

On Sat. March 31, 11 am-5.30 pm, at the Museum of London, the 16th Annual Conference of London Archaeologists. The morning will be on excavations in the whole London area, with the afternoon devoting itself particularly to aspects of the Medieval City of London. Tickets (LAMAS members £1, non-members £2) may be obtained from Alison Bristow, LAMAS, c/o Everett & Son, 13 Christopher St, EC2. You are advised to apply early as this event often se1ls out.

On Thursdays, starting April 19, a course of 10 meetings under the title of Bible Lands and the Origins of Civilisation, at Burnt Oak Library, Orange Hill Road, from 10 am-12 noon. How well does the evidence of archaeology fit the Bible narrative? The course hopes to provide the answer. The lecturer is Roberta Harris and the course costs £3.70.

At the Museum of London, Apr. 20-22, a weekend conference on Waterfront Archaeology in North European Towns, sponsored by CBA, Museum of London and Nautical Archaeology Trust. This will be an international conference with many European speakers; the London and Kings Lynn waterfronts both feature on the programme. In addition to dealing with specific ports and waterfronts (like the Viking port on the River Liffey in Dublin) there will be more general papers on subjects like boats and barges and the place of dendrochronology in waterfront studies. For further details, send an sae to Mrs. J Coleman, CBA, 112 Kennington Rd, SE1l 6RE.
AIDS TO RESEARCH

With this article Borough Archivist and HADAS member JOANNA CORDEN completes her survey of the archive sources available to local historians of the London Borough of Barnet.

IV – External Sources, 4: Hertfordshire County Record Office, Pt. B

Maps are an important source of historical and archaeological information, whatever may have been the purpose for which they were originally created.

The most commonly known series is that of the Ordnance Survey: the Herts Record Office has extensive holdings of these from first editions of 1 in. and 6 in. maps onwards, including most of the large scale plans. They also have photocopies of the original surveyors’ sketches, at a scale of 2 in. to the mile, in preparation for the first edition 1 in. maps. These are a very valuable source of information for the development from the mid-19th c. to the present day, of the various areas previously in Hertfordshire and now in LBB, both because of their accuracy, and consistency and because of their frequent revisions.

Tithe Maps

These arc the next important type of map. An original and two copies were prepared of each tithe commutation award and map for each parish under the provisions of the Tithe Act of 1836 (6 & 7 Wm IV c.71). The original was deposited with the Tithe Commissioners, and these originals are now all held by the PRO; one copy went to the Diocesan Registrar and one to the incumbent and churchwardens of the parish. It is one or both
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of the copies which are held by a Record Office; where neither copy is found, it usually indicates that the parish copy has not been deposited and the diocesan copy is missing – not that no award, and therefore no map, was ever made.

Herts Record Office holds the Tithe map for Totteridge only; the map itself is not dated, though the award is dated 1840. A map and award were certainly made for Chipping and East Barnet, since copies of the original (now with the PRO) are held in the Local History Library, LBB.

Information provided by tithe maps consists of the name of the owner, occupier, parcel number as shown on the map, name and description of the property, the state of cultivation, the acreage of the parcel and the amount of tithe rent charge apportioned to each parcel.

Enclosure Maps

These are the next important surviving series of maps created under local or private acts. Again three copies were made; one enrolled with the Clerk of the Peace, one deposited with the parish records in the custody of the incumbent and churchwardens, and one with the principal land owner or lord of the manor.

There is only one enclosure award and map for the Herts section of the borough, that of Chipping and East Barnet, which formed part of the Records of the Clerk of the Peace. There are 5 maps bound with the award, on parchment; they show houses, with larger properties named.

It is useful to remember that an enclosure award sets out a new pattern of land holding and details new arrangements. It is the a situation which the map illustrates, not the pattern as it existed prior to the enclosure of open or common fields and land.

Earlier Estate and Other Maps

There are also earlier estate maps which can be useful; one exists for East Barnet in the late 18th c, giving names of fields and of adjoining landowners, and showing the churchyard. There is also one for Totteridge for approximately the same period, though here no title, surveyor or date are listed. It shows the layouts of houses and gardens, and – an interesting feature – a canal. There are several estate maps for North Mimms, 3 of them relating to Gubbins (or Gobions) 1815-41, and one of 1810 for Laurel Cottage at Dancers Hill, South, Mimms.

Maps showing properties in detail are also attached to sale catalogues and deeds, but these are not usually listed separately.

There is a miscellaneous collection of plans at the Record Office; these include such items as a plan of property in High Street, Chipping Barnet, 1783; a plan of Barnet Cattle Market and auction offices, New Road, 1902; Chipping Barnet National School plans, 1846-71; New Barnet Lyonsdown Trinity C. of E. School plans, 1869; printed plan of freehold building estate; showing plots fronting Salisbury, Strafford, Alston and Stapylton Roads, 1881; and a mansion and land of the National Freehold Land Society, 1852.

Other Records

Other than maps and Quarter Session Records (dealt with last month), there are of course a large selection of other records depositad at Herts Record Office.

The manorial rolls of Chipping and East Barnet are in the custody of the Barnet Local History Society at Barnet Museum, but other manorial papers are at Hertford e.g. the stewards records 1887-1937; and the Chandos Charity papers regarding tolls and the mineral well on the common, 1734-1808.
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There are various business records; the Manor Road estate, for instance, including plans and sale particulars for 1867-1903; papers concerning the trust property in Wood Street ca11cd ‘The Whalebones,’ 1828-1902; , papers and correspondence concerning a “Barnet Brewery” in Wood Street, 1868-91; and draft leases, correspondence and other papers of Barnet College in Wood Street, 1890-1901.

The Pubs of Barnet

Licensing records are to be found with the Quarter Sessions papers, but there is also a considerable amount of material relating to the various inns in Barnet; Particularly in the form of deeds, ranging from one for the Mermaid Inn for 1601 to the Crown and Anchor (formerly the Boars Head) for 1785-1897. Among the inns included are the Antelope (now the Red Lion) 1690-1720; the Railway Tavern, 1857-74; the Rose and Crown and Mitre, 1667; the Rising Sun (formerly the Roebuck) 1667; the Edinburgh Castle; Mitre, Three Elms and Cat Inn 1790-1885; and the Black Prince Beerhouse, East Barnet, the Park Road Beerhouse; the Old Red Lion, the Rising Sun, Barnet Common and the Railway Tavern, Hadley Common, 1805-60.

There were many charities in Barnet whose records have survived. They include the Chandos Charity (mentioned above) papers 1734-1868, with the account book for maintenance of Barnet Poor, 1795-1843., correspondence concerning appointment of trustees, 1882-99, and a copy of Chandos Enclosure Act, 1729; Elizabeth Al1ens trust scheme for regulating the school, 1873-1930; Garretts Almshouse charity correspondence, memoranda, papers concerning administration, trustees and history of the charity, 1890-1949;. Palmers Almshouses Charity correspondence and accounts , 1883-93; Valentine Poo1es charity -correspondence and papers 1893-1935; Barnet Poor Allotment Charity correspondence, 1889-1925; and statement of accounts for all Barnet charities printed together 1931.

There are also a great many papers and, in some cases, plans relating to various Barnet schools, such as Queen Elizabeths Grammar school, Chipping Barnet, East Barnet National Schools and New Barnet Lyonsdown Trinity C. of E. School; also papers of families and estates; such as the Brand family, 1795; Littlegrove, 1697-1821; Bohun Lodge; 1827-1916; and Barnet Brewery, Wood St, 1729-1892; and personal records, such as the diary of Augustus Henry Bosanquet of Osidge, East Barnet, 1857-76. This is only a small samp1e of the material held at the Herts Record Office; it is worth remembering that additional material is constantly deposited, and it is always worth checking to see if anything is available on a particular subject or query.
HISTORY IN CRICKLEWOOD

Do any HADAS member’s recall Cricklewood in earlier days, or has anyone inherited photos, press cuttings, posters or maps which might throw light on the district? If anyone has, they may be interested in helping with an enquiry which came to the Society recently. It was from a firm with offices in Cricklewood which is preparing a short history of the area. They are particularly interested in the former Westcroft Farm area of Cricklewood Lane, but would be glad of information about the whole district. They intend to produce a small publication. Members interested in this enquiry can get further details from Brigid Grafton Green.
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THE POSTMAN’S TALE

The September Newsletter carried a transcript of a tape-recording called The Carpenter’s Ta1e. HADAS member PERCY REBOUL has now provided another transcript in the same series. From the outset the postman himself is speaking.

I was born at Finchley in 1903 and went to various local schools, including St. Mary’s at Finchley. I joined the Post Office in November, 1930, and left in 1968 with 38 years service including war service. In those days most recruitment was through ex-servicemen and many postmen had served in the 1914-18 war. I applied for a job while I was in the Army and was put on a register. Two and a half years later a vacancy occurred. Coming from the services, the 2nd Class Certificate of Education was sufficient, and I was posted to High Street, Barnet.

I remember my first day well. I was in civilian clothes and had to be at Barnet at 6 am, where I was given an arm band. It was pouring with rain and I was given a large PO sack to drape round my shoulders. Looking a bit of a freak, I was assigned to a senior postman called George Abbott, who told me what to do. He was friendly, but discipline was very strict in those days.

I hadn’t a clue about the job. I had to learn about sorting. Some mail came by motor and some by rail from Barnet. The mail was brought into the Postmens’ Office, tipped out onto a table and the letters spread around. It was all for the Barnet area and had to be sorted into ‘walks’ – we don’t call it a round. You had to learn which roads were in each walk, and the mail was sorted into streets and numbers in the proper order.

A11 deliveries were on foot but Barnet had two sorts of postmen – the town men and the rural men who delivered in areas like South Mimms. The latter had heavy bicycles which I believe are still used today. There were 3 deliveries. One set out at 7 am, another at 11 am and the third at 3 pm. Barnet Post Office was in Outer London, adjacent was Whetstone, in the inner London area, where they did 4 deliveries a day. Conditions were quite different in the two areas.

Bright as a Button

We were inspected every morning before work. Buttons had to be bright and shoes properly cleaned. A black tie and white shirt had to be worn. This was part of the discipline and there was no resentment.

My uniform came after one month: navy blue coarse serge trousers, waistcoat and jacket, and an odd shaped hat called a ‘shako’ with a peak front and rear. The peak at the back was to stop water running down your neck. You bought your own shoes and wore your own shirt and tie. An interesting accessory was an oil-lamp which fitted into your buttonhole. It was convenient in winter because you could warm your hands on it – you can’t wear gloves when you’re delivering mail.

The pay was £2. 7s. a week. This was quite good money for those-days and conditions were good, as it was an established civil service job. However, after 6 months the economic crisis came and everyone took a cut in wages – mine went down to £2. 3s. 6d. We protested, marched down Whitehall and got mixed up with militant communists. You must remember that we were civil servants under the Treasury and were not supposed to protest against the state or to strike. All we could do was feebly demonstrate and write to our MP – but nothing could be done.

We worked a 48-hour week, split duty, from 6 am – ll am and- 3 – 6 pm. There was a fortnight’s holiday, regulated by seniority. You were told when you could take your holiday. My first leave was the first two weeks in March. It snowed all the time. Other benefits were a non-contributory pension scheme and generous sick leave. Incremental increases had to be qualified for. I lost my first increment because I was late 16 times during the year (a total time in 12 months of 1 3/4 hours) when the maximum allowed was 15 times: – I lost 3s 6d a week for 3 months -and that was a lot of money. Again, it was part, of the discipline.
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Move to Whetstone

After 4 1/2 years I was fortunate to get a transfer to Whetstone – the Sorting Office at Oakleigh Road. Being Inner London, we got an extra 7s a week and I worked ‘on the motors’, which was another 7s. a week. You were engaged, among other things, on Primary Sorting, which means, briefly, sorting the mail collected from the Barnet area into towns and regions, all over the country. I went to a special training school in Islington for one month to learn this job.

