News from The Barnet Society

There is no mistaking an imaginative commemoration for the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day on the lawns of the historic Wood Street alms houses of Jesus Hospital Charity in High Barnet. A large V incorporating the figure 80 has been laid out on one lawn with a massive poppy on an adjoining lawn.

Zippos Circus will be at Barnet playing fields for five days in mid-May – one of several attractions to be staged this summer at a much-prized open space where Barnet Football Club has applied to build a new stadium.

After the success of last year’s revived Arkley village fayre, the organisers are planning an even more ambitious event for Saturday 31 May at the village field in Brickfield Lane, Arkley.

Recently restored and repaired medieval banners commemorating the 1471 Battle of Barnet will once again decorate the High Street during the summer months after Barnet Museum intervened with financial support.

A lifetime’s fascination with the work of the prominent early Baroque painter Caravaggio has led to an unexpected twist in the career of High Barnet painter and art lecturer Keith West.

Preparations are well underway for the most ambitious programme so far for the popular summer season of concerts beside Jack’s Lake at Monken Hadley Common. Since the festival was launched in 2021, there has been ever growing support for the open-air musical evenings which are held in a woodland glade beside the lake.

Join the Barnet Society for a fun evening, of delicious food, a raffle and a chance to meet like minded people to talk about local issues. On Tuesday 21 March at 7pm we will be holding a fundraising dinner at Melange 135 High Street in High Barnet.

There could hardly be a more opportune moment for a determined push to host new productions and attractions at the Bull Theatre in the hope they might appeal to audiences in High Barnet and widen public support.

Barnet's highly successful medieval festival, due to have been staged during the last weekend in May, is just one of the many local events that are having to be postponed or cancelled because of the coronavirus crisis.  Organisers have rescheduled this year's festival from its original date of May 30-31 to the weekend of September 19-20.

A cup of Battle of Barnet tea or a pint of Battle of Barnet bitter are just two of the tempting offers that are being lined up to promote the Barnet Medieval Festival at the Byng Road playing fields over the weekend of Saturday & Sunday, June 9 & 10.

A children’s skating rink was one of the many attractions at the two-day Christmas in the Park at the Old Courthouse recreation ground in High Barnet. A series of events have been held this year since the reopening of the Old Courthouse cafe, but this was by far the most ambitious to date.

Family, friends and constituents have been paying tribute to Sir Sydney Chapman, the former Conservative MP for Chipping Barnet for just over a quarter of a century, who died in early October. His funeral was held (22.10.2014) at St Mary’s Church, Lower Heyford, Oxfordshire, where he had lived for some years since his retirement from politics.

Honey from hives at Friern Barnet allotments scooped the top prize at the 100th annual show of Barnet District Beekeepers Association.

The Friends of Barnet Market have orgainsied a series of events this Spring to encourage new shoppers to visit the Market site. The market was reopened at the historic site a few months ago and is now increasingly vibrant with new stalls joining all the time.

Barnet Museum is staging a display of instruments and memorabilia belonging to Barnet Band, thought to be the oldest musical group in the London Borough of Barnet, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year.

All the fun of the fair filled the High Street for the annual Barnet Christmas Fair, which many judged was the most ambitious and best supported since the event was first held twenty years ago.

Local shops and businesses are pulling out all the stops to ensure a spectacular line-up of events and attractions for High Barnet’s annual Christmas Fair on Sunday 1st December. A fun fair, a stage for dancing, food stalls and other attractions will fill the High Street, which will be closed to traffic from 8am to 7pm.

Plans are underway. masterminded by the Barnet Residents Association, for a 10-day festival this summer to showcase local talent and places of entertainment. It will run from 17th - 26th June. This is a new venture and, if successful, could become an annual event.

The Fayre on the first weekend in December was a very good event this year – despite the weather being bitterly cold – with many people getting out and enjoying all that was on offer.