Newsletter
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STOP PRESS
See enclosed notice on "The Blue Plaques of Barnet"
Lecture Notes
A reminder
The next HADAS lecture, entitled "They Never Will be Missed" by Mr.
James Lee pf the GLC on the problems of saving historic buildings, will
take place on Tuesday 21st November at St. Mary's Church Hall at 8.15
p.m.
Missing Links
Lecturers have now been booked for the meetings to be held in January and February 1973 and details are given below: -
16th January 1973 - Hugh Chapman, Assistant Curator at the
Guildhall Museum, will speak of "Excavations at Aldgate - 1972" and the
early history of Roman London.
20th February 1973 - R. J. Mercer of the British Museum will talk on excavations at Carn Brea, Cornwall.
Borough of Barnet Library Lectures
The following two lectures from the 1972/3 season may be of interest to members: -
Wedensday 15th November - "Tutankhamun's Egypt" by James
Hall, North Finchley Library, Ravensdale Road, N12 at 8.15 p.m. Mr
Hall's description of Tutankhamun's tomb and other areas of Egypt
provides an illuminating background to the current exhibition of the
Treasures of Tutankhamun at the British Museum, now extended until 30th
December.
Wednesday 7th February - "The castles of the Assassins by
Robert Moss, Burnt Oak Library, Watling Avenue, Edgware, 8,15 p.m. Mr
Moss was a member of the Alamut Valley expedition to Northern Persia
when several notable castles were explored.
Baynards Castle - A Report
A good crown attended the first lecture of the 1972/3 season on 17th
October, to be welcomed by our chairman, Mr. Brian Jarman, who then
introduced Mr. Jeremy Haslam to speak on the recent excavations of
Baynards Castle in the city of London. The lecture was augmented by a
fine collection of coloured slides illustrating the points covered.
Mr. Haslam began with a brief outline of the history of the
castle. Situated originally to the north of Thames Street in Norman
times, on land subsequently utilised by the Black Friars, Baynards
Castle was twice rebuilt on a site to the south of Thames Street in the
13th and 15th centuries. The 13th century building was rectangular with
a stone courtyard, whilst corner towers and five smaller towers were
added in the 15th century. Finally, it suffered severe damage in the
Great Fire of 1666, after which fragments of stone were used in near-by
dwellings until the site was entirely cleared at the beginning of the
19th century. Later, Victorian warehouses were built with extremely
deep foundations which still cut straight across the whole site.
The remains of the castle, once the largest and most
important non-ecclesiastical building in London, were rediscovered in a
sewer trench in February, and Mr. Haslam described the subsequent
excavations, which could only be carried out in between the Victorian
warehouse foundations. A dock 25 to 30 feet wide existed to the west of
the 13th century castle, and the western dock wall and mooring posts
were found. This was filled in during the mid-15th century when the
castle was extended and a wall built on the filling in the 16th
century. As the castle was built on soft ground adjacent to the River
Thames, which apparently consisted of a large percentage of horse
manure, the foundations had to be very substantial. In fact the walls
were built on elm piles 12 to 15 feet deep, overlaid with oak planks in
rows of four. The building itself consisted either of well made chalk
blocks or Kentish rag limestone, brought up river by barge. Alas
Baynards Castle has now been completely destroyed by contractors
building a new road across the site.
In answer to questions, Mr. Haslam stated that the largest
collection of 15th and 16th century finds in the country were
discovered in the dock area and a "robber trench" dig in connection
with the dock wall, respectively. Amongst these were several thousand
shoes. This material will probably go to the guildhall Museum. In
conclusion, Mrs. Worby proposed a vote of thanks, and afterwards
considerable interest was shown in the collection of finds on display
from the Burroughs Gardens and Brockley Hill digs.
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Christmas Party
The HADAS Christmas Party will take place at 166 Station Road,
Hendon, NW4 on Friday 15th December, as announced in the October
Newsletter. Festivities commence at 7.30 p.m. and tickets costing 45p
are available from the Hon Treasurer, Richard Deacon. These will also
be on sale at the November lecture.
We are promised a gala evening with an abundance of
seasonal fare and party games with an "archaeological flavour"! Please
make this a definite date in your diary now, if you have not already
done so.
P.S. If any member requires transport to and from the
party, please contact the Hon. Sec. Mrs. Grafton Green who will make
the necessary arrangements.