I used to pick up the Barnet mails from Market Place, East Finchley at 5.30 am in the motor and drop them of at North Finchley and Whetstone so my work embraced driving, vehicle maintenance, delivery, sorting, franking and collection from the post boxes. All local letters had to be delivered by 8 am and if they were not, people would ring up to check where their letter was. At this time – around 1935 – Lord Hewitt (who was, I believe, Lord Chief Justice) lived in Totteridge. We had to guarantee that he got his mail by 7.30 am and a special van delivery was made to his house opposite Totteridge Church.

If you made a mistake in sorting – for example, put a Birmingham letter into a Brighton sorting box or if a postman delivered a letter for No. 23 to No. 25 and someone complained, you were officially handed a PIB form. This required you at once to furnish an explanation. Often there was no answer except that you had made a mistake – and for that there was no excuse. The form was sent to Head Office and you were reprimanded. It was even possible to have your increment stopped for up to 12 months.

Trade Union Affairs – As They Once Were

As civil servants we were limited in trade union matters. The Annual Conference was held all over the country; if you attended, you had to pay your own upkeep – the Union paid only the rail fare. On one occasion the Barnet representative and I pooled our financial resources: by sharing a room and even a bed we kept expenses down and both managed to attend the conference in the Isle of Man. On the lighter side, I well remember a resolution at Conference on the quality of the dye used in postmen’s uniforms. It used to come through if you got wet. Moving the resolution, one member recounted his fear of meeting with an accident and how ashamed he would be to be found with blue streaks on his underwear. An outstanding memory is of Walter Citrine addressing the Conference. He was so serene and confident in his running of Trade Union affairs.

Just before the last war the area was growing considerably, specially on the south side of Totteridge Lane and Totteridge Green. This meant that men had more work and could not do it in the time allowed. In such cases, the Union Secretary applied for a ‘test.’ An inspector would come and walk round with the postman to see how long it took.

Perhaps I shouldn’t tell this story – but I will. We would be tipped off that someone was coming to do a test, and we had a system of buying a lot of postcards and addressing them to all the outlandish places to make sure that the postman went there during the test. We would write anything on the card – Buy Typhoo Tea, or something like that – so that the bloke being tested did the maximum journey.

(Editor’s note: I would be fascinated to hear from anyone who may still have such a card. A real collector’s item, as yet not mentioned in the catalogues!)

Newsletter

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MORE BLUE PLAQUES FOR BARNET

You never know – or so they say – when your chickens will come home to roost. A HADAS chicken (if you don’t mind giving that youthful title to a bird that is five years old) has just arrived back in the nest, to our considerable pleasure. It is a bird whose ownership we share with three other local societies, a piece of co-operation which makes it even more welcome.

The chicken is not of the feathered variety. It is, in fact, ten new Blue Plaques, which are to go up in the fairly near future in various parts of the Borough of Barnet. Blue Plaques commemorating the famous have long been a feature of the inner London area, where first the LCC and then the GLC have been active in putting them up. Because of work done by the former Hendon Urban District Council in the 1950s, our own Borough of Barnet also rejoices in a number of plaques. They do not commemorate people only; some recall events or places, such as the site on which the Parish Cage stood, or where the Court Leet or Court Baron were held.

It was in 1973 that HADAS first suggested to the Finchley Society, the Mill Hill and Hendon Historical Society and the Barnet and District Local History Society that we should all get together and see if the London Borough of Barnet would be prepared to take up where HUDC had left off some 12 years before. Our four societies were all in agreement, and so was the Borough. In October 1973 the General Purposes Committee agreed to start putting up plaques again.

The timing was unfortunate, although we could not have foreseen that within months there came the great freeze on spending, and projects of this nature had to go. Recently, however, the financial climate has grown warmer. Particularly, the Borough has begun to administer a bequest – the Edward Harvist Charity – which allows for moderate spending on this kind of project. HADAS therefore suggested last April to its three collaborators a fresh approach to LBB, and a month or so ago we heard that this had been successful. The appropriate Council Committee had approved, “as a project to be met from the income of the Charity in the financial year 1978/9, the fixing of a maximum of 10 Commemorative plaques throughout the Borough to commemorate various events, personalities, etc, at a cost of up to £700.”

Our four Societies have now worked out together and forwarded to the Borough suggestions for plaques which might be installed. Our suggestions are in two parts – a “Top Ten” list of those we would most like to see commemorated; and our reserves – or 2nd XI – in case some of the Top Ten cannot be used. The four societies were anxious that the majority of sites in the Top Ten should be in areas where there are few or no plaques now – that is, principally outside the old Borough of Hendon.

For a full list of those already existing in LBB see The Blue Plaques of Barnet, published by HADAS in 1973 (revised edit. 1977, 45p).

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Members may be interested to have details of both the Top Ten and the 2nd XI (it would be possible to field a pretty good 3rd XI, too), so here they are:
TOP TEN 2ND XI The Physic Well, Barnet. Mark Lemon, first Editor of Punch, with associations with Long Lodge, Nether St, nr. West Samuel Pepys Finchley Station The Tudor Hall, Wood St, Celia Fiennes, diarist and writer, Barnet, built 1573 Highwood Ash, Highwood Hill Dame Henrietta Barnett (1851- G D R Cole (1890-1959) Socialist 1936),founder of Hampstead economist & writer, 74 Holders Garden Suburb, Heath End Hill Road, NW7 House, NW3 Anthony Salvin, (1799-1881) The Manor House,East End Rd: site architect, Elmhurst, East of a manor house since 13th c; End Rd, Finchley present building 1723 Sir Thomas Lipton, (1850-1931) Richard Cromwell, (d. 1712), son of founder of Lipton shops and Oliver, himself Lord Protector for owner of Shamrock yachts in 7 months. Belle Vue, East End Rd, America Cup. Osidge House, Finchley. Chase Side, Southgate. Thomas Collins (l735-183O), Arabella Stuart, possible pretender ornamental plasterer, Woodhouse to the throne of James 1, Church Hill N. Finchley House, Stuart Road, E. Barnet Marie Lloyd, (1870-1922), music Site of Priory of Knights of St. hall artist, Woodstock Avenue, John of Jerusalem, Friary Park, Golders Green Friern Barnet Thomas Tilling, (1825-93) pioneer Site of Pointers Hall, Totteridgge, motor buses, Guttershedge home of Harmsworth family (Lords Farm (now Park Rd, NW4) Northcliffe, Rothermere, et al) Sir Francis Pettit Smith, (1808-74) invented screw propeller also Guttershedge Farm (on same plaque as above) Joseph Grimaldi, clown, Fallow Will Hay, actor & comedian, The Corner, High Rd, N. Finchley White House, Gt. North Way Rev Benjamin Waugh, founder Elias Ashmole, antiquarian & founder of NSPCC, Christ Church United. of Ashmolean Museum, Belmont, Mt. Reformed Church, Friern Barnet Pleasant, Southgate David Garrick, (1717-79), actor manager, Hendon Hall Hotel

Members may have other suggestions for possible Blue Plaque contenders. If so, please send them to the Hon. Secretary, particularly if you can give fairly precise details of the address and, if the original building has been demolished, what stands there now.
NOVEMBER LECTURE

On Tuesday, Nov. 7 we are fortunate in having Professor John Evans, Director of the Institute of Archaeology of London University, coming to talk to us on, the First Cretans. This is a subject on which he is pre-eminent. His excavations of the early 196Os added greatly to archaeological understanding of the Neolithic period in the Aegean and early Greece – particularly his discovery of the camp level on bedrock at Knossos, with early, middle and late Neolithic strata above it, all underlying the Palace levels of Bronze Age Minoan Crete found earlier by his namesake Sir Arthur Evans.
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This will certainly be a lecture not to miss. As always; it will be at Central Library, The Burroughs, NW4, starting with coffee at 8 pm and the lecture at 8.30.
DIGGING AND FIELD WORK AHEAD

Nov 4/5 and Nov 11/12. Two West Heath processing weekends at the Teahouse, Northway, NW11. Details were in the last Newsletter, so this is just a reminder.

At the moment digging is, in far, more important than processing, with three trenches at West Heath still to be got down to natural before the season ends. For these first two weekends of November, therefore, we shall run a two-part exercise: there will be digging at West Heath in the mornings, 10 am-lunchtime, with Terry Keenan in charge; and, as well; processing all day at the Teahouse. Active diggers are invited – indeed, encouraged to divide their time between morning digging and afternoon processing. Not-so-active members will be welcome at the Teahouse from 10 am-on.

In addition, digging will continue on Wednesdays from 10 am-lunchtime until the weather breaks.

Sat. November 25. Surveying Practice. Barrie Martin will demonstrate the use of the new HADAS level at the West Heath site at 10.30 am. This will be a good opportunity for members to get to know and handle our new instrument, and we can discuss further plans for using it during the coming winter.

Sun. December 3. Desmond Collins has agreed to lead a field walk to look for other possible Mesolithic sites on Hampstead Heath. Assemble at the White Stone pond (near Jack Straws Castle} at 10 am.

Will members who intend to come either surveying or walking please let Daphne Lorimer know their intentions beforehand?

Wed. December 13. Christmas party at Grims Dyke, Harrow Weald. Arrangements have now been completed and a form is enclosed with this Newsletter for those members who have booked for the party.

LOOKING AHEAD still further, here is advance news of next years “1ong trip.” In 1978 we went north to Orkney. In 1979 – from Sept. 19-23 in we shall go west to Wales.

We have been fortunate in securing the use of the Snowdonia National Park Study Centre for HADAS’s sole accommodation. The Centre is manned by professional staff who will guide us and give evening talks on all periods of archaeology in the North Wales area. Further details and application forms will be enclosed with the January Newsletter.
OTHER EVENTS IN THE OFFING

The 13th Local History Conference, sponsored by the London & Middlesex Archaeological Society, will be held on Sat. Nov 18 at the Museum of London. Door’s open at 1.30, Conference begins at 2.30.

This year the main subject is the history of commercial and nursery gardening in the London area. Tickets, price £1, including tea, are obtainable from the Hon. Soc, Local History Cttee, 3 Cameron House, Highland Road, Bromley, Kent (please enclose s.a.e}.

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The London Natural History Society will hold a symposium at the Zoo on Sat. December 9 next, and HADAS has been invited to take part in the proceedings by contributing a brief talk with slides on the West Heath dig.

Daphne Lorimer and Joyce Roberts will represent us, Daphne talking about the dig itself, Joyce about its botanical implications. Members of HADAS are cordially invited to attend. Tickets may be obtained from A J Barrett of-21 Greenway, Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, price £2, including coffee and tea.

Wed. November 29 at 8.15 pm at Hendon Library, an LBB Library lecture, Journey to the Stone Age, in which John and Julie Batchelor will talk and show film on Indonesian New Guinea.
THE SPRING SITE 0N WEST HEATH AND ITS FLORA

When HADAS first planned to dig the Spring Site in 1977, the Society was asked to monitor the area after the dig finished; and to provide a report a year later, as a practical example of the regeneration of a dig site. Here is the report, by JOYCE ROBERTS MSc, PhD.

Lists of plants found on Hampstead Heath have been published over the years. There is one list by Henry T. Wharton, another in Barratt’s Annals of Hampstead, and a third by members of the Hampstead Heath Society (1913). From these a picture builds up of typical lowland and bog present over a much wider area than the wet marshy patch known by HADAS as the Bog or Spring Site today. After the first exploratory “hole” was dug in July 1976 it seemed worthwhile to find out what plants were now growing in this damp hollow.

1976 was a very dry year and there was no standing water, though the ground was squelchy in places. The chief plant was the Reed Grass (Glyceria maxima L) in the spongy peat. Where the ground was slightly drier, clumps of Soft Rush (Juncus effusus L) were found. Numerous tiny seedlings (not identifiable) were seen in small bare patches and birch seedlings derived from birch trees in the adjoining higher ground were common. Where the ground was drier outside the central hollow there were tussocks of Blue Moor-grass (Molinia caerulea Moench) and Yorkshire Fog (Holcus lanatus L); beyond this there were specimens of two heath grasses; Creeping Willow was noted; Woodrush was found in one place only. There was a bramble bush at one side and also Marsh Willowherb plants. It was clear that the more interesting bog plants such as marsh violet, bogbean, etc. no longer grew there.

