I moved to Friern Barnet in the early 1950s as a five-year-old, when the sign for the area was at the top of Summers Lane.

Every time I was taken to and from school, I knew when I was leaving or entering Friern Barnet the sign told me so. The buses stated they were going to Friern Barnet Town Hall.

In time, the sign went, the buses dropped the name Town Hall off the destination window and Friern Barnet became part of the Greater London Council.

Friern Barnet never had much to start with a couple of pubs, a grand looking hospital, a beautiful park and a town hall.

If the town hall is sold off, the developers will knock it down, and yet another piece of our history will disappear. The specially commissioned wood and glass fixtures and features will vanish, as will the murals housed in the basement and painted during the war.

The saddest thing is that Friern Barnet, which now does not have a name when election time comes, will have lost one of its remaining landmarks.

If it is to be sold off, then please, someone ensure that this handsome building and its fixtures and fittings stand for another 60 years at least.

Helen Hooper

Ashurst Road, Friern Barnet