Barnet Museum is staging a display of instruments and memorabilia belonging to Barnet Band, thought to be the oldest musical group in the London Borough of Barnet, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year.
And the band played on…
Author: Nick Jones
Age shall not weary them
Local historians are busy researching the lives of Barnet men who lost their lives in the First World War. The aim is to compile as many life histories as possible in support of a special exhibition which is being organised by Barnet Museum to commemorate the centenary of the Great War.
Wet, wetter, wettest
After collecting High Barnet’s rainfall figures since the 1980s, a Barnet family can say without hesitation that this winter has been the wettest locally for at least thirty years.
Battle of Barnet dig – will Boris intervene?
Hopes have been dashed of getting approval for an early start to an archaeological excavation to determine the precise site of the Battle of Barnet of 1471. An application for funding has been rejected by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Continue reading Battle of Barnet dig – will Boris intervene?
Twin spires to stay
A controversial plan to demolish the twin spires to provide a new entrance to the Spires shopping centre has been dropped after overwhelming opposition from Barnet residents and shoppers.
Now The Spires without the twin spires
Two designs for a new High Street entrance to the Spires shopping centre – one of which would be without the two original spires of Barnet Methodist Church – are now on public display and open for consultation.
MP tackles BT but is High Barnet any the wiser?
A long-awaited meeting between Theresa Villiers MP and senior executives of British Telecom has still left unanswered many of the questions about when – or if ever – many High Barnet residents will be offered a superfast broadband connection.
Continue reading MP tackles BT but is High Barnet any the wiser?
Green belt “critical to the health” of Barnet
Barnet has probably more to thank the politicians and planners of the 1930s and 1940s for than any other town in north London. With protected Green Belt land on three sides, the High Barnet of today is blessed with some unrivalled countryside on our door-step.
Continue reading Green belt “critical to the health” of Barnet
Rambles Round Barnet Updates
Members will recall that a previous update on 11th September 2013 referred to the closure of the Totteridge Village/Lime Grove footpath in the summer of that year without any notice showing an alternative route back to the footpath.
Backing for Battle of Barnet dig
A final decision is expected by the end of January on the extent of financial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards the cost of an archaeological excavation to determine the precise site of the Battle of Barnet of 1471.
Church Passage Swiss Chalet to go
A planning inspector has ordered that unauthorised timber cladding must be removed from the frontage of retail premises in the heart of the High Barnet conservation area.
Barnet’s historic physic well now sad and forlorn
Is Barnet in danger of losing another historic link with the past? The well house protecting the town’s famous physic well is looking decidedly the worse for wear.
Continue reading Barnet’s historic physic well now sad and forlorn
The changing face of Chipping Barnet
Like much of the south-east of England, Chipping Barnet is seeing a rapid rise in home extensions and offices being converted into flats. An easing of planning restrictions has given home-owners and property developers greater freedom. But are large home extensions an intrusion for neighbours? Will more flats instead of offices change the character of the town centre?
Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs dies
Ronnie Biggs, who spent the final years of his life at the Carlton Court Care Home in Bells Hill Barnet, has died at the age of 84.
He was released from jail on parole in 2009, shortly before his 80th birthday, after completing a third of the 30-year sentence that was imposed after the Great Train Robbery in August 1963.
Theresa Villiers opposes golf course landfill
Local residents who are against plans for tree-felling and landfill on the site of Old Fold Manor Golf Club off Hadley Green have been promised the support of the Chipping Barnet MP Theresa Villiers.
Continue reading Theresa Villiers opposes golf course landfill
One hour free at Moxon Street car park
After sustained pressure from local traders and community groups, Barnet Council has agreed to provide a sizeable number of free spaces for car parking close to the High Barnet town centre.
The best ever Barnet Christmas Fair
All the fun of the fair filled the High Street for the annual Barnet Christmas Fair, which many judged was the most ambitious and best supported since the event was first held twenty years ago.
Will grocery collection add to Tube station congestion?
Transport for London say its decision to allow Asda supermarkets to use High Barnet tube station for its click-and-collect collection service will not cause unnecessary congestion in the station approach road and car park.
Continue reading Will grocery collection add to Tube station congestion?
Church Passage cladding: An inspector decides
A planning inspector has now been appointed to consider the objections made by the Barnet Society and other local groups to the installation of unauthorised timber cladding above retail premises in Church Passage, in the heart of the High Barnet conservation area.
Continue reading Church Passage cladding: An inspector decides
Rambles Round Barnet Part 2
Rambles Round Barnet 2 went on sale for the first time at the Christmas Fair on Sunday 1st December 2013.
It was gratifying to talk to local people who had bought Part 1 at the last Christmas Fair or, subsequently, from The Paper Shop, Waterstones or the Barnet Museum and were keen to see some more of the surrounding countryside using this new guide.
Town centre to be transformed
Local shops and businesses are pulling out all the stops to ensure a spectacular line-up of events and attractions for High Barnet’s annual Christmas Fair on Sunday 1st December.