In May 1977 the “big hole” was dug, leaving a pond with steep sides, a large spoil-heap of yellow sandy clay on one side and a gentle slope down to the water on the west – the runway – where the excavator had stood. Tho plants removed by the excavation were mainly the Reed Grass and Soft Rush growing in the central wetter part of the site, but large areas of the two species were undisturbed.

By July of that year the Yorkshire Fog had begun to colonise the edges of the spoil-heap, but other wise the sides of the pond, the runway and the spoil heap were bare.

By May 10, 1978, docks, Creeping Buttercup {Ranunculus repens L) and the Soft Rush were spreading across and down the runway. The spoil heap had in addition plants of Reed Grass, birch seedlings and various tiny unidentified seedlings. In a bank above the runway a robin was nesting.

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The Heath custodians now moved the chestnut paling fence much closer to the pond, so that any regeneration outside it will now not take place.

On Sept. 13, 1978, on a beautiful late summer day, the pond had lost its sharp edges and the vegetation had spread towards the water. Four fine dragon flies darted back and forth. In three places the Reed Grass had advanced into the pond; in a cleft in one of the baulks of wood floating in the water a seedling of Persicaria (Polygonum persicaria L) was growing. There were a great many Persicaria plants on the runway and near the margins of the water. In one place in the shallow water plants of the Bulbous Rush (Juncus bulbosus L) were growing. At one spot on the runway a poorly developed plant of the Lesser Spearwort (Ranunculus flammula L) had appeared. The spoil heap was now overgrown with Reed Grass, Yorkshire Fog, Creeping Buttercup and a few docks. It seems probable by next year all the bare soil will be covered and the pond will have silted up very considerably with the Reed Grass advancing still further.

It was always hoped that some of the plants recorded in the past might return, and a true regeneration of the bog take place. This does not appear to be happening, with the possible exception of the Lesser Spearwort. The draining of the bog in 1881 is supposed to have eradicated it; I suspect the one plant I have found was brought in by a bird, since it is not in general an uncommon plant – but maybe it is the result of the germination of a long dormant seed. The same may be true of the Bulbous Rush. Persicaria is often found at the margins of ponds and at the moment is growing on rough ground near Sandy Road (the unmade road which passes the lower West Heath site). One can only conclude that it does not seem likely, that the mechanical excavation of one part of the bog will lead to the re-appearance of interesting bog plants.
TUDOR PALACE

A report by EDGAR LEWY on the October lecture.

A distinct beginning-of-term feeling was discernible at Hendon Central Library on October 3 when Derek Gadd gave the inaugural lecture of the Society’s winter season on “The excavation of the Tudor brick royal palace at Bridewell.” Mr. Gadd had been site supervisor of the dig.

More than one hundred members and visitors enjoyed his outline history of the former Bridewell Palace, built by Henry VIII in the early 16th c. at the junction of the Fleet River and the Thames. Gardens and orchards had occupied the site, but Henry, a prolific builder, wanted a residence near the city, even though he already possessed of Sheen, Greenwich and Windsor Palaces. Today only part of the foundations remain of the elaborate brick structure he raised, shortly to be replaced by office buildings: a small panel of brickwork will be preserved as a memorial.

Mr. Gadd explained the techniques and thorough workmanship of the Tudor builders, and his generous pictorial references not only showed construction details as revealed by the excavators, but many views of Bridewell later in its history, when – abandoned by the King and his successors – it became successively a workhouse and then a squalid prison. The whole was demolished in 1865, leaving only part of the foundations to be excavated and recorded now.

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AIDS TO RESEARCH

JOANNA CORDEN’S next article in the series on archives for local historians.

IV. External Sources: Pt. 3: Greater London Record Office (Middx Recs)

This office is a fruitful source of information for Finchley, Hadley, Hendon, Edgware and Friern Barnet – that is, the areas within the former county of Middlesex.

Sessions records. Before the establishment of county councils in 1888, county government was in effect carried out by the Justices of the Peace, whom “the Tudors made one of their main instruments of government” with not only judicial but also considerable administrative functions. These included the overseeing of the poor law and vagrancy; gaols, asylums, houses of correction; fairs and markets; regulation of wages, prices and weights; upkeep of roads and bridges; licensing of non-conformist meeting houses, alehouses, playhouses; and levying of rates. It is therefore inevitable that references to areas within the present borough occur in these records.

THE MAIN TYPES OF RECORDS ARE:

the sessions order books (containing the formal orders of the court, reports from officers and committees and wages assessments);

sessions rolls and bundles (including, among other things, presentments of offenders, indictments, informants’ reports, bonds, lists of offences, petitions, religious certificates of various kinds, licences and pauper removal orders);

session minute books – recording the verdicts and orders of the court, and lists of registered meeting houses);

records of committees (such as those dealing with licensing, finance, asylums, police); and accounts (especially for the different rates levied by the justices for specific purposes, and later a general rate) including books or rolls, cash books, ledgers, bills and vouchers.

The Quarter Sessions were also used for the enrolment, registration and deposit of documents. These include the registration of oaths, of licences granted, of electors after 1832, of dissenters’ places of worship and the enrolment and deposit of deeds of bargain and sale, of enclosure and title’ commutation documents, of taxation records and plans of projected canals and turnpikes.

Poor Law Records. During the 19th c. various bodies were established, e.g. law guardians, highway boards and local boards of health – which reduced J.Ps’ powers. These, too, are an excellent source of information unobtainable by any other means.

This is particularly true of the poor law; with the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 the parish basis of poor relief ceased, direction for it passing to the poor law unions and elected boards of guardians. The most important records are the Guardians’ minute books and general ledgers, which are the basis of any local study of poor relief after l834. They contain much detail on the administration of the union workhouse, such as the erection and alteration of buildings, reports from officials, and much on general social conditions. The general ledgers or account books of the boards of guardians provide information on the financial history of poor law administration, as well as a multitude of other general matters.

Land Tax Records are a valuable source of information for various purposes. They exist for most of the 18th c. until 1832. Duplicates of the annual assessments for each parish were deposited with the Clerk of the Peace, hence their presence in local county record offices. The assessments and returns were usually presented in four columns: first, names of landowners; second, names of occupiers of land (though until 1780 little effort was made to distinguish between owners and tenant occupiers); third, the rateable value; and fourth, the amount annexed and paid. In some cases the name of the property is given, and a description – e.g. close; garden, cottage, etc. they arc a useful indication of size of estates, and give information on the structure of land ownership, if used in conjunction with other local records such as enclosure.

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Diocesan Records. The MRO is a diocesan record office, hence all the records applicable to the diocese can be found here, including the parish registers (though not necessarily the vestry minutes, overseers, surveyors of the highways: or churchwardens; records). Most of the registers for parishes in our borough have been deposited, and when they have not, the same information can be found in the Bishops’ Transcripts, made at intervals from the registers. The diocesan records have mostly been transferred to the Guildhall Library.

Manorial Records for this area can also be found at the MRO. For Finchley, court books, valuations, accounts and perambulations exist for 1716-36; for Friern Barnet, court rolls for 1528-32 only; and for Hendon court rolls for 1688-1934. Indexes exist only for Hendon l460-1849, a list of Admissions to Waste 1700-1886 and a copy of a Hendon Rental 1528-9.

Land Registry Record. The records of the Middlesex Land Registry are at the MRO, from 1709-1837; those of 1837-1937 have been transferred to County Hall, and an appointment is required to consult them. These records can be extremely useful; it was not compulsory to register the transfer of property, but once registered, the property can be traced thereafter in the Registry. There are of course deposited here a great many deeds and other records relating to property in LBB, and a search of the indexes for either persons or property is always fruitful.

The Greater London Record Office (Middlesex Records) is at 1 Queen Anne’s Gate Buildings, Dartmouth Street, SWl. It-is open 9~30 am- 5 pm Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri; and 9.30 am-7.30 pm Thurs.
ENVIRONMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY

…is one of the youngest branches of archaeology, and very much an in-thing at the moment. We are grappling with some aspects of it at West Heath. Indeed, so new is it that there has been no time for a literature to grow up about it.

However, John G Evans, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at University College, Cardiff, has just produced an Introduction to Environmental Archaeology which begins to fill the gap (published 1978 in paperback by Paul Elek at £2.95). It covers human environment (climate, geology, spatial variability, time, etc); plant remains; animal remains; soils and sediments and “natural situations” (e.g. deep sea cores, coastlines, ice sheets, peat bogs, etc).

The final chapter deals with archaeological (or contrived} situations, and provides a sort of potted guide to what to look for in each of them: banks and ditches of various kinds, buried ancient soil surfaces, pits, post-holes, wells, graves, lynchets, field walls, tells, urban sites and middens. This is a good basic hand-book, and worth adding to the bookshelf . .
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Talking of books, we reviewed five Shire books in the last Newsletter:

Elementary Surveying for Industrial Archaeologists – Hugh Bodey & Michael Hallas

Prehistoric Pottery – Nancy G Langmaid

Anglo-Saxon Pottery – David H Kennett

Medieval Pottery – Jeremy Has1am

Pottery in Roman Britain (revised) Vivien G Swan

Our Hon. Treasurer asks us to remind you that these five can be obtained from him, price £1.25 each plus 15p postage. He can also obtain any other title you may want in the Shire range, and will be happy to do so.
ROMAN LONDON

A course which may interest some HADAS members starts at Barnet after Christmas. It is on the Archaeology of Roman London, and is by an acknowledged expert – Ralph Merrifield, who was until last August, when he retired, a senior member of the staff of the Museum of London.

Mr. Merrifield – author of The Roman City of London, published by Benn in 1965 – will give 12 lectures on Fridays from 10.30-12.30 in the morning, starting Jan. 5, at the Old Bull, 68 High Street, Barnet. He will cover the origins of Londiniurn, its development as an administrative (centre and capital, its topography, defences, trade, crafts, domestic life, religion and later history. The course has been arranged by Barnet WEA and applications to join should be made to Mr. K L Woodland, 22 Birley Rd, N20.

Other news comes about Ralph Merrifield this month. The London & Middlesex Archaeological Society has produced, as its Special Paper No. 2:, a festschrift volume on his retirement, Collectanea Londiniensia.

After an introductory tribute from Professor Grimes and a bibliography of the Merrifield published works, there are 35 studies on various aspects of the history and archaeology of London, ranging from prehistory to the memorials of the West Norwood Cemetery. They cover such diverse topics as Iron Age coinage, Roman clay statuettes, Saxon land grants, the trousseau of Princess Elizabeth Stuart and the making of Coade stone.

Since HADAS is affiliated to LAMAS, we receive a copy of this interesting volume free, and at the next HADAS November meeting it will be in the Bookbox. If you would like to borrow it, please apply to our Hon. Librarian.

Another book, of interest to local historians and industrial archaeologists, has unexpectedly been added recently to the Bookbox – a history of Friern Hospital from the time it opened in 1853 as Colney Hatch Asylum up to 1973.

Called Psychiatry for the Poor, it is a medical/social history. There are chapters on the early buildings and their later enlargement; on early treatment, and how treatment changed and improved; on the financial side, the legal aspects of insanity, and many other points. It has kindly been presented to HADAS by one of its co-authors, Dr. Richard Hunter.

Friern Hospital figures in the current HADAS Industrial Archaeology exhibition, “Here Today Gone Tomorrow, now at the Barnet Museum. The hospital authorities have lent many interesting Relics, including early, photos, plans and objects. Members who are in Barnet in the next 3 months may care to look in to see this display – the times the Museum is open were given in the last Newsletter.

