16 FRIERN BARNET (D.b.)
(O.S. 6 in. VI, S.E.)
Friern Barnet is a parish touching the N. border of
the county and adjoining Finchley on the E. The
church and Campe Almshouses have features of interest.
Ecclesiastical
(1) Parish Church of St. James stands near the
middle of the parish. The old church would appear
to have been built about the middle of the 12th century
and occupied the position of the present S. aisle. It
was practically re-built, probably on the old foundations,
in 1853, perhaps with the use of some old materials;
the present nave, chancel and tower are modern.
Architectural Description—The only surviving part
of the old building is the 12th-century S. doorway,
which has been much restored. The jambs are of two
orders, the inner plain and the outer with an attached
shaft with moulded base, scalloped capital and cheveron
fluting on the surface of the shaft; the arch is of two
orders with cheveron-ornament, the inner enclosing
a diapered tympanum supported on a plain segmental
arch.
Fittings—Chest: In nave—of oak with panelled
front, enriched rails, styles and panels and plain
panelled ends, 17th-century. Monuments and Floor-slabs. Monuments: In S. aisle—on S. wall, (1) to
Thomas Jeve, 1699, and Alice, his second wife, 1698,
oval white marble tablet with enriched border and
cartouche-of-arms. In churchyard—on E. wall of S.
aisle, (2) to Edmund Duncon, rector, 1673, head-stone; on W. wall of S. aisle, (3) to Sarah, wife of
. . . Rose, 1688, and her brother, 1638–9, plain tablet.
Floor-slabs: In S. aisle—(1) to Sarah, wife of John
Nicoll, 1703, with shield-of-arms. In churchyard—E.
of church, (2) to Thomas Bretton, 1714, and others later,
with achievement-of-arms. Plate (Plate 23): includes
cup and stand-paten of 1691, a flagon of 1655 (?) given
by Mary Cropley, 1709, early 18th-century cup given by
John Nicoll, 1709, and two 18th-century pewter plates.
Seating: in S. aisle—two small stools with turned
legs, probably 17th-century. Table: In nave—with
twisted legs and ogee-shaped stretchers meeting at a
square centre-piece, probably early 18th-century.
Condition—Good, practically re-built.
Secular
(2) Campe Almshouses (Plate 66), on the N.E. side of
the road 650 yards N.W. of the parish church, are of two
storeys with attics; the walls are of brick with stone
dressings and the roofs are tiled. Modern inscriptions
on the front record the erection of the almshouses by
Laurence Campe in 1612 and the restoration and altera
tion of the building in 1843 and 1897. The almshouses
form a long rectangular building originally consisting of
six tenements with an added tenement on the S.E. The
S.W. front has a moulded brick band between the
storeys; the original doorways have stop-moulded
stone jambs and four-centred heads; the windows, of
three lights on the ground-floor and of two lights in
the upper floor, have moulded stone jambs and
mullions; the doors are each of two moulded panels.
On the front are five old stone panels—(a) a cartouche
of the arms of the city of London; (b) an achievement
of the arms of Campe with the date 1612; the same
date appears also on separate stones; (c) a cartouche
of the arms of the Drapers' company; (d) defaced
inscription; (e) two texts, 1st Timothy VI, 17 and
Proverbs XIX, 17. In the N.W. end are two old
windows with moulded oak frames. The back has a
square-headed doorway, windows with chamfered
brick reveals and oak frames and mullions. Inside the
building, two rooms on the ground floor have been
turned into one to form a Prayer Room. The ceilings
have exposed beams and there is an original door of
moulded battens.
Friern Barnet, Almshouses founded by Lawrence Campe. 1612.
Condition—Good.