By Judith Mills

As well as conducting a professional dig on The Green, the Hendon and District Archaeological Society had the main finds checked by experts at the Museum of London. The finds were mainly from the nineteenth century.

The Green has be disturbed over the years and some people were sceptical anything interesting would be found! We knew there would not be any buildings and we also knew the Green had been the centre of Harrow on the Hill for over 500 years. The finds that emerged give us snapshots of life on the Green and Harrow through the ages.

Please click on the file to view the photos and article

FINDS_FROM_THE_ARCHAEOLOGY_ON_THE_GREEN_AUGUST_2011

Thanks to Mike Benwell for taking these photographs.

Archaeology on the Green

It began on Thursday with bore holes. Don Cooper, a trained archaeologist passionate about community archaeology, made 6 bore holes on The Green on Harrow on the Hill. We had seen pictures of possible concrete under The Gantry and the bore holes revealed sandy soil. Relief all around and the dig could start. This was the first part of The Gantry project. There has been very little archaeology on the Hill despite its long history. As the Gantry on The Green has been a feature for at least 325 years we thought it would be a good idea. Also we could look at the footings of the 19C base in preparation for the removal of the 1980’s structure and its replacement, one that is more in keeping with previous ones.

Four other amateur archaeologists from HADAS (Hendon and District Archaeological Society) joined Don on Friday: Sarah a PhD Archaeology student, Vicky, Jim, the Major and Bill. Have to say they may have not been Time Team but they looked like them. The process was as follows: unload Don’s car of axes, trowels, buckets, baskets, tool box, measuring tape, string, plastic fencing for overnight protection, blue plastic sheets for the turf and the spoil, i.e. the soil you dig out of the trench. Then the trench was measured and marked with sting. It extended 3 meters from under The Gantry towards the tree. The turf was cut carefully, removed and laid out in order on one of the blue sheets. When two people were working on this or any task, the other four were hawkeyed and chatting ‘this looks like sand’ ‘perhaps levelling the ground at some stage’ ‘at least it’s not clay’. Clay is dreaded for Archaeology in London. Once you reach it you meet the geology which means no more evidence of human activity.

The trench appeared when the grass disappeared and the work begins after kneepads, gloves and sun screen are donned. Worms, caterpillars and earwigs are put in soil buckets for a sleep over. There is a ritual of breaking the soil with a fierce tool and then gently scrapping the earth with a flat trowel, all the time keeping to the line of the string. Bits of clay pipe are found. Clay pipes were given free with pints of beer until the 1930’s, a custom from the 1600’s. A shard of Victoria pottery, beautifully embossed was seen. Sarah had the knowledge to explain how it was made and fired to people who passed by and showed interest. Lin, a local volunteer, was sifting through the spoil heap and found a button. It had a copper back and a glass top made from glass rods moulded together to form a rose. We had a number of visitors with their own memories or stories. The Kings Head allegedly had cellars that went under The Green and also had its own well.

Archaeologists are observant and enquire. What looked like an ordinary stone to me, had marks of being worked on and the ensuing discussion surmised it could be a weight. There is a photo of the Green in the 1930’s with a goat. We found one of its teeth. Other finds were a piece of Tudor pottery( maybe),Victorian earthenware, shards of pots, long nails, could be from a previous gantry,  old glass which has bubbles and then ‘the pipe’. We had been assured by all the services there was nothing under The Green. What was it? Pictures from the display in Stephen Woodward’s of The Green gave the answer. Jim detected small remnants of the gas lamp on the Green and the pipe was in line with it! Care was taken with it and then, the fear became a reality. London clay at 10 inches! It was 4.00pm first day, just like Time Team. A rethink and a new plan for the morning!

Judith Mills

 

See "Views of the Hill" page for more photos

The King’s Head Hotel Gantry, sited on the Green at the heart of the Harrow Hill Conservation Area, has been identified by the Harrow Hill Trust as an important improvement project; in stark contrast to the numerous listed and well conserved buildings around the green, the Gantry has fallen out of ownership and into disrepair, following the historic King’s Head Hotel’s closure as a public house and redevelopment for residential use.

The aim of the project is to restore the Gantry to its former glory, preserving an important symbol of the history of the King’s Head and of Harrow itself. In so doing the project will greatly enhance the Hill’s core shopping and communal area, for the benefit of the whole community. In a wider context, such Gantry signs are a rare structures, and each one is unique. They are a vital piece of social, architectural and commercial story, deserving of preservation.

Harrow on the Hill has been a conservation area since 1968. It is a popular residential area and well visited by tourists, especially as it is taken in by the Capital Ring Walk. The Green sits at the centre of the conservation area, around which is the highest concentration of listed buildings and protected views. As the heart of Hill life the Green has been the stage numerous events of local and national significance over the years, and still performs this role today.

The King’s Head Hotel is the oldest building on the Green, with a long history of public service stretching back to the reign of Henry VIII. It has played a vital role in the Hill’s social and political development. The Hotel is responsible for the Green’s very existence, being the site of its Gantry well before the town centre coalesced around it. The rise of Harrow’s modern town centre in Greenhill during the 20th Century lead directly to the commercial decline of Historic Harrow; from its hey day in the 19th century with over 150 traders commerce on the hill has contracted to a core shopping area around the Green - identified by the Local Authority as a vital amenity for the local community meriting further protection and support. The Hotel itself could not be saved from this decline, its story ending in neglect and closure. The building itself was saved by its sale to developers and conversion to private apartments in 2001. Initial research has revealed that the existing sign is only the latest in a series of structures that has existed on that spot and was, according to local sources, erected by the then Landlord following the  great storm of 1987. Pictorial evidence shows that the sign has been regularly updated in keeping with the styles of the age; a Mock Tudor  version is shown in postcards from the 1960s; a Victorian version is shown in photographs from the late 19th Century; and the oldest recorded version is depicted in illustrations dating from the late 18th century. The brick and timber plinths of the historic sign still remain today, and give a hint at its former stature.

When compared to the previous versions, the existing sign is a poor and insubstantial substitute, reflecting a hotel in decline, on the brink of closure. The Trust wishes to remove the modern dilapidated structure, and replace it with an accurate historic reconstruction. The Trust has pieced together the oral and documented local history of the site and intends to make this available through leaflets, conservation and tourism web sites, and information boards on the Green. The cost of this is estimated to be £20,000. The Trust has committed £3000 and seeks further funding sources.

Attached for your interest is the funding document that was recently submitted, please do email us at hhtinfo@aol.com with words or funds of support for this local project.

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