Barnet Museum is leading efforts for a community buyout of the historic High Barnet building, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Tudor Hall is nearly 500 years old and sits in the centre of High Barnet

Barnet Museum is campaigning to save Tudor Hall – chartered by Queen Elizabeth I in 1573 – from being sold to a private owner.

The historic building in High Barnet has garnered local attention since owners Barnet and Southgate College put it up for sale in December.

In May, local heritage groups led by Barnet Museum were successful in applying for the hall to gain ‘asset of community value’ (ACV) status and were subsequently able to lodge an “expression of interest”. This means there is a six-month pause to any sale to allow community groups to formulate a plan for funding in order to place a bid for the hall.

Mike Noronha, a curator at the museum, said a £1million offer had been made by a private investor with the intent to use the hall potentially for educational purposes, in line with its prior usage.

However, because the college now has to wait six months, it gives the community campaign time to raise money to bid.

Mike said: “Our first priority was that it should be kept for some community type use and value, it should be kept in the public. Barnet College have said they already have a potential buyer for it.”

He explained the museum’s plan, if it was successful in the bid, was to create a Wars of The Roses (WoTR) museum or centre in the hall, which would be a first for England.

The proposed centre would “enhance Barnet’s heritage, educational and cultural offer”, as well as acknowledging the Battle of Barnet, “facilitate tourist interest” and “benefit” the local economy.

Mike said the building fitted the proposal’s “historical heritage narrative” and would fit a “national and potentially international” centre.

Barnet Society and some Hadley Wood residents and local High Barnet residents have also supported the campaign.

Mike explained the museum was planning a general meeting to help tell people what it was trying to achieve and gather support, ideas and funding.

“The more support we can get the better,” he said.

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