Category: Barnet History

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Concert at Monken Hadley parish church to support financial appeal for new community hall to replace original Church House

A six-year fund-raising campaign for a new community hall at Monken Hadley is not far short of its £1.3 million target with the hope it might be possible finally to start to demolish the existing unsafe Church House by the end of the year.

The latest event to help towards pushing the appeal over the line is An Evening of Song at Monken Hadley parish church on Monday 20 April at 7.30pm.

Event organiser Katie Morris and chair of fund-raising Elaine Padmore — see above, from left to right – are hoping that tickets sales and further donations will help get the appeal to within touching distance of being able to authorise a start to the work.

So far £980,000 has been raised through events, donations and grants towards providing a new community hub for Monken Hadley residents and local organisations.

The Evening of Song concert will feature countertenor Will Prior and pianist Matthew Clemmet.

Will Prior, who studied music at Magdalen College, Oxford, is currently finishing a master’s in vocal performance at the Royal College of Music.

As a concert soloist, he has recently performed locally with the UK Japan Choir in Bach’s St John Passion and Handel’s Messiah, as well as in Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Matthew Clemmet is an Oxford music graduate who is currently pursuing his postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music.

He specialises in song, opera, and chamber music and won the pianist prize in the RCM Lieder Competition and second prize in the Joan Chissell Schumann Competition.

Renovation of Church House was ruled out because of continuing subsidence, due to the lack of adequate foundations, which has rendered the building unsafe and had to be closed to the public.

The appeal to construct a new community building was launched six years with a highly successful Son et Lumiere and the fund has been built up with help of a contribution from the community infrastructure levy collected by the London Borough of Barnet.

The new community hall will include a main assembly room for events, a large kitchen, toilets, showers and changing facilities for the cricket club.

There will be full wheelchair access, and the garden will be renovated to create a safe enclosed space for events.

An Evening of Song concert at Monken Hadley parish church to raise money for the appeal for a new community hall

A caption to an early photograph in the church archives says that Church House, which dates to the 18th century, was once the stables to Beacon House.

During the French revolution two French priests fled from France and were given refuge by the Rector, the Reverend John Burrows.

The building was then improved and used as a house, known as Hadley Cottage, home to a Miss Burrows, daughter of the Rector, and then Miss Bourier.

In 1910 it was converted for use as a parish hall and later a school room. 

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Historic prayers and verses add a moving to tribute to the men who lost their lives in the 1471 Battle of Barnet

A service of commemoration and laying of wreaths marked the 555th anniversary of the Battle of Barnet – a service researched and devised by the recently appointed rector of Monken Hadley parish church, the Reverend Francesco Aresco.

He read from texts which would have been known by the men who fought in the battle, most of whom left no name and who were buried in unknown graves in the vicinity of Hadley Highstone.

Francesco said the service was a moment to stand at the Highstone and remember their dying before God:

“These men who woke that morning, laced their boots, felt the fog on their faces, and did not come home.”

Whatever divided the Lancastrians and Yorkists on the battlefield, the ground around them received those who died without distinction and “has held them these five hundred and fifty-five years” since the day of the battle, 14 April 1471.

Dr Susan Skedd (above, right) director of the annual Barnet Medieval Festival, led the wreath laying ceremony – seen with Dame Theresa Villiers, the former MP for Chipping Barnet.

Her wreath – made from recycled flowers by Ursula Stone of the Flower Bank community project in New Barnet – included red and white roses and carnations “perfectly arranged” to reflect the colours of the Lancastrians and Yorkists.

Other wreaths were laid by Martin Russell, Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London; Monken Hadley church; East Barnet Royal British Legion branch and club; and by Barry Swain of the Barnet Tourist Board.

Francesco, who was appointed rector of Monken Hadley parish church in February last year, said that he had carried out his own research into the Battle of Barnet and hoped that the service reflected the momentous events that day.

His order of service – see illustration above – began with a prayer which the church of 1471 would have used, in the Latin the men at the battlefield would have known:

“Gloria Patri et Filio

et Spiritui Sancto”

Many of the men who assembled for the battle did not leave. “They were men of a world ordered by oath and obligation, by the faith they owed their lord and the faith they owed their God.”

Martin Russell then read verses which were composed in England some five hundred years before the Battle of Barnet by a poet whose name is lost.

“They were made for exactly this: for standing at the edge of a world that is no more and asking where the dead have gone”:

“The halls have fallen. The rulers lie dead.

Where is the horse gone? Where the young warrior?”

Wreath laying and service of commemoration to remember the men who died in the Battle of Barnet of 1471, Special service for 555th anniversary

Ursula Stone’s Flower Bank project has been providing a wreath for the Highstone commemoration since the services were introduced in 2021.

“We are always full of admiration for the wreaths which Ursula designs for us and this year the red and white roses and carnations are so appropriate,” said Susan Skedd.

Ursula’s flower arranging classes using surplus flowers from shops and events have been widely praised and her initiative was recognised in 2023 with a Barnet Council award for outstanding service to the community.

The wreath laying ceremony was an opportunity help publicise this year’s Barnet Medieval Festival which is to be held at the Lewis of London Ice Cream Farm, in Galley Lane, Barnet, over the weekend of June 6 and 7.

New attractions this year will include mounted knights in combat and a falconry display.

To highlight this year’s 555th anniversary celebrations, Barnet Tourist Board is hoping to announce a fresh attempt to determine the site of the Battle of Barnet.

Researchers Brian Carroll and Barry Swain have been drawing up plans to enlist a team of metal detectors to conduct a fresh search.

They were looking into new theories about the route taken by Yorkist army as it left London and headed for Barnet to meet the Lancastrians.

Cromer Road Primary School in New Barnet is one of the sites which the Yorkists might have passed and then returned to London after their victory.

“Close to the school is a small wood – which was once of playing field – where there could be a sweep by a team of metal detectors,” said Brian Carroll.

“We think this part of New Barnet is very promising as we know that someone who lived in Clifford Road said their grandfather discovered bit and pieces of a musket in the garden.”   

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Visiting East Barnet and a chance to admire an English Heritage blue plaque to an eminent philosopher was quite an achievement 

Stopping outside a house in a quiet residential street near Oakleigh Park, East Barnet, was mission accomplished for London Ambulance administrative officer David Sleep who is a lover of history and a great supporter of English Heritage blue plaques honouring the lives of famous people.

A mid-terrace house in Burlington Rise proudly displays a blue plaque in honour of the philosopher Sir Karl Popper and it was the last on David’s list to see in Greater London.

David has now visited a total of 1,028 blue plaques since being introduced to their significance three years ago on a walk in Clapham and Battersea organised by Dr Susan Skedd (above right) who is a blue plaque historian for English Heritage.

Susan, who is a member of the Barnet Society, and who is Director of Barnet Medieval Festival and who organises history walks in and around High Barnet, said she was delighted to join David for the moment he was able to tick off the last of the blue plaques on his list.

“I met David again in March on a walk in Pimlico and when he told me he had seen nearly every English Heritage blue plaque in Greater London.  I promised to join him in Burlington Rise.”

On each visit, David always takes a selfie of himself with the plaque in the background, and his hobby is of great value to English Heritage because it helps staff monitor the condition of the plaques.

“For the last three years I have been going out every weekend to see another plaque on my list – on Good Friday I saw the blue plaque in Parkside, Mill Hill, commemorating the motor racing driver Graham Hill and now on Easter Monday here I am in East Barnet for the Karl Popper plaque.”

David gets great pleasure from learning about the people commemorated by the plaques, about the homes where they lived, and what was happening to them at that time in their lives.

He is a member of English Heritage and a volunteer at Eltham Palace which is close to his home in southeast London.

Sir Karl Popper, who was born in Vienna, is considered to have been one of the 20th century’s most influential philosophers of science.

In 1928 he earned a doctorate in psychology and started work on his first book, which he needed to complete in order to get an academic position in a country safe for people of Jewish descent.

Finally, in 1937, he managed to secure a post as lecturer in philosophy at the University of New Zealand in Christchurch where he wrote his influential work, The Open Society and Its Enemies.

After the Second World War, he moved to the UK in 1946 and became a reader in logic and scientific method at the London School of Economics.

With his wife Josefine, they moved to Burlington Rise, Oakleigh Park, East Barnet, which was their home for four years until 1950 when they moved to Penn in Buckinghamshire.

The Popper plaque in Burlington Rise was installed in 2008 following an upsurge in research into the former residences of famous people out in the London suburbs.

“So many of the English Heritage plaques are all around inner London and the outer boroughs are catching up,” said Susan.

“We unveil a dozen new plaques every year and the first of this year’s new plaques is due to be revealed in April.”

She said the importance of the plaque to Sir Karl was that it captured the time he moved to the United Kingdom when he had established his name as a philosopher and had recently published his highly influential book The Open Society and Its Enemies.

Mission accomplished for history lover who visits English Heritage blue plaque in East Barnet to eminent philosopher Sir Karl Popper

A key conclusion of the book, which Susan came armed with for David’s visit, deserved to be quoted:

“Our fear of admitting responsibility for our ethical decisions is entirely ours and cannot be shifted to anybody else, neither to God, nor to nature, nor to society, nor to history. We cannot shirk this responsibility, whichever authority we may accept, it is we who accept it.”

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Final days at Builders Arms, New Barnet, as customers sign a petition to get asset of community value order to safeguard pub’s future  

A two-year struggle to keep going amid the disruption caused by ending up in the middle of a construction site has finally defeated the landlady of the aptly named Builders Arms in New Barnet.

She has reluctantly decided to hand her tenancy back to the brewers Greene King raising local concern about the future of a pub praised by the Campaign for Real Ale.

A petition has been launched by customers and friends to preserve what they say is a “much loved local institution”.

The aim of the petition organisers, Danielle Holiday and Nikki Hill, is to secure the registration of the Builders Arms as an asset of community value with Barnet Council while exploring other possible business models for the pub.

East Barnet’s councillors – Phil Cohen, Edith David and Simon Radford – have all signed the petition and are promising their support in the bid to safeguard the pub’s future by gaining ACV status.

Landlady Silva told the Barnet Society that once construction work started in 2024 on the massive housing development on the site of the former New Barnet gas works customers found it increasingly difficult to reach the pub.

Albert Road is the is the main access to the site where Fairview Homes are building eleven high-rise blocks of flats to provide 420 new homes – and a street view shows how the pub is dwarfed the scale of the redevelopment.

Initially Albert Road was blocked regularly by lorries delivering materials and construction equipment and, because of the hindrance and possible danger to customers, the Builders Arms had to cease opening at lunch times.

“Since then, access to the pub hasn’t improved and it has been a real struggle financially. It has just proved too much.”

Silva, who took on the Builders Arms eight years ago, said that she could not hang on for another year or two until the completion of the new development when all the flats might be fully occupied.

“You simply cannot run a pub when it is in the middle of a construction site. It is so off putting for customers. We can’t survive, so our tenancy ends on Sunday 12 April.