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WEST HEATH DOES IT AGAIN

By Daphne Lorimer

Each month we feel that the West Heath dig – first from one aspect, then another – has scaled a new peak and reached the maximum of its achievement; and each month it manages to do it again. September was no exception. On September 17 the first axe was found on the site – something for which we had all been hoping (and trowelling) for years.

It’s a core axe – that is, one from which no sharpening tranchet flake has been struck – and a fine one. Such a find is rare. Axes are not uncovered on all Mesolithic sites by any means; and few Mesolithic sites can produce more than one or, two axes at most.

Nor was that all. Our September “bag” included pieces of sandstone of varying sizes and markings; these are becoming a feature of the part of the site in which we are now digging, and they pose interesting problems and give scope for interesting theories. A large possible posthole, containing a quite unusual concentration of charcoal, has also been revealed.

The sunshine of the last couple of months has been particularly welcome at West Heath, as the bad weather of early summer had slowed us up considerably. Members have turned out in some force, and great strides have been made towards the completion of a number of trenches.

The results of radio-carbon and thermoluminescence dating, and of magnetometric tests, are all eagerly awaited, and are promised soon by the various experts who are carrying them out. One of this season’s projects has been to make tests for phosphate content of the soil, in an endeavour to locate a midden. A description of the technique that has been used, and the results, will be given in a forthcoming Newsletter.

Meantime digging will continue on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays until the weather breaks – so do come and dig whenever you can. Every trowel counts and every hour helps at this stage. Needless to say, the site is, as ever, very rewarding and – who knows? – we may, “achieve the ultimate accolade by finding a buria1!
LAST KICK OF SUMMER

For the second time this year an outing has proved so popular that we have decided to repeat it, so that the many people disappointed on the first trip can have a second chance.

On Sat. Oct. 7 John Enderby has kindly agreed to organise once more his excellent tour of Framlingham and Heveningham, first run on Aug. 12 this year. In case you have mislaid your original information sheet, the coach will leave The Quadrant, Finchley Lane, at 8.15 am, and the Refectory, Golders Green, at 8.25. There are still three places available, so if you feel a last minute urge to join, please ring Dorothy Newbury and book one of them. The cost, including teat is £3.70. In view of this additional outing, there will be no digging at West Heath on Oct. 7.
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LECTURE SEASON OPENS

The first lecture of the winter season takes place on Tuesday, Oct. 3, and is on the excavation of Henry VIII’s Bridewell Palace. It will be given by Derek Gadd, site supervisor of the dig, who is employed by the Department of Urban Archaeology, Museum of London.

This was a rescue dig which took place last spring in advance of re-development. The palace, built between 1515-1523, was used by Henry as his principal London home for about six years and then became a, centre for state functions. By 1553, however, its palace days were over. It became in turn a workhouse and a house of correction, and was finally demolished -and its exact site forgotten -in the 1860s.

Demolition of modern buildings in 1977 revealed part of the main courtyard and, for the first time, pinpointed the precise whereabouts of the palace. Now, thanks to two months’ intensive excavation, Mr.-Gadd, will be able to tell us a great deal about this historic building.

As the winter season is just beginning, a few notes about lecture arrangements may be helpful particularly to our many new members.

Lectures will, as usual, take place on the first Tuesday of each month at Central Library, The Burroughs, Hendon, NW4 (near the Town Hall). Buses 83 and 143 pass the door; Nos. 240, 125, 183 and 113 are within 10 minutes walk, as is Hendon Central Underground station. There are two free car parks nearly opposite the Library.

The lecture room upstairs opens at 8 pm, when coffee and biscuits will be available at 10p, and there will be an opportunity to meet each other and chat. New members are particularly invited to introduce themselves to the Society’s officers and Committee (who will be sporting name badges), who will be happy to help them “break the ice.” Our Hon. Librarian, George Ingram, will be there to arrange loans from the Book-box; and our publications will be on sale. Lectures start about 8.30, and, if time permits, are followed by questions. The Library building closes at 10 pm sharp.

Members are welcome to bring a guest, but guests who wish to attend more than one lecture should be asked to join the Society.
FUTURE PROGRAMME

Tues. Nov. 7. The Earliest Cretans – Prof. J D Evans, MA, PhD FBA FSA.

And, on Wed. Dec. 13, the HADAS Christmas party, which this year will – have a musical flavour.

We will dine in the Iolanthe Hall at the home of the late Sir William Gilbert, and will be entertained with excerpts from Gilbert and Sullivan operas. An application form for this event is enclosed. Please return it as quickly as possible, because Dorothy Newbury must confirm our booking in a matter of days.
OTHER IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

.. are.. November 4th/5th and November 11th/12th.

This is when two West Heath processing weekends the Teahouse, Northway, Hampstead Garden Suburb.
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It is hoped that as many members as possible will help at these weekends, when a systematic study of finds from the dig will be undertaken. This will include: density counts, analyses of blades, flakes and debitarge; location of tool types {i.e. of, industry areas as opposed to chipping floors); and another attempt to re-assemble a flint nodule. Current projects will be continued – notably post-hole, core and burnt flint studies. The results are urgently needed for the interim report, so do come and lend a hand.

New members – or those who have difficulty in finding their way to the Teahouse, never a very accessible place – can get a map of the area and details of transport facilities – from our Hon. Secretary.
AIDS TO RESEARCH

Continuing her series on archives for local historians, JOANNA CORDEN, Archivist to the Borough of Barnet, describes further sources of information outside the Borough.

IV. External Sources: Pt. 2: House of Lords Record Office

This Office contains not only the records of both Houses of Parliament, but also, in ever-increasing numbers, the many petitions and documents presented to it. There are some earlier records, but mainly the material dates from the 16th c. There is a considerable amount of local information to be obtained from these records, which include, for example, the Protestation return (1641-2) – a record of those males of 18 years and over who at the behest of Parliament, signed an undertaking to support the rights of Parliament.

More recent information for this area is connected with the development of the Railways and turnpikes. The records of these enterprises are usually concerned with their legal function, the business records of the companies formed and maps and plans of various kinds. All such undertakings required the assent of Parliament; a great deal of local information can be found in the unpublished petitions and minutes of evidence placed before the parliamentary committees on Bills supporting the enterprises. This includes plans of the proposed works with books of reference giving details of owners and occupiers of lands likely to be affected, and subscription lists and contracts giving details of sources of capital. If permission was granted, it was in the form of an Act setting up a railway or canal company, or a turnpike trust. Private and public Acts are therefore a prime source of information.

There are many relevant parliamentary papers dealing with these enterprises, so that it is impossible to give more than a general indication that they exist. Of particular importance are the Select Committees on railways between 1839-44, the Annual Railway Returns (from 1841, under different titles), giving details of stock, capital and traffic, and the Report of the Royal Commission on Rai1ways, 1861.

For turnpikes there are the Select Committee report of 1836, Annual Returns (1836-1883) of income and expenditure, and roads disinturnpiked, 1871-8.

All these records should be used in conjunction with those in the Public Record Office, the chief collection there being the records of the Former Railway Department of the Board of Trade, now under the Ministry of Transport records. Here the most important items are the correspondence and papers for the years 1840-1919, the departmental minute books 1844-1857 and letter books 1840-1855. For turnpikes there are nineteen volumes of correspondence and papers 1872-92 at the PRO.
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These cover the transfer of turnpike roads and bridges to highway board; and the ending of trusts or the renewal of their powers. Searchers for information in this field should first consult Sources for the History of Railways at the PRO, by D Wardle, in Journal of Transport History, ii (1955-6).

The most fruitful sources of information at the House of Lords Record Office are the official series of parliamentary papers or Blue Books, These comprise thousands of volumes, covering such subjects as Poor Law, Education, Industry, etc. Here again a great deal of information relevant to our own area can be dug out, but prospective searchers are recommended to consult, first, Local History from Blue Books: A Select List of the Sessional Papers of the House of Commons, by W R Powell (Historical Assoc. pamphlet, 1962), and then the indexes in the House of Lords Record Office.
PROGRESS REPORT ON PROJECTS

Town Hall. Dig, adjoining The Grove, NW4. The trial dig in the area behind the Town Hall has now finished, and the four trenches which were opened have been back-filled.

Recording in Hendon St. Mary’s churchyard. This continues and volunteers will be welcome. Recording takes place on Sunday afternoons from 2.30 pm. Please ring Jeremy Clynes and let him know if you intend to come along.

Recording, St. James the Great, Friern Barnet. This project has got off to a good start, and Ann Trewick, who is master-minding it has a keen team of about a dozen helpers. The churchyard has been divided into 15 areas, and recorders work in their own time. Further volunteers I will be very welcome, as the more people we have the quicker we shall finish. If you would like to take part, please ring Ann Trewick and let her know.
RIDING ROUND THE COTSWOLDS

By Joan and Andrew Pares.

The September outing was an outstanding one from any point of view. We entered Cotswold country at Northleach, where we stopped to visit the 15th c. church with its unique collection of wool merchants’ brasses. Our sympathy went out to Margaret Bicknell, who had borne her wool-stapler husband six boys and seven girls!

Our main objective was Cotswold Farm Park and its collection of rare breeds of British farm animals. There were Longhorn and White Park cattle, Soay Orkrey and St. Kilda sheep, British Lop, Tamworth and Gloucester Old Spot pigs, Shetland and Exmoor ponies, which once drew the chariots of our Celtic ancestors, the Shire horse which modelled for a recent issue of postage stamps, and the last four oxen in Britain trained for ploughing.

In the afternoon we visited Hailes Abbey, now not much more than a shell, but full of history, and with an interesting little museum. The main feature was a collection of six very beautiful Early English bosses: from the Chapter House, such as normally one sees only up on high with a craned neck.

Finally, at Stow-on-the-Wold there was just time to see another wool church. A plaque on the wall brought home forcibly the ravages of inflation over the centuries; it recorded a charitable bequest by a certain Thomas Selwyn who gave “a rent charge of £1 a year on his houses in Stow to be redistributed in bread.”

Our charming shepherdess, Liz Holliday, guided her flock throughout the day with gentle firmness over a well-planned scenic route along Fosse Way, through Bourton-on-the-Water and the Slaughters, past many a stately manor house in restful “oolitic” limestone, with the added attraction of driving alongside fields of blazing stubble.. We were a little anxious at one point when, thwarted by the lord of the manor of Stanway, she led us past the splendid 16th c. gatehouse into the churchyard, and through the undergrowth at the side, looking for an illicit means of entry into his famous tithe barn.
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The staff work for the trip was impeccable: a punctual start at 9 am from the Quadrant, where we were issued with a well-produced programme of our itinerary; then delicious home-made cakes and coffee for elevenses at “Country Friends” in the market place at Northleach. There were excellent picnic facilities at the Farm, and a substantial cream-tea was served at Deborah’s Kitchen in Stow.

It was our driver Alan’s last trip for Finchley Coaches. He has chauffeured many a HADAS trip with dexterity and obligingness. Ho was fittingly bowed-out with a gracious vote of thanks by Joan Gaynair- Phillips.
BOOK REVIEWS

ELEMENTARY SURVEYING for INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGISTS – Hugh Bodey and Michael Hallas (Shire, £1.25)

To quote the authors, “we have set out to describe the basic methods of surveying using short cuts where possible.” In 58 pages of text they ~ have succeeded in this aim. Starting with surveying the land, they progress through surveying a building and surveying machinery to the use of film and tape to supplement the survey proper, with a final section on completing the report.

As one whose Industrial Archaeology activities take place in built-up areas where buildings can be related back to the OS 25 in. plans, I would have liked more on surveying-machinery and less on surveying the land. In fact, with 3 pages on surveying machinery, compared with 20 pages on buildings and 24 on land, the book is rather unbalanced. However, those who are interested in surveying quarries or other open workings will be more concerned with land surveys. This section will certainly be of interest and use to all archaeologists – not only to those of industrial persuasion.

