Soon after the Romans invaded Britain in AD 43, a small pottery factory was set up in what is now part of Highgate Wood. Pottery was made here intermittently over the next hundred years.

In 1962 an archaeologist Tony Brown found evidence of Roman activity in Highgate Wood. In a series of annual excavations following the discovery, Tony and his colleague Harvey Sheldon, with numerous volunteers, uncovered the remains of ten kilns and masses of pottery dating to between about AD50 and AD160.

In 1968 Kiln 2, one of the most complete Roman pottery kilns ever found in the United Kingdom, was lifted out of the ground for exhibition. Sadly, by 1997, it was in pieces in storage in Bruce Castle Museum, Tottenham.

The charity Friends of Highgate Roman Kiln (FOHRK) was formed to conserve and reassemble the kiln and exhibit it in Highgate Wood to be enjoyed by everyone.

In 2023 FOHRK and its partners, the City of London and Bruce Castle Museum, received a three year grant of £243,500 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to implement their heritage and community learning programme.