Haringey Potter
Haringey Potter: Re-creating the Highgate Roman kiln
Stories of the World: London has been one of the major projects at the heart of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. The Cultural Olympiad which began in 2008, has used the power of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to inspire creativity across all forms of culture, especially amongst young people. Visit the Museum of London's Facebook page for Stories of the World (see the external links section below).
Bruce Castle Museum is one of a cluster of organisations that has undertaken individual projects, leading to a major exhibition at the Museum of London which opened in 2012. To visit the websites of our Haringey Potter project partners and the websites of other organisations in the cluster, see the links in the external links section below.
In the 1960s, London Archaeologist Harvey Sheldon (Birkbeck College, University of London) discovered a Roman pottery production site in Highgate Woods. Harvey and his team then excavated one of the kilns that is still the oldest found in London. It is presently kept at Bruce Castle Museum, although not on display. However, after specialist consideration it has been concluded that a new building connected to the present information pavilion at Highgate Wood will be necessary for this display. Therefore work towards this goal has begun and all financial contributions are welcome.
Michael Welbank, Chairman of Highgate Wood at the City of London Corporation, said:
"I am delighted that this rare kiln will come back to its original site in Highgate Woods. This was a fascinating time in history which really put Highgate on the map and hopefully the return of the kiln will spark an interest in the Woods with new visitors, so they can discover for themselves what a special place it is."
From 12 to 25 July 2010 young people from Haringey, recruited through the Youth Service, re-created the Highgate Roman kiln in Highgate Woods, under the supervision of veteran kiln-builder, Nick Peacey.
During the summers of 1971 to 1973 Nick Peacey and Archaeologist Harvey Sheldon constructed a number of replica kilns in the Woods with re-enactments of the Roman firings. Our youth project has been based on these experiments.
It was quite a challenge to complete this part of our project in just two weeks. However, our dozen or so young people successfully built a kiln from the clay under their feet and made pottery from the very same material. The successful final firing of the kiln ensured not only that their pots survived but a 'reduction' process (creating a kiln atmosphere where oxygen is reduced and the flames pull oxygen molecules out of the clay to change its character) was achieved - something which was not accomplished in the experiments of nearly 40 years ago. Our pots clearly match the examples of Roman pottery found on the site, making a real connection between today and 2,000 years ago.
Local potter Mooki Hurst made use of our on-site workshops to encourage the participants to enjoy freedom in their creativity and to guide them towards achieving the best results. Local Award winning magazine Exposure recorded much of the project, ensuring our subsequent exhibitions will demonstrate the viewpoint of the participants.
We are grateful for the support given by the Corporation of London staff who manage Highgate Woods, and the archaeology team at the Museum of London for their full interest and encouragement.
|Back to topSpecial visitors
On Monday 12 July and Monday 18 July 2010, "The Godfather of London Archaeology", Harvey Sheldon of Birkbeck College, University of London visited the site.
David Lammy MP for Tottenham visited the project on Friday 16 July 2010 and made a pot from local clay. The pot successfully survived its firing!
Cllr Eddie Griffiths, then Mayor of Haringey, met the young participants on site during July, as they showed-off their pottery skills and kiln.
|Back to topExhibitions
Haringey Potter: the Highgate Roman Kiln Revisited project was exhibited at Bruce Castle Museum 15 September 2010 to 27 February 2011
Haringey Potter: the Highgate Roman Kiln Revisited can be seen at Highgate Woods information hut.
As mentioned above, Bruce Castle Museum and the City of London are working towards having the complete Roman kiln brought back to its original home in Highgate Wood, to be on permanent display.
The Staff at Highgate Wood and the Museum of London Archaeology Service are determined to raise the funds necessary to carry out the building work, to see this project through. If you are interested in making a donation or would like to register your interest in this project, please contact a Keeper or email highgate.wood@cityoflondon.gov.uk
|Back to topTo visit the website for Project Clay, see the external links section towards the bottom of this page.
Attached Files
| Filename | Filetype | Size |
|---|---|---|
Re-creating the kiln in the early 1970s.pdf  | 5933 KB | |
The Roman Pottery production site in Highgate Woods.doc  | Word | 61 KB |
| PDF documents require Adobe Acrobat reader. Please click here to download. | ||
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