A very proper and repeated caution is given on the need for patience and accuracy, with particular stress on measuring diagonals as the way to keep a check on the measurements actually required. Considering some of the surveys with which I have been associated and the mistakes which we have made, it is to be hoped that many industrial archaeologists (and other amateur surveyors) will read this book and learn from it. At £1.25 it is a bargain. WF

PREHISTORIC POTTERY – Nancy G Langmaid

ANGLO-SAXON POTTERY – David H Kennett

MEDIEVAL POTTERY – Jeremy Haslam

POTTERY ON ROMAN BRITAIN (revised edition) – Vivien G Swan

Many members may already know the Shire publication “Pottery in Roman Britain”, first published in 1975. Now it has gone into a revised edition, and Shire have produced three other pottery titles.

The new booklets are in the same format as the Roman one They are illustrated with many drawings and a few plates. Prehistoric Pottery has 25 pages of illustration, most of them carrying drawings of between 6-l0 different pots; Anglo-Saxon Pottery has 3l pottery figures, and Medieval Pottery goes up to Fig. 29, sometimes with as many as 20 pots in each figure.
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Prehistoric Pottery runs from Early Neolithic, c. 4000 BC to the Roman Conquest; Anglo-Saxon from c. Ab 400-850; Medieval from AD 850-1500 (confirming the present tendency to sub-divide the Medieval period of earlier historians – which ran from AD 410-1485 into two, Saxon and Medieval proper).

These booklets are a good buy. It is difficult to find, and certainly not at so reasonable a price – a synthesised corpus of illustrated pottery for any of these periods. There are two possible criticisms: first, the text which precedes the figures is almost too simplified – but doubtless that is because Shire is aiming at the widest possible audience; secondly, in places the booklets rely almost entirely on differences in pottery form and decoration, and provide little information about fabric. This is a serious omission for anyone who wishes to work from them on pottery identification. To give just one example: when captioning a drawing of an early Neolithic pot, it is surely unnecessary to say “bag-shaped pot with horizontal lugs” when the picture show precisely that. A caption which described the fabric would be more helpful.
COURSES AND CONFERENCES

, , Archaeology of Dark Ages, HGS Institute (Tues. from Oct. 1.0, 8-9.30 pm), lecturer Miss M. Skalla. Places still available, and John Enderby will be glad to hear from any HADAS member who would like to join.

Certificate in Archaeology, Year 2, Barnet College. This class is on Wednesday evenings, not Mondays as advertised; lecturer Susan Geddes.

Introducing Archaeology, HADAS’s own course at Hendon, College, Flower Lane, Mill Hill, starts Oct. 2. Members may still sign on at the opening lecture, 7.30 pm.

Weekend Conference on Roman Tiles and Bricks, Apr. 20-22 1979, Leicester Polytechnic – and – Saturday School on Recording Churchyards, Nov. ll. Northampton University. Further details of both from Brigid Grafton Green.

Lecture on Two Million Years of Man, Geological Museum, South Ken, by C B Stringer PhD, Fri. Oct 20 6.30 pm. Admission free.
HADAS ON DISPLAY

The Society will mount two exhibitions this autumn, and members who live near may like to drop in to see them.

One is at the Crest Gallery, Totteridge Lane, Sept. 29-0ct. l4. Barnet Borough Arts Council has invited us to show a panel of photos of the recording of the Dissenters Burial Ground at Totteridge, and a glass case of the West Heath finds. The exhibition is open on Tues. and Weds. 2.00-5.30 pm; Fris. 11-1 and 2-5.30; Sats. 11-1 & 2-4 pm. There will be a special Open Evening on Sat. Oct 7 at 8 pm; tickets 25p. at the door.

From Oct. 31-Jan. 30 1979 Barnet Museum, Wood St Barnet, has kindly invited us to put on a display of Industrial Archaeology in the Borough. Under the title “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow” we hope to show some of the research which has been or is still being done by HADAS members, including transport ,(rail, tram, bus, trolley bus) arranged by Bill Firth; farm byegones (Daphne Lorimer); history of field drainage and recording of farm buildings (Brigid Grafton Green); history of Friern Hospital. (David Tessler); clay tobacco pipes (Jeremy Clynes); bottles (Alec Jeakins). The Museum is open Tues. Thurs. 2.30-4.30 pm; Sats. 10-12.30, 2.30-4.30 pm.

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Although summer is – we hope – not yet gone, stray signs of autumnn already begin to show here and there. Shorter days will bring some compensations, however – such as a well-planned and varied HADAS lecture programme, starting early next month. Here is a full list for the autumn and winter -in case you have mislaid your programme card:
Tues. Oct. 3 – The excavation of a Tudor Brick Royal Palace at Bridewell – Derek Gadd
Tues. Nov. 7 – The Earliest Cretans – Prof. J. D. Evans
Tues. Jan. 2 – “I’ve come about the Drains” – the
Development of Roman Bath Systems – Tony Rook
Tues. Feb. 6 – Stone Age Farmers in Brittany – Dr. Barbara Bender
Tues Mar. 6 – The Archaeology of the second Industrial Revolution – Kenneth Hudson
Tues Apr. 3 – The Etruscans – Geoffrey Toms

THE SEPTEMBER OUTING

-last of the current season – will be led by Elizabeth Holliday and will explore Cotswold country. It will visit Northleach, with its “wool” church and magnificent brasses; the Cotswold Farm Park, with rare and historic breeds of domestic animals; the ruins of a Cistercian Abbey; and a fine 14th c. tithe barn.

Like all HADAS outings, it is likely to be overbooked, so fill in the form which accompanies this Newsletter and post it as soon as possible to Elizabeth Holliday (please note, NOT to Dorothy Newbury this time).
EXCAVATION NEWS

West Heath digging will continue at West Heath on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am-5 pm(except Sat. Sept. 16). We propose to do as we did last year – that is, to go on digging until the weather begins to break, and the soil becomes so heavy that dry-sieving is difficult. Last year we did not have to close the site until early November- so let’s hope that this year, too, we shall get a good dry “back end.” All volunteers will be very welcome.

Town Hall Dig, Hendon. As the Newsletter goes to press the HADAS trial dig behind the Town Hall is starting. Details are as given in the last Newsletter, i.e. on as many September weekends as are necessary there will be digging from 2.30-5 pm (Sats) and 10 am-5 pm (Suns) – except Sat. Sept. 16, when there will be no digging because of an outing. At this stage it is impossible to tell how long the dig will last, so if you intend to join it, please check first with Jeremy Clynes that digging is still continuing.
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THE CARPENTER’S TALE

HADAS member PERCY REBOUL is working on a project which involves tape-recording the memories of some of our elder citizens. He hopes to provide the Newsletter with occasional transcripts, of which this is the first.

It seems to me that, in a local history context, one of the more encouraging features of our times is the interest being shown in the lives and memories of ordinary people. I have often suspected that, given a chance, a deep-sea diver might well prove to be more interesting to talk to than, say, a countess with Romanov connections. Unfortunately, both types are in rather short supply in Barnet, and I cannot prove my point. “But what I am hoping to prove, in a series of cassette-tape recordings, is that people in the Borough can be most interesting when they talk about their life and experience at work.

That statement needs substantial qualification; talking about work in 1978 can be boring. It is when you talk to older people about their work in the 1920s and ’30s that the whole thing takes on anew dimension and becomes interesting.

The first recording, of which this is an abridged and expurgated version, was with a carpenter. I do hope that members will let me know if they have contact with any elderly tradesman or craftsman who might be willing to be interviewed. I am looking in particular for a policeman, dustman, tram driver or fireman. It’s a bit traumatic for most people when they hear their voice for the first time on tape, but happily they blame it on the inadequacies of Japanese electronics. Other than this, it helps if they are not too deaf and their dentures are in good order!

My carpenter had lived and worked all his life in Whetstone – as he tells you himself:

“I was born at 6 am on September 9, 1904, at Russell House, High Road, Whetstone –near the Bull and Butcher -and went to school at St. John’s Whetstone. It seems that I started school in 1908, at the age of 4, because I have seen the beautiful copperplate handwl1iting in the early school registers. I left school in 1918, just before my 14th birthday.

My first job was in the clubhouse of the South Herts Golf Club, where I cleaned the knives and forks, washed up the glasses and during the week acted as a waiter at lunch time. My pay was 10s a week, plus meals for a 7-day week, but I made quite a bit in tips, which could bring it up to 30s a week, which was good pay.

My interest in carpentering started in a funny way. My father came from Needham Market in Suffolk and in 1919 he decided to take a holiday there to see his mother. I wanted to go with him, but to do so I lost my job at the golf club because they would not let me have the time off because of my lack of service. However, when I was at Needham I happened to look into a cupboard and there I saw a box of carpenter’s tools belonging to an uncle. I decided there and then that that was the job for me.

When I returned from the holiday, I joined the well-known Whetstone builder N C Wade. Harry Lynes was the foreman and he gave me a start on August 17, 1919. I was paid 4d an hour, about 16s for a 49 1/2 hour week. I learned the job working under old carpenters such ns Bill Legg and Charlie Vivian.

I bought my tools bit by bit. First week a hammer (2s 11d); second week a saw (lls); then I bought a rule for 2s 6d and a wooden jack plane which cost 15s. That was a lot of money, but today it would cost at least £8. The tools were bought from a man from Southgate called Chapman who used to bring a selection of tools onto the site and you paid him a shilling a week. He took a risk in my view, because many men moved quickly from site to site.
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WOOD WORKING IN WHETSTONE.

When I started in 1919, a foot of 2 in x 1 in. softwood cost 2d. Hardwoods, which today would cost £1 a foot, then cost between 4d – 6d.

Whetstone was beginning to grow in the 1920s and speculative builders did much of the work. The work was of a good standard. 9 in brickwork rather than today’s cavity work and on roofing we used 4 in. x 2 in. timbers set at 14 in. centres. Today these things are prefabricated and delivered to the site. There were no power tools then, of course, everything was done by hand and it was hard work.

A working day started at 7.20 am with 1/2 hour for lunch at 12. Tea breaks were taken on the job and we finished at 5.30 pm on a weekday and 12 on a Saturday. We had no annual holiday and even worked on Good Friday. Easter Monday and Christmas Day were holidays, but without pay.

Many times, when working in town, I would pay my fare to get to town on1y to find that it was raining and there was no work (and that meant no pay) for the day.

When I worked for Empire Construction, we would build a pair of houses a week, working in parallel with the bricklayers, switching backwards and forwards at the various levels of construction.

CAME THE DEPRESSION.

I hadn’t been long married and tried to buy a house in Woodside Grove which Wades had built. It cost £650. The deposit was £50 and the mortgage rate was 6 1/2 which was high because my mortgage was arranged privately by Mr. Wade.

After 3 years, Mr. Wade went broke and I was sacked after working 12 years for him. This would be about 1930. I was on the dole. We got 6s a week for my wife and 20s for me – and I was trying to buy a house on a 6 1/2 mortgage. I suppose that in 3 years I did 18 months on and off. A job might last 3 weeks and every Friday, as they came round with the cards, you would think ‘Is it me to go this week?

If you were 6 months on the dole you went on the means test, where they looked into everything you owned. I got a letter telling me to go to a house in Finchley in which I remember there was a large table with old men and women sitting round it, talking and asking questions. It happens that before I got married I had bought a piano and when they asked me what furniture I had, I mentioned the piano. ‘Can’t you sell it?’ they said. I left the room and later was told that I could carry on drawing my 26s a week. There were hundreds of people in the same boat and I well remember thinking that there would never be any building again.

On looking back, one of the things that strikes me about working on the building was that, in spite of the hard times, there was always’ singing, whistling and plenty of joking. I remember really funny men, such as Tommy the Tinker, Bob Williams, whose father had been a tinker. It seems to me that people enjoyed work and took an interest in it, which they don’t today. A1though there was plenty of joking, people were good at their job and worked hard. If you were no good you got the sack.

