Newsletter No. 179 January 1986
HADAS PROGRAMME
Tuesday
7 Jan “Archaeology of Hedges and Woodland” by Dr. Oliver Rackham
Rackham is a Fellow of Corpus Christi College,
Cambridge and a botanist by profession. As well as study in England, his work
has taken him to Greece and America.
Several
members have already heard him talk on this subject - a subject that has
interested the Society for many years , particularly in relation to the hedge
running across Lyttelton Playing Fields (which is probably a Saxon perimeter
hedge) and that at Hadley Golf Course, behind which some of the troops, in the
Battle of Barnet were deployed in 1471.
Tuesday
4 Feb.,; Neolithic
Arran by Dr. Eric Grant
Tuesday
4 Mar. Alexander the Great &
Art in the Greek East by Dr. I .Malcolm College
Tuesday
1 Apl. Recent Excavations at
Perachora, near Corinth by Prof .R, A. Tomlinson
Lectures
are, held at Hendon Library, The Burroughs,NW4. Coffee from 8pm. Lecture 8.30
CHRISTMAS PARTY on DECEMBER 3 report by Alan Lawson
The usual Christmas,
party which took place at the Meritage Club was perhaps less.formal
than of past years - nothing exotic by way of belly dancing took place. In a
very relaxed atmosphere of nostalgic photo viewing, archeaograms, treasure
hunts and identification quizzes some 49 members of HADAS had a most enjoyable
evening with an excellent buffet, superb cheeses, good humour and friendliness.
It almost goes without saying, thanks were given to the many hard
working and devoted workers who made the evening the success .that
it was.
PROPOSED WEEKEND STAYING IN EXETER UNIVERSITY
DATES: September 18 -
21 (3 nights stay)
Dartmoor,
Exmoor, Exeter. Anyone who is interested please contact Alan Lawson, 68 Oakwood
Road, N, W.11 Telephone: 458 3827. Details later if response allows.
NEW MEMBERS
It’s some months
since the Newsletter greeted the newcomers who steadily become HADAS members
month by month. New Year seems a good time to welcome all those who have joined
us since mid-1985:
Lawrence Barham of
Lewisham, Derek Batten, Stanmore, Penelope Boon*, Barnet, Mr. Otto and Miss
Thea* Caslaysky, Finchley, Eve Dent*, East Finchley, Roy English, Clapham,
M. French, North
Fincley, J. Gregory, N. 11: P. Herreman, SW4: Dr. Hunt, Stanmore:
Graham. Hutchings Colindale:
Rosalie Ivens, Golders Green: Sinead McCartan, WC1. John
Morfey, Hampstead:
Paula Newton, North Finchley: Basil Olympios, Finchley: R.O'Shea, W5: Joanna
Rabiger*, Golders Green; Kim Russell, Highgate: Akano Sato, NW1. Simeon Shoul, Hampstead: David
Trinchero, NW6 Paul Wiggins, Ruislip.
The Newsletter
wishes them all a happy membership of HADAS and "good digging" in
1986. (* indicates a member under 18).
SITES TO WATCH
Some development
applications which have been made to Barnet Council in the last few weeks are for
sites which HADAS has already noted as of possible archaeological interest.
These sites have re-appeared on the planning application lists (which have
recently taken to including the date of the original application, which is
helpful) because in the interim, the plans had been re-described, amended or
added to. We include these sites in our list for this month as a reminder.
If any/all these
applications are approved by LBB, HADAS members living near any of the sites
may see signs of development activity - surveyors at work, bulldozers moving
in, trenches being cut. Should you observe anything of this nature, please let
John Enderby know immediately on 203 2630. Sites are only worth watching from
an archaeological point of view, in the early stages when the ground surface is
being disturbed, so immediate notification is VITAL.
Here are the sites
on recent application lists which appear to have some possible archaeological
potential: -
167 Friern Barnet
Lane, N20 4 detached houses -(outline) -
Rear of 206High
Street, Barnet 2-storey, building
to form 6 bedroom hotel
Former Methodist
Church site,
Goodwyn Avenue NW7 18
flats in. 2 blocks
land bounded by
Dollis Road;
Christs college
playing fields Primary school & access.(amended outline) &
properties in Dollis Park, N3
land adj. East
Finchley station, Offices carparking,
residential development,
fronting High Rd
& rear of East new station
fo,recourt, 'access roads.
End Road, N2 (Amended
outline, additions)
site adjoining
131Marsh Lane, NW7 detached house with
basement .(amended plan)
site of former
Blue Anchor public retail warehouse
(outline)..
house, High Road,
N20
Bells public
house, East End Rd single storey
side/rear extensions for bar/ restaurant, facilities
29 Ashley Lane,1\TW4 pair
of semi-detached houses
LOCAL HISTORY AT LAMAS
The 20th LAMA'S
Local History Conference on November 30 was, as ever, a lively and
Interesting occasion.
