Hundreds sign petition to save historical artefacts (From Times Series)
Get involved: send your pictures, video, news & views by texting TIMES NEWS to 80360, or email us
Hundreds sign petition to save historical artefacts from Church Farmhouse Museum
5:09pm Monday 1st October 2012 in News
By Natalie O'Neill
Hundreds of people have signed a petition in a last ditch attempt to save historical artefacts from the former Church Farmhouse Museum.
Barnet Council plans to auction a long list of objects that used to be on show in the grade II listed building, in Church End, Hendon.
But more than 200 people have signed the petition calling for the auction to be abandoned.
Labour councillors started the campaign in a desperate bid to save the artefacts which include domestic items such as tea pots and candle sticks as well as jewellery and furniture.
Cllr Pauline Coakley-Webb said: “I don’t think disposing of what belongs to the people of Barnet for their heritage and future generations should even be considered.
“Once their sold they're gone forever and you can’t replace that history ever again.”
Cllr Coakley-Webb believes some of the items have a connection to the local area, but defending the council’s decision to sell, Councillor Robert Rams disagrees.
He said: “We have taken a great deal of care to make sure that any historically important material, both locally and nationally, has gone to the right place. We have also returned items loaned to the museum.
“But this has left us with many items that were largely used for decoration in the old museum. There is no real reason for the council to hold onto this material, so we've planned to auction items with no specific local connection.”
He said the money from the sale of these items will help fund the upkeep of the artefacts which are relevant to Barnet.
Some of these have been given to The Holley Cornelius Collection at Bletchley Park, Barnet Museum, Barnet Council Archives, London Screen Archives, Lauderdale House, The RAF Museum in Hendon and the Museum of London.
Cllr Rams added: “I am more than happy for Barnet Museum to suggest any more pieces they would like. But I think the idea that the council must forever pay to hold onto every single item, no matter what, isn’t really practicable."
