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An oast, oast house (or oasthouse) or hop kiln is a building designed for
kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or Chemical Changes, chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects m ...
ing (drying)
hops
Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whic ...
as part of the
brewing
Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...
process. Oast houses can be found in most hop-growing (and former hop-growing) areas, and are often good examples of agricultural
vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture (also folk architecture) is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. It is not a particular architectural movement or style but rather a broad category, encompassing a wide range a ...
. Many redundant oast houses have been converted into houses. The names "oast" and "oast house" are used interchangeably in Kent and Sussex, but in Surrey, Hampshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire they are called "hop kilns".
An oast house consists of a rectangular one- or two-storey building (the "stowage") and one or more kilns in which the hops were spread out to be dried by hot air rising from a wood or charcoal fire below. The drying floors were thin and perforated to permit the heat to pass through and escape through a
cowl
A cowl is an item of clothing consisting of a long, hooded garment with wide sleeves, often worn by monks. It was developed during the Early Middle Ages. The term may have originally referred to the hooded portion of a cloak, though contempor ...
in the roof which turned with the wind. The freshly picked hops from the fields were raked in to dry and then raked out to cool before being bagged up and sent to the brewery. The Kentish dialect word ''kell'' was sometimes used for kilns ("The oast has three kells") and sometimes to mean the oast itself ("Take this lunchbox to your father, he's working in the kell"). The word ''oast'' itself also means "kiln".
The earliest surviving oast house is at Golford,
Cranbrook near
Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...
. It dates from some time in the 17th century and closely mirrors the first documentary evidence on oasts soon after the introduction of hops into England in the mid-16th century. Early oast houses were simply adapted barns, but by the 18th century the distinctive tall buildings with conical roofs had been developed to increase the draught. At first, these were square, but around 1800 roundel kilns were developed in the belief that they were more efficient. Square kilns remained more popular in Herefordshire and Worcestershire and came back into fashion in the southeast in the later 19th century. In the 1930s, the cowls were replaced by louvred openings as electric fans and diesel oil ovens were employed.
Nowadays hops are dried industrially and the many oast houses on farms have now been converted into dwellings. One of the best-preserved oast house complexes is at
the Hop Farm Country Park
The Hop Farm is a Country Park in Beltring, near East Peckham in the English county of Kent. The farm is over 450 years old and has the largest collection of oast houses in the world.
History
Hops have been grown on the farm since at least th ...
at
Beltring
Beltring is a village in the local government district of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. It is in the civil parish of East Peckham.
Beltring is known for the annual War and peace show which takes place at The Hop Farm Country Park. U ...
.
Hop drying
The purpose of an oast is to dry
hops
Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whic ...
. This is achieved by the use of a flow of heated air through the kiln, rather than a firing process.
Hops were picked in the hop gardens by gangs of pickers, who worked on a
piece work
Piece work or piecework is any type of employment in which a worker is paid a fixed piece rate for each unit produced or action performed, regardless of time.
Context
When paying a worker, employers can use various methods and combinations of m ...
basis and earned a fixed rate per
bushel
A bushel (abbreviation: bsh. or bu.) is an Imperial unit, imperial and United States customary units, US customary unit of volume, based upon an earlier measure of dry capacity. The old bushel was used mostly for agriculture, agricultural pr ...
. The ''green hops'' were put into large
hessian sacks called ''pokes'' (in Kent) or green sacks (West Midlands). These would be taken to the oast and brought into the stowage at first floor level. Some oasts had a
man-powered hoist for this purpose, consisting of a pulley of some diameter on an axle to which a rope or chain was attached.
The green hops when freshly picked had a moisture content of approximately 80%. This needed to be reduced to 6%, although the moisture content would subsequently rise to 10% during storage.
The green hops were spread out in the kilns. The floors were generally of square battens nailed at right angles across the joists, placed so that there was a similar gap between each batten, and covered with a
horsehair
Horsehair is the long hair growing on the Mane (horse), manes and Tail (horse), tails of horses. It is used for various purposes, including upholstery, brushes, the Bow (music), bows of musical instruments, a hard-wearing Textile, fabric called ...
cloth. The hops would be spread some deep, the kiln doors closed and the furnace lit. When the hops were judged to be dried, the furnace would be extinguished and the hops removed from the kiln using a ''scuppet'', which was a large wooden framed shovel with a hessian base. The hops would be spread out on the stowage floor to cool, and would then be pressed into large jute sacks called ''pockets'' with a ''hop press''. Each pocket contained the produce of about of green hops. It weighed a
hundredweight
The hundredweight (abbreviation: cwt), formerly also known as the centum weight or quintal, is a British imperial and United States customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the United States customary and British imperial sy ...
and a quarter () and was marked with the grower's details, this being required under ''The Hop (Prevention of Fraud) Act, 1866''.