Project News - Cataloguing Brockley Hill Finds
In the October newsletter, mention was made of the plans to spend
two full weekends in the New Year working on the early Brockley Hill
finds. Details have now been finalised as follows: - Mr. John Enderby,
Principal of the Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute (to whom the Society
owes a large debt for his continuing help in these matters), is kindly
allowing us the use of HGS Teahouse, near the Institute for the
weekends of 27/28th January and 3/4th February. We shall be able to
work there all day (with a break for lunch, or course!) on both
Saturdays and Sundays starting at 10.00 a.m.
Will all members who are interested in this opportunity of
doing some practical work on Roman pottery please note the dates in
their diaries now, and give as much time as possible to helping during
these weekends. Those with any knowledge of the subject will of course
be particularly welcome, but please come along even if you consider
yourself a beginner; there will be jobs for everyone.
The pottery from this site, as many of you know, is of
considerable interest. The Brockley Hill potters. For some 60 years in
the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD, were main suppliers for
certain vessels, particularly mortaria,
to the whole province of Roman Britain. As well as material from this
heyday of activity, the site also yields later Roman pottery up to the
start of the 4th century.
Could all members who are likely to be able to help at
these sessions - either full-time or part-time, please notify the Hon
Sec; some idea of numbers will be very helpful in planning what is now
to be done.
Current Exhibitions
We would like to draw your attention to two exhibitions of possible interest to members, which are now running:-
British Saltglazed Stoneware = A Seminar and Exhibition
arranged by Morley College Ceramic Circle. The Seminar, at Morley
College, will consist of lectures covering all aspects of British
Saltglazed Stoneware and takes place on 18/19th November. The fee is
£6.50, including lunch. The Exhibition, in Morley College Gallery,
displays stoneware of British manufacturing centres, and documentary
and archaeological evidence from London, running until 25th November.
Admission free.
Local Maps and Views 17th to 19th century
Church Farm House Museum, Greyhound Hill, NW4 until 31st December,
admission free. This exhibition, one of the activities planned for
National Book Week 1972, comprises items drawn mainly from the Local
History Collections of the Libraries Department. Maps of Middlesex and
Hertfordshire, as well as local maps, show the growth of the area.
Engravings, lithographs, and other illustrations of churches.
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Local History Conference
The London and Middlesex Archaeological Society are holding their
7th Local History Conference in the Livery Hall at the Guildhall, EC2
on Saturday 25th November. Mr. John Earl of the Historic Buildings
Division of the Greater London Council will speak on “The urgent need
to know more”. His talk will deal with the state of play in the field
of conservation and he will be stressing the need to know our towns and
localities better in order to care for them properly in the future. In
addition there will be two short talks and exhibitions of publications,
photographs and other materials of local societies, illustrating some
of their recent work.
The doors will open at 1.30 p.m. and the main programme
commences at 2.3o p.m. Admission, costing 35p (including tea) is by
ticket only, available on application to the Hon Sec, Local History
Committee, London and Middlesex Archaeological Society.
Milestones – Some Notes – a feature article by Ted Sammes
Markers to denote distances along roads were certainly established
by Roman times. They were sited at distances of 1,000 Roman paces
(1,620 yards or 1,400 metres). These milestones were not only
guideposts or way-markers, they also extolled the Emperor. In 20 BC,
Augustus was made Commissioner of Highways in the Rome area. He set up
a gilded bronze milestone giving the principal centres of the Empire
and their distances from Rome. During Trajan’s period, many new roads
were built and others restored. By AD 200, the length of the
description praising the Emperor vastly outweighed that of the mileage!
A simple stone example can be seen in the British Museum from
Llanfairfechan in Wales. Sixty three examples are known in Britain.
Modern milestones can be found on canals, railways and
roads. More recently,. They have appeared in a new guise as one tenth
kilometre posts on our motorways. A modern example of a road milestone,
bullet scarred, stands incongruously in the Elizabethan courtyard at
Maidstone Museum; it came originally from Kuala Lumpur.
Organised travel died out with the collapse of the Roman
Empire and did not recover until 16th to 17th centuries brought a vast
increase in trade. During the intervening period, travel was by
pack-horse or mule. An Act of 1555 placed responsibility for road
upkeep on the local Parish, removing it from he unsatisfactory hands of
the Manor. This arrangement remained in force until the 19th century,
when the County Courts Act of 1888 placed the responsibility for main
roads with County Councils. In 1894, the Local Government Act
transferred Paris authority to the new District Councils.