AUTHOR’S NOTE – I have enjoyed going back to the old-style money and make no apology for not converting into decimal.
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SUBSCRIPTION REMINDER

The Hon. Treasurer reports that over 150 members have not yet paid their subscription for the current year, due on April 1.

Members who have not paid by the beginning of October will receive one reminding letter and then their names will be removed from the membership list.

To save unnecessary work and expense, outstanding subscriptions ~ should be sent now to the Treasurer: Jeremy Clynes. Subscription rates are:

Full membership – £2.00
Under-18 – £1.00
Over-60 – £1.00
Family Membership: – first member – £2
– additional members £1 each
LOCAL HISTORY IN BARNET AND FINCHLEY

Here are details of three local history courses, organised by Barnet College, which start next month.

On Mondays from Oct. 2 Antoinette Lee takes a course on the local history of Barnet itself, 7.30-9.30., At Barnet College.

Also on Mondays at the same time from Oct. 2 Mrs. M E Campbell lectures on the origins and development of Finchley at Stanhope Road Centre, Finchley (just north of Tally-ho).

Finally, on Thursdays, 7.30-9.30, starting Oct. 5, there is a Local History Workshop, run by Antoinette Lee, at East Barnet Junior High School. It will investigate the growth and development of New Barnet from its early days.

Fees for each course are £7.60; enrolment is at Barnet College on Sept. 12 (10 am-8 pm) or Sept. 13 (6 pm-8 pm).
AIDS TO RESEARCH

JOANNA CORDEN, Archivist to the Borough of Barnet, continues her series on archives for local historians. This month, for the first time, she goes outside the Borough to describe sources of information

IV. External Sources: Pt. I: The Public Record Office The Public Record Office holds material created by central government which is nevertheless of local interest and importance. Its earliest major source of information is the Domesday Suryey (1086-7). This consists of two volumes, of which the first is the more detailed, but the second alone is of relevance to this area. Only Hendon (of all the districts which make up the present Borough of Barnet) appears as a separate entry.

The next major medieval source is the hundred rolls of the late 13th c, which contain the results of enquiries undertaken in the reign of Edward I by hundreds (that is, divisions of counties) into royal rights and prerogatives. (For anyone planning to work on the hundred rolls, the best introduction is still Helen Cam’s 1930 classic, ‘The Hundred and the Hundred Rolls.’ Also of importance are the lay subsidy rolls of 1290-i334. These were sometimes known as the tenths and fifteenths, because the contribution of townsmen was based on one-tenth of the current valuation of personal property, and that of country dwellers on one-fifteenth.
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Both hundred and lay subsidy rolls have defects. The hundred rolls do not include people who did not hold land (e.g. hired labourers, servants), and some individuals appear more than once; lay subsidy rolls may not cover all property owners or even all inhabitants, certain types of goods were exempt, and there was, moreover, considerable evasion. After 1334 the lay subsidies were levied on communities, not individuals, and are therefore useless.

Of greater use during the 14th c. therefore are the poll taxes, levied in 1377, 1379 and 1381, the first being the most useful since the tax levied was 4d per head for all inhabitants over 14 years of age. Clergy paid ls. The 1379 poll differed by being graded by rank, and the 1381 by being levied on all over 15.

There also occurs in this period the Inquisition of the Ninths (1341) which indicates the prosperity of benefices, and where and why income derived from tithes differed from the 1291 assessment made for the Taxation of Pope Nicholas IV. The Valor Ecclesiasticus (1535), produced on the eve of the break with Rome, is a more detailed and exact valuation of ecclesiastical benefices. It is calendared by diocese.

Other taxation records found in the PRO are the Tudor and Stuart subsidies first introduced in 1523. The first four taxes fell on the whole population, the rest (after 1527) on the wealthier classes only. Later they became stereotyped, so the earlier taxes are the most useful. The useful 17th c. taxes are hearth taxes, levied from 1662, of which those for 1664 probably contain most information. Copies of these are also found in the county record offices, as are copies of poll taxes for 1641, 1660, 1666 and 1677.

More recent records of importance are Tithe Apportionments and Maps. Under the Tithe Act of 1836 tithes in kind were finally commuted ~ by fixed rent charges apportioned on each field and plot. Surveys of each parish were carried out and the resulting records formed an apportionment: they consisted of a copy of the voluntary parochial agreement or, after 1838, the compulsory valuers’ award declaring the total rent charge; and a large scale map. Three copies of each were made, for deposit with the Tithe Commissioners (these are the copies now held by the PRO, and copies of some of them are held in LBB Local History. Collection), the Diocesan Registrar and the incumbent respectively. There are also Tithe files, kept with the Apportionments. They contain correspondence concerning the Apportionment and offer basic additional information.

There has been an official census every decade since 1801, apart from 1941, and these records are with the PRO. The returns held by the PRO for this area begin in 1841, although the original enumerators’ books for~ 1801, 1811 and 1821 for Hendon only are in the Local History Library. The information contained in these records varies for each census, as do boundaries of census districts, and there are therefore difficulties in comparing them.

A most important collection of PRO material is the records relating to the Poor Law, now filed under the Department of Health. The most useful class is probably the Poor Law Union’ Papers (1834-1900), consisting of correspondence (arranged by counties and unions) of the central government department with poor law unions and other local authorities. After 1871 these also contain information on health and general local government matters, although none exist after 1900. The correspondence of assistant Poor Law commissioners and inspectors is at the PRO; it is arranged under officers’ names, not under the areas or unions covered.
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Finally, I should perhaps mention that part of the PRO moved in October, 1977, to a new home at Ruskin Avenue, Kew. The records kept there come from modern departments of state, mainly 19th/20th c. For instance, the Tithe records and the Poor Law records will both be found at Kew.

Medieval records, state papers before 1782, modern legal record~~ and census returns l841-7l are kept at Chancery Lane (census returns, in fact, in a special office in Portugal Street, but when telephoning to make an appointment to see them, you ring the main Chancery Lane number – 4050741 – and the switchboard connects you with Portugal St.
NEW MEMBERS

Since we last welcomed new members in the May Newsletter the following have joined the Society:

Mrs. Adler, Edgware; Mary Allaway, High gate; John Angus, Garden Suburb; Cecily Ashcroft and Geoffrey and Max Bilson, all Hampstead; Ruth Biziou, Finchley; Wendy Chitty, Hendon; Miss S. David, West Hampstead; Mr & Mrs Day, Stanmore; John de Morpurgo, Hampstead; Irene Dessartis, Cricklewood; Denys Franzini, Earls Court; Jo Gilbert, Finchley; Sheila Harragan, Hampstead; Mrs. Hood, Garden Suburb; Simon Ivens, Golders Green; Helen Jacobs, Edgware; Mrs. Jampel, Golders Green; Iris Jones, Barnet; Victor Jones, Garden Suburb; Janet Landau, Hampstead; Sandra Lea, Finchley; Charmian Lewis, Barnet; Deborah O’Connor, New Southgate; Ronald Pittkin, Leyton; Michelle Rudolf, Golders Green; Caroline Sampson, Garden Suburb; Mrs Serre, Barnet; Miss Sheldon, Garden Suburb; Yolande Steger, Finchley; E P Williams, N10; Fred Wright, Camden Town.

May we welcome them all and hope very much that they will enjoy their membership and will join us in our many activities.
WEEKENDS AWAY

News comes this week from the University of Leicester of a full winter programme of residential weekend courses at their adult education centre at Knuston Hall, near Irchester (a quick run from LBB up either the Ml or the Al).

Courses cost an average of £14 a weekend and the tutors are experts in their own fields. Subjects covered include Wood for Archaeologists, Drawing for Archaeologists, Air Photographs and their Interpretation, the Art and Archaeology of SE Asia, Glass for Archaeologists and the English Castle.

Statistics for Archaeologists starts the series at tbe end of September; the others follow, at roughly one a month, till The English Castle early in May. Members can get further details from Brigid Grafton Green.

Leicester also sponsors a course which has become something of an archaeological classic – Chris Taylor’s Field Archaeology and the Landscape. This is a week’s residential course at Knuston, Apr. 6-12, 1979, mainly practical – recording, surveying etc. Fee £42.
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FROM NORMAN CASTLE TO GEORGIAN HALL

A report on the August outing by VALERIE and PETER HARMES.

Our first stop on this trip, planned and entertainingly led by John Enderby into the very English county of Suffolk, was at Saxtead Green Mill, a magnificent example of a post-mill. We had been warned that recent storms had damaged two of the sails, so it was a surprise and pleasure to find them repaired – full marks to the Department of the Environment for that prompt action.

Originally built in the 18th c. and rebuilt in 1854, the mill presents a fascinating study in construction, pivotting around a huge central post to ensure that the sails would always derive maximum benefit from the wind.

The climb up the narrow winding staircase inside proved well worthwhile, with many items of old-time milling on display in the low-roofed timbered rooms. Rewarding, too, was the equally perilous haul up the steep, close-stepped outside staircase, which led many an ashen-faced HADAS enthusiast to the lofty sail-room.

Next the coach nosed its way through the crooked streets of Framlingham to the Castle – once the seat of the Dukes of Norfolk. The first record of the site suggests that it was given by Henry I to Roger Bigod in 1100 or 1101. He constructed the first buildings – almost certainly a motte with an outer bailey, protected on three sides by a palisade and on the west by an artificial mere. About 1190 Roger – the second earl, grandson of the first Roger – built a strong castle with stone walls and towers. In 1513 Thomas, Duke of Norfolk – who had re-gained the estate on a pardon from Henry VII – modernised the Castle with copious use of brick. In 1635, it was so1d to Sir Robert Hitcham who bequeathed it to Pembroke College, Cambridge, on the understanding that it would be pulled down and a poorhouse built. The outer walls were left standing, but the internal buildings were gradually demolished. The poorhouse went out of use in 1837.

Today what is left of the Castle is in the hands of the DoE – the walls, with their 13 towers and a fine deep moat outside, the remains of the first stone hall and chapel, built c. 1150, the great hall, the shell of the poorhouse and some superb ornamental Tudor brick chimneys on the ramparts.

Another “perk” at Framlingham was a visit to the elegant, perpendicular-style parish church with its beautifully carved Howard tombs. The little, mainly Georgian town also offered much to delight the eye, so that to spare time for lunch was something of a luxury and departure came all too quickly.

By mid-afternoon we had reached Hevingham Hall. Built in an age inspired elegance, this fine neo-classical house presented a striking contrast to the quieter, more sombre beauty of Framlingham Castle. The curator, Mr. Shepherd, told us that the house had been built in 1780 by Sir Robert Taylor in the Palladian style for the Vanneck family. Then the architect was changed and James Wyatt became responsible for the interior design.

The print-room – formerly the small dining room – was unusual with its main decoration 18th c. prints, .. now very discoloured, pasted on the walls. Impressive were the library, with its Corinthian columns at one end, and the saloon, with a barrel-shaped ceiling which declines at either end in gentle curves to the walls.

Outside the house was fresh delight, in the beautiful ornamented Gardens, designed – by Capability Brown. By the walled rose garden, originally intended for fruit and vegetables, there is an interesting example of a “crinkle-crankle” – or serpentine wall.
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We enjoyed tea in a converted coach house, and began the long ride home with both stomachs and spirits well replete and with a glow of gratitude to John Enderby for a day into which much thought and loving planning had gone.
ANOTHER GRANT FOR WEST HEATH

They say things go in threes – and it seems true of HADAS’s financial fortunes this summer. We have just heard that we’ve gained our third financial grant in 4 months.

In May Lloyds Bank granted us £100 towards surveying equipment, and as a result the Society now proudly possesses its own brand-new level, tripod and stave. In July the Mrs. Smith Trust gave us a grant of £100 towards the cost of publishing the West Heath report. Now the GLC’s Department of Architecture and Civic Design has provided us with a grant of £100 for archaeological laboratory work – in fact, for obtaining a carbon-dating on the charcoal taken from the possible Mesolithic hearth at West Heath.