The pockets were then sent to market, where the
brewers would buy them and use the dried hops in the beer-making process to add flavour and act as a preservative.
Oasts sometimes caught fire, the damage sometimes being confined to the kilns (Castle Farm,
Hadlow
Hadlow is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. It is situated in the Medway valley, north-east of Tonbridge and south-west of Maidstone.
The Saxon name for the settlement was Haeselholte (in t ...
), or sometimes leading to the complete destruction of the oast (Stilstead Farm,
East Peckham
East Peckham is a village and civil parish in Kent, England on the River Medway. The parish covers the main village as well as Hale Street and Beltring.
History
The Domesday entry for East and West Peckham reads:-
:'' The Archbishop himse ...
in September 1983, and Parsonage Farm,
Bekesbourne
Bekesbourne () is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bekesbourne-with-Patrixbourne, in the Canterbury district, in Kent, South-East England. In 1961 the parish had a population of 538.
The village centre is east-south-ea ...
in August 1996).
Early oasts
The earliest description of an oast dates from 1574. It was a small building of by in plan, with walls high. The central furnace was some long, high and internal width. The upper floor was the drying floor, and only some above the ground floor, hops being laid directly on the slatted floor rather than being laid on hessian cloth as was the later practice.
Conversions to oasts
In many cases, early oasts were adapted from barns or cottages. In 1779, St. Peter's Chapel,
Frindsbury
Frindsbury is part of the Medway Towns conurbation in Kent, southern England. It lies on the opposite side of the River Medway to Rochester, and at various times in its history has been considered fully or partially part of the City of Rocheste ...
was converted to an oast. A chapel at
Horton Horton may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Horton Glacier, Adelaide Island, Antarctica
* Horton Ledge, Queen Elizabeth Land, Antarctica
Australia
* Horton, Queensland, a town and locality in the Bundaberg Region
* Horton River (Australia), ...
, near
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
was also converted. Part of
Hastings Priory
Hastings Priory was a medieval Augustinian monastic house in Hastings, East Sussex, England. It closed down in 1413.
The priory was founded as the Priory of the Holy Trinity of Hastings c.1189–1199 in the time of Richard I, either by Sir Walter ...
was serving as an oast in 1823. The gatehouse to the Bishop's Palace,
Bosbury
Bosbury is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, approximately north of Ledbury. The small River Leadon flows through the parish, passing along the west side of the village.Ordnance Survey mapping Bosbury shares a parish co ...
, Herefordshire was also converted.
This was done by building a kiln within the building, dividing it into three, the upper floor being used to receive the "green" hops, dry them and press the dried hops. Examples of this type of conversion can be seen at Catt's place,
Paddock Wood
Paddock Wood is a town and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England, about southwest of Maidstone. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 8,263, falling marginally to 8,253 at the 2011 Census. Paddock Wood is a centre ...
, and
Great Dixter
Great Dixter is a house in Northiam, East Sussex, England. It was built in 1910–12 by architect Edwin Lutyens, who combined an existing mid-15th century house on the site with a similar structure brought from Benenden, Kent, together with his ...
,
Northiam
Northiam is a village and civil parish in the Rother District, Rother district, in East Sussex, England, 13 miles (21 km) north of Hastings in the valley of the River Rother, East Sussex, River Rother. The A28 road to Ashford, Kent, Ashford ...
.
Later conversions of barns and cottages would be by either building an integral kiln within one end of the building, as seen at
Biddenden
Biddenden is a large, mostly agricultural and wooded village and civil parish in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. The village lies on the Weald of Kent, north of Tenterden. It was a centre for the Wealden iron industry and clothmaking. ...
, Kent, or by adding kilns externally to the existing building, as seen at Barnhill Farm,
Hunton, and also at
Sutton Valence
Sutton Valence (in the past also called Sudtone, Town Sutton and Sutton Hastings, see below) is a village about five miles (8 km) SE of Maidstone, Kent, England on the A274 road going south to Headcorn and Tenterden. It is on the Greensand ...
