Newsletter
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For your diary
River Walk: Mr. Jeffrey Evans will be leading the next in his series
of walks northwards along the River Brent towards its source on
Saturday 23rd September. Meet at Totteridge & Whetstone Underground
Station at 2.30 p.m. A member has kindly offered to provide tea for
intrepid explorers after the walk! FOOTNOTE - The final walk in the
series has been provisionally scheduled to take place next spring.
The dates for the Society's 1972/3 Winter programme are as follows : -
Tuesday 17th October 1972
| - Lecture
|
Tuesday 21st November 1972
| - Lecture
|
December 1972 (date to be announced)
| - Social Function
|
Tuesday 16th January 1973
| - Lecture
|
Tuesday 20th February 1973
| - Lecture
|
Tuesday 20th March 1973
| - Lecture
|
Tuesday 17th April 1973
| - Lecture
|
Tuesday 15th May 1973
| - A.G.M.
|
Details will be announced in later Newsletters. The venue for
lectures will once again be St. Mary's Church Hall, Church End, Hendon,
NW4 as the Public Library is still closed for modrenisation, and the
time remains unchanged at 8.15 p.m.
Burroughs Gardens Excavations - A progress report
The discovery of footings of a house pre-dating the houses recently
demolished has caused us to continue our excavations in the area next
to the bakery. More interesting still are the layers in this area
producing rim, body and base sherds of Medieval pottery. Regrettably,
no coins have so far been found in these layers, but the pottery has
been tentatively dated by the Guildhall and London Museums as 12th to
13th century. This agrees well with a dating made by John Hurst when
the sherds were found.
On Saturday 26th August, Roy Canham, Field Officer of the
London Museum, visited the dig and a useful discussion took place;
diggers were regrettably few on that occasion! The finding of this
material is unusual in North London, the nearest documented site being
at Northolt.
The Burroughs dig takes us back archaeologically towards
our Saxon beginnings. The number if diggers has fallen off in recent
weeks, due to the holiday season. A special effort is needed,
therefore, for these last few weeks if we are going to be able to wring
all the knowledge available from this interesting site. So wil anyone
who can help, even for a couple of hours at a time, please come along
to the Burroughs at the following times:
September 16/17
|
September 24 (no digging on Sept. 23 owing to river walk)
|
September 30 / October 1
|
Digging on Staurdays is from 2 to 6 p.m. and on Sunday all day,
from 10.30 to 6, allowing time off for lunch between 1- 2.35. IF YOU
POSSIBLY CAN, PLEASE HELP TO FINISH OFF YOUR DIG!
Wanted for dig
Donation or loan of stirrup pump for watering the trenches. If you think you can help, please contact Jeremy Clynes.
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Along the Brent - A special report from Jeffrey Evans on the River Walks he has led
These walks are along the banks of the River Brent upstream to its
source near Arkley, so for the benefit of those members who were unable
to come on the first two walks, here are a few points of local interest
seen on the way so far. The River Brent flows for some 18 to 20 miles,
mostly through Middlesex, before entering the Thames at Brentford - our
old county town.
We started the first walk from Henleys Corner along part of
Mutton Brook - which here forms the ancient parish boundary between
Hendon and Finchley - passing the site of once famous watercress beds
(now a swamp, but still remembered by a few very old inhabitants),
alongside the remaining part of Hurst Wood on the Hendon side - known
in the 18th century as Foxhole Wood - by Decoy Wood at the site of
Decoy Farm, where the brook flows into the River Brent, sometimes here
called Dollis Brook. Now walking upstream, we soon pass the high
waterfall at Hendon Lane where the river was once dammed to form a long
lake to enhance the view from the nearby Manor House (Tenterden Hall).
Further on, it flows under the old red brick Waverley Bridge and so to
Mill Hill East where our first walk finished.
The next walk was from Dollis Lane under the high arches of Dollis
Viaduct where the walk becomes more wild and wooded with small
backwaters and pools when passing the grounds of Nether Court and the
Finchley Golf Course, on through the well-kept grounds of Woodside
Park, where another feeder of the Brent joins it from Mill Hill to the
west, then out into the open fields of the Totteridge and Whetstone
valley, and finishing at Totteridge Lane, the whole distance being
about 4 miles.