“At present there is no through road and no parking but let’s hope that Greene King can re-open one day.”

Once news broke two weeks ago that the pub was to close there has been an emotional response on the Builders Arm’s Facebook page with an appeal to regular customers to celebrate the “happy times, the music, and the unforgettable nights” they had all enjoyed.

With the pub having to be cleared of furniture, signs and fixtures, customers were invited to raise a glass and perhaps “even take home a little piece of the Builders Arms, something that might be a treasure for you.”

CAMRA has backed the Builders Arms as a real ale pub since 1970, and it has built up considerable loyalty over the

decades.

Connie East (see above) said that serving behind the bar was a real privilege because the Builders Arms had always been part of her family.

“I was brought here first as a baby 24 years ago as my parents were regulars. It has always been a real family pub.”

Dannielle Holiday, who helped organise the petition, has an even stronger family connection.

Her grandfather was a customer, so were her parents, and her own grown-up children have followed the tradition.

“The Builders Arms is a living testament to the rich local history of New Barnet,” said Danielle.

“Hundreds of local residents are signing up and joining our effort to preserve a much-cherished local pub.”

Petition launch to get asset of community value order on Builders Arms, New Barnet, becuase of pub's closure due to construction disruption during massive housing development.

When the Barnet Society first reported on the plight of the Builders Arms in 2024 the assistant manager Nina Hristova – see above – looked on in despair as work was progressing on a block of flats immediately opposite the pub.

At the time East Barnet councillor Simon Radford and Chipping Barnet MP Dan Tomlinson intervened after the pub’s staff appealed for help in curbing the mayhem and keeping the highway clear of work.

Councillor Radford said he and councillors Cohen and David had built up considerable expertise in using the asset of community value process to safeguard threatened pubs – and exercise which had proved highly successful when campaigning for the re-opening of Prince of Wales, the only pub in East Barnet village.

“As councillors we would like to pay tribute to Silva, George, Nina and the rest of the team who have run the Builders Arms for so many years, making it truly a community asset despite such outsized challenges to the business,” said councillor Radford.

“We owe them a debt of gratitude for what they have achieved with the pub, and we would also like to thank Daniella and Nikki for leading from the front in trying to save the pub.”

Councillor David said she hoped the community would show what the pub meant to them by signing the petition.

“We can all demonstrate our links with the Builders Arms through family stories and how the pub has been there for us on special occasions. The fight to save the Builders Arms goes on.”

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Protective shutters installed by Star Pubs to allow for essential work before Black Horse re-opens in time for summer  

Star Pubs say Black Horse public house will re-open by early summer in time for FIFA world cup televised matches -- and protective shutters needed during essential work

Star Pubs say they hope that the Black Horse – now protected by metal grilles across doors and windows – will reopen by at least mid-June in time for the start of televised football matches in the FIFA World Cup.

Several potential tenants are being interviewed by Star’s management team.

Improvements and other essential work are to be carried out to the interior in preparation for the re-opening of a pub which is an historic Barnet landmark.

But the closure of the Black Horse since last September is another indication of the precarious trading prospects for the licensed trade.

In a move to safeguard the long-term future of the Black Horse, Barnet Council has accepted a request for it to be protected by an order declaring the building an asset of community value.

Securing protection for the Black Horse – allowing the community the right to enter a bid if the pub is sold for redevelopment – follows the declaration of similar ACVs for three other nearby pubs, the Lord Nelson, Sebright Arms and Ye Olde Monken Holt, as well as the Prince of Wales in East Barnet.  

An application to safeguard the Black Horse was made in the name of the Barnet parish church of St John the Baptist and was backed by a petition launched by Olly Gough, who is to stand as a Labour candidate for High Barnet in the Barnet Council elections in May.

He said strong support for the petition proved that the Black Horse was much loved by the community and was especially popular with its customers, which was a reminder to Star Pubs that it had every chance of remaining a viable business.

High Barnet Councillor Emma Whysall, who supported the application when it was considered by Barnet Council, said she realised the depth of local concern about the future of the Black Horse should it cease trading once again in the future.

Councillor Whysall, who had been in contact with Star Pubs’ management, welcomed the company’s promise of swift action to ensure that the Black Horse is re-opened in time for the start of the World Cup in mid-June.

She said people should not be alarmed by the installation of grilles across the doors and windows. They were needed for added security and protection and were essential to secure the building while work was carried out.

Pubs have been granted extended opening hours for the month-long contest because of the late kick-offs – until 1am for national ties and until 2am should any of the home nations reach the knock-out stages.   

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Barnet’s rich history and literary connections brought to life in a new play which explores Charles Dickens’ associations with the town

Imagining how the great Victorian novelist Charles Dickens might have spent an evening in the bar at the Red Lion public house in Barnet is the highlight of a new production at The Bull Theatre.

Dickens was said to have gained inspiration for his writing from his visits to North London so the challenge for Barnet playwrights Sarah Munford and Claire Fisher was to visualise what happened when the famous author stayed overnight in the town.

Rehearsals are well under way for Between the Lines: Dickens Comes to Barnet which the Blue Door Theatre Company is to present at The Bull Theatre, High Street. Barnet, for three nights in late April.

Dickens is forced to spend the night at the Red Lion because the road back to London is snowed up and that creates the occasion for some fascinating interaction with an array of the town’s colourful characters – some of whom have a tale to tell.

Peggy, the Red Lion’s landlady played by Naomi Richards (above), has a back history worthy of a Dickens novel and her revelations about her previous connections with the author, played by Chris Browning, are a salutary reminder of his own chequered past.

Before taking on the Red Lion, Peggy was a prostitute, one of many who was said to have been taken off the streets of London with Dickens’ help, and for her guest, by now an old man walking with a stick, his night in Barnet becomes a trip down memory lane. 

The life and times of Dickens’ fellow travellers play out against a background of some of Barnet’s low life including the Barnet Belles, a group of prostitutes who are based across the road at the Bull public house.

Sarah Munford (right) said she hoped her play would encourage the audience to form their own view about Dickens and whether perhaps he had been misogynistic towards women.

“Perhaps questions should be asked about the way Dickens treated his wife, how he tried to get her committed to an asylum after giving birth to ten children, and about his long-term affair with Nelly Ternan.”

Claire Fisher (left) who collaborated with Sarah, said she had enjoyed writing the crowd scenes and she has her own role in the play as nurse Sally Swaddle, the local midwife.

The history of Barnet offers an array of script lines – including a meeting of the guardians at Barnet Workhouse, which was on the site of Barnet House in Wellhouse Lane.

A tense scene develops when a blacksmith’s widow from Finchley and her son face some tough questions about their future.

Another reminder of an earlier visit to Barnet when Dickens was said to have gained inspiration from the steps outside the former Victoria Bakery – steps which become the location in Oliver Twist where Oliver met the Artful Dodger.

That flashback is in the hands of Abel Able (Ross Wilson) who takes on the role of an Artful Dodger lookalike who again captures Dickens’ attention.

Once again props for the production are in the capable hands of sculptor and artist Cos Gerolemou, who has worked behind the scenes on so many of the company’s productions.

He came up with the idea of a sucking pig which has pride of place on the mantlepiece above the fire in the bar of the Red Lion.

For artistic director Siobhan Dunne (above left) – concentrating with Sarah Munford at an evening rehearsal – an annual challenge for the Blue Door Theatre Company is present an original play with a theme based around the history of Barnet and its literary connections.

Her success directing the company speaks for itself: last year’s production, Mary Livingstone, I Presume, based on events surrounding the year Dr David Livingstone lived on Hadley Green, was a sell-out.

Equally popular were original productions on the 1471 Battle of Barnet and the history of once celebrated Barnet Fair.

Barnet's Blue Door Theatre Company explores Charles Dickens' literary associations with Barnet in new production at The Bull Theatre

Between the Lines: Dickens Comes to Barnet features original live songs by composer Nick Godwin of The Silencerz.

There will be four productions, Thursday 23 April and Friday 24 April at 7.30pm; Saturday 25 April at 2pm and 7.30pm

Tickets £15 + booking fee via www.thebulltheare.com

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Barnet Vale residents a step nearer the day when Tudor Park’s derelict cricket pavilion might be open again for community use

A determined community effort in Barnet Vale to rescue and renovate an abandoned former cricket pavilion at Tudor Park has achieved a major objective – and to celebrate there are new artist’s impressions of what the renovated building might look like.

After lengthy negotiations, Barnet Council has finally agreed the terms of a 50-year lease with the Friends of Tudor Park and Pavilion, paving the way for the launch of a fund-raising appeal.

A binding agreement with the council would give the friends three years to present a detailed planning application to the council for rebuilding and improving a dilapidated structure which is currently closed to the public and is in desperate need of repair.

Once the paperwork is complete and the lease has been signed, the friends can start fund raising and making appeals to the National Lottery Community Fund, local charities and other groups for financial support towards a possible target of £800,000 to £1million.

Barnet Council has already agreed a £200,000 grant from community infrastructure funds.

Simon Cohen, chair of the friends’ committee who in 2020 initiated the campaign to save the 106-year-old pavilion for community use, outlined the terms of the lease at an exhibition of the latest images.

There would be no rent to pay for the first five years; £500 a year for the following five years; then increasing at £500 a year to year 20, followed by further increases in line with inflation.

A business plan prepared by the committee proposed that the pavilion would be open for community use and a variety of activities seven days a week from 9am to 9pm. A wide range of local groups have already expressed interest in making use of the building.

Committee vice chair Simon Kaufman outlined the latest proposals and images.

Consultations with the community showed the largest support was for the refurbished pavilion to include a café, overlooking the existing Tudor Park children’s playground, with accessible public toilets, indoor and outdoor seating areas and wheelchair access.

The main hall in the pavilion would be multi-functional with additional activity spaces, more toilets, lockers and storage for space for equipment.

There would be space in the central area to seat 50 people which could be expanded to take 80 people and even as many as 120 people with sliding internal walls.

Dogged community campaign in Barnet Vale to save abandoned cricket pavilion in Tudor Park a step closer with Barnet Council agreeing a 50-year lease

Instead of the metal bars which currently close off access to the pavilion the refurbished building might feature external decorative steel panels – as seen above – which could feature motifs reflecting local history and events.

The original portico of the pavilion would be preserved but along with major structural repairs, much of the interior and exterior would need to be rebuilt with installation of new windows and doors.

All those attending the presentation were urged to keep giving their opinions and making suggestions as to how they would like to see the pavilion renovated and repurposed for the use of the community.

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For almost 60 years Barnet’s Puddenecks Club has been hosting events including a meal and entertainment for the town’s elderly residents

Entertaining groups of Barnet’s senior citizens to a monthly supper evening is one of the many activities organised by one of the town’s oldest charities, the Puddenecks Club.

The Puddenecks are volunteers whose mission is to hold events which help elderly residents overcome the loneliness of being home alone.

Guest evenings in the winter months are followed by barbeques in the summer and there is a chance to keep fit at a weekly exercise class.