We are deeply grateful to the GLC for their help – which we hope may provide an absolute date for early occupation of one of their own most famous properties – Hampstead Heath.
A CENTURY AND A HALF OF METHODISM

Methodism in Hendon will celebrate its 150th anniversary this month, when on Sep 16/17 the Methodist Church in the Burroughs will have a weekend of special services and other events.

In the two weeks leading up to the celebrations, an exhibition of documents and photographs from the Church’s Muniment Box will be mounted at Hendon Library. On Sept. 16/17 this display will move to a building with which HADAS has happy connections – the Henry Burden Hall, Egerton Gardens, named after the man who first brought Methodism to Hendon.

Henry Burden (1793-1889) came to the district in 1820 as head gardener to the Vicar of Hendon St. Mary’s – the notorious Theodore Williams. Burden lived in Brent Street and his first Methodist meetings were held in cottages or in the open air by the old Burroughs Pond.

The first place of worship was opened in 1828, on ground between the Burroughs and Brent Street. In 1891 a church was built in the Burroughs. The earlier chapel beside Burden’s cottage was demolished; on the site there is now a Hindu temple. Finally in 1937 the present Church was built on the site of the 1891 building.
IS THERE A SKELETON IN YOUR CUPBOARD?

By Christine Arnott.

This frivolous headline is t draw your attention to a suggestion from the fund-raising Committee We hope to run another Minimart next spring. Usually we appeal for contributions near the chosen date, but it would help greatly if contributions started arriving earlier and were spread over a longer period. We therefore suggest that members ring either Dorothy Newbury or Christine Arnott from now on if they have clothing, bric-a-brac, books etc to be collected.

About that headline …a Minimart sideline has been to provide a notice board for advertising articles for sale or wanted. Successful ads meant a small donation to the funds. Recently a member wished audibly that the Minimart was here, as she badly wanted a skeleton. Evan without a Minimart, HADAS was not defeated. Word went round and lo a skeleton will soon be provided!

Newsletter

Page 1

GOOD RESULTS FOR HADAS MEMBERS

This Newsletter must start with congratulations and commiseration: the first for those members who have just heard that they have passed their exams in the Diploma in Archaeology; the second for the few who have failed.

Particularly, all honour to three members who have now completed the 4-year Diploma course -Janette Babalis, one of our students at the West Heath training course this summer, who passed her two 4th year papers with Credit and Merit respectively; Helen Gordon, a member of the Research Committee, who passed the two Roman Britain exams with a Credit and a Distinction; and Anne Thompson, long a member of HADAS, who got a Credit and a Pass.

The remaining results – as far as we know them – are:

Elizabeth Aldridge (2nd Yr. Diploma with Merit)

Denys Franzini (1st Yr. Dip. with Credit)

Geoffrey Gammon (1st Yr. Dip. with Credit)

Alexis Hickman (1st Yr. Pass)

Carol Johnson (2nd Yr. Dip. Fail)

Dave King (3rd Yr. Dip. Pass)

Robert Kruszynski (2nd Yr. Dip. with Merit)

Shirley Korn (3rd.Yr. Dip. Pass)

Teresa Macdonald (2nd Yr. Dip. Fail)

Sally Spiller (1st Yr. Dip. with Merit; 2nd Yr. Dip. Pass)

Anne Watson (2nd Yr. Dip. Pass)

Dave King -who kindly chased up the above results for the Newsletter tells us that they are by no means exhaustive. He has not been able to get details from several members who are away; and the results of the Certificate in Field Archaeology are not yet published.
MORE COURSES FOR AUTUMN

No sooner does one academic year end than plans for the next begin. In the June Newsletter we gave details of classes next winter at Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute. Here is news of other local classes:

Archaeology of Celtic Roman and Saxon Britain. Lecturer Tom Blagg. Mons. starting Sept. 1 7.30 pm, Camden Inst, Haverstock branch. Fee £7.50

Archaeology and the Roman Empire. Margaret Roxan. Thurs. starting Sept.28, 8pm. Golders Green Library. £8

The Bible Lands – the origins of civilisation. Miss R L Harris. Thurs. starting Sept. 28, 8pm. Edgware Library. £9.

Celtic Art and Architecture in Britain 500 BC-1000 AD. Mrs. E S Eames. Thurs. starting Sept. 2, 1.30 pm. Glebe Hall, Glebe Rd, Stanmore. £8.75

An Architectural Historian in Hertfordshire. F H Bradbeer, Mons, starting Sept. 25, 8 pm. Queen Elizabeths Girls School, Barnet. £8. The same series will be given on Tues. from Sept. 19 at 7.45 pm at Copland Senior High School, Cecil Av, Wembley.
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The Architectural Heritage of the Greater English Church. R. M. Ridlington. Thurs. starting Sept. 2, 7.30 pm. Minchenden Lower Sohool, Fox Lane, Palmers Green, N13. £8.

Social History of England & Golders Green in 20th c. P W Kingsford. Tues, starting Sept 26, 1.30 pm, 103 Hampstead Way, NW11. £8.

Social History of London. Mrs. G C Clifton. Weds. from Sept. 27, 9.45am Henry Burden Hall, Egerton Gardens. NW4. £9.

Most of the above courses are organised by the local WEA branch; HADAS members who would like further details can get the name and phone number of the relevant WEA secretary from Brigid Grafton Green. The list docs not include continuing tutorial classes, many now in their second or third years; they usually do not accept new members.

We mentioned in the June Newsletter details of Diploma courses at HGS Institute. There are no other Diploma courses in the Borough of Barnet; there are, however, central courses for each of the 4 years of the Diploma – usually held either at the Institute of Archaeology; the Extra-mural Centre, Tavistock Square, or the Mary Ward Settlement, Tavistock Place. Details of these can be obtained from the Dept. of Extra-mural Studies, 26 Russell Sq, WC1.

The Department will also provide details of courses for the 3-year Certificate in Field Archaeology. A 2nd year course (The Romano-British period in SE England) is being held at Barnet College in Wood Street on Mons. at 7.30 pm, starting Sept. 18, lecturer E C Hill. This year our Borough has no first year course; the nearest venue for that is the City Lit, where Paul Craddock (incidentally, a HADAS member) is taking The Prehistory of SE England on Thursdays, starting Sept. 21.
HADAS’S OWN COURSE

Last year Hendon College of Further Education, in Flower Lane, Mill Hill, invited HADAS to arrange and give a course of 23 lectures under, the title Beginning Archaeology. This was a bit of an experiment, both for the College and for us. The lectures were given by 14 members, some of whom provided two or three, others just one. Seventeen students signed on at the start, and 14 stayed the full course – which is said to be a successful statistic. That the College was happy, as well as the students, is suggested by the fact that we have been asked to devise a further course for this coming winter.

This will have the general title of Introducing Archaeology, and will be suitable as a continuation course for those students (the majority) who intimated that they would like to do a second year, as well as for new students just joining. Again, the lectures will be given this year by a number of HADAS members (most of them Diploma holders) and the course will offer a simple general background to archaeology from Palaeolithic to Roman times.

HADAS members who are fairly new to archaeology, and would like to add to their background knowledge, might well find this course of interest. It will take place on Tuesday evenings, starting Oct. 3, from 7.30-9.30. Anyone who is interested in enrolling should get in touch with our Hon. Secretary for further details, – including a list of the lectures and a reading list.
Page 3

THE AUGUST OUTING – SUFFOLK’S RURAL PRIDE

John Enderby will lead the August outing to the lovely central plateau of Suffolk on Sat. Aug. 12. Details and application form are enclosed – please apply at once if you would like to take part. Among the places of historic interest to be visited (all in the care of the DoE) are Saxtead Mill (a fine example of an 18th c. post-mill), Framlingham Castle, 12th c. home of the Dukes of Norfolk, and Heveninghal11 Hall. This last is one of the finest Georgian mansions in England, with rooms of outstanding quality designed by James Wyatt and a 50O-acre park and lake laid out by Capability Brown.

SAT. SEPT. 16 will be the final outing of this summer, to the Cotswolds. Further details in the September Newsletter.
TOWN HALL DIG

As announced in the last Newsletter, digging will start behind the Town Hall, The Burroughs, Hendon, on Sat. Aug. 26 at 10 am and will continue for the three days of Summer Bank Holiday. This will be a short exploratory dig, directed by Ted Sammes, to assess the archaeological potential of the area prior to a proposed development by Barnet Borough Council.

On the following weekends of September digging will be from 2.30-5 pm on Saturdays and 10 am-5 pm on Sundays. How long the dig will last cannot be estimated at this stage, but non-regular diggers are advised to contact Jeremy Clynes before coming along, in order to get the latest information. Access to the site is through the entrance to The Grove. Walk down the avenue of lime trees, turning left at the bottom. The site is at the far and of the car park, between it and The Grove.
RECORDING HENDON CHURCHYARD

This will continue on Sunday afternoons, from 2.30 pm, until the start of the Town Hall dig on Aug. 26. It will resume when that dig is over. Again, ring Jeremy Clynes and let him know before you come along.
CLEANING CHARCOAL

A different slant on work at West Heath, by our “resident botanist,” Dr. Joyce E. Roberts.

What an absurd idea to make black white; but at West Heath “cleaning” means removing the sand grains adhering to the charcoal which has been taken out of the “star” find of last autumn: the hearth. In fact the charcoal is blacker at the end than at the beginning! Once cleaned, it will be used for a c14 estimation, hopefully giving us a date for the site.

The charcoal came to me in metal foil packets, labelled according to the area of hearth from which it had been dug. It was important before starting to close the windows, keeping away any draughts which might bring carbon contamination, such as smoke or modern dust; fortunately I do not myself smoke.

I tended to open first the packets which seemed to contain large lumps. I withdrew one of the larger piece of charcoal with forceps {the largest was about l 1/2 cms long) and closed the packet while I scraped the piece all round with a sharp scalpel. This removed tree roots and sand. Then it was brushed all over with a camel-hair brush to remove further sand and the loose charcoal; all the time it was drying out, so the sand came away more easily at the end.
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Many of the pieces were tiny, though naturally one tended to ohoose the biggest. In shape many were flat and thin; some curved pieces were smooth inside and rough and uneven on the outside, suggesting they may be burnt bark. Some lumps were gritty and firm; others fragmented because they were too soft to scrape, so that it was a fiddling job. While I was scraping I looked for any indication of the kind of tree from which the pieces had been derived. Any which appeared to be different from the most common type of charcoal were examined further under a low power dissecting microscope; if a piece was almost certainly not oak (the commonest form) it was saved for future identification, since this may provide important information as to the nature of the forest ” in which the Neolithic men lived.

Each piece, as it was cleaned, was placed in a clean foil envelope until at least 15 grms. had been cleaned. The charcoal was weighed on a Victorian letter balance. Then the foil packet was closed and labelled.: It takes at least two hours to clean 15 grms, longer if the pieces are small. Eventually 105 grms, in 7 packets of at least 15 grms. each, were given to Desmond Collins to be taken to Cambridge for dating.

When they excavated the hearth, Laurie Gevell and Margot Maher recovered about 250 grms of charcoal in all. Some pieces are parts of twigs; in two instances the ends are smooth at an angle to the axis, as if cut on the slant before being thrown onto the fire. Is it too much to believe that somewhere among the West Heath finds we may have the very flint tool which cut them?

DIGGING will continue at West Heath during AUGUST and SEPTEMBER, on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, except for Aug. 12 and Sept. 16, both Saturdays, when there are HADAS outings. Work will be from 10 am to 5 pm, and all diggers will be most welcome, there is still much to be completed before the season ends.
FAMILY HISTORY

One of the “growth” hobbies of the 1970s is family history. As evidence of this, witness the increasing number of family history societies at regional, county and even district level.

