About
Barnet Museum is a small but richly informative volunteer-run community museum in Chipping Barnet at the northern edge of Greater London, telling the story of the London Borough of Barnet and the historic Middlesex communities that form it. Housed on Wood Street in the heart of the ancient market town, the museum celebrates both the deep historical significance of this corner of north London and the social history of the communities that have lived here from medieval times to the present day.
The area's most dramatic historical event — and one of the pivotal moments in English history — is the Battle of Barnet, fought on 14 April 1471 on Hadley Common just north of the town. In the thick early morning fog, the Yorkist forces of King Edward IV defeated the Lancastrian army led by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick — 'Warwick the Kingmaker', the most powerful nobleman in England and the architect of Yorkist victory in the earlier phase of the Wars of the Roses. Warwick's death at Barnet ended his extraordinary career and marked a decisive turning point in the conflict. Edward IV was restored to the throne, and the Yorkist dynasty was secured until the rise of the Tudors fourteen years later at Bosworth. The museum presents this crucial battle — fought in an era when such engagements were decided by the crash of men-at-arms at close quarters in fog and confusion — through maps, artefacts, and vivid interpretation.
Chipping Barnet's history as a market town and staging post on the Great North Road (the principal route from London to York and Edinburgh) is another central theme. The town's inns, markets, and fairs — including the famous Barnet Fair, held annually since at least the fourteenth century and still operating today — made it a meeting point for travellers, merchants, and livestock dealers from across England. The museum documents how this position on the great northern road shaped Barnet's character through the centuries.
The twentieth-century transformation of Chipping Barnet from a Middlesex market town into a London suburb is documented with the sharp attention to local detail that characterises the best community museums. The expansion of the Northern Line in 1940, suburban housing development, and the incorporation of Barnet into Greater London in 1965 all changed the town's identity — yet Barnet has retained much of its historic character, and the museum celebrates the continuities as well as the changes that have shaped the community it serves.
Categories:
Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
📅 Best Times to Visit
Quietest: Wednesday, Thursday
Busiest: Saturday
💡 Saturday visits allow most flexibility; Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning offer a quieter experience
💡 Visitor Tips
- The museum has limited opening hours — Wednesday afternoon, Thursday morning, and Saturday — as it is entirely volunteer-run. Check the website for current hours before making a special trip.
- High Barnet is the terminus of the Northern Line, making the museum easy to reach from central London without a car. From King's Cross, the journey is about 30 minutes.
- After visiting the museum, walk 10 minutes north to Hadley Common to see the 1740 obelisk marking the approximate site of Warwick the Kingmaker's death in the 1471 battle — one of the most accessible medieval battlefields in England.
- The Barnet Fair takes place on Barnet Common each September — if you can time your visit to coincide with it, you'll experience one of England's oldest surviving horse fairs, which has been held here for over four centuries.
- The museum's volunteer staff are passionate local historians who often go well beyond the displays in their knowledge — asking questions invariably yields fascinating additional detail about local people and events.
- Chipping Barnet town centre has good independent cafes and restaurants for a post-museum lunch or tea; the town is pleasant for a stroll with many Victorian buildings surviving in the High Street.
- If you are interested in the Wars of the Roses more broadly, the Barnet battlefield is an excellent starting point for exploring other battle sites of the period — Bosworth Field (Leicester), St Albans, and Towton are all within a day's travel.
- Free parking is scarce in the town centre — the Northern Line is by far the easiest way to get here from central London. If driving, arrive early on Saturday for the best chance of street parking.
Highlights
The Battle of Barnet 1471
The museum's most dramatic holding is its material on the Battle of Barnet — one of the decisive engagements of the Wars of the Roses, fought on 14 April 1471 on Hadley Common just north of the town.
In thick morning fog, Edward IV's Yorkist army defeated the Lancastrian forces, and Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick — 'Warwick the Kingmaker', the most powerful noble in England — was killed in the rout. The display includes maps of the battlefield, interpretation of the tactics employed, and the story of how a single morning's fighting in the fog north of Barnet changed the course of English history.
Warwick the Kingmaker
Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (1428–1471), was the dominant political figure of early Lancastrian England — so powerful in his ability to make and unmake kings that he earned the sobriquet 'Kingmaker' that history has retained. The museum dedicates particular attention to Warwick's career: his support for the Yorkist cause in the early Wars of the Roses, his later switch to the Lancastrian side, and his death at Barnet in the battle he had helped to bring about by his political manoeuvring.
Portraits, genealogical charts, and detailed interpretation explain this extraordinary figure and his significance to English medieval politics.
Barnet — Market Town on the Great North Road
Chipping Barnet's position on the Great North Road — the principal route from London to York and Edinburgh — made it one of the most important stopping places on this crucial artery. The town's coaching inns, markets, and the famous Barnet Fair (held annually since at least 1588 and still operating today) attracted travellers, merchants, and livestock dealers from across England.
This display traces the development of Barnet as a market town from the medieval period through the coaching era to the arrival of the railway, with maps, prints, and objects documenting the busy commercial life of a town that thrived on passing traffic.
The Barnet Fair
Barnet Fair is one of the oldest and most celebrated horse and livestock fairs in England, held on Barnet Common every September. Granted a royal charter, the fair attracted horse dealers, gypsies, and livestock traders from across Britain, and its horse-trading tradition gave birth to Cockney rhyming slang: 'Barnet Fair' = 'hair'.
The museum documents the fair's remarkable history from its medieval origins to the present day, including the colourful community of Romani traders whose families came to Barnet Fair for generations.
Photographs, posters, and memorabilia capture the fair at its Victorian and Edwardian height.
Collections
Barnet Museum holds collections covering the local history of Chipping Barnet and the London Borough of Barnet from the medieval period to the present day. Core holdings include material relating to the Battle of Barnet (1471) — one of the decisive battles of the Wars of the Roses — including maps, contemporary accounts, and interpretation of this pivotal conflict.
The museum holds extensive documentary and photographic archives tracing the development of Barnet from its origins as a market town on the Great North Road through its transformation into a London suburb.
Collections on the Barnet Fair document one of England's oldest and most distinctive horse and livestock fairs.
Social history holdings encompass domestic objects, clothing, records of local organisations, and personal memorabilia donated by families from across the borough. Military collections include First and Second World War material relating to local regiments and the home front.
The Battle of Barnet — 1471 and the Wars of the Roses
The principal exhibition on the 1471 battle, Warwick the Kingmaker, and the significance of Barnet in the Wars of the Roses.
📍 Medieval history gallery
Market Town to London Suburb
The story of Barnet's development from a medieval staging post on the Great North Road to its incorporation into Greater London.
📍 Local history gallery
Themes
Time Periods
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.