News from The Barnet Society

 The coat of arms of Henry VI is the latest to be painted as part of the Battle of Barnet Project – and it is one of 30 heraldic banners that it is hoped will be hung along the High Street to celebrate Barnet’s role in the Wars of the Roses.

Scenes from the battles of St Albans (1461) and Barnet (1471) – two of the engagements in the Wars of the Roses – are to be re-created as part of the Barnet Medieval Festival to be held over the weekend of June 9 and 10 at the Byng Road playing fields.

Replica copies of four of the heraldic banners of the dukes, earls and knights who fought in the 1471 Battle of Barnet are now on display in the Spires shopping centre.

A replica of a late medieval helmet of a kind worn by a knight or man-at-arms at the 1471 Battle of Barnet is the latest acquisition for an exhibition that is being planned at Barnet Museum to celebrate Barnet’s role in the Wars of the Roses.

Reaching out to local schools to explain and promote Barnet’s role in the Wars of the Roses is one of the key objectives of the lottery-funded Battle of Barnet project.

A posse of Barnet police officers was on hand when members of the Medieval Siege Society gave a gunnery demonstration in support of Barnet’s first medieval festival.

Barnet’s first medieval festival is to be held at the Old Courthouse Recreation Ground at the rear of Barnet Museum on Sunday 11 June. A demonstration by the members of the Medieval Siege Society -- in Wars of the Roses military attire – and a medieval food tasting will be just two of the attractions.

On his first visit to Barnet, Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was on the warpath at the 1471 Battle of Barnet – five centuries later his namesake was back in the town joining the fight to preserve Barnet’s historic legacy.

Three Barnet war memorials – at Arkley, East Barnet and Monken Hadley Common – have been given the added protection of listed building status after a review conducted by Historic England. They were each considered of sufficient special architectural or historic interest to secure Grade II listing from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

After years of neglect and decay, Historic England has commissioned a detailed survey of the work required to repair and conserve Barnet’s historic physic well, in Well Approach, just a short walk from Barnet Hospital.

The job of promoting and explaining the Battle of Barnet of 1471 is to be undertaken by a project co-ordinator whose appointment has been made possible by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

After years of uncertainty about its future, Barnet Museum is finally being promised security of tenure – a 125-year lease at a peppercorn rent. Barnet Council’s asset, regeneration and growth committee agreed the move at its most recent meeting.

Brilliant sunshine and crystal blue skies put some added sparkle into the annual Barnet Christmas Fayre which filled the High Street with a wide variety of stalls and plenty of seasonal cheer.

Fragments of pottery and tiles found during an excavation of land within Wrotham Park has confirmed that the hamlet of Kitts End did exist during the 1471 Battle of Barnet – and that in fact there was probably habitation there as early as the 11th century.

A print of Graham Turner’s celebrated painting of a young Richard III looking apprehensively across towards the Lancastrian army at the 1471 Battle of Barnet, is to go on display at Barnet Museum to help promote the current archaeological survey to determine the precise site of the battlefield.

 Visitors queued up for opening time at Barnet’s historic well house – not for a drink, but a rare chance to descend the twelve steps to see the tanks of the old physic well.

Barnet Museum – and its role in leading the Battle of Barnet project – was singled out for praise by the Mayor of Barnet Councillor, Mark Shooter, when he opened the annual Barnet Christmas Fayre.

Volunteers at Barnet Museum say they are shocked and dismayed that after months of discussion Barnet Council’s planning committee has refused to approve proposals for a rear extension and disabled access.

A medieval silver farthing that might have been in use at the time of the Battle of Barnet of 1471 is the most dramatic find discovered so far during searches with metal detectors on farm-land beside Kitts End Lane.

Dr Gillian Gear, who fought a heroic battle to save and maintain Barnet Museum when Barnet Council withdrew its financial support, has died after undergoing treatment for some weeks at Watford General Hospital.