We hope to continue these walks at a later date along the
final section through part of Hertfordshire around the north of
Totteridge and back towards Mill Hill to trace the river's source in
the deep wooded valley by Hendon Wood Lane just below Barnet Gate. This
is a site having legendary connections from very early times with
Anglo-Saxon mythology, in the story of Beowolf and the slaying of
Grendel, the man-eating monster of the woods and swamps, and was
mentioned in a 10th century Saxon charter as "Grendchen gatan"
(Grendel's gates).
Exhibition
A neighbouring Society, the Stanmore, Edgware and Harrow Historical
Society, has asked us to let members know about its forthcoming
exhibition on the local history of Stanmore and Harrow. This will take
place on Saturday. October 7, at St. John the Evangelist Church House,
Stanmore, starting at 2 p.m. Church House is near the church, which
many members may know because of its interesting historical
associations. The present church, built in 1850, stands beside the
older brick built church consecrated by Archbishop Laud in 1632 and not
used after 1850. At his trial, Laud was accused of consecrating a
"Masshouse" at Stanmore, and replied "No air. It is a parish church".
The exhibition will include the Moxom collection, found at Brockley
Hill about 1905, which the Stanmore society is borrowing for the
occasion from the London Borough of Barnet.
Out and About - Summer Outings '72
July - Sailing Barges Museum
Forty members and friends supported the second of this season's
outings on Saturday 15th July. First stop was The Friars, a Carmelite
Priory, at Aylesford. Time was allowed for a quick look round the
tranquil surroundings, after which the party moved on to the nearby
village of Eccles. There we walked to the site of a Roman villa, where
the current season's activities were explained by Mr. A. P. Detsicas,
M.A., F.S.A., Occupation of the villa commenced in the period
immediately after the Roman conquest and with subsequent rebuilding
until 400 AD.
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We paused for tea at the Mad Hatter and afterwards visited the
Dolphin Sailing Barge Museum in the cool of the evening. There we
received an enthusiastic welcome and a feast of Thames Barge folklore
was discussed. Whilst looking at the collection of Barge by-gones, we
were told that there are now 35 similar barges in seaworthy condition.
August - Roman Dover
On Saturday 12th August a party of 33, including members of Camden
Historical Society, amongst whom was the Secretary, Mr. G. D. Gregory,
set off on a special outing additional to the regular summer programme
to visit the important Roman excavations at Dover on show for a limited
season in July and August. During the course of the work on the A20
York Street bypass road in 1970, extensive remains of the major 2nd
century A.D. "Classis Britannica" fort, headquarterd of the Roman fleet
in Britain, were discovered, just seven feet away from the site
predicted by Sir Mortimer Wheeler as far back as 1929. This led to a
major archaeological rescue digging operation by the Kentish CIB
Archaeological Rescue Corps under the leadership of Mr B. J. Philp.
Although saved for future generations by the raising of the new road
level by up to six feet, the "Classis Britannica" fort has now been
lost to view again. There was, however, a tour around an adjacent site
where excavations are at present under way, conducted by a young helper
from the Dover Archaeology Group. On this site, we saw evidence of
settlement in Neolithic times from 4000 years ago to 2000 B.C., an Iron
Age farm of around 500 B.C. and a later 3rd century A.D. Roman fort
with impressive defensive walls and ditches. Above this were ditches
and other evidence of a 4th century A.D. Saxon shore fort, destroyed by
fire in 800 A.D. and signs of Medieval and later occupation. A final
highlight was the now famous 2nd century A.D. Roman "Painted House",
with the walls of two large rooms completely covered by brilliantly
coloured painted plaster, unparalleled in Roman Britain, or indeed
outside Italy. Members of the party also took time to visit Dover
Castle and explore the town. Despite some rather disappointing weather,
the expedition was voted a great success by all who participated.
Strand Looping
John Cresswell of the London History Society conducted this exercise
on the afternoon of Saturday 19th August. Members of the HADAS were
invited. We were first given a little background history of the
immediate area of Southwark adjacent to the early London Bridges and a
presumed Roman road, possibly extending under Southwark Cathedral.
Finding our way over the parapet and down to the river margin was the
first adventure - it is a very long way down indeed! Wellington boots
and old clothes were essential for nedgotiating the slippery and
squelchy area left by the retreating tide. Soon everyone was scratching
away at the area of their choice and many objects were unearthed. Some
worked flints were found - these, by prior arrangement were given to
John Cresswell. Jeremy Clynes took charge of the pieces of Samian
pottery found by our members. Other finds included pottery sherds of
Medieval and Tudor dating - further examples being nearer our own time.