, or both, as seen at
Ightham Mote
Ightham Mote (), at Ightham, is a medieval moated manor house in Kent, England. The architectural writer John Newman describes it as "the most complete small medieval manor house in the county".
Ightham Mote and its gardens are owned by the ...
.
Purpose-built (custom) oasts
An agreement for the building of an oast in
Flimwell
Flimwell is a village in the civil parish of Ticehurst, in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. It is located close to the border with Kent at the junction of the A21 road with the A268 and the B2087. The village is situated in an Are ...
in
East Sussex
East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...
in 1667 gave the size of the building as and another to be built there was to be built in 1671 being or , having two kilns. The earliest surviving purpose-built oast is at Golford,
Cranbrook, built in 1750. This small timber framed oast is in plan, and has a hipped tiled roof. It has one kiln, and a single
cowl
A cowl is an item of clothing consisting of a long, hooded garment with wide sleeves, often worn by monks. It was developed during the Early Middle Ages. The term may have originally referred to the hooded portion of a cloak, though contempor ...
on the ridge of the roof.
Traditional oasts
In the early 19th century, the traditional oast as we now know it started to be built. A two- or three-storey stowage, with between one and eight circular kilns. Kiln sizes generally ranged from to diameter, with a conical roof. Towards the end of the 19th century, square kilns were constructed. These generally ranged in size from to square. An oast at
Hawkhurst
Hawkhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The village is located close to the border with East Sussex, around south-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells and within the High Weald Area of Outstanding N ...
was built with two octagonal kilns, across the flats.
Modern oasts
In the 20th century, oasts reverted to the original form with internal kilns and cowls in the ridge of the roof (Bell 5, Beltring). These oasts were much larger and constructed of modern materials. Oasts were built as late as 1948 (Upper Fowle Hall, Paddock Wood), or 1950 (Hook Green,
Lamberhurst
Lamberhurst ( is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The parish contains the hamlets of The Down and Hook Green. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,491, increasing to 1,706 at the 2011 Census. ...
).
Very modern oasts bear little resemblance to traditional oasts. These vast buildings can process hops from several farms, as at
Norton near
Teynham
Teynham ( ) is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Swale in Kent, England. The parish lies between the towns of Sittingbourne and Faversham, immediately north of the A2 road, and includes the hamlet of Conyer on an inlet of the ...
in Kent, built in 1982.
Construction
South East
Oasts were built of various materials, including bricks, timber, ragstone, and sandstone. Cladding could be timber weatherboards, corrugated iron or asbestos sheet.
;Stowage
Many oasts were timber-framed buildings, although some were built entirely in brick, or ragstone if this was available locally. Some oasts were entirely brick except the front and floors, which were timber.
;Kilns
Internal kilns were built of timber or bricks. External kilns were built from bricks, ragstone and bricks, flint, or sandstone. A rare material usage was at Tilden Farm,
Headcorn
Headcorn is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The parish is on the floodplain of the River Beult south east of Maidstone.
The village is 8 mi (13 km) southeast of Maidst ...
where the kiln was built from Bethersden Marble. During the Second World War, a few kilns were built with a basic timber framing and clad in
corrugated iron
Corrugated galvanised iron (CGI) or steel, colloquially corrugated iron (near universal), wriggly tin (taken from UK military slang), pailing (in Caribbean English), corrugated sheet metal (in North America), zinc (in Cyprus and Nigeria) or ...
(Crittenden Farm,
Matfield).
;Kiln roofs
Kiln roofs, where the kiln was external, were generally built of a timber frame and covered in either peg tiles or slate. Some oasts had conical kiln roofs built of brick, these were covered in tar or pitch to keep them weatherproof. A few oasts had square kilns with brick roofs, again covered in tar or pitch. The top of the roof was open, and carried a cowl or louvred vent.
West Midlands

Oasts were generally built of bricks or local stone.
;Stowage
Bricks were the usual material for building the stowage, wood only being used in floors. Stone was sometimes used too (
Madley
Madley is a village and civil parish in the English county of Herefordshire. It is located six miles west of the city of Hereford. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,200.
Other settlements
The parish includes the ham ...
). Some oasts had a
cider mill
A cider mill, also known as a cidery, is the location and equipment used to crush apples into apple juice for use in making apple cider, hard cider, applejack, apple wine, pectin and other products derived from apples. More specifically, it ...
on the ground floor of the stowage (Little Cowarne Court, Little Cowarne).
;Kilns
Bricks were the usual material for building kilns. Stone was also used.