Like so many other community groups the club is keen to recruit additional volunteers and helpers and especially car drivers who can assist with transporting elderly guests and with fundraising.

Committee member Victor Valloti – seen above with guest Lesley Keating – said the club realised that the popularity of a monthly evening meal demonstrated of the importance of not forgetting the elderly.

Volunteers collect each of those attending an event directly from their homes and then drive them back again at the end of the evening.

“So many of the elderly, especially widows and those living alone don’t like going out on their own in the evening and our aim is to take the edge off that loneliness,” said club secretary Roger Moore.

Club members and volunteers are maintaining a contribution to the community which started in 1958 when a group of Sunday lunchtime drinkers got together in the now demolished Swan and Two Necks public house in High Road, Whetstone.

They decided to meet once a month for a steak and kidney pudding and then hold a meeting to decide how best to help older people in Barnet – hence their name, Puddenecks.

“We pride ourselves on making sure that any elderly resident we invite out is picked up at their home and then returned safely,” said Mr Moore (right) seen above signing up a new volunteer driver Larry Williams at the club’s February night out which was an evening meal with a Spanish theme at the Old Fold Manor Golf Club.

“It is quite an exercise collecting 75 or so senior citizens from their homes and then getting them back again but we know how much our efforts are appreciated.

“Many of those we collect from their homes are widows or other elderly ladies living on their own and they are just so fearful of going out on dark winter evenings, so we feel what we do is a real contribution to the community.

“We follow our monthly evenings out in the winter months with a couple of summer barbecues at Totteridge Millhillians Cricket Club.” 

Another of the precautions taken by the club to ensure the safety of their elderly guests is to invite along two volunteers from the Barnet division of the St John Ambulance Brigade.

“We realise that at one of our events we might need some medical support one day and we are so grateful for the support of their brigade’s volunteers.”

For the guests the great attraction of a meal out with the Puddenecks is the chance to chat with friends said Jenny Windsor (above, second from left) with Tony Cardosi, Angela Casali, Sandra Gallardo and Terry Gleeson.

“It is so important for us all to get out of the house and have a real chinwag with our friends. What the Puddenecks do for Barnet’s elderly cannot be praised enough,” said Jenny.

One of Barnet's oldest charities the Puddenecks Club is appealing for more volunteers to help with its evening meals and entertaintment for elderly residents

Mr Moore arrived at the club’s February evening after collecting Gillian Collison from her home. She could not wait to join her friends.

He said the club was launching an appeal for new members – and especially car drivers – because they felt there was low public awareness within Barnet for what the Puddenecks did.

Anyone who is interested in joining is asked to make contact by emailing roger.moore@puddenecksclub.org.uk or visit their website for more details www.puddenecksclub.org.uk

Each year the club raises upwards of around £40,000 to finance its activities.

A golf day at the Old Fold Golf Club in September followed by a dinner and auction is one the main fund-raising events.

There is also an annual charity dinner with a guest speaker, and these are backed up with donations and raffles, including an annual Christmas raffle at Ye Olde Monken Holt public house in Barnet High Street.

Mr Moore said the value of the club’s support for the elderly was underlined during the covid emergency when the Puddenecks delivered 100 portions of fish and chips to 100 residents twice a month.

“For those who can’t get to our guest evenings we continue to deliver 20 or so portions of fish and chips every two or three months.

“We also have an exercise class for an hour every week in the Wesley Hall – and that attracts 40 or so people who are instructed by a professional tutor.”

Probably the most eagerly anticipated event is the Puddenecks’ Christmas dinner where volunteers at the Totteridge Millhillians Cricket Club cook two meals, for a sitting at 12 noon and then another at 5pm.

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Queen Elizabeth’s School – a Barnet brand name that will soon be appearing on new international schools in India and Dubai

QE Boys, established by Queen Elizabeth in 1573 as a free grammar for the “boys and youth” of Barnet, is about to begin a new chapter in its history with the opening in August of the first two of three new international schools bearing the brand name “Queen Elizabeth’s School”.

Enrolment started in November at one the new schools opening in August – Queen Elizabeth’s School, Dubai Sports City (see artist’s impression above).

Some leading independent schools have already established international branches.

QE Barnet, is the first UK state-maintained school to open affiliated schools overseas, starting in the United Arab Emirates and India.

Queen Elizabeth's School Barnet about to become an international brand with new Queen Elizabeth schools in India and Dubai

Queen Elizabeth’s School, at Gurugram, near Delhi – see artist’s impression above – is the second of the two schools opening in August.

It is in the northern Indian state of Haryana, and it will be followed by another in India at Gift City, another new financial and technology hub in Gujarat province.

Any revenues received from a partnership with Global Education Holdings Ltd will be invested in furthering educational opportunities at QE in Barnet, says the school’s website.

The location of these new international fee-paying schools for boys and girls under the Queen Elizabeth brand reflects the high number of children of Indian heritage who are being educated at QE Boys.

A report in The Times (9.2.2026) into why white British pupils are falling behind in the race for a grammar school place singled out QE Barnet.

Requests by the newspaper under the Freedom of Information Act had revealed that in the last academic year (2024-25) only two boys from an intake of 192 at QE Barnet were identified as white British, down from nine in 2019-20.

The number of boys admitted to QE who were from Indian heritage had increased from 103 in 2019-20 to 120 in 2024-25.

Queen Elizabeth’s School attracted 3,300 applications for the 192 places which were available that year – a level of demand which reflects its ranking in the Sunday Times 2026 school guide as state secondary school of the year.

Since it reverted from being a comprehensive to grammar school status in 1994, and reintroduced an entrance examination, QE Boys has become heavily oversubscribed.

Its high intake of boys from Indian families who pass the entrance exam is a result of what The Times described as the emphasis which Indian heritage families place on tutoring children, often starting at the age of six.

Former QE pupils from Barnet who now live in Dubai – where 90 per cent of the population are expatriates – have been lending their support for the opening of the Queen Elizabeth’s School at Dubai Sports City.

In a video presentation describing how the new school would draw on QE Boys “incredible heritage”, the founding principal Dan Clark said he had hosted an event in Dubai for Old Elizabethans.

He said that these former pupils had “an exceptional sense of pride” about having been educated at QE in Barnet and they were “desperate to get involved” in a project which would allow children in Dubai to benefit from the experience of the “most academically successful state-maintained school in the UK”.

“I have been wondering whether Queen Elizabeth thought that a school she founded in Barnet would go on to be one of the UK’s – and the world’s – most successful academic institutions.”

Mr Clark expressed his personal delight at being able to bring the “incredible heritage” of QE to Dubai, one of the “world’s most exciting cities and one of the world’s top ten destination cities for education”.

QE headmaster Neil Enright said that he and his staff in Barnet would “play a key role in shaping and guiding the new schools, ensuring that they are worthy of bearing the proud name of Queen Elizabeth’s School”.

Management of the commercial relationship with Global Education will be in the hands of a new subsidiary, Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s International Enterprises Ltd which would ensure that the charity and the school benefited from the income generated by the new international schools.

Global Education is a UK registered education business with 60,000 students in a portfolio of establishments across 12 different countries operating as “successful education brands”.

“The new Queen Elizabeth’s Schools in India and other markets will bear the QE name and branding and will draw upon QE Barnet’s ethos and educational methodology, taking inspiration from and aspiring to its record of academic excellence and achievement.”

QE Barnet is described as being “a perfect partner” for Global Education as it seeks to offer first-class British-style schooling in international settings.

In welcoming the new partnership, Mr Enright says QE Barnet looks forward to working with Global Education to “open and grow QE branded schools internationally, and to the opportunities that students will enjoy as a result.”

In its report investigating the way white British pupils are failing to get grammar school places, The Times said that its Freedom of Information requests indicated that the girls’ grammar school Henrietta Barnet in Hampstead Garden Suburb took one white British pupil and 62 of Indian heritage in the academic year 2024-25 when there were 3,000 applications for 104 places.

Unlike QE Boys Barnet, Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School, Barnet, which was established in 1888, has remained a non-selective comprehensive school and continues to offer places within a wide catchment area around High Barnet.

By contrast QE Boys attracts pupils from across north and west London, Hertfordshire and further afield and administers its own selection process.

There has been discussion among education experts as to whether there should be reform of a system which allows applicants to apply to successful grammar schools regardless of where they lived.

Mark Fenton, chief executive of the Grammar School Heads Association, told The Times that schools were obliged to assess all applicants regardless of where they lived and this was a regulation which some grammar school leaders would like to see reformed.    

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New theories over elusive site of the Battle of Barnet are to be tested with possible metal detecting investigations and drone surveys

Fresh attempt possible with metal detecting and drone surveys to find elusive site of Battle of Barnet

Plans are being finalised for a fresh attempt to determine the site of the 1471 Battle of Barnet which has remained unidentified despite previous searches and an extensive archaeological excavation.

A team of metal detectors has already been enlisted, and an experienced drone pilot will carry out aerial investigations to look out for signs of ancient soil disturbance.

Barnet school pupils will be encouraged to take part in a project which the organisers hope will reveal more about the location – and potential burial grounds – after what was one of the most significant battles of the Wars of the Roses.

Preparations for the investigation are being co-ordinated by Brian Carroll (above, left) who is author of The Search for the Battlefield, and fellow researcher Barry Swain, who were photographed at Hadley Highstone which commemorates the battle.

They hope to announce more details about the areas they intend to search in the lead up to the 555th anniversary of the battle on Tuesday 14 April.

 After the failure over a decade or more to locate the site, Brian and Barry have spent countless hours examining the many historical accounts of the battle and have developed new theories about the route taken by the Yorkist army as it left London and headed for Barnet to meet the Lancastrians.

Schools to be approached to see if their pupils would like to take an interest and perhaps participate in the project are in New Barnet close to where the Yorkists might have passed and then returned to London after their victory.

They include the Jewish Community Secondary School, Livingstone Primary School and Cromer Road Primary School. 

Metal detecting and drone surveys with ground penetrating radar might be possible on land around the schools including perhaps playgrounds and playing fields.

“What we are hoping to do is look at areas around Barnet which have not been thoroughly probed in the past,” said Brian.

“We think previous searches, such as the most recent archaeological excavation around Kitts End Lane, were probably misplaced.

“If, as seems likely, the Lancastrians – who had arrived first – were well entrenched on the high plateau around Monken Hadley then, if we are right, the Yorkists approaching from London might well have approached from the ground below King George’s Fields.”

Brian and Barry are the founder members of the Barnet Tourist Board, which they established to help promote Barnet – and its connections to the Wars of the Roses – through the publication of booklets and videos.

“If we could establish the actual site of the battle – and answer a centuries old mystery – then Barnet would change overnight attracting tourists not only from this country but also from all over the world,” said Barry.

“Over the years we have heard so many reports of people finding items which might have been linked to the battle such as swords, cannon balls and shot.

