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| Hendon and Colindale Heritage Trust | |
|---|---|
| Name | Hendon and Colindale Heritage Trust |
| Formation | 20th century |
| Type | Charitable trust |
| Headquarters | Hendon, London Borough of Barnet |
| Region served | Hendon, Colindale, London |
Hendon and Colindale Heritage Trust is a local charitable trust dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and promoting the built, social, and aviation heritage of the Hendon and Colindale area in the London Borough of Barnet. The Trust documents links to early 20th‑century aviation at Hendon Aerodrome, civic development around Colindale station on the London Underground, and the region’s wartime associations with RAF Hendon, Royal Air Force Museum, and nearby Mill Hill. It works with national bodies such as the Historic England, National Trust, and the Museum of London while engaging local institutions like Barnet Council and community organisations.
The Trust traces its origins to local campaigns in the late 20th century to record the decline of Hendon Aerodrome and the redevelopment pressures from Greater London. Early supporters included figures from Royal Air Force, alumni of Hendon School for Boys, and volunteers connected to the Royal British Legion and Air Transport Auxiliary. Its formation responded to planning disputes involving developers associated with projects near Colindale Hospital, and collaborations followed with archival partners such as the London Metropolitan Archives and the British Library. Over time the Trust accumulated oral histories from veterans of the Battle of Britain era, worked with curators at the Royal Air Force Museum London, and contributed material to exhibitions curated by the Imperial War Museums.
The Trust’s holdings combine photographic, documentary, and object collections linking aviation pioneers like Claude Grahame-White and organisational records of de Havilland operations around Hendon. Collections include aircraft‑related ephemera associated with Avro, Handley Page, and Vickers, personal papers from local political figures linked to Barnet Council debates, and architectural drawings of buildings influenced by architects active in Edwardian architecture in north London. The archive holds oral testimony from veterans of World War I and World War II, correspondence tied to local wartime industries, and trade directories documenting businesses that supplied Hendon Aerodrome and the Colindale Hospital complex. Collaborative loans have gone to exhibitions at the Museum of London Docklands, the Science Museum, and the National Archives.
The Trust monitors and advises on heritage assets such as the surviving hangars associated with Hendon Aerodrome, the chapel at St Mary's Church, Hendon, and municipal buildings around Hendon Central. It has documented industrial sites once occupied by firms linked to Aircraft Manufacturing Company activity and mapped wartime anti‑aircraft installations associated with the Defence of the Realm Act era. The Trust has campaigned to protect vernacular streetscapes near Colindale Gardens and to conserve memorials connected to RAF personnel commemorated in local cemeteries alongside monuments related to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Programming ranges from guided walks highlighting connections to Charles Rolls and early aviators, to lecture series featuring historians of aviation history and curators from institutions including the Royal Air Force Museum and the Imperial War Museums. The Trust runs digitisation projects in partnership with the British Library, oral‑history initiatives with volunteers linked to Age UK, and temporary displays sited at local venues including Hendon Library and community centres associated with Barnet Libraries. Outreach includes contributions to academic symposia at universities such as University College London and King's College London and collaborative festivals with London Historians.
The Trust is governed by a board of trustees drawn from professionals with backgrounds in heritage organisations like Historic England, local councillors from Barnet Council, and representatives from veteran groups such as the Royal British Legion. Funding sources include grants from bodies such as the Heritage Lottery Fund, donations from private patrons with interests in aviation and local history, and project grants from metropolitan cultural funds administered via the Greater London Authority. The Trust also derives income from ticketed events, publication sales, and commissioned research for developers engaged with listed building consents.
The Trust partners with schools in the London Borough of Barnet to deliver curriculum‑linked sessions referencing figures like Amy Johnson and themes taught in local history modules. It supports volunteer training in archival practice with contacts at the Archives and Records Association and runs apprenticeships in collections care aligned with vocational programmes at further‑education colleges such as Barnet College. Collaborative projects with community partners include remembrance events with Royal Air Force Association branches, intergenerational projects with Age Concern, and exhibitions co‑produced with local history societies like Hendon Historical Society.
Public access to the Trust’s collections is by appointment at an archive centre in Hendon and via temporary displays at partner sites including the Royal Air Force Museum London and local libraries. Researchers are advised to contact the Trust to arrange consultation of photographic collections, object loans, and oral‑history recordings; many resources are available through digitisation partnerships with the British Library and the National Archives. The Trust publishes guides and walking routes incorporating stops at Colindale tube station, the former Hendon Aerodrome site, and nearby landmarks listed by Historic England for visitors exploring north London aviation and civic heritage.
Category:Organisations based in the London Borough of Barnet Category:Heritage trusts of England