Market re-opening: just the kind of celebration High Barnet needs
Celebrations along the high streets of Britain have been few and far between in the last few years, so the official re-opening of Barnet Market after its recent make-over was just the kind of fillip local traders have been crying out for.
Hopefully the revival of the market, much strengthened by the attraction of additional stallholders, will give a much-needed boost to the Spires shopping centre and help to stem the run of retail closures.
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New steel frames for the market stalls, topped off with a smart set of awnings, gave the market a fresh look as friends, supporters and stallholders celebrated the first Saturday’s trading on the resurfaced site (9.11.2013).
At last the Friends of Barnet Market had a positive story to tell: after six years’ disruption and uncertainty the market finally had a settled site and an opportunity to rebuild the custom lost since the demolition of what was once Barnet’s cattle market.
Rarely has High Barnet been so united than in its campaign to preserve one of the town’s few remaining living links to its historic past – a market that was originally given its royal charter by King John in the 12th century.
Among those who joined the celebrations to mark the re-opening were the Chipping Barnet MP, Mrs Theresa Villiers, and leading members of the Friends of Barnet Market, the Barnet Society, Barnet Residents Association and other local groups.
Their presence was a chance to say a collective “thank you” to all those who had campaigned so steadfastly on the market’s behalf and who have done all they can to encourage customers to remain loyal to the small band of stallholders who never gave up of returning to their traditional site.
Golf club wins first round in new Battle of Barnet
If planning approval can be obtained, Barnet Council will allow landfill to be used to re-contour a golf course at Monken Hadley over what is thought to be part of the Battle of Barnet site.
Continue reading Golf club wins first round in new Battle of Barnet
Bin There?
New recycling service: an eyewitness report from a Barnet Society member.
High Barnet householders have been told they should become their own recycling monitors and report back to Barnet Council on the efficiency of the new service for collecting recyclable refuse.
The new Battle of Barnet?
A plan to deposit landfill on the golf course that takes in part of the site of the Battle of Barnet has alarmed the Battlefields Trust.
Old Fold Manor Golf Club at Monken Hadley is drawing up proposals to re-landscape the 900 yard stretch of the course which runs parallel to the St Albans Road.
High Barnet’s broadband fiasco
Several thousand properties in and around High Barnet’s conservation area have been left without any clear explanation from British Telecom as to when – if ever – their premises will get a superfast broadband connection.
Six months ago planning rules were relaxed to speed up the installation of new high-speed optical fibre broadband cabinets, but British Telecom is still telling customers that it can offer no precise timescale because of “delays agreeing cabinet locations with your local council”.
Barnet Then and Now
Old and new photographs of local buildings and views have been brought together in Barnet Then and Now, a new book on the local history and topography of what is now the London Borough of Barnet.
Old Court House Café reopens
After a lengthy closure the Old Court House recreation ground has a functioning café once again.
A new tenant has reopened the business after a major refurbishment and is hoping that High Barnet will embrace the café culture that has proved so popular at Trent Park in Cockfosters and at Oak Hill Park in East Barnet.
In recent years visitors to the children’s playground, which is such a well-loved attraction at the Old Court House park, have looked in vain when hoping to purchase refreshments.
The café had presented a sorry sight, and the enclosed garden that surrounds it, was neglected and overgrown
….hoping that High Barnet will embrace the café culture that has proved so popular in other locations…
Opening 26th OctoberNow the building has been refitted, the lawns cut and the new proprietor Ms Sophia Tufail is hoping to install additional decking to extend the outside seating area.
Her long-term plans for the café include the possibility of obtaining a licence to stage outdoor events such as the occasional hire of a bouncy castle for children or perhaps small concerts in the summer months.
If planning permission can be obtained, and Barnet Council offers support, the café might be extended to include toilets for use by the public as well as customers.
Ms Tufail said that she hoped it might be possible eventually to follow the example of the Oak Hill Park café and obtain a licence to serve alcoholic drinks with meals.
The refurbished café will be officially opened by the Mayoress of Barnet Councillor Wendy Prentice on Saturday 26 October.
Related items
Archaeologists to find real site of Battle of Barnet
An application is to be made to the Heritage Lottery Fund to see if it would agree to pay for an archaeological dig to try to locate the precise site of the 1471 Battle of Barnet.
Glenn Foard, a landscape archaeologist who led the survey to determine the location of the Battle of Bosworth, would carry out the excavation on behalf of the Battlefields Trust.
Continue reading Archaeologists to find real site of Battle of Barnet
Barnet in the fall: visit Whitings Hill
Whitings Hill is hardly likely to rival New England in the fall, but two plantations planted almost 20 years ago by the Barnet Society are now resplendent with mature trees and are presenting a vibrant display of autumn colours.
Tucked away between Quinta Drive and Mays Lane, the Whitings Hill open space might be unfamiliar to many High Barnet residents, but it is a tranquil setting and a walk to the top of the hill is highly recommended.
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