“Perhaps it is not surprising that so many artefacts have been discovered when you think that this was a major battle fought by up to 30,000 men and that 2,000 to 3,000 were killed, or perhaps many more.

“We know there is so much more to be found and we hope our project will keep the important history of Barnet alive, so we hope as many people as possible will join us in a once in a lifetime adventure to find the site of this elusive battlefield.”

The Barnet Tourist Board has produced a video “In Search of the Battlefield” in support of its attempt to launch a new investigation to find precisely where the battle took place and those who were killed might have been buried:

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Barnet pub with a tradition of community and creative engagement included in sale of 30 licensed premises by Hertford brewers McMullen’s

Sebright Arms in Alston Road is one of three Barnet public houses which the Hertford family-owned brewers McMullen’s have sold to Punch Pubs & Co.

Two others included in the sale of a total of 30 pubs are the Kings Head in Barnet High Street and the Queens Arms, next to the Everyman cinema.

James Croft, Punch Pubs’ strategy and commercial director, said the company was delighted to have acquired a collection of pubs with such strong community roots and the focus would be to continue to invest in their licensed premises and to support their publicans and managers.

McMullen’s joint managing director Tom McMullen was confident Punch Pubs was committed to supporting the Sebright Arms and other pubs included in the sale.

“Punch Pubs have indicated a willingness to invest £4 million in the 30 pubs we have sold and to protect their long-term future.”

These assurances have been welcomed by the Sebright Arms Community Group which says Punch Pubs have “responded positively” in recognising “the Sebright’s established place at the heart of the local community”.

Ken Rowland, co-chair of the Barnet Residents Association, had been encouraged by the “proactive engagement” by Punch Pubs.

Because of previous uncertainty about its long-term future, the Sebright was registered with Barnet Council as an asset of community value, a safeguard which continues until 2027.

“The Sebright holds particular significance in Barnet,” said Mr Rowland.

“It has long served as a creative and community driven hub, hosting open microphone nights, quiz evenings, charity fund raising events and a wide range of residential led activities.

“Its role extends well beyond that of a traditional pub, providing a welcoming space where friendships are formed and local talent is supported.”

Mr Rowland said Punch Pubs’ reassurances were especially significant as the Sebright prepares to host its largest charity event to date on July 11, a celebration of the life and legacy of Graeme Hall, a much-loved regular and key figure in the Barnet music scene.

More than 25 acts have already committed to performing, reflecting the depth of affection and respect he inspired.

News of the sale of the Queens Arms and the Kings Head follows a temporary closure of the two pubs last year while waiting for new tenants and the BRA says it hopes they thrive under new ownership.

Other McMullen’s pubs included in the sale to Punch Pubs are the Builder’s Arms, Potters Bar, and the Windsor Castle, East Finchley.

All 30 were described by Punch Pubs as having strong trading histories, distinctive heritage and established positions.

Sebright Arms, Alston Road, one of three Barnet pubs sold by Hertford bewers McMullen's to Punch Pubs

In his statement Tom McMullen said it had been important to transfer the pubs to a new owner who possessed both the “scale and strategic direction” to offer tenants improved support and willingness to provide the pubs the financial commitment they deserved.

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Bid to safeguard Black Horse public house for community use amid continuing doubts about its future despite Star Pubs’ re-assurances

An attempt is being made to safeguard the long-term future of a Barnet landmark, the Black Horse public house, which has been closed to the public since mid-September last year.

Barnet Council is being asked to declare the building an asset of community value which would ensure the community had a chance to buy the property should there be an attempt to sell it for redevelopment.

Star Pubs, which said before Christmas that it hoped to find a new tenant starting in the New Year, has admitted that the company, which is part of Heineken UK, is still has no nearer to saying when the pub might re-open.

“The Black Horse is a much-loved pub, and we are committed to keeping it as such,” said Star Inns in a statement to the Barnet Society.

“We remain keen to re-open it as soon as possible but are unable to provide timings at this stage.

“As soon as we have more information, we will be happy to share it.”

The application for an asset of community value order has been submitted in the name of the Barnet parish church of St John the Baptist on behalf of the community, says Olly Gough.

Olly, who is to be a Labour candidate for the May elections to Barnet Council, has organised a petition to the save pub which has attracted over 3,500 signatures.

https://www.change.org/p/save-the-black-horse-chipping-barnet-list-it-as-an-asset-of-community-value

Barnet Council has eight weeks to make a decision on the application and, if approved, Olly says the ACV order would given the community “a real say in the pub’s future and help protect it as a proper local”.

In his campaign to save the pub, Olly has been publicising one of the early pictures of the Black Horse back in the day when a horse drinking trough and lamppost formed an effective mini roundabout at the Ravenscroft Park junction of Wood Street and Stapylton Road.

He says the strength of support for the petition reflects the news coverage which has been given to his campaign by the BBC, London Evening Standard, Barnet Post, Morning Advertiser and the Barnet Society.

“Thanks to everyone who has backed this campaign. Fingers cross for a good outcome.”

An ACV was issued in March 2024 to safeguard the future of the Prince of Wales public house in East Barnet which was closed by the Stonegate Group but was finally rescued and re-opened by the Heartwood Collection group of inns and hotels.

Once an ACV is registered, an owner wishing to sell the asset or to lease it for more than 25 years, is legally obliged to notify the relevant local authority.

Barnet Council will then inform those making the application – in this case the Barnet parish church – which would signal an interim moratorium period of six weeks during which the community could express an interest in taking on the asset.

If a community does express an interest in taking on the Black Horse, then a full moratorium is triggered and the property may not be sold on the market for a six-month period, which would give time for the formation of a residents’ group to consider their options.

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Loss of pub motto from new signs at The Gate, Arkley, prompts memories of some of the pub’s famous – and infamous – customers  

New signs outside The Gate public house at Arkley have resulted in the disappearance of a much-loved historical pub motto which used to adorn a miniature five-bar gate that has been the inn’s trademark for probably a couple of centuries.

Motorists stuck at the traffic lights at the junction of Barnet Road and Hendon Wood Lane — or passengers on the 107 bus – are said to have learned the words off by heart:

                           THIS GATE HANGS HIGH

                              AND HINDERS NONE

                               REFRESH AND PAY

                                AND TRAVEL ON

The Gate public house is included in Barnet Council’s local heritage list as being a landmark of significant architectural interest and the loss of the motto – which was painted on both sides of the miniature gate – has disappointed both residents and passers-by.

When asked by the Barnet Society, The Gate’s management said they had no intention of replacing the missing words – the suggestion seemed to be that after a new coat of white paint the mini gate now stands out more clearly and suits the modern, stylish lettering on the side of the wall.

The installation of a small five-bar gate as a pub sign dates back to when it was known as The Bell.

It was opened in the mid seventeenth century and was mentioned in a War Office survey of 1756 as being kept by John Williams.

A drawing of 1807 shows the inn as a thatched cottage with a porch and a gate alongside, close to the wall.

The gate’s purpose was to keep cattle and horses within the common which then stretched to the town of Barnet two miles distant.

Legend has it that when the gate was removed a replica was added to the inn sign.

At the time, the pub was often described as the Bell at the Gate or the Bell and Gate and the above picture (1898-1903) – from the Barnet Museum photographic collection – shows a replica gate above a sign depicting a bell.

The first words of the historical pub motto do differ – instead of “This gate hangs high” it sometimes says, “This gate hangs well.”

Replica gates with the motto are often displayed on inns on turnpike toll roads, meaning the gate is well maintained, does not block the traffic and requires a small payment for refreshments before travellers can continue on their journey.

In other cases – as at Arkley – the gate appears above inns on rural roads where a gate was used to keep animals in the owner’s land or within a common.

Over the years The Gate has served some notable characters – perhaps the most chilling was the American homeopath Dr Crippen who was hanged in 1910 at Pentonville Prison for the murder of his second wife.

In an article published in 1957 in the spring issue of Hertfordshire Countryside, Dorothy Prince, the daughter of a former licensee of the Bell Inn at Barnet Gate, recalled that when her father took on the pub in 1908 it still retained a good deal of its Victorian character.

Newly painted signs at The Gate public house Arkley fail to include the words of historic pub motto and prompt memories of famous -- and infamous -- customers

The postcard above – from Barnet Museum’s collection – promotes the then proprietor, J. Prince, Dorothy’s father

Motorists, who were rarely seen in those days, were regarded by Mr Prince as being “eccentric or flighty” as ordinary folk preferred their “bicycles or a nice little pony and trap for their country outings”.

One afternoon Dorothy’s sister served a meal in the parlour to a “small and furtive man, with a drooping moustache” and she remembered that his companion “seemed much younger and rather nervous”.

“A few months later the whole country was startled and horrified by the news of a dreadful crime. Pictures appeared in the newspapers, and my sister recognised her parlour customers.

“The man with drooping moustache was Dr Crippen and the young lady was his friend, Ethel le Neve.”

Dorothy recalled that one summer afternoon a party of very lively people alighted from several carriages and ordered tea to be served in the garden.

“Trooping on to the velvety lawn, they moved the tables and chairs and then started to dance – to dance in a way that seemed strange and fairy-like to my childish eyes. Soon the news leaked out.

“It was a party of dancers from the Russian Ballet, then appearing at Covent Garden, and I was told afterwards that I had probably seen the great Pavlova dancing.”

In later years The Gate became a regular haunt of the British film actor, Trevor Howard, who lived nearby in Rowley Lane.

Barnet Council’s local heritage list describes the association in rather more brutal words: “It is said that Trevor Howard drank himself to death in the pub”.

More recently social media posts recall visitors and regulars seeing other celebrities in the pub including the Irish American actor Patrick McGoohan, the actress Claire Bloom and another nearby resident, Tony Blackburn, the disc jockey and television presenter.

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Arkley’s two leading football teams met up for a local derby which put the village on the map and revived memories of past encounters  

Arkley has a new claim to fame – its top two football clubs are now in the same division and when they play each other their home matches are thought to be the closest local derby among leading English football leagues.

Until this season Liverpool and Everton held that honour because of what previously was the close proximity of their stadiums.

Local football fans believe that Arkley village may now have become the setting for perhaps the hottest local derby in the top eight tiers of English football.

The two clubs are based less than a mile apart.

Hadley FC’s stadium and clubhouse is in Brickfield Lane, next to Arkley village hall, and London Lions FC are a ten-minute walk away in Rowley Lane.

London Lions won promotion this season to the Southern League Division One Central and their first away fixture to Hadley ended in a 2-1 victory after they snatched the winning goal a minute from the end.

Hadley, hit recently by a bad run of injuries, had been hoping for a win and were in high spirits during the warmup – see above, from left to right, Hermes Gbio, Hedley Ogbebor, Jordan Edwards and Hadley goalkeeper coach Tim Teixeira.

London Lions under their skipper for the day Adam Lipman – see above with long-time Lions supporter Paul Woolfson – were disappointed when Hadley were deservedly 1-0 up at the end of the first half after striker Lenny Asamoah had made no mistake from close range.

