LET'S FINALLY
FIND THE SITE OF THE BATTLEFIELD
Once the actual site of the 1471 Battle of Barnet is proven beyond doubt then the town of Barnet would be expected to turn into a major tourist destination almost overnight! This would naturally be of great benefit to most local businesses and residents alike.
Over the past 15 years, over £100,000 was spent by various organisations on related projects, but no exact spot has ever been identified despite certain interesting artefacts being discovered. When you think that this major battle was fought by up to 30,000 men, it would have covered a fairly wide area yet there is no answer, until now, to this centuries-old mystery.
The dedicated volunteers at the Barnet Tourist Board have spent several years investigating all the valuable clues that have been written by past historians. Additionally, by using the Internet and Google Earth etc., we have come up with our own unique theories. In order to expand on these, we need to raise sufficient funds (only around £5,000) so as to properly conclude our scientific search for the battlefield.
We don’t believe it necessay to raise a particularly large amount of money to confirm proof of our initial findings. Naturally, any person or company joining us financially in this venture would further benefit from enjoying a lifetime association with the project by virtue of their extended legacy of free company advertising. Below is our priority funding list:
1. Research records
One of the first things to be accomplished with sufficient funding is to add to the valuable data that we have already achieved. Additional research is obviously required to investigate further exciting leads continuosly coming through. Many of these will require visits to certain museums and record offices where we need to be able to personally delve through their files. These will include those in various obscure locations which, as far as we know, have not as yet been previously approached by anyone else, including those related to the raliways in the region.
Why the railways? For a very good reason since in the late 1800s, when the new railway tunnel was being excavated leading north out of Hadley Wood Station, (located less than a mile away from where we believe the battlesite to be located) reliable annecdotal evidence suggests the discovery of ancient bodies actually being found there! It is believed that they were then quickly and quietly moved elsewhere in the nearby area so as to avoid stalling the important construction work!
We have been diligently investigating and collaborating this massive story, but the conclusive answer to this conundrum could probably only be found in the National Railway Museum archives in York. Hence the urgent need to visit and spend some time there with their archivist just as soon as possible.
2. Military experts
We intend to seek out knowledgeable military experts and in particular those who specialise in the War of the Roses, and show them our findings so far, along with our drone maps and other important data on the area. Cannon-ball trajectories and ancient warfare techniques could lead to discovering where some of the cannon balls are most likely to be found or possibly lay buried in people's back gardens! It was written that the Earl of Warwick kept-up an overnight barrage of activity concentrated on where he thought that the advancing army of King Edward lay in wait. Why has nobody ever found a grouping of such ordnance?
3. A Tree expert
Arborists could be useful in telling us which trees would not have been in the in the area at the time of the battle. This would give us a different lay of the land and perhaps indicate open spaces that are no longer there and could prove to be part of any prospective battle sites.
4. Metal Detectors
We already have on board a professional metal detector team which will continue to work on the areas where we believe vital clues still linger which could then help shape our next course of action.
5.Drone/Ground-Penetrating Radar
Almost out of the blue we have recently be joined by a professional drone pilot who has already produced some valuable, thought-provoking information never before even contemplated!
As you may have gathered, it is now necessary to move quickly forward, but being just a handful of volunteers ourselves, we can only do so much given our limited resources. By actually visiting locations to find out more from obscure records will greatly help provide the ability, for instance, to properly investigate related land ownerships to allow us to seek relevant permissions in a professional manner. This will obviously mean devoting many more man-hours to our project which will all ultimately result in keeping our important local history alive.
As a further token of our commitment to this project, we have already published two books “In Search of the Battlefield” and Welcome to Barnet” - with the latter being a concise history of the town. Profits from the sales of these books is already directed towards our expenses, but we are in urgent need of additional funds in order to properly continue with our work.
In conclusion we would like to thank you for your time and hope that you can help us in getting this vital and worthy venture truly off the ground so that we can actually finally locate the site of this elusive battlefield!
Regular updates on our Facebook page will be forthcoming for individuals or to any organisation who decide to join us in this one-in-a-lifetime adventure! So, if you, or you know of any potential sponsors, then we would like to hear from you without delay!
Barry Swain & Brian Carroll - Volunteer Board Members