News from The Barnet Society

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.

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.

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.

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.

Moving the Barnet Medieval Festival – to be held on Saturday and Sunday June 7 and 8 – to a new site on farmland off Galley Lane has attracted heightened interest among military re-enactors who are looking forward to having more space for Wars of the Roses camp sites and displays.

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.

Celebrations to mark this year's 550th anniversary of the Battle of Barnet will gain added impetus next month with the release by the Royal Mail of eight commemorative stamps illustrating scenes from the Wars of the Roses.

Barnet High Street is once again resplendent with heraldic banners from the Wars of the Roses -- just one of the many ways in which the local community will be celebrating this year's 550th anniversary of the Battle of Barnet.

Winning a national award is another accolade for Barnet calligrapher Gwyneth Hibbett whose skills are on display on five historic information boards which have been installed in the High Street by Barnet Museum.

A report into the four-year project to discover the site of the 1471 Battle of Barnet explains why a team of military historians still cannot provide answers to the mystery surrounding the precise location of an epic confrontation during the Wars of the Roses.

The Bull Players' performance of Fog of War -- their contribution to the commemorations to mark the 550th anniversary of the Battle of Barnet -- is to be staged in mid-September in the historic setting of the garden of Monken Hadley church.

Cleaning and repairs to Hadley Highstone herald the start of what promises to be a year of events to mark the 550th anniversary of the Battle of Barnet which will include the return in September of the Barnet Medieval Festival.

Bringing to life the daily toll of women working in a medieval kitchen is at the heart of a new play that depicts mounting tension as local inhabitants readied themselves for the 1471 Battle of Barnet.

Twice as many Wars of the Roses heraldic banners will be hung from lamp standards along Barnet High Street this summer – just one of the attractions planned to commemorate the Battle of Barnet, and to promote a repeat of last year’s highly-successful Barnet Medieval Festival.

Plans are afoot – if funding can be obtained from the Heritage Lottery Fund – to re-start an archaeological investigation in a renewed attempt to find the precise site of the 1471 Battle of Barnet.

A heartfelt plea for the creation of a visitors’ centre or historic trail to mark the site of the 1471 Battle of Barnet was made by the celebrated author and historian Alison Weir after she gave a lecture on Richard III: Man or Myth, at Barnet Parish Church.

The stunning success this summer of the first-ever Barnet Medieval Festival – which the organisers are planning to repeat next June – has added fresh momentum to several initiatives to celebrate the 1471 Battle of Barnet.

A competition to find the best possible site for a three-metre high bronze sculpture to commemorate the Battle of Barnet is about to be launched as part of a crowdfunding appeal.

Such was the enthusiastic response to a real-life re-enactment of the Battle of Barnet that military re-enactors, organisers and visitors were unanimous in their hope that the first-ever Barnet Medieval Festival can become an annual event.

Barnet High Street is flying heraldic banners from the Wars of the Roses to promote the town’s first-ever medieval festival which is being held this weekend (Saturday and Sunday, 9 and 10 June) to commemorate the 1471 Battle of Barnet.