Zan Appleson-Fidler equalised for the Lions in the 60th minute and a minute from time Daniel Creese clinched the match for the visitors from six yards.

Veteran London Lions fan Neville Zeller (87) – above right with Darren Zeller – is no stranger to the local football scene. He has been a supporter of the club since he was 15.

The last time the two teams met was in 2014 when Hadley ran out 4-0 winners in a Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division match.

A decade ago, the two clubs were both ground sharing – Hadley at Potters Bar Town and London Lions at Hemel Hempstead Town but after ground improvements both returned to Barnet.

Hadley FC president Tristan Smith – above – is hoping for a better result when the two teams meet again at the London Lions’ stadium in Rowley Lane on 28 March.

Arkley became the permanent home of Hadley FC – which was established in 1882 and is the oldest football club playing in Barnet – after the club secured a long-term lease on the sports ground at Brickfield Lane in 2016 – where the regular chant is now “Come on You Bricks.”

Since 2016 the club has spent £1.3 million in improvements to its ground and facilities, including the installation of an all-weather training pitch.

The latest addition are new changing rooms which have been in use since the start of the season, and which were funded with the help of grants from the Football Foundation and Barnet Council.

Despite having been hampered since early November by having up to 13 players unavailable through injuries, club director Oliver Deed – far right above with club chairman Steve Gray and first team coach Mick Hore – is hopeful Hadley might make it to the playoffs for promotion.

“We reached the first round of the FA Trophy, as we did last season, and although we are mid table, we have still got a chance of reaching the playoffs in 2026. It’ll but tough, but we are hopeful.”

Arkley's two top football teams Hadley FC and London Lions FC clash in local derby which gives village a new claim to fame.

For club members perhaps the next phase in the club’s development programme might be improvements to the bar and seating area in their clubhouse at Hadley Pavilion.   

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Sad loss of an imposing Victorian villa built when New Barnet was developed after the opening of its main line railway station

One of New Barnet’s last remaining large Victorian villas – 33 Lyonsdown Road – is being demolished much to the disappointment of community and heritage groups who fear it will be replaced by blocks of flats.

There is no certainty about future development of this prime site as two planning applications by the owners Abbeytown Ltd have been rejected by Barnet Council.

A spirited campaign was launched in 2017 to try to secure the restoration of what was considered one of the last and best examples of the imposing private villas and terraced houses which were constructed after the opening of New Barnet station in 1850.

After failing to secure approval for a five-storey block of flats – and losing two planning appeals – Abbeytown was granted permission in 2022 to demolish 33 Lyonsdown under permitted development rights.

Demolition contractors have finally moved heavy equipment onto the site, and the roof of the building was off within a matter of days.

In his monthly newsletter the Chipping Barnet MP Dan Tomlinson said that residents had raised concerns about the state of the property at a consultation event in Barnet Vale. He said he was “pleased to report that demolition work started this week”.

Robin Bishop, who leads for the Barnet Society on planning and the environment, was appalled by the sad loss of one of the few surviving buildings from the first Victorian settlement at New Barnet.

“Despite being on Barnet’s heritage list, a quirk in the planning law has allowed the owner, Abbeytown, to demolish it without reference to the planning committee.

“For five years the local community, together with the society, fought off earlier plans to replace 33 Lyonsdown with characterless blocks of flats.

“We raised substantial funds for top level legal advice and even designed a more acceptable scheme to retain and extend the villa, all without success.

“A new planning application is doubtless already in the pipeline.”

33 Lyonsdown had a chequered history variously having been a private home, an outpost of London’s Foundling Hospital, a women’s refuge and a base for missionary priests.

In her time as the Chipping Barnet MP, Dame Theresa Villiers, intervened to prevent the demolition, writing to the development company Abbeytown at the offices of estate agents Martyn Gerrard.

She supported the society’s campaign arguing that it was “sad to see such a beautifully designed villa, which was such a feature of New Barnet”, being threatened with demolition.

Simon Kaufman Architects prepared a full feasibility study and visibility assessment to demonstrate a more conservation-led approach to retain a building that had become a heritage landmark.

Under the proposal, the existing building would have been converted into apartments, retaining its original richly detailed stone porch, panelled entrance hall and other original feature.

This would have delivered a comparable floor area and improved sales values when set against total redevelopment.

Alongside the restoration, there was a proposal for a modest new-build block within the grounds which would have mirrored key proportions and materials while maintaining distance from neighbouring properties.

Simon Kaufman insisted this alternative vision was supported with site plans, financial appraisals, and heritage justification, and those opposing demolition had been anxious to engage with the owner to promote a design-led conservation strategy that would have protected the unnecessary loss of an important local building.      

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Star Pubs say Black Horse in High Barnet is unlikely to re-open until 2026 as hunt is still on for a new publican

Black Horse pub in High Barnet unlikely to re-open until 2026 as hunt is still on to find a new tenant after pub closed in September

Any hopes on the part of former customers that The Black Horse public house might re-open in time for Christmas and the New Year have been all but ruled out by Star Pubs.

A statement from the company made it clear it is “unlikely” the pub will re-open this year, but the company said efforts are being stepped up to find a new tenant.

The Black Horse closed in September on the departure of the previous tenant.

Continuing uncertainty about its future has attracted well over 3,000 signatures to a petition promoting a campaign to get the pub listed as an asset of community value.

Posts on social media have expressed strong support for a co-ordinated attempt to persuade Barnet Council to safeguard the future of one of High Barnet’s “most cherished pubs”.

In its latest statement, Star Pubs acknowledges the depth of local concern about what locals fear might become an indefinite closure.

“We are keen to re-open the Black Horse as soon as possible and we plan to advertise details on our website as soon as we are able.

“It is unlikely the pub will reopen this year but as soon as we have more details to share with you, we will of course let you know.”

Said to have been founded in 1720 as a coaching inn, The Black Horse – at the junction of Wood Street and Union Street – had its own stables which were converted into a small micro-brewery before becoming the pub’s kitchen.

The name Black Horse is steeped in the history of former coaching towns like Barnet and inns with that name were a trusted stop for travellers and their horses.   

The pub’s significance locally – and its echoes of coaching inns and associations with Barnet Fair – has attracted widespread publicity and support for the petition – https://www.change.org/p/save-the-black-horse-chipping-barnet-list-it-as-an-asset-of-community-value

Barnet Council have indicated that a formal application will have to be made to apply for The Black Horse to be declared an asset of community value and that will involve more than simply adding names to a petition.

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Safeguards agreed by Barnet Council add greater protection for Quinta Village Green and could help to restore derelict youth club

Quinta village green and derelict Quinta youth club one step closer to being brought under residents' control after Barnet Council agrees asset of community value protection.

Quinta Village Green and the abandoned former Quinta Youth Club are one step closer to being brought under the control of a group of residents living in and around Mays Lane, Barnet, who have been campaigning for years to safeguard their open space and reopen a derelict clubhouse.

Barnet Council has agreed to list the whole site as an asset of community value, a safeguard which the Quinta Village Green Association hopes will be the first step towards establishing new facilities for the community.

ACV status for the green and clubhouse gives the community the right to apply for a potential community asset transfer which would allow a residents’ organisation to manage and operate the land and building for the benefit of the community.

An application is now being made to register the association as a community interest company which could develop and maintain community facilities on a non-for-profit basis.

Councillor Barry Rawlings, leader of Barnet Council, agreed to list the green and clubhouse as an ACV after meeting representatives of the village green association.

They outlined their vision for reviving the youth club building and enhancing the village green as a community-led hub.

Gina Theodorou, chair of the association, said the membership was thrilled that the importance of the green and club had been recognised and that the council had shared their vision that this was a place where people could come together.

“We can now start planning for a sustainable future with the hope that ACV status will ultimately lead to a full community asset transfer, ensuring the site remains protected and accessible for generations to come.”

She thanked Councillors Rawlings and Councillor Zahra Beg (Underhill) and Paul Frost from Barnet Council for their support.

The site was registered as a village green in 2010 following a public inquiry. Residents had argued that it should be preserved as an open space for community use and maintained by the council.

Local volunteers built the clubhouse in the 1960s and it served first as a youth club and community hub, later becoming a nursery and meeting place.

It has been vacant since 2006 when it was boarded up but in recent years residents have become increasingly concerned about continuing vandalism and anti-social behaviour around the building.

Planning approval was given in 2021 for use of the clubhouse to be changed from community use to become a store for the library service for schools in the Borough of Barnet but the proposed refurbishment did not take place, and the building has fallen further into disrepair.

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Former public house The Jester – the haunted house of New Barnet – is finally levelled by demolition contractors

After a seven-year campaign New Barnet community activist Ros Howarth finally says farewell to the last remnants of the abandoned public house The Jester which was left wrecked after a fire in 2018.

Demolition contractors have spent several days levelling the derelict pub which had remained an eyesore after protracted disputes over its future and then a series of contested planning applications.

Approval was given in May last year for the site – at the junction of Northfield Road and Grove Road – to be redeveloped with a three-storey children’s nursery and three houses.

Built in 1958 as a result of a petition from residents, The Jester became a well frequented pub and restaurant.

The fire seven years ago – photograph above by Oliver Jennings – was said at the time to have been a heart-breaking blow for the community.

Ros Howarth and other campaigners fought tirelessly for the construction of a replacement public house or some other community building to benefit the locality.

“It’s a bitter-sweet moment,” she said.

“Everyone around here has been delighted to see it being demolished but we are disappointed. We wanted a new community pub or cafe.

“Instead, approval has been given for a private children’s nursery with up to 100 places.

“We already have three council-run nurseries within walking distance, and we don’t think there will be the demand for a private nursery.”

The final go ahead for the demolition of what had been dubbed New Barnet’s haunted house was a relief for Barnet Councillors.

East Barnet Councillor Simon Radford – above far right, with Councillor Phil Cohen and Councillor Edith David – said he and his colleagues shared the disappointment of nearby residents that the owners of the site had not opted to construct a new community pub.

“While we won’t be getting pub, we will have a children’s nursery which is certainly better than the haunted house which has stood there for the last seven years.”

Councillor Radford paid tribute to the resolve shown by the community.

“Ros Howarth has been a tremendous advocate for their campaign to get a replacement for the pub, and they demonstrated there was a viable alternative.”

Ros Howarth – founder of the Justice for Jester Facebook page – said she doubted whether a private nursery with up to 100 places would be viable.

Construction work is due to last for 18 months with the development completed by the spring of 2027.

The fear of nearby residents was that the new building – see developer’s image above – might at some stage be converted into flats.

Even if there was sufficient demand for a nursery, they were concerned that the site lacked sufficient car park spaces for 27 members of staff and visiting parents.

Parking was already a problem in surrounding roads, and an added problem was that Northfield Road was the main approach road for the nearby Jewish Community Secondary School which was served by a dozen or more coaches every day.

“All the new nursery school will have is a few dropping off places, so we think that with the amount of local traffic this isn’t going to be the safest place for small children.”  

