Celebrating Black History Month 2022 - Barnet's Black History
Figures in Barnet’s Black History
Discover prominent figures that are part of Barnet’s history.
Cecil Belfield Clarke (1894 -1970)
Cecil Clarke was a Barbadian physician who trained at Cambridge University. Clarke developed Clark's rule, a mathematical formula used to calculate the proper dosage of medicine for children aged 2-17. In 1931, Clarke co-founded the League of the Coloured Peoples.
Clarke was homosexual and lived discreetly before decriminalisation in 1967. He lived with his partner in Barnet and often hosted garden parties for the League. The house is now Belfield Montessori in New Barnet.
Winifred Atwell (1910 or 1914 – 1983)
Una Winifred Atwell was a Trinidadian pianist famous for boogie-woogie and ragtime hits, selling over 20 million records. Atwell was the first Black person to have a number-one hit in the UK Singles Charts. In the 1950s, Atwell stayed at 31a Oakleigh Park North which was located in Whetstone.
Edmundo Ros (1910 – 2011)
Edmundo William Ros, was a Trinidadian-Venezuelan musician, vocalist, arranger and bandleader. He directed a Latin American orchestra that was highly popular amongst high society and the royal family, including late Queen Elizabeth II who danced in public for the first time to his music. Ros also performed for the leaders of the Allied Countries in World War II at the Bagatelle Restaurant.
Ros built Edritt House, a large house in Mill Hill named after himself and his first wife, Britt Johansen. The house still stands today and is located next to Copthall Girls’ School.
Desmond Tutu (1931 – 2021)
Desmond Mpilo Tutu OMSG CH GCStJ was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was the first Black African to be the Bishop of Johannesburg (1985-1986) and the Archbishop of Cape Town (1986-1996). Tutu won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1986 for his opposition to apartheid.
In the early 1960s, Tutu and his family lived in a flat in Golders Green next to the Church of St Alban where he was a minister.