TRIAL WEBSITE: History
We have put together this part of the website to help further understand the breadth of history in our town. We’d love you to explore it, check it, question it, and tell us what’s missing. You can email us at history@lovebarnet.co.uk
In 1664 Samuel Pepys rode from London to visit Barnet’s physic well and dined at the Red Lion. His diary records other local stops, including taking tea and cakes in the town. (Image Source)
Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Part 3 alludes to Barnet in Act V, Scene 1, where Warwick declares, “I will away towards Barnet presently, and bid thee battle, Edward.” (found via “Greater London: A narrative of its history, its people, and its places (1885)” Chipping Barnet: p319) (Image Source)
John Fletcher’s play The English Traveller(1633) mentions Barnet as a stopping place on the road north from London. It captures the town’s reputation as a familiar stage in early modern travel and drama.
Charles Dickens set part of Chapter 8 of Oliver Twist in Barnet, where Oliver limps into town and finds “every other house … a tavern.” In his Dictionary of London (1879) Dickens also praised Barnet’s fair, views and villas, calling it the highest ground between London and York. (Image Source)