The Jester public house, wrecked and abandoned after a fire in 2018 is finally demolished to make way for a new children's nursery in New Barnet

A start was made on demolishing the pub after the fire in 2018, but Barnet Council stepped in to halt the work – and that was the start of what seemed to be a never-ending saga of changes in ownership, court cases, appeals and futile planning applications.

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Star Pubs say “high level of interest” in re-opening Black Horse but mounting local concern over pub’s continued closure

Star Pubs want to re-open Black Horse public house as soon possible but concern over continued closure prompts petition to safeguard its future

Such is the depth of local concern over the continued closure of the Black Horse public house that a petition has been launched to gather support for its future to be safeguarded by Barnet Council with an order to declare it an asset of community value.

Owners Star Pubs, part of Heineken UK, told the Barnet Society that they are keen to re-open the Black Horse as soon as possible.

“The Black Horse is a great pub.

“We are in the process of recruiting a new operator and we are getting a high level of interest.”

Star Pubs operates 2,400 leased and tenanted pubs across the country and the last leaseholder of the Black Horse vacated the pub in mid-September.

Within a few days well over 1,000 people have signed the petition calling for the pub to be listed as an asset of community value. It has been organised in the name of Olly Gough – www.change.org/p/save-the-black-horse-chipping-barnet-list-it-as-an-asset-of-community-value

It says the current closure is a reminder that “times are tougher than ever” for pubs and that Chipping Barnet cannot risk losing one of its most cherished pubs.

Said to have been established in 1720, the Black Horse is described as having “real social importance to the local community” and if it ceased to be a pub it could become a place for social gatherings, recreation or cultural events.

Chipping Barnet MP Dan Tomlinson, says he has already alerted Barnet

Council to the continued closure.

“Given the status of the Black horse as a locally listed building within the Wood Street Conservation Area, I sought assurances that the council would retain the building and that any future development would be sensitive to its heritage status – which the council confirmed would be the case.”

An application for ACV status would need considerable support from the community.

Chipping Barnet ward Councillor Emma Whysall, who has expressed her concern over the pub’s closure, together with the Barnet Residents Association, are urging regular customers to band together to see if they can get sufficient backing for an application.

An ACV declaration was made by the council last year after the closure of the Prince of Wales, the last pub in East Barnet village, and it was added to Barnet’s list of buildings considered to be community assets.

However, the ACV was overtaken by Stonegate Group’s sale of the pub to the Heartwood Collection which runs a chain of licensed premises with dining areas, and which re-opened the Prince of Wales in May after what was said to have been “a multi-million pound” investment.

East Barnet Residents Association raised a petition with over 3,000 signatures in support of the ACV application.

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After staging Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, High Barnet drama group to explore Charles Dickens’ rich literary association with Barnet and Finchley

Artistic director Siobhan Dunne takes the applause at the final performance of Macbeth at The Bull Theatre…and already she is planning the next production by the Blue Door Company, High Barnet’s highly acclaimed drama group.

Charles Dickens Comes to Barnet is to be the story line for another of Blue Door’s locally inspired plays which build on the town’s rich history and literary connections.

Writing and scripting for the new play is due to start in November ready for a premier performance at The Bull Theatre in April next year.

After a run of highly popular productions which have explored the impact of the Battle of Barnet, the importance of Barnet Fair and most recently the year that Dr David Livingstone lived at a cottage on Hadley Green, the new drama will explore Dickens’ connections with both Finchley and Barnet and bring to life local links to immortal Dickens’ characters such as Oliver Twist and Mrs Gamp.

Packed audiences at The Bull Theatre for the group’s imaginative and daring production of Macbeth demonstrated the strength and versability of High Barnet’s community theatre company which brings together total beginners alongside members with decades of performance experience, backed up by dedicated local professional artists.

On the closing night, Francesco Giacon, who played Macbeth, led the thanks to Ms Dunne for her inspirational leadership and declared:

“We encounter ye with our hearts’ thanks” – based on the line from the play when Macbeth greets his guests at the banquet and says to the first murderer, “See, they encounter thee with their hearts’ thanks.”

In response, Ms Dunne reflected the pride of the Blue Door Theatre Company in having pulled off their own original presentation of a Shakespeare classic. 

“We recognise it has been a real privilege to perform Macbeth here in Barnet.”

“We manage two shows a year and we have so many people to thank for helping us to keep community theatre alive in the town.”

Ms Dunne appealed to the audience – and the residents of Barnet and beyond – to recognise the challenge they faced in keeping the lights on at a venue which was 40 years’ old, and which was in need of an upgrade.  

A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to raise a minimum of £10,000 towards the cost of updating theatrical equipment and protecting the future of The Bull Theatre.

www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-bull-theatre

 Blue Door’s production of Macbeth was another milestone for Blue Door. It was the first time Ms Dunne had led a full theatrical company in staging Shakespeare’s play about the destructive consequences of unchecked ambition and power.

With the help of their production team, Blue Door delivered a stunning performance which conjured up a supernatural atmosphere full of music, sound and eye-catching projections.

Composer Nick Godwin created an original music score for the chorus and musicians who won a special round of applause (see above) – Helen Brown (violin), Nick Godwin (guitar, bouzouki, bodhran, mandolin) and Ned Wilkins (bass ukelele).

In her programme introduction to The Tragedie of Macbeth, Ms Dunne reveals that their next production will explore the relationship that Charles Dickens had with Barnet and Finchley called – Between the Lines.   

Work on writing the script will start in November – a joint task for Claire Fisher, who played Lady Macbeth, and whose play Mary Livingstone, I Presume was staged earlier this year, and Sarah Munford, who was one of the three witches in Macbeth and who has been a regular cast member in productions by Blue Door and its sister company The Bull Players.

Rehearsals are due to start in January ready for the play to be staged next April.

Dickens paid many visits to Finchley and Barnet and the time he spent in the locality proved a great inspiration when writing his novels.

On a number of occasions, he was said to have taken his wife to dine at The Red Lion during the 1830s.

At the time he was writing Oliver Twist and Oliver is said to have met the Artful Dodger in Barnet High Street on the steps of what was the former Victoria Bakery.

It was there that Oliver “sat, with bleeding feet and covered with dust, upon a doorstep” after he had “limped slowly into the little town of Barnet”.

While crouching in the High Street, Oliver wondered at the “great number of public houses (every other house in Barnet was a tavern large or small), gazing listlessly at the coaches as they passed through”.

Highly acclaimed production of Macbeth at Bull Theatre, Barnet, to be followed next year by a drama with storyline about how Charles Dickens Came to Barnet

Ms Dunne – with Claire Fisher (above left) – said the Dickens’ play will definitely reflect the historic importance of the licensed trade in Barnet; so, expect references to The Mitre and The Bull as well as The Red Lion.    

There is also a strong chance that Dickens visited the former Barnet Union Workhouse – although this is disputed by some historians – and that this was the workhouse depicted in Oliver Twist.

A friend had urged Dickens to visit the workhouse after hearing one of its young inmates “ask for more”.

Barnet gets its own mention in Dickens’s Dictionary of London (1879): “A pretty and still tolerably rural suburb, but on the north side of London and on clay…The best part of Barnet, from a residential point of view, is the ring of villas round the common”.

Finchley also has strong connections with Dickens’ work. In 1843 he lived at Cobley’s Farm on Bow Lane while writing Martin Chuzzlewit and used to visit the Green Man in East Finchley.

It is recorded that during his walks in the lanes around Finchley with the writer John Forster that Dickens conceived the immortal character Mrs Gamp. 

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Full English breakfasts are on the march up the Great North Road as Hole in the Wall Cafe plans to transfer to Dory’s Cafe in High Barnet

Kevin Callaghan, proprietor of the Hole in the Wall Cafe – said to be Barnet’s oldest cafe – is temporarily transferring his business to the premises of the former Dory’s Cafe, another local institution, which ceased trading in the summer. 

The Hole in the Wall, established in 1935 and hidden behind hoardings on the Great North Road, is to be demolished along with other buildings on the Meadow Works industrial estate at Pricklers Hill.

The closure of Dory’s Cafe in August was the end of an era.

Opened in 1954, it had been run by three generations of the same family and its closure followed the retirement of its proprietors Guiliano Cardosi and Angela Casali.

Mr Callaghan has secured a lease on the former Dory’s Cafe – to be renamed Corner Cafe – and he will transfer the business on a date to be announced once all the legalities are complete.

The existing Meadow Works complex of industrial and commercial premises is to be replaced with a new self-storage depot which will include new premises for the Hole in the Wall Cafe along with co-working spaces.

Mr Callaghan and his staff have earned a well-deserved reputation for their full English breakfasts and lunch menu.

Over the decades the Hole in the Wall, where Mr Callaghan first started working 20 years ago, has become a well-used pit stop for lorry drivers and motorists heading out of London.

The closure of Dory’s Cafe prompted tributes across social media and a flood of memories of full English breakfasts, tasty snacks and friendly welcome – a reputation to be proud of.

Mr Callaghan is delighted that the Hole in the Wall will have a new home once the Meadow Works industrial estate gets a new lease of life.

Proprietor of Barnet's oldest cafe The Hole in the Wall is moving up the Great North Road to former Dory's Cafe in High Barnet while new premises are built.

Developers Compound Real Estate say they are awaiting planning permission but do have approval in principle for a new state-of-the-art self-storage facility and co-working spaces, fronting on to the Great North Road, which will be available to support local small businesses and entrepreneurs.

A cluster of ageing and dilapidated light industrial buildings will be demolished to make way for the new development.

One of the last to move out is a furniture maker which has been based at Meadow Works for the last nine years.

Proprietor Sebastian said that he was disappointed to be leaving as it had been difficult to find new premises and rents were high.

“We have managed to find another workshop in Waltham Abbey but that just shows how few affordable workspaces there are around Barnet. It’s not easy for small businesses in woodworking and carpentry.”     

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Planning inspector is being asked to reconsider Barnet Council’s rejection of plans for Barnet Football Club’s return to Underhill

Barnet Football Club has launched an appeal against the refusal of Barnet Council to approve an application to build a new stadium at Underhill.

A public inquiry before a planning inspector will give the club a chance to explain what it believes are the reasons why a new football ground should be permitted on playing fields close to the club’s previous stadium.

Despite being within the Green Belt, the club hopes an inspector will overturn the planning department’s advice that a new stadium in a “valued local park” would result in “substantial and irreversible harm to the openness and function of the Green Belt”.

BringBarnetBack, the group which is campaigning to bring the club back to a site as close as possible to its original home at Underhill, believe every effort should be made to secure a full public hearing.

When the application was considered by the strategic planning committee in July, members voted by 6-0 to reject the plan (with three councillors abstaining).

Councillor Barry Rawlings, leader of the council, told the Barnet Society that planning officials were now assessing the grounds of which the club had launched its appeal.

