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 Chipping
Barnet Parish Church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, next
attracts attention on arriving at the tram terminus at the
junction of High Street and Wood Street. Originally erected in
1250, all except the North Wall of the Church was demolished in
1420 and a new building erected, this being thoroughly restored
and enlarged in 1875. It now consists of Chancel, Nave, Clergy
Vestry, Ravenscroft Memorial Chapel, South Transept, South Aisle
and Western Tower. The oak seating for 800 people is of unique
design. Every seat end, 159 in number, bears a different subject
and detail work. Worthy of special notice is the beauty of the
moulded foliage of the Tower Screen, while the Font Cover is one
of the finest modern examples in England. It has a height of
over 10 feet from the top of the Font, has 825 carved crockets
and finials, and among its figure subjects is one of our Lord,
which is a miniature copy of the lifesize statue of "Safe in the
Arms of Jesus" exhibited at the Centennial Exhibition at
Philadelphia in 1876. The pulpit and choir stalls are also fine
examples of carving, while the bells, cast in 1892, are
inscribed with the first words of the Canticles of the Church,
and bear the Ravenscroft Arms. James Ravenscroft, who died in
1680, a great local benefactor, erected the Ravenscroft Tomb to
the memory of his father and mother. Deposited in the Chapel in
1875 are the old colours of the 2nd Royal West Middlesex Rifle
Regiment, part of the Provisional Battalion which, volunteering
for service in the Peninsular War, with other Battalions held
Bordeaux. The height to the top of the Turret on the Church
Tower is 86 feet, from which can be obtained a magnificent view
Londonwards, and on a clear day St. Albans Abbey can be
discerned northwards. It is claimed that the keyhole of the
South door is on a level with the top of the cross on the dome
of St. Paul's Cathedral.
East of the Church is
Barnet War Memorial, a
tall slender column rising from a solid plinth of two steps and
surmounted by an Ionic cross. Unveiled in 1921 by General Lord
Byng of Vimy, this memorial is inscribed with the names of 246 Barnet men who laid down their lives in the Great War for King and Country. On the back panel are inscribed the words, "See that ye conquer by living as
we have conquered by dying."
This Memorial occupies a portion of the site of Middle Row, which some 35 years
ago consisted of buildings including the Village Lock-up and the old Market
House.
Barnet Official Guide Book, circa 1927
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