;Kiln roofs
Kiln roofs could be of timber, clad in tiles or slate, or bricks. Brick kiln roofs could be tarred (
Little Cowarne Court,
Bromyard
Bromyard is a town in the parish of Bromyard and Winslow, in Herefordshire, England, in the valley of the River Frome, Herefordshire, River Frome. It is near the county border with Worcestershire on the A44 road, A44 between Leominster and Worc ...
) or left bare (The Farm,
Brockhampton). The roofs would be topped with a cowl (Upper Lyde Farm,
Pipe-cum-Lyde), or a ridge ventilator (Kidley,
Acton Beauchamp
Acton Beauchamp () is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Herefordshire, England. It is approximately north-east from the city and county town of Hereford, and south-east from the market town of Bromyard. Acton ).
Locations
Oasts can be found in the UK and abroad.
South East England
Oasts are generally associated with Kent">eauc ...
).
Locations
Oasts can be found in the UK and abroad.
South East England
Oasts are generally associated with Kent, and the oasthouse is a symbol associated with the county. They are also found in Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire.
West Midlands

In the West Midlands, the main hop-growing areas are
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
,
Herefordshire
Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...
and
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
. In Worcestershire and Herefordshire oast houses were known as oast houses. In the 19th century Hereford and Worcester produced around 20% of English hops and at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries it was producing 50%.
Europe

In
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, the main hop growing area is around
Poperinghe
Poperinge (; , ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, and has a history going back to medieval times. The municipality comprises ...
and
Ypres
Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though
the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...
,
West Flanders
West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...
. Hops are also grown across the border in
Nord
Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to:
Acronyms
* National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization
* New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US
Film and televisi ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. Hops are also grown around Aelst, north west of
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
. Apart from Nord, the main hop growing area in France is around
Haguenau
Haguenau (; or ; ; historical ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Département in France, department of France, of which it is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture.
It is second in size in the Bas-Rhin only to Strasbourg ...
,
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...
and around
Dijon
Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...
and
Bèze
Bèze () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.
It takes its name from the Bèze river, which rises in the commune.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Côte-d'Or department
The following is a list of the 698 ...
,
Côte-d'Or
Côte-d'Or () is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124. .
In Germany, hops are grown around
Tettnang
Tettnang () is a town in the Bodensee district in southern Baden-Württemberg in Swabia region of Germany.
It lies 7 kilometres from Lake Constance. The region produces significant quantities of Tettnang hop, an ingredient of beer, and ships t ...
,
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...
; around
Hallertau
The Hallertau ( or ) or Holledau is an area in Bavaria, Germany. With an area of 178 km2, it is listed as the largest continuous hops, hop-planting area in the world.Bentley, James; Catling, Christopher; & Locke, Tim (1994). ''Munich and Ba ...
,
Hersbruck
Hersbruck () is a small town in Middle Franconia, Bavaria, Germany, belonging to the district Nürnberger Land. It is best known for the late-gothic artwork of the Hersbruck altar, the "Hirtenmuseum" and the landscape of Hersbruck Switzerland.
...
,
Illschwang and
Spalt
Spalt ( Franconian dialect: ''Schbåld'') is a town in the district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 19 km southwest of Schwabach. Spalt is famous for growing hops for brewing beer.
Geography
Spalt is situated between Nuremberg, ...
,
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
. In the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
hops are grown around
Roudnice
Roudnice is a municipality and village in Hradec Králové District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 800 inhabitants.
Etymology
The name is derived from the red shades of colour (in Czech ''rudá'') of the water ...
,
Hradec Králové Region
Hradec Králové Region (, ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic located in the north-eastern part of the historical region of Bohemia. It is named after its capital Hradec Králové. The region neighbours the Pardubice Region in t ...
and around
Úštěk
Úštěk (; ) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument res ...
and
Žatec
Žatec (; ) is a town in Louny District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře River. Žatec is famous for an over-700-year-long tradition of growing Saaz hops, Saaz noble hops u ...
,
Ústí nad Labem Region
Ústí nad Labem Region or Ústecký Region () is an Regions of the Czech Republic, administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the north-western part of the historical land of Bohemia, and named after the capital, Ústí nad Labem. I ...
. They are also grown around
Olomouc
Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region.
Located on the Morava (rive ...
,
Olomouc Region
Olomouc Region (; , ; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the north-western and central part of its historical region of Moravia (''Morava'') and in a small part of the historical region of Czech Silesia (''České Sl ...