The conference is
always worth attending on two counts - first, for the Lectures which form the
main dish on the menu; secondly and perhaps equally important - for the
displays put on by local societies from every part of the. London area and the
opportunity these provide for society members to mingle and catch up with news of'
each other’s research.
Originally the theme
suggested for the conference had been Farms and Farming in Middlesex. In the
event, lectures dealt mainly with the Anglo-Saxon and early medieval
countryside. Dr. John
Blair took Chertsey Abbey from early Saxon times to the 10th century as his
focal point, Dr. Peter Bigmore handled landscape evidence from open field systems
and ridge and furrow, and documentary evidence from estate maps and manor court
rolls while John Mills' subject was "Archaeological Discoveries in the Greater
London. Area c. 400-c.1100".
HADAS, had its usual
display and bookstall arranged and manned by Joyce Slatter, Victor Jones and
Brigid Grafton Green to whom the Society is most grateful. The display
contained material from the HADAS Farm.Survey. 'Bookstall sales went
particularly well this year.
BOG BURIALS .
We’re delighted to
hear that the University Extra-mural Department; has had second
thoughts about its
Thursday evening public lectures in archaeology. Back in the autumn there were
no plans to run them this winter. Now we learn that, a series of ten public
lectures on "Bog Bodies and Ancient Man Preserved' will start at the
Institute of Archaeology on Thursday, January 16, from 7-8.30pm. Here is the
full programme, which sounds most interesting:-
Jan 16 The
Preservation of Ancient Human Bodies Don Brothwell
Jan 23 Archaeology
of British &'European Bog Bodies R. Turner
Jan 30 Lindow Man
an Ancient Body from a Cheshire Bog Ian Stead
Feb 6 The
Manchester Museum Investigations Dr. R. David
Feb 13 Diet &
Food Remains in Ancient Man. Gordon Hillman
Feb 20 Forensic
Aspects of Ancient Bodies Dr. I. E West
Feb 27
Histopathology & Health in Early Man Dr. E. Tapp
Mar 6 Bogs &
Burials; Aspects of Parasitism in Early Man Dr. A. Jones
Mar 13 Investigation
on New World Mummies Don Brothwell
Mar 20- The Determination
of Age & Sex in Early Man Dr. T. Mollison
A ticket for the
series costs: £15, but you can pay £2 at the door to go to an individual
lecture. Cheques for the series should be sent to Miss Edna Clancy, Extra Mural
Department, 26 Russell Square, WC1B-5D0'.
The Institute of
Archaeology announces a programme of some thirteen. 5-day courses for next July
and August. The subjects are: protection of archaeological sites,
identification of Plant remains, drawing of finds, field techniques,
archaeological evidence for disease, civilisations of ancient America,
surveying, Roman London, identification of Roman coins; geoarchaeology, stone
tool technology, underwater Archaeology and the identification of animal bones.
In addition there will
be a number of 5-day courses on conservation, ranging from conserving photographs
to making high quality replicas of museum objects.
Anyone who would
like information about either the archeological or the conservation courses
should write to James Black, Summer Schools coordinator, at the Institute of Archaeology,
31-34 Gordon Square, WC1H OPY
ENCORE FOR ONIONS
After all Ted Sammes
contributions to last month’s Newsletter wasn’t as we thought
it might be - the
last word on onions The tear-jerking saga continues…..
This month's
instalment comes from Anne Lowe, mother of one of our junior members
Christopher Lowe. She sends us the following quotation from "Food in
England", that lovely book by Dorothy Hartley; who died last November in
her-'93rd year:
"Scallions -
now a name given to bolted onions, but a perennial plant that grows clusters,
and can be used for all plain cooking purposes; they stay in the, ground all
the year round. Holsters are the Welsh version of these, rather smaller, and with
very marked spring growth these make the best tansy that I've ever had, made by
a farmhand
Take holsters in
spring, chop them finely, and fry in bacon fat. When they are soft,
drain off any fat
and pour on enough beaten egg to cover, add pepper and salt and chase
them round till blended
- and; then 'leave 'em’be till set, 'not let ‘em boil, mind, or the egg will be
a-whey, just set it nicely.' .Then turn on to a hot plate, and it is
excellent"
The drawings on
the opposite page include Welsh Holtzers (this time spelt with a 'z') with the
comment 'good for rough winter cutting'. Miss Hartley was an accomplished
artist, as well as a writer - so much so that her obituary in The Times last
November ended with the line " she loved drawing her heaven must surely
include a friendly life-class."
ABOUT HADAS PEOPLE
A distinctly Chinese
air hung over some of the conversations at the HADAS Christmas party. One
member - schoolmaster AUBREY HODES - was just back from his stint teaching
English at Hua Qiao University, Quanzhou (from where you may remember, he wrote
some interesting reports for the Newsletter). ALEC JEAKINS, on the other hand,
is about to go to Far Eastwards early next year, as the production manager for
a film on science which will be shown in China and Hong: Kong. With one coming
and one going, it's not surprising that a lot of talk about China was whizzing
around Hendon, NW4.