Many pieces of encrusted iron abound, such as nails, bolts and horse
bits. It was a lovely, sunny afternoon with a brisk breeze and those of
us who participated thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Food for thought - a collection of classes for the Autumn
Certificate in Field Archaeology
The course combines lectures and demonstrations of field work in a
study of man in S.E. England, and forms part of a three year
Certificate in Field Archaeology. The courses are :-
Course 1 -
| Field Archaeology and the Prehistory of S.E. England;
|
Course 2 -
| Field Archaeology and the Romano-British period in S.E England;
|
Course 3 -
| Field Archaeology and the post-Roman period in S. E. England
|
Course 1 may be taken at Barnet College, Wood Street, Barnet, Herts, commencing 27th September., 7.30 p.m. fee £3.00.
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Tutorial and Sessional Classes
The miscellaneous courses listed below are available locally:
Egyptology – A survey of the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms
including architecture, paintings and sculpture, crafts, literature,
religion and funerary customs, foreign relations. East Finchley
Library, High Road, N2 (Finchley WEA branch), commencing 27th September
at 8.00 p.m. fee £2.50.
The Romans in the West – an examination of the development
of Roman civilisation in Gaul, Germany, Spain, Britain, and N. Africa.
Golders Green Library, Golders Green Road, NW11 (Golders Green WEA
branch) commencing 26th September, 8.00 p.m. fee £3.50.
History of Greek Civilisation – Societies and cultures of
ancient Crete and Greece: prehistoric forerunners, piracy and slavery,
class warfare, the Olympiad, city states and empires, Greeks and Celts
and Alexander’s conquest of India. Edgware Library, Hale Lane, Edgware
(Mill and Edgware WEA branch) commencing 25th September at 8.00 p.m.
fee £2.50.
Civilisation and its origins – What is civilisation? A
comparative study of the distinctive styles and achievements of man’s
first civilisations in Egypt, the Near East, the Indus Valley and
elsewhere. 36 The Grove, Southgate, N13 (Southgate WEA branch),
commencing27th September. 10.00 a.m. fee £2.50.
Georgian London – New squares, parks, churches, West End
and City, trade and criminal quarters, the Thames and villages, the
London of Hogarth, Pope, Dr. Johnson, David Garrick and Robert Adam.
Friern Barnet Library (Friern Barnet WEA branch) commencing 26th
September 8.10 p.m. fee £2.50.
The following courses are advertised in the London Borough
of Barnet booklet (Adult Educations News), available from Public
Libraries, which describes how to obtain details of the classes and
enrolment procedures.
Greek Civilisation – Copthall School, Page Street, NW7 commencing 21st September, 7.30. fee £3.00.
Egyptology – 144 Friern Barnet Lane, N20, commencing 28th September 10.30, fee £2.50.
Roman History – 82 Bedford Avenue, Barnet, commencing 29th September, 10.00 a.m. fee £2.50.
History of London – Mill Hill Library, Hartley Avenue, NW7, commencing 26th September, 7.45 p.m. fee £2.50.
Hendon WEA branch – A report and preview
The successful WEA classes in Roman Archaeology which began with the
help of the Society two years ago is now starting its third year.
Unfortunately no new students can be admitted. Earlier this year many
members of the class, together with their tutor, Mrs. M. Roxan, and
some members of her other classes made a very successful and
interesting trip to Hadrian’s Wall. A class on Victorian England held
in January was also well attended.
Of interest to members this year, starting on 5th October,
is a new class on Art and Architecture of the Renaissance. Full details
are given in the enclosed leaflet. Other classes of Archaeological and
historical interest are being planned. For further information, write
to the Secretary, WEA (Hendon), Mrs. P. S. Deacon.
Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute Classes
Particulars of the wide range of classes on subjects which may be of
interest to members are shown on the separate sheet enclosed with this
Newsletter.
Winter Weekends Abroad
Dr. John Alexander of the Department of Extra-Mural Studies at the
University of London will be conducting two tours during 1972/3 as
follows:
8th-10th December, 1972
| - Museums of Vienna (cost approx £28)
|
9th-12th February 1973
| - Museums of Copenhagen (cost approx £30)
|
Immediate application is advised. Booking forms are available from
Dr. John Alexander, University of London, Department of Extra-Mural
Studies, 7, Ridgmount Street, WC1E 7AD