Turnpikes were apart from this system, being established at
first as Trusts by Private Acts of Parliament. In 1773, the General
Turnpike Act listed the powers of the Commissioners of Turnpikes,
appointed for each County, thus placing the turnpikes under County
Councils. One of the earliest turnpike roads was in Hertfordshire in
1663. With the introduction of these roads came mileposts and signposts
to aid in charging.
The direction in which people travelled changed with the years; a fine
set of milestones running from Hertfordshire to Buckinghamshire
connecting with the Bath Road, is an example of this. The Mailcoach Act
of 1784 required mileage marks to be placed on all letters carried.
These distances were measured from London and were incorporated in the
postmark. Such a system was inconvenient for cross country routes and
was stopped in 1797, but re-introduced in 1801.
Barnet today has at least four routes of milestones:-
1. Along the Edgware Road (Roman Watling Street) – The
Edgware-Kilburn Turnpike, 7 miles long, was opened in 1711, possibly at
the instance of the Duke of Chandos, who built a house at Cannons a
short distance north-east of Edgware. The present milestones are of
cast iron, but there is one half-way up Brockley Hill, which is of
stone. The site of the end of the turnpike is marked with a Blue
Plaque.
2. Hampstead to Mill Hill – A rambling route from Hampstead
to Mill Hill. These milestones are similar to the one at Brockley Hill,
being of stone and rectangular in section. They cover a distance of 11
miles. Their presence was noted by Collinson in 1752 when he described
them as newly erected. He mentioned the 10th stone opposite the sheep
wash on Mill Hill Ridgeway.
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3. Finchley Road – Regents Park Road-Finchley Road was a
turnpike road, cut across country as late as 1826. It is marked with
iron stones which show distances to Regents Park, not London.
4. Birmingham-Holyhead Road- This existed as a route before
the 19th century, but was surveyed by Telford in 1810. The Archway
route was cut to bypass Highgate in 1813 and is again being widened at
the present time. Telford also removed kinks at the Kitts End. A
granite milestone can be seen between Whetstone and Barnet.
There was no single point of London from which mileages
were measured, but often the traditional stagecoach terminal pints were
used. These were Whitechapel, Hick’s Hall (originally in St. Johns
Street), Shoreditch Church, Tyburn Turnpike, Hyde Park Corner and the
south end of London and Westminster Bridges. Regents Park, Charing
Cros, Cheapside and St. Pauls have also been used. Today, Charing Cross
is the most usually accepted point.
With the metrication of road distances and the provision of
large illuminated signs to aid the motorist travelling at speed, such
relics of the past are becoming redundant. Let us, however, try to keep
as many in place as possible as a reminder of quieter days.
Welcome
A warm welcome is extended to those members who have only recently
joined the Society:-
Mrs. Joan Bird - Garden Suburb; Mr. Brian Favell – North Finchley; Mrs.
Goring – Garden Suburb; Mr. J. K. Haughton – Hendon; Mrs. K. Howey –
Childs Hill; Mrs. Ruby Jobson – Garden Suburb; Miss Mary Kelsey –
Garden Suburb; Mr. R. W. Martin – Dollis Hill; Mrs. J. Pearce –
Totteridge; Miss Anned Randall – Colindale; Mr. And Mrs. Frank
Spiegelhalter – East Barnet; Miss Else Weavers – Mill Hill; Mrs. B. M.
Wells – Friern Barnet. Under 18: Paul Beevor – Hendon; Judith Bird –
Garden Suburb; Valerie Master – Golders Green.
We hope you will all find something to enjoy among our many and varied activities.
Burroughs Gardens Dig (Grid Ref TQ22718905) – A final word
The 19772 dig ended on 15th October, and with the co-operation of a
local contractor the site was back-filled and levelled the next day.
Ted Sammes, as Site Director, wishes to thank all members who came and
helped to make the enterprise a success. It has shown the existence of
material which proves habitation in Hendon during the medieval period.
This is a step forward in pour knowledge of the area and we can feel
pleased with the results of our efforts.
Archaeological Weekend – A second appeal
Jeremy Clynes reports that he has received a disappointing response
to the idea of a weekend trip to the Dorset/Wiltshire area next spring,
as proposed in the October Newsletter. Sadly the project will have to
be abandoned if no more members express interest. So once again, please
contact Jeremy as soon as you can if you would like this venture to
continue.