Next year's visit
will be a return performance for Alec, his mother BETTY JEAKINS says.. He's
recently made one film for the BBC out there, which caused him to understand
just what royalty feels like - wherever he went his public went too -
following, whispering and staring:.
Dorothy Newbury
tells us of another HADAS member who has recently been in China COLIN EVANS.
We don't often see him nowadays because he is based in France; but not long ago
his firm sent him to the `Far East on a combined business and pleasure trip.
And talking of
HADAS members far afield, the new address the Society has for longtime member
VINCENT FOSTER, who was a keen digger and member of the main Committee in the
1970s, is Quebec, Canada - a far cry from his former home at Finchley.
VALENTINE SHELDON,
an enthusiastic HADAS supporter for the last six years, has another hobby
besides archaeology. In her own quiet way she is a highly successful fundraiser
for her pet charities. This year she set herself the target of raising £100 for
the proposed North London Hospice, and achieved it by November. Her method?
It's all done with a needle. Miss Sheldon is a demon seamstress: she sews for
love, but asks her clients to contribute whatever they think her work is worth
to the charity of her choice.
SALUTE TO THE WELSH HARP
The current
exhibition at Church Farm House Museum on the Welsh Harp, is well worth a visit
from anyone interested in the history of our area; or, for that matter, in its
natural history. There are some good exhibits on Victorian naturalists, bird
watching and angling, including the display of a magnificent, mean-looking
stuffed pike, weighing 201bs 12oz, caught in the Harp over a century ago..
Angling tournaments,
Ice-skating championships ("Where can you find 350 acres of ice? Why, at
Warners Welsh Harp'), drowning fatalities - the Harp was famous or notorious for
all of them in the last century.
Built in 1837 by
the Regents Canal Company to provide extra Water for the capital’'s canals, and
extended in 1851 , the Welsh Harp, named for the famous pub which stood at its
eastern end beside the Edgware Road, was much more than a mere water-supply it,
was a recreation ground and a focus for Victorian family enjoyment.
Another aspect of
the Welsh Harp cropped up recently too. At the LAMAS conference of Local
Historians on November 30 the Wembley History Society were selling their
booklet The Welsh Harp Reservoir 1835-1985.
This covers the
reasons - mainly chronic water shortages - for the decision to build the
reservoir, its detailed construction, how the water was, and is now, controlled
and a history of the Welsh Harp pub and the family who owned it, particularly
William Perkins Warner. He was a veteran of the Crimean War, who owned and ran
the Welsh Harp from- 1858 to 1889.
He made it a
sporting and social centre “one of the most cosy and comfortable places to be
found in London". There was a museum- containing both Military and natural
history objects - a billiard room, a ballroom and in the grounds, a bowling
green, a skittles saloon and a
shooting enclosure. Kingsbury race course (described angrily by a local
resident as 'a carnival of vice' and suppressed in 1879) was nearby and the pub
was the headquarters of one of the best known angling societies in Victorian
England the Old Welsh Harp Angling Society. A day-ticket for taking Jack or
Perch cost 2s6d (12p); a day-ticket for bottom fishing is (5p). Adjoining the
tavern was a large concert hall where many well-known music hall artists
performed, including Albert Chevalier, who used to sing his coster ballads.
The
booklet ends with a section on the ballads which helped to make the Welsh Harp
famous. The words of five of them are given. Here is one -
A
SONG FOR. THE WELSH HARP,
(sung to the tune of 'The Cork Leg')
Dedicated to W P Warner, written by Tom
Erica of '.The; Sportsman'
Published in the
Hendon & Finchley Times of July 10,1880
A
song I’ll sing you of a place
Where you'll always
meet a smiling face
Where every comfort can be found,
Whether inside or in the
ground.
The
waiters there are all so neat,
To
be waited on it is a treat:
And where they give you
the best meat,
And
with cheery welcome always greet.
The prices, too, are
quite as low
.As anywhere that you can go.
The host himself is always there
With jolly face and talent rare.
His popularity he does
share
With Mrs Warner, who's
'all there' .
She always greets us with a smile
After we've trudged the weary
mile.
While
something nice she gets us then
We find out John, that best of men
From cellar
he brings out the best
To place before his welcome guest.
And when we've dined,
why out we go
And on the lake we take a row:
Then
back we come to thank our host
And find him there at his old post.
We've
had our fun, so off we rush
In Woodruff's Hendon Omnibus
To London City where
we live.
Before we go our hand we give
To
the best of landlords true,
By
all respected, and one of few
Who
never gets done and never does you
At the old Welsh Harp
at Hendon.