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| Hendon and District Archaeological Society | |
|---|---|
| Name | Hendon and District Archaeological Society |
| Formation | 1962 |
| Type | Archaeological society |
| Headquarters | Hendon, Greater London |
| Region served | Barnet, Brent, Harrow, Camden |
| Leader title | Chair |
Hendon and District Archaeological Society Hendon and District Archaeological Society is a local volunteer archaeological society based in Hendon, Greater London, active in fieldwork, research, and public engagement across northwest London and adjacent counties. The society collaborates with academic institutions, local authorities, heritage bodies and community groups to investigate prehistoric, Roman, medieval and post-medieval sites, contributing finds and data to regional and national repositories.
Founded in 1962, the society emerged amid a period of rising local heritage activism influenced by the foundation of Council for British Archaeology and the postwar expansion of archaeology in Britain. Early members included amateur antiquarians who had worked with curators from the British Museum, Museum of London Archaeology, and staff from University College London on excavations influenced by methods popularized by figures such as Mortimer Wheeler and Gerald D. P. Hamilton. Through the 1970s and 1980s the society responded to development pressures linked to schemes like the London Ringways proposals and the expansion of the Northern line (London Underground), coordinating rescue surveys with planners and conservation officers from Barnet London Borough Council and collaborating with project archaeologists from the Ancient Monuments Board and the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. In the 1990s and 2000s it adapted to regulatory changes following the introduction of Planning Policy Guidance and the increased role of units such as Archaeological Services (University of Bradford) and commercial units like Oxford Archaeology. Recent decades have seen technological uptake influenced by institutions such as the Institute for Archaeologists and partnerships with universities including King's College London and Birkbeck, University of London.
The society is governed by an elected committee comprising roles similar to those found in civic societies, with officers often liaising with bodies such as English Heritage (now Historic England), the National Trust, and local museums like the Welsh Harp Open Space conservators. Membership spans amateur archaeologists, students from University of Cambridge, professionals seconded from units like MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology), and retirees with backgrounds at institutions such as the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The society's constitution and standing orders outline volunteer health and safety practices consistent with guidance from Health and Safety Executive and the Charity Commission for England and Wales for small charities and trusts.
Regular activities include fieldwalking in river terraces associated with the River Brent, guided surveys around landmarks like Golders Green, and excavation seasons often coordinated with rescue work near transport schemes such as improvements to the A406 North Circular Road. The society runs geophysical survey projects informed by techniques championed at sites like Stonehenge and laboratories at University of York, and participates in community-led landscape studies similar to initiatives by The Gardens Trust and the Society of Antiquaries of London. Collaborative projects have linked volunteers with industrial archaeology studies of sites related to the Great Northern Railway and conservation projects at historic churches catalogued by the Churches Conservation Trust.
The society produces an annual bulletin and occasional monographs reporting fieldwork, site watches, and artefact analyses, echoing the publishing traditions of local archaeological societies such as the Essex Society for Archaeology and History and the Surrey Archaeological Society. Research contributions have been cited by regional syntheses prepared by the Greater London Archaeological Advisory Service and doctoral theses submitted to departments at University of Oxford and University of Leicester. The society maintains bibliographies incorporating works by archaeologists like John Wacher, references to excavations led by Aubrey Manning, and methodological texts from Colin Renfrew and Paul Bahn.
Finds recovered during society excavations are catalogued and deposited with repositories including the London Archaeological Archive and Research Centre and regional museums such as the Barnet Museum and the Museum of London Docklands where accessioning follows the standards of the Museums Association. The society's own archives—minutes, field notebooks, context sheets and photographs—are accessioned with the local studies collections at the Hendon Local History Centre and digitized in cooperation with initiatives like the National Archives Discovery service. Specialist artefact studies have drawn on laboratories at institutions like the British Geological Survey and isotope laboratories at University of Bristol.
Outreach includes public lectures held in venues such as the Hendon Library and partnerships with schools in the London Borough of Barnet based on curriculum themes from the National Curriculum and projects with youth organizations such as the Scouting movement. The society runs finds identification days, workshops on techniques used at field schools like those at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL, and guided heritage walks linking sites referenced in works by John Betjeman and maps by Ordnance Survey. Collaborative events with local history societies mirror joint programming undertaken by the London Archaeological Society.
Notable interventions include the excavation of a Roman roadside settlement on a Brent valley terrace producing pottery paralleling assemblages from sites near St Albans and Colchester, a medieval agricultural complex with parallels to rural sites studied by Christopher Taylor, and post-medieval industrial features relating to the Grand Union Canal network. Finds such as Roman brooches, medieval pottery and metalworking debris have been reported to specialists at Portable Antiquities Scheme and compared with collections from the Ashmolean Museum and British Museum typologies. The society's work has fed into regional Historic Environment Records administered by county services aligned with Historic Environment Scotland standards for recording and designation.
Category:Archaeological societies in England Category:Organisations based in the London Borough of Barnet