As the debate about whether Barnet FC should return to Underhill – from its current base at The Hive, Harrow – was now “a live issue” once again he was restricted in what he could say.

But he wanted to emphasise that his door as council leader remained open if the club did come forward with other alternative sites for a new stadium in or around High Barnet.

“It is difficult because of the proximity of the Green Belt, but as a council we would be prepared to look at other sites suggested by the club, such as a ground shared with another club or land already designated for sport.”

A survey conducted by the Barnet Society among community groups and councillors before decision in July, showed that the town was split down the middle over whether a 7,000-seat stadium should be built on Barnet Playing Fields.

Underhill Councillor Zahra Beg, who spoke out against the application in July, said she remained opposed to using the playing fields for a football stadium, but she was anxious to understand the grounds on which the club was appealing.

Planning inspector being asked to reconsider Barnet Council's refusal to grant planning permission for new stadium for Barnet Football Club at Underhill.

In view of promotion to League Two of the Football League, BringBarnetBack believe the club’s current success – it is currently placed 10th in the League – strengthens the case for securing a return to Underhill which they argue would provide a tremendous boost to match attendances and boost the High Barnet economy.

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Clearing out charred remains piled up inside is next step in restoring historic Hadley Green mansion gutted by fire last May

Work is about to begin removing charred debris from inside a fire-ravaged Georgian house on Hadley Green after completion of a delicate operation to construct a framework of scaffolding and supports to stabilise the outer walls.

A massive fire over the May bank holiday gutted Hollybush House leaving only the shell of the Grade II listed building and its chimney stacks.

As the outer structure was considered so unsafe, access to the interior of the house – even by fire investigators – has had to wait until the scaffolding was finished.

Upper brickwork, especially at the rear of the building was left in such a fragile state there was a fear of outer walls collapsing.

Once the charred remains have been removed it will be possible to make a full assessment of the state of the building and contractors will be able to secure the brickwork and make a start on repairs and restoration.

The owners of Hollybush House, which was built in around 1790, say they are determined to ensure full restoration as they recognise its importance as part of the historic heritage of Monken Hadley.

Myshkin Clarke Hall, lead architect for the project, told the Barnet Society the owners of the house were committed to putting it back as it was.

Fire investigators would enter the building together with the clear-out crew.

He thought it would take two or three months to remove all the debris which would give them a chance to see how bad the damage was and then they could start repairing the brickwork.

An intricate web of scaffolding and internal supports had been necessary to secure the walls. The aim was to retain the original façade.

Brickwork on the front façade had survived quite well but was precarious at the rear and around the chimney stacks as the mortar had been damaged in the fire. Some of the bricks were cracked and would need to be removed and replaced.

Long term it might take two to two and half years to build a new roof, complete the reconstruction and finish off all the interior installations.

Work about to begin removing charred debris piled high inside Georgian house on Hadley Green gutted in fire last May.

Ten fire engines and 70 firefighters tackled the blaze which broke out at around 1am on May bank holiday.

Hollybush House, which it is thought went for an estimated £4.5 million when last sold in 2020, was in the process of being renovated and refurbished. A new roof had only recently been completed together with new windows.

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Leading pioneer in renewable energy – and fellow of Women’s Engineering Society – is guest of honour on return visit to QE Girls’ School  

An award-winning engineer in the development of offshore wind technologies, visiting professor Emily Spearman – who grew up in High Barnet – returned to Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School to present prizes at the annual celebration of excellence.

Securing an A in GCSE mathematics at QE Girls in 1996 had been the springboard for Emily’s career – a career that included her nomination last year as one of “100 women brilliant in renewable energy.”  

She was delighted to congratulate Ejona Hasani – above, left – on winning the school’s 2025 trustees’ prize for outstanding achievements in maths.

Ejona – also an Abbott prize winner – is taking up a place at Warwick University to study economics.

Recalling her five years studying at QE Girls, where she remembered rushing through the corridors from one class to the next, Emily said was a chance to reflect on what school life had taught her – lessons she was keen to pass on to the pupils of today.

She had a strong sense of purpose; she knew what she liked and didn’t; she found English and history hard work; but was always curious and she gained an A in maths GCSE which secured her a place at Woodhouse sixth form college and then Nottingham University.

“One of the teachers in the maths department at QE (Mrs Sheena Duncan) recognised my potential.  She believed in me and recognised in me what others hadn’t. Through her support I have been able to achieve what I have.”

Pupils always had to fight for themselves, find sponsors and advocates, as everything achieved was a springboard to the next achievement.

“QE Girls was my springboard to college and university.”

Emily, who became an environmental officer for her university, found herself at the age of 21 as the only woman on an oil rig off Aberdeen, assisting in research and the collection of deep-sea data.

Other assignments included making environmental assessments on major construction projects across the world and, after eight years, she returned to academic life gaining an MBA in global energy at Warwick University.

Currently she is a senior leader of a BP offshore wind company, where she is working on offshore technologies such as drones and robots, and a visiting professor in energy and power at Loughborough University.

Emily’s return for the prize giving was a chance to meet up with Nigel Royden (above, left), her history teacher at QE Girls in the early 1990s, who taught at the school for 36 years, and who was presented with a long service award on his retirement.

Members of the Spearman family are no strangers to QE Girls: her father Jeffrey was chair of the school governors when the school hall was rebuilt after being destroyed in an arson attack in 1991 and her sister Jessica was also subsequently a chair of the school trustees.

Former QE Girls' School pupil, now leading pioneer in renewable energy,, presented awards at annual celebration of excellence.

Head teacher Violet Walker (far right) welcomed the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Danny Rich.

As guests mingled after the presentation, Emily – at the suggestion of the Barnet Society – agreed that given her role in the development of renewable energy –and as a judge in climate change awards – perhaps she would like schools to do more to encourage a greater interest in the subject.

One idea would be for an annual prize for the pupil devising the most imaginative strategy for tackling climate change – a suggestion Mrs Walker agreed was a possible innovation.

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From toy shop to branch Post Office – another franchised business moves into Barnet High Street

Barnet’s Crown Post Office, which is about to become a franchise operation, will move across the High Street at some point in November to new premises in a former toy shop.

Once it becomes a franchise – as from Thursday 11 September – the branch will offer customers longer opening hours to include Saturday afternoons and Sundays (11am to 4pm).

Toy Galaxy, at 112 High Street, which closed some months ago, is to be refitted as a Post Office branch and stationery store.

It will have two open plan serving positions, four self-service machines and, initially, two additional counters.

There will be level access to the new Post Office through an automatic entrance. Inside there will be low-level serving counters, a low-level writing desk and hearing loops.

The new branch will be managed by the UOE store group (Universal Office Equipment UK) which already operates a chain of franchised Post Offices around London and the Home Counties, including Potters Bar and East Finchley.

Elliott Jacobs, who is chief executive of UOE and Postmaster for the franchised business, told the Barnet Society that the empty Toy Galaxy shop would be undergoing a “major refurbishment”.

His company was proud to be enhancing the delivery of an essential service with a seven-day a week Post Office and retail stationery store.

As part of the closure process, the Post Office is to carry out a six-week consultation exercise during which customers can give their opinions on the siting of the new location, ease of access, and any other feedback. 

After always having had its own Post Office – trading for more than a century from an imposing Edwardian building close to the parish church – Barnet is one of the last 108 town centres across the country to lose its Crown office.

This follows the Post Office’s decision to cease all retail operations and offer redundancy payments to existing staff – all of whom at the Barnet Crown Office, said to number around nine, are thought to have accepted the offer.

Barnet Post Office, which was rebuilt during the reign of King Edward VII, re-opened in 1905.

It was designed by the architect Jasper Wagner and displays – right at the top – the King’s motif ER.

An early post card illustrates the prominent position of the building in the High Street and hints at its significance as the town’s Post Office.

Barnet had a distinguished history having been a regular stopping off point for mail coaches heading out of London for Scotland and the north.

Set in the wall, just to the right of the letter box, is one of the original boundary stones of the ancient parish of Chipping Barnet.

Barnet's Crown Post Office becomes a franchise business and is to move across the High Street to a vacant toy shop and offer a seven-day service.

Its massive wooden front door also has a story to tell – set within the frame is a small grille and window.

Local folk lore has it that police constables patrolling the High Street sometimes popped into the Post Office late in the evening and at night – and could peep through it unobserved to keep an eye out for any nefarious activity.    

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Work underway to stabilise precarious brickwork in fire-ravaged Hadley Green house before reconstruction starts

A massive crane has been brought in by contractors to help install scaffolding and internal braces to stabilise the walls of a large Georgian house on Hadley Green which was gutted in a disastrous fire over the May bank holiday.

Seventy firefighters supported by ten fire engines fought the blaze at Hollybush House, but the roof collapsed and all that was left was the shell of the Grade II listed building and its chimney stack.

Plans are now being prepared for the repair and restoration of the house, which was built in around 1790 and which the owners say they recognise is an important part of the historic heritage of Monken Hadley.

An application has been submitted to Barnet Council for the post-fire reconstruction, including repairs to the walls, high-level masonry, windows, doors and roofs and the reinstatement of historic stairs and rooms.

Work starts on reconstructing Hollybush House, a Georgian property on Hadley Green which was gutted in dramatic May bank holiday fire.

A report to the council by architects and historic building consultants Donald Insall Associates says masonry at a high level and in some areas at the rear of the property was left structurally unstable and needed to be stabilised.

Work is due to start on the reconstruction in October and should be completed by March 2027.

Because the internal floors and fabric of the building were totally destroyed, the architects say it will only be possible to recreate the original appearance of the house.

The rebuilding would go “as far as it is possible” to restore the significance of the Grade II listed building and its contribution to the character and appearance of the Monken Hadley Conservation Area.

Hollybush House is one of several Grade II-listed buildings along the east side of Hadley Green, including Wilbraham Almshouses and Grandon to the north-

east, and Livingstone Cottage, Monken Cottage, Monkenholt, and Fairholt to the south-west.

The houses along Hadley Green Road are all located within the registered battlefield for the 1471 Battle of Barnet, a defining conflict of the Wars of the Roses.

Hollybush House is described in the consultants’ report as a modest country house formed of an amalgamation of 18th century domestic buildings and later additions.

It is thought that the site began as an early-18th century cottage, which was extended in the late-18th century with a classic Georgian country house façade.

The main house, which retained the majority of the historic features and decoration, suffered the worst damage.

However, there are some surviving historic items – a few sashes, shutters, and doors – which were temporarily removed for repair and refurbishment, but the loss of original historic fabric meant that the significance of the house had been permanently diminished.

Soon after the current owners purchased Hollybush House in 2020, they applied for planning permission to restore the building.

After 18 months of restoration work, which included installing a new roof and windows, the refurbishment was due to have been completed sometime in early 2026 – until fire broke out in one of the rooms in the early hours of Bank holiday Monday and spread to the roof.

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Chipping Barnet MP promoted to Treasury junior minister – a chance to demonstrate his commitment to tackling economic insecurity

A little over a year after being elected Labour MP for Chipping Barnet, Dan Tomlinson has been promoted to become a junior minister at the Treasury.