. In
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
, hops are grown around
Trenčín
Trenčín (, also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is a List of towns in Slovakia, city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech Republic, Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a populati ...
,
Trenčín Region
The Trenčín Region (, ; ; ) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions. It consists of nine districts ('' okresy''). The region was established in 1996: previously it had been a part of the West Slovak Region () and partly the Central S ...
. Hops are also grown in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
and
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
.
Australia
:''See also
John Terry
John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional Coach (association football), football coach and former Association football, player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, the En ...
''
Oast houses are often called
hop kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or Chemical Changes, chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects m ...
s in Australia.
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
is a major hop-growing area, as were parts of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
. During the 19th century, some of the Kentish hop growers emigrated, and took hops with them. Initially, Tasmanian oasts were converted from existing buildings (
New Norfolk
New Norfolk ( ; Aboriginal Tasmanians#Big River, Leenowwenne/palawa kani: ''Wulawali'') is a river bank, riverside town located on the Derwent River (Tasmania), River Derwent in southeastern Tasmania, Australia. Established in 1807, it is Tasm ...
, Ranelagh) but later purpose-built oasts were built (Valley Field, Bushy Park). These oasts had louvred ventilators instead of a cowl. The New Norfolk oast was converted from a
watermill
A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...
and is now a museum. Another location that has oasts was
Tyenna. A modern oast of was built at Bushy Park in 1982.
Conversion
With the increasing mechanisation of the hop-picking process, many oasts fell into disuse. Some were demolished and others became derelict. Increasing demand for housing has led to many oasts being converted into houses. Local councils nowadays are generally much stricter on the aesthetics of the conversions than was the case before the planning law came into being. Often kiln roofs have to be rebuilt, and cowls provided on converted oasts.
The earliest example of an oast being converted to a house is Millar's Farm oast,
Meopham
Meopham is a large linear village and civil parish in the Gravesham, Borough of Gravesham in north-west Kent, England, lying to the south of Gravesend. The parish covers , and comprises two villages and two smaller settlements; it had a popula ...
, which was house-converted in 1903 by
Sir Philip Waterlow.
Other conversions of oasts for non-residential purposes include a theatre (
Oast Theatre,
Tonbridge
Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...
, Oast house Theatre
Rainham), a
Youth Hostel
A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...
(
Capstone Farm,
Chatham,
another at Lady Margaret Manor,
Doddington – now a residential centre for people with learning difficulties),
a school (
Sturry
Sturry is a village on the Great Stour river situated northeast of Canterbury in Kent. Its large civil parish incorporates several hamlets and, until April 2019, the former mining village of Hersden.
Geography
Sturry lies at the old Roman j ...
), a bakery (
Chartham
Chartham is a village and civil parish in the City of Canterbury, Canterbury district of Kent, England. It is situated on the Ashford side of the city, and is in the North Downs, North Downs area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, south west of Ca ...
), a visitor centre (Bough Beech reservoir), offices (Tatlingbury Farm,
Five Oak Green
Five Oak Green is a village near Tonbridge, Kent in the Civil Parish of Capel.
The village was a centre for hop growing. In the 19th century, The Rose and Crown public house was converted to a hospital
A hospital is a healthcare instit ...
),
and a museum (Kent Museum of Rural Life,
Sandling, Preston Street,
Faversham
Faversham () is a market town in Kent, England, from Sittingbourne, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2 road (Great ...
,
Wye College
The College of St Gregory and St Martin at Wye, commonly known as Wye College, was an education and research institution in the village of Wye, Kent. In 1447, Cardinal (Catholic Church), Cardinal John Kempe founded his chantry there which also ...
,
Wye, and the former
Whitbread Hop Farm at
Beltring
Beltring is a village in the local government district of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. It is in the civil parish of East Peckham.
Beltring is known for the annual War and peace show which takes place at The Hop Farm Country Park. U ...
).
The
National Trust
The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
owns an oast at Outridge, near Brasted Chart, which has very rare octagonal cowls, one at
Castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
Farm,
Sissinghurst
Sissinghurst is a small village in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. Originally called ''Milkhouse Street'' (also referred to as ''Mylkehouse''), Sissinghurst changed its name in the 1850s, possibly to avoid association with the s ...
, converted to tea rooms, and another at
Batemans,
Burwash
Burwash, archaically known as Burghersh, is a rural village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. Situated in the High Weald of Sussex some inland from the port of Hastings, it is located south-west of Hurst Gre ...
which has been converted to a shop, with the cowl being replaced by a
dovecot.
