To coincide with the 50th anniversary of CAMRA’s Enfield & Barnet Branch’s first AGM, a small exhibition has been put together with the help of Barnet Museum. This highlights the changes to the area’s pubs over those fifty years. It comprises three A0 size display boards showing the timeline of CAMRA and the definition of real ale. There are details and photographs of pubs that have been mainstays of the branch over the fifty years, plus details of new award-winning pubs, including the Little Green Dragon micropub and the Bohemia, operated by the London Brewing Company, who produce the award-winning 100 Oyster Stout. Sadly, it also includes information on some of the pubs that have closed over the years. A key part of the display is our current branch pub of the year, Ye Olde Mitre Inne, the oldest coaching inn in Barnet, there having been a pub on the site since 1553.
The exhibition is based on information provided by branch members, together with a photo archive that can also be found on the branch website. Many thanks go to museum volunteers Amelia, Grace and Graham who put the exhibition together. It was opened on 26 July by Eleanor Grover-Marshall, the general manager of the Mitre, along with Mike Noronha, the curator of the museum. The opening was supported by a large group of branch members who all adjourned to the Mitre afterwards!
If you wish to take a look, the display is at the museum’s branch in the Spires shopping centre in High Barnet High Street and it is open while the centre is open (core hours 9am to 6pm most days). Entry is free. The closing date depends on whether other local organisations want to use the space but it should be in place until the end of the year at least. If you want to check before travelling, then by all means e-mail the branch on gbcamra@yahoo.com to confirm.
Gordon Brown