In a reshuffle announced by the Prime Minister on the day MPs returned to Westminster, Mr Tomlinson was appointed Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury.

His promotion from the backbenches to assist in the development of Labour policies to rebuild the economy reflects his previous experience as an economist with think-tanks working on ways to boost living standards and tackle poverty.

For the past year Mr Tomlinson – seen above when campaigning against the closure of High Barnet post office – has been one of Sir Keir Starmer’s backbench champions of economic growth.

His appointment to the ministerial ranks followed in the wake of the promotion of Darren Jones who was moved from the Treasury to a new cabinet post of Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister.

Mr Jones, who was Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has been replaced by James Murray, previously the Exchequer Secretary – the post now taken by Mr Tomlinson.

In the general election in July last year, Mr Tomlinson, at the age of 31, defeated the long-standing Conservative MP, Theresa Villiers (who was made a Dame Commander in Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours) and he became Chipping Barnet’s first Labour MP for over 70 years.  

He broke the Conservatives’ hold on what had been one of their safest seats and followed in the steps of an illustrious Labour predecessor Stephen Taylor MP, who won the newly created constituency of Barnet in the 1945 Labour landslide and who became an influential adviser on the creation of the National Health Service.

After studying philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University, Mr Tomlinson joined the Treasury and moved to the Resolution Foundation in 2015 becoming a senior economist on housing, employment, public spending and living standards.

In 2022, he joined the Joseph Rowntree Foundation as principal policy adviser leading their research and advice on aspects of economic insecurity.

From 2018 to 2022, he served as a councillor in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

After being elected to Westminster, he was listed as one of eight newly-elected Labour MPs who would become advocates on the need to improve social housing – a cause which he has told his constituents was influenced by his own childhood experiences, having grown up on free school meals and having been homeless for a time as a child.

From the start, he indicated that he was determined to use his expertise to work with Keir Starmer, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, to tackle the cost- of-living crisis – and after only 14 months as an MP, he has the chance to put his experience to the test.

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Work to start soon on a new studio for Barnet Guild of Artists – a continuing legacy of Whalebones benefactor Gwyneth Cowing

Members of Barnet Guild of Artists are preparing for their 74th annual show in October – in what might become their final year in their unique and much-loved art studio.

Tucked away in the woods at Whalebones, off Wood Street, the timber framed studio was built by the late Miss Gwyneth Cowing who left it for the artists’ use.

The guild have been rebuilding their membership after a difficult few years following the cancellation of activities during the covid pandemic and uncertainty surrounding plans for the redevelopment of much of the Whalebones estate.

Helen Leake, the guild’s membership secretary – see above – says they will be very sorry to leave Miss Cowing’s original studio which holds so many happy memories for generations of local artists.

If all goes to plan the guild is due to move into a replacement studio towards the end of 2026 on a site in Wellhouse Lane, next to Well Cottage and directly opposite the bus terminus outside Barnet Hospital.

New premises for the artists are to be built by Hill Residential, and the Gwyneth Cowing Will Trust, which were granted planning permission last year to build 114 new houses on fields adjoining Whalebones House.

A lease on the proposed new building is about to be signed by the guild which has acquired charitable status given its enhanced responsibilities.

By moving into a new premises, with a much bigger art studio, full disabled access and modern facilities, the guild will have the opportunity to widen their appeal and work with other arts groups.

“We do want to engage much more with the wider community and our new premises will give us the chance to work with other organisations and arrange community sessions for local artists,” said Helen Leake.

The guild now has a membership of 128 artists and is appealing for a treasurer and new trustees to help with the administration.

Members are currently preparing for their annual exhibition to be staged again at the Wesley Hall during the last week of October.

Seen at work in the well-lit Whalebones studio – under the watchful eye of Gwyneth Cowing’s portrait on the wall – are from left to right, Helen Leake. Carole Wilson and Victoria Vickers.

Recent works completed by guild members are about to go on display at the Open Door Cafe at Christ Church in St Albans Road.

An ambitious project completed by guild members under the leadership of Toni Smith was the painting of a large mural on an external wall of Brunswick Park Primary and Nursey School in Osidge Lane.

The mural is of a tree and owls and the school’s colours.

One member who helped with the project was Mark Wiltshire, above.

Such was the size of the mural – measuring four metres by five metre – that scaffolding has to be erected to provide access.  

For more information on the guild’s activities see www.barnetguildofartists.com

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End of an era in Barnet town centre: Dory’s closes after 71 years in business leaving customers dismayed by the loss of a welcoming cafe  

Dory’s, High Barnet’s celebrated family run cafe which provided refreshments and a warm welcome for generations of satisfied customers, has closed for business after the retirement of its proprietors Guiliano Cardosi and Angela Casali.

Surprise at the sudden loss of a town centre institution prompted tributes across social media and a flood of fond memories of the three generations who have produced a constant supply of full English breakfasts, hot meals, snacks and endless rounds of teas and coffees.

People unaware of the closure lined up to read notice of the sad news to customers and friends:

“After 71 wonderful years of serving our community, we would like to share the news that Dory’s, our family run business, will be closing its doors.”  

Angela Casali (above, far right in the family photo) told the Barnet Society that she and her brother had decided to retire.

“Sadly, running a cafe does not appeal to the next generation of the family”.

Her grandfather Ottorino Pellicci opened the cafe in 1954 on taking over from the Mancini family.

Dory’s was the name chosen for the cafe – the name by which Ottorino was known – at the corner of Bruce Road and St Albans, a prime location next door to the former site of Barnet Market.

So far, no decision has been taken about the future of the cafe, a business which was rightly proud of its claim to be the oldest family business trading in Barnet town centre.

Guiliano (above, front row, far let) and Angela said they were “incredibly grateful for the support, loyalty, relationships and memories built over the years”.

They were constantly surprised by who came through the front door of the cafe – sometimes someone who remembered their grandfather or perhaps a television star or celebrity.

When the cafe’s doors closed on Thursday 31 July word spread quickly – but not fast enough for a steady flow of customers turning up next day hoping for some refreshments.

They were all shocked by the news and dismayed by what they thought was the end of an era.

David Clark (above) said that although he had only been a customer for the last three years, he thought it was a tragedy Barnet was losing such a vital community hub.

“Whenever you went into Dory’s you ended up talking to other people – that was its secret, it was such a friendly place.

“You really couldn’t expect not to start up a conversation, so I will miss it. For me, Barnet will never be the same again.”

The week after Ottorino and his wife Crimene opened for business in 1954, Barnet’s cattle market closed, but the subsequent success of Barnet’s stalls market ensured a regular clientele.

The couple’s daughter Dorina (who died in 2021) and her husband Tony Cardosi (centre, front row in family photo above) took over the business and were then succeeded by their son and daughter Guiliano and Angela.

After 71 years trading in High Barnet, Dory's family run cafe closes for business to dismay of generations of customers.

Angela (above, fourth from the left) has fond memories of helping her mother and father when stalls filled the former cattle market (now the site of a car park).

“Back in those days trade was so good we used to get queues outside our door.   

The closure of Dory’s marks another sad loss among the dwindling number of family and independent businesses in High Barnet town centre.

Dory’s demise follows the closure of the Victoria bakery and Julian’s hardware shop.

Peter Wanders, proprietor Wanders shoe shop, is now thought to be the oldest trading name.

He opened his shop in September 1986 followed a year later by the arrival of Vajsur (Vince) Gadhavi at Smokers’ Paradise, now the Paper Shop.

Peter and Vince both had fond memories of the extended family which ran Dory’s and the welcome they offered. 

“It was renowned for being a proper working man’s cafe,” said Vince. “Sometimes there would be customers waiting outside ready for Dory’s to open at 5am.

“My paper shop is open from 6am, but Dory’s was always busy by then, so we are all really going to miss the early morning comings and goings just across the High Street.”  

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Future use of High Barnet’s historic Tudor Hall uncertain once again after Barnet Museum trustees withdraw their offer 

Barnet Museum’s trustees have had to withdraw their bid to save High Barnet’s historic Tudor Hall for community use because of a lack of financial resources to repair and then maintain the building.

An offer to purchase the hall – which is on the market with a guide price of £1 million – was accepted by Barnet and Southgate College earlier this year.

Prospective funding for the purchase had been secured from the Hadley Trust and the sale appeared to be going through subject to contract.

There was considerable relief among voluntary groups within the town when the museum obtained an exclusive right to buy what was originally the schoolhouse for a free grammar school granted a charter by Queen Elizabeth in 1573 and which later became part of Barnet College.

Bitter disappointment as Barnet Museum trustees have to abandon their bid to buy High Barnet's historic Tudor Hall for community use.

The hall, which is a grade II listed building by Historic England, is surplus to the college’s requirement and is on offer on a leasehold basis with vacant possession.

But the Trustees of the Barnet Museum and Local History Society say they are now “bitterly disappointed” to have announce that they cannot proceed with the transaction.

The Barnet Society understands that another offer to buy the hall for £1 million has been made to the college from a similar charity/community group.

When the hall was first put on the market in December 2023, the sales agents Colliers said it had received an offer of £1 million to purchase the building for educational use.

This led Barnet Museum to appeal to Barnet Council to declare the building an asset of community value so as to give the museum a chance to buy the hall for the use of the wider community.

After examining the cost of repairing, staffing and maintaining the building, the museum trustees say they have had to face the reality of being unable to find “additional funding within the available timescale”.

There were extensive discussions among the trustees and other interested groups as to how to maintain the Tudor Hall for community use but the stumbling block was the lack of additional finance.

Ambitious ideas included the possibility of the hall becoming a dedicated museum for the Wars of the Roses — centred on the town being the site of the 1471 Battle of Barnet — but the estimates were that a full refurbishment might cost up to £500,000.

The hall’s main room – see above – has on occasion been used for public events, but ongoing cost of simply maintaining the hall and keeping it available for public use was likely to be in the regional of £50,000 a year.

In their statement the museum trustees – John Hall, Scott Harrison and Guy Wheatcroft – say they have informed the college they cannot proceed with the transaction.

A feasibility study – which included a visit to what was the dormitory of the former schoolhouse – provided a “careful estimate” of further costs for repair, repurposing, staff and maintenance.

“Our attempt to source additional funding within the available timescale has shown the difficulties facing the heritage sector at this time, and the museum as a charity is not in a position to take on this burden of risk.

“The outcome if of course bitterly disappointing since the availability of such funding would have supported the opening of Tudor Hall to the community as a ‘Tudor Jewel’.

“We are very grateful to all those who have worked extremely hard to investigate Tudor Hall and prepare the feasibility study with such care and professionalism, and especially to the Hadley Trust for its generous offer to fund the purchase, subject to the condition of viability which sadly it has not been possible to satisfy.

“May we also extend our sincere thanks to those who participated in the public consultation meetings or volunteered help in many ways to support this important community initiative.”