Fake oasts
In recent years, a number of buildings have been erected to look as though they were oasts, although in fact, that is not the case. Examples of this are:
* Early Bird
public house
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
,
Grove Green
Grove Green is a suburban housing development, partially forming a part of Weavering village, near the town of Maidstone in Kent, England. The population of the development is included in the civil parish of Boxley. The estate is also near the ...
, Maidstone.
*
Harrietsham
Harrietsham is a rural and industrial village and civil parish in the Maidstone (borough), Maidstone District of Kent, England. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, it had a population of 1,504, increasing to 2,113 at the United Kingdo ...
, a group of offices.
* The Oast House public house,
Normanton.
* The Oast House public house,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
.
* Langley Court,
Beckenham
Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965, it was part of Kent. It is situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west ...
, built by the Wellcome Foundation, now part of Glaxo Wellcome.
*
Caring, Kent – Houses built in the form of oasts.
*
South Harrow
South Harrow is the southern part of the town of Harrow, south-west of Harrow-on-the-Hill in the London Borough of Harrow. Its development originally spread south and west from the hamlet of Roxeth in the urbanisation process and easier acces ...
, London – a pub built in the form of an oast (now demolished and rebuilt as part of new housing).
Image:Oast House in Tudeley Kent.jpg, Oast House in Tudeley
Tudeley is a village in the civil parish of Capel, in the Tunbridge Wells borough of Kent, England.
The village is home to All Saints' Church, the only church in the world that has all its windows in stained glass designed by Marc Chagall. Th ...
, Kent, now in residential use
Image:Oast10.jpg, Millar's Farm, Meopham
Meopham is a large linear village and civil parish in the Gravesham, Borough of Gravesham in north-west Kent, England, lying to the south of Gravesend. The parish covers , and comprises two villages and two smaller settlements; it had a popula ...
Image:Oast1.jpg, Castle Farm oast, Sissinghurst
Sissinghurst is a small village in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. Originally called ''Milkhouse Street'' (also referred to as ''Mylkehouse''), Sissinghurst changed its name in the 1850s, possibly to avoid association with the s ...
Image:Oast7.jpg, Fake oast at Harrietsham
Harrietsham is a rural and industrial village and civil parish in the Maidstone (borough), Maidstone District of Kent, England. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, it had a population of 1,504, increasing to 2,113 at the United Kingdo ...
Image:Tonbridge Oast Theatre.JPG, Oast Theatre, Tonbridge
Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...
See also
*
Malthouse
A malt house, malt barn, or maltings, is a building where cereal grain is converted into malt by soaking it in water, allowing it to sprout and then drying it to stop further growth. The malt is used in brewing beer, whisky and in certain foo ...
- a similarly cowled building used for sprouting barley to make
malt
Malt is any cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and then stopped from germinating further by drying with hot air, a process known as "malting".
Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, malted milk, malt vinegar, ...
, also an ingredient in beer making.
*
Chunche
Chunche (, Чунчә; Chinese: 晾房, 阴房) is a Uyghur word that refers to a kind of building used to make raisins in Turpan, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. The building has a dark interior, and the walls are covered with a large ...
- a building for drying
raisin
A raisin is a Dried fruit, dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Afri ...
s (using the natural hot dry wind) in
Xinjiang
Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...
, China.
References
Sources
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*
External links
Geograph Oasthouse ArticleComprehensive online article on Oasts and photo-record of Oasts
Earth Terminal Recording StudioAn Oast House converted into a music recording studio in Hampshire.
* Tonbridge Oast Theatre website.
Oasthouse TheatreRainham Oast Theatre website
IconsAre oasts icons?
About oasts
Herefordshire oasts.
An oast in Herefordshire.
hop picking & oasts in Herefordshire.
Hop MuseumHopfenmuseum Tettnang website ''German''
American Hop Museum website.
Hop Gardens, Oast Houses & Farming,
hopper hut
A hopper hut was a form of temporary accommodation provided for hop-pickers on English farms in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Background
Before the days of mechanised farming, hop picking was a labour-intensive process, requiring a vastly greate ...
s are illustrated.
how an oast worksAn interactive game showing an oast at work.
Oast and hop kiln historywebsite.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oast House
Agricultural buildings
Architecture in England
House types in the United Kingdom
Vernacular architecture
Humulus