The Federation of Family History Societies was founded in 1974 to encourage the setting up of local societies, to co-ordinate their activities and to provide a clearing house for information about family history and genealogy. Today there are close on 50 regional societies and an additional 30 groups with similar aims, including “one-name” societies whose members research a single surname (figures given in the current issue of Local Historian, vol. 13 }No. 2, p.l00). The largest regional group is Birmingham and Midland {over 1000 members). The Federation publishes a twice-yearly Family News and Digest at 75p per issue, inc. postage (obtainable from Mrs. Ann Chiswell, 96 Beaumont’ St, Milehouse, Plymouth, PL2 3AQ). We mentioned as a stop-press item in the last Newsletter that family history is rapidly creeping up on us in our area. The North London branch of the Family History Society was holding its inaugural meeting on July 17 at Enfield. Four days later the Central Middlesex branch held its first meet1ng at Brent Town Hall, Wembley. We who live in the London Borough of Barnet therefore have new family history societies to right and left of us. There may well be HADAS members interested in genealogical studies who will like to participate in the activities of either our western neighbours (apply for information, enclosing an sae, to D E Williams, 17 Northwick Ave, Kenton) or our eastern ones (Hon. Sec. Miss G C Watson, 38 Churston Gdns, New Southgate, Nl1 2NL.
Page 5

NEW BOOKS

Two books recently published by the Stationery Office may- be of interest to members.

2000 Years of Brentford is a London Museum archaeological report by an old friend of HADAS, Roy Canham, who was until he left London a few years ago the Field Officer to the Museum. The report covers fieldwork in the London region, excavations at Brentford and historical and geological background. Finds are dealt with in detail, from Neolithic; flints to post-medieval pottery.

Early Man in West Middlesex is by our Director at West Heath, Desmond Collins. It describes the prehistoric finds made in the gravel workings at Yiewsley, mainly between 1885-1935, said to be “one of the richest Palaeolithic sites in Europe.”

It is suggested that members who are interested in buying either of these books might ring our Hon. Secretary, so that we can send in a collective order.
THE ADVENTURES OF HADAS IN ORKNEY

By PADDY MUSGROVE.

Orkney claims to be the richest archaeological area in Britain, with three recorded places of antiquarian interest to every square mile. That makes a total of 1129 sites, or one site for each 16 inhabitants. These are just the recorded sites. Even during HADAS’s brief visit (Ju1y 8-15) we saw a number of sites which had only just come to light.

We must admit things didn’t begin too well. Even from Scrabster pier the sea looked churlish. Two hours later, when the Old Man of Hoy loomed up through the mist, it was for many a very welcome sight – a promised of dry land soon to come. Despite this, there were no absentees at supper that night in the Kirkwall School Hostel, nor at 8.50 next morning when we set off for a pipe-opening 35O-ft. climb up Wideford Hill to visit our first chambered cairn.

These stone-built Orkney neolithic tombs fall into two main types. Both have central chambers, reached by low passages, often about 6m. long. One type, known as the Maes Howe group after its most famous example has a number of small cells opening off the main chamber. The cairn on Wideford Hill is of this type.

The second type is characterised by the division of the central chamber by pairs of upright stone slabs into a number of compartments or “sta11s.” Of the cairns we visited, Blackhammer, Knowe of Yarso , Midhowe and Taversoe Tuick, all on the island of Rousay, are examples of the stalled cairn, but within these categories there are many variations. Taversoe Tuick, for example, is two-storied – surely a neat piece of one-upmanship – while Unstan chambered tomb on Mainland perhaps represents a transitional phase: essentially a stalled tomb, it also has a single small side cell. Although small, Unstan has yielded the most important pottery assemblage, dated to the mid-4th millenium BC, and has given the name of Unstan ware to pottery of this type found on other Orkney sites.
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The ease with which the local stone can be split into slabs or flags suitable for dry-stone architecture has helped Orkney builders for more than 5000 years, right up to the present era of breeze blocks and corrugated iron. Nevertheless, the design and craftsmanship of Maes Howe is awe-inspiring. Anna and Graham Ritchie, in their newly published guide to the Ancient Monuments of Orkney, call it “one of the greatest architectural achievements of the prehistoric peoples of Scotland.”

Maes Howe was excavated by J. Farrer in 1861, but he was not the first to break into the chamber. 700 years earlier Vikings recorded their presence there by scratching messages on the wall. Some of these refer to searches for treasure. One is about a girl called Ingeborg. Runic inscriptions cannot be read by many people, but we know that this one refers to the lady’s attractions. Daphne Lorimer told us that a Scandinavian historian had confirmed this but after laughing heartily, had refused to provide a literal translation.

Our visits to a number of Orkney’s 100-odd brochs enabled us to study Iron Age architecture of a type found only in the Scottish highlands and islands. These circular defensive dry stone towers had stairways and galleries built into the thickness of their massive outer walls. Two of the best-preserved brochs visited. Midhowe and Gurness, also have formidable surrounding ramparts and ditches. Despite the number of brochs excavated, many problems remain unsolved about their design and use, partly because all have been substantially robbed to provide stone for later buildings around them and even within their walls, which make interpretation of the remains more difficult. We therefore were delighted to have the privilege of being shown over a recently excavated broch by John Hedges of the North of Scotland Archaeological Unit, who believes that his forthcoming report will answer some outstanding questions, particularly regarding the plan of ground level living accommodation.

At a farm near Stromness John Hedges discovered that the farmer proposed to remove “a little mound” about 2m. high. Simply recorded as a “cairn,” it was not scheduled or otherwise protected. With only a few days before demolition, a rescue dig with mechanical equipment was organised. Only after a considerable trench had been cut was it realised that the digger was going through the walls of a broch which had been robbed down to the level of “a little mound.”

When the importance of the site became clear, demolition was postponed – it will, however, be destroyed any day now – and arrangements were hurriedly put in hand for a major excavation. Thirty inexperienced volunteers and schoolchildren were mobilised to empty the centre of the broch to obtain the floor plan. 15 tons of rubble were removed. At one stage activities had to be curtailed when the volume of work became too much for the few experienced supervisors available.

The work revealed concentric rings of living accommodation on the floor of the broch. In the centre was a large D~shaped hearth with a stone curb. Outside this, marked by vertical stone slabs, was a surrounding “service area” containing, postholes. Beyond this again was a ring of outer compartments. A dirty unpaved area to the left of the entrance door could have provided emergency shelter for animals: to the right of the entrance, an area of neat paving undoubtedly indicated the “lounge area.”
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The excavation of “Bu broch” (as John Hedges has christened his discovery) should also enable a date to be put on the mysterious Orkney “earth houses” – small subterranean chambers, whose purpose is still unknown. One of these, built into the wall of the broch, contained dateable material. Another day John Hedges took us to see a Bronze Age “kitchen,” next to one of Orkney’s 250 “burnt mounds.” Until now, he explained, people had dug into these hitherto puzzling mounds, but had not searched for nearby sources of the burnt material. A little distance away he showed us, too, a fine chambered cairn, initially excavated by a local farmer, and dramatically poised in an amphitheatre above the cliffs. He also provided an exhibition of Unstan ware pottery.

The day we visited the Brough of Birsay to see the remains of Orkney’s first cathedral, the Norse longhouses and the palace of Earl Thorfinn, we again had the most authoritative guide possible – Chris Morris of Durham University, who has been digging the Viking settlements there for the past 5 years. He showed us the current excavations on an eroded cliff face where a cist grave has been recovered and where possible Pictish buildings are now emerging.

To most students of archaeology, Orkney means Skara Brae, but what more can be written about this most famous of Neolithic villages? Now protected against the sea and the sand storms which both buried and protected it, it stands there after 4000 years with fitted furniture intact – its stone dressers, hearths, beds, cupboards and water tanks.

It is possible only to list some of the other sights seen: the Standing Stones of Stenness and the spectacular Ring of Brodgar with its great stones dark against the sky; “Cobbie Roos” castle and the l2th c. chapel on the small island of Wyre; the Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm (built ingeniously from odds and ends, by Italian POWs); St. Peter’s Kirk on South Ronaldsay; the Earl’s Bu and Round Church, Orphir; the impressive cliff walk at Yescanaby. And, for the botanically minded, there was the successful search for the rare primula scotica and the oyster plant.

Our most grateful thanks are due to the many people we met in Orkney who made, our stay so enjoyable: to Messrs. John Hedges and Chris Morris for their explanation of sites; to Mr. Bryce Wilson, who opened the Tankerness House Museum to us; to Mr. J. Halcro-Johnston for showing us the cist at Orphir House; to Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson for re-opening the souterraine on their land; to Mr. & Mrs. Bichan for allowing us to visit the Broch of Breakna and providing tea for the whole party, also to Miss Mardi Bichan for making the Swanbistcr pottery from which we drank it; to Mr. J. Troup, who talked to us on Orkney’s Norse heritage and escorted us on a tour of Stromness; to Mr and Mrs. Robinson, who were our guides in Kirkwall, and Mrs. Sue Flint, who led the long march on Rousay; to Miss E. Bullard of the Orkney Field Club, who told us about Orkney plants in history. And there was our coach driver, Bert, whom we led into many a tight corner, but who remained helpful and cheerful throughout.

As ever, tribute must be paid to the staff work of Dorothy Newbury, before and during the expedition. Unflappable and sympathetic, she solves our problems and discreetly organises order out of anarchy. To Daphne and Ian Lorimer our thanks are due for planning and super- vising all our activities in the islands. The disruption to their lives must have been considerable. The gracious manner in which they entertained our large party (still in mandatory “stout walking boots”) to lunch in their charming house at Orphir made it a very Special occasion. Daphne briefed us in an advance talk on some of the sights we were to see and acted as courier throughout the week. Ian introduced us to the natural history of Orkney and provided a back-up transport service. To both of them, our many, many thanks.
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At our special “Farewell to Orkney Dinner” at Tormiston’Mill, the talk was all about “Where shall we go next year?” Where, indeed? Our Orkney trip will be hard to follow.
ACCESSIONS TO THE BOOKBOX

– The following have recently been added to the HADAS Bookbox ,(references are to the categories and numbers on the Hon. Librarian’s master list):
Anthrop 4 Ramapithecus (rep from Scientific American May 1977 Elwyn L. Simmons
5 Archaeology of Early man. J.M. Coles & E.S. Higgs
Arch. Foreign F31 Swans Hellenic Cruises handbook 1976
F32 ditto 1964
F33 ditto 1974 (presented by Daphne Lorimer)
Arch. Gen. 23 Archaeology, Science & Romance (1966} H E L Mel1ersh
24 A History of the Vikings Gwyn Jones
25 Excavation Records. Occ. Paper No. 1. Directorate of Ancient
Monuments and Historic Buildings
Arch. GB 201 The Green Roads of England R Hippisley Cox (not Roman)
Brit. Hist. 70 The Icknield Way (1916) Edward Thomas (presented by Rhona Wells)
74 Medieval England: 1066-1600 AD Colin Platt (anonymous donation)
Loc. Hist. 191 Pamphlet on the operating Theatre of
Old St. Thomas’s Hospital, Southwark (presented by Rhona Wells)
192 London- the Northern Reaches (1951) Robt. Colville (presented by Paddy Musgrove)
193 Time on Our Side? Survey of the
archaeological needs of Greater-London (GLC, DoE, Museum cf’London , 1977)
194 Middlesex, revised 1952, pub. Middx. CC, (presented by Harry Lawrence)
Rom. Brit. 182 Britain- Rome’s Most Northerly Province (1969) G M Durant
183 Britannia (revised ed. 1978) Shepherd Frere (anonymous donation)
Misc. 155 Industrial Archaeology Guide ed. W Cossons & 1969-70 K Hudson
156 Historic Architecture of Northumberland and
Newcastle upon Tyne (1977) (anonymous donation)
Unnumbered Longthorpe Tower (Lincs) 6th imp. 1976 DoE (presented by Christine Arnott)
World Archaeology, vol. 9 ~To 3 Feb. 1978 (anonymous donation)

Our Librarian, George Ingram, wishes warmly to thank those who have donated books; members who wish to borrow books should ring him.