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An oast, oast house or hop kiln is a building designed for kilning (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 whi ...
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. They can be found in most hop-growing (and former hop-growing) areas and are often good examples of vernacular architecture. Many redundant oasts have been converted into houses. The names oast and oast house are used interchangeably in Kent and Sussex. In Surrey, Hampshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire they are called hop kilns. They consist 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 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 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 Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...
. It dates from sometime 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. Hops are today 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 Family Park is a Country Park in Beltring, near East Peckham in Kent, England, is over 450 years old, and has the largest collection of oast houses in the world. History Until 1997 the hop farm was known as ''The 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. Unti ...
.


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 whi ...
. 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 basis and earned a fixed rate per bushel. The ''green hops'' were put into large
hessian A Hessian is an inhabitant of the German state of Hesse. Hessian may also refer to: Named from the toponym *Hessian (soldier), eighteenth-century German regiments in service with the British Empire **Hessian (boot), a style of boot **Hessian f ...
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 some 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 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 US customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the US and British imperial systems. The two values are distingu ...
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), or sometimes leading to the complete destruction of the oast (Stilstead Farm, East Peckham in September 1983, and Parsonage Farm,
Bekesbourne Bekesbourne is a village near Canterbury in Kent, South East England. The village is centred ESE of the city's cathedral and its centre stretches less than 1 km from its railway station to the A2 road to the south. Amenities The parish ch ...
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, Kent, Rochester, and at various times in its history has been considered fully or partially part of the ...
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, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...
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, 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 f ...
, 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 o ...
,
Northiam Northiam is a village and civil parish in the Rother district, in East Sussex, England, 13 miles (21 km) north of Hastings in the valley of the River Rother. The A28 road to Canterbury and Hastings passes through it. Governance Northiam ...
. 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, some north of Tenterden. It was a centre for the Wealden iron industry and also of ...
, Kent, or by adding kilns externally to the existing building, as seen at Barnhill Farm, Hunton, and also at Sutton Valence, or both, as seen at
Ightham Mote Ightham Mote (), Ightham, Kent is a medieval moated manor house. 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 National Trust and ...
.


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 Area ...
in
East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
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 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 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). Very modern oasts bear little resemblance to traditional oasts. These vast buildings can process hops from several farms, as at
Norton Norton may refer to: Places Norton, meaning 'north settlement' in Old English, is a common place name. Places named Norton include: Canada *Rural Municipality of Norton No. 69, Saskatchewan *Norton Parish, New Brunswick **Norton, New Brunswick, a ...
near
Teynham Teynham ( ) is a large 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 Sw ...
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 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 Maidstone, on the A274 road to T ...
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 (Crittenden Farm,
Matfield Matfield is a small village, part of the civil parish of Brenchley and Matfield, in the Tunbridge Wells borough of Kent, England. Matfield was awarded the title of Kent Village of the Year in 2010. Buildings and amenities St Luke's Church is ...
). ;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 hamle ...
). 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 refe ...
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 Little Cowarne is a village and civil parish in the county of Herefordshire, England, and is north-east from the city and county town of Hereford. The closest town is the market town of Bromyard, to the north-east. History Cowarne is from the ...
Court,
Bromyard Bromyard is a town in Herefordshire, England, in the valley of the River Frome. It lies near the county border with Worcestershire on the A44 between Leominster and Worcester. Bromyard has a number of traditional half-timbered buildings, inclu ...
) or left bare (The Farm,
Brockhampton Brockhampton may refer to: *Brockhampton (band), an American self-described "boy band" and music collective *Brockhampton, Gloucestershire, Cotswold, England * Brockhampton, Tewkesbury, a location In geography, location or place are used to deno ...
). 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 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 eauchampwas a settlement in Dome ...
).


Locations

Oasts can be found in the UK and abroad.


South East England

Oasts are generally associated with
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, and the oasthouse is a symbol associated with the county. They are also found in
Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
,
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
and
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
.


West Midlands

In the West Midlands, the main hop-growing areas are
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
,
Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...
and
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...
. In Worcestershire and Herefordshire oast houses were known as hop kilns.


Europe

In
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, the main hop growing area is around Poperinghe and
Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) 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 co ...
,
West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...
. 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 primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. Hops are also grown around Aelst, north west of
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. Apart from Nord, the main hop growing area in France is around
Haguenau Haguenau (; Alsatian: or ; and historically in English: ''Hagenaw'') is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department of France, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is second in size in the Bas-Rhin only to Strasbourg, some to the south. To the ...
,
Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...
and around
Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...
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 co ...
,
Côte-d'Or Côte-d'Or (; literally, "Golden Slope") is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.Tettnang,
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a 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 inhabitants across a ...
; around
Hallertau The Hallertau or Holledau is an area in Bavaria, Germany. With an area of 178 km², it is listed as the largest continuous hop-planting area in the world.Bentley, James; Catling, Christopher; & Locke, Tim (1994). ''Munich and Bavaria''. Chicago: ...
,
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. Hi ...
, Illschwang and
Spalt Spalt (Northern Bavarian: ''Schbåld'') is a town in the Roth (district), 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 betw ...
,
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
. In the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
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 700 inhabitants. Etymology The name is derived from the red shades of color (in Czech ''rudá'') of the water in ...
, Hradec Králové Region and around Úštěk and Žatec,
Ústí nad Labem Region Ústí nad Labem Region or Ústecký Region ( cs, Ústecký kraj, , ), is an administrative unit ( cs, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located in the north-western part of the historical land of Bohemia, and named after the capital, Ústí nad Labem ...
. They are also grown around Olomouc, Olomouc Region. In
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), 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 s ...
, hops are grown around
Trenčín Trenčín (, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a population of more than 55,000, which makes it the eighth largest municip ...
,
Trenčín Region The Trenčín Region ( sk, Trenčiansky kraj, ; cs, Trenčínský kraj; hu, Trencséni kerület) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions. It consists of 9 districts ('' okresy''). The region was established in 1996: previously it had ...
. Hops are also grown in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
.


Australia

:''See also
John Terry John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea, the England national team and Aston Villa. He was most recently the assi ...
'' Oast houses are often called
hop A hop is a type of jump. Hop or hops may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hop'' (film), a 2011 film * Hop! Channel, an Israeli TV channel * ''House of Payne'', or ''HOP'', an American sitcom * Lindy Hop, a swing dance of the 1920s and ...
kilns in Australia.
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
is a major hop-growing area, as were parts of Victoria. 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 is a town on the Derwent River (Tasmania), River Derwent, in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. At the Census in Australia#2011, 2011 census, New Norfolk had a population of 5,543. Situated north-west of Hobart on the Lyell Hi ...
, 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 milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...
and is now a museum. Another location that has oasts was
Tyenna Tyenna is a rural locality in the local government area (LGA) of Derwent Valley in the South-east LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about west of the town of New Norfolk. The 2016 census recorded a population of 43 for the state suburb o ...
. 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 Borough of Gravesham in Kent, England, lying to the south of Gravesend. The parish covers , and comprises two villages and two smaller settlements; it has a population of 6,427 increasi ...
, 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 ( ) 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 Malling, it had an estimated population ...
, 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, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ba ...
( Capstone Farm,
Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...
, another at Lady Margaret Manor, Doddington – now a residential centre for people with learning difficulties), a school ( Sturry), a bakery (
Chartham Chartham is a village and civil parish in the Canterbury district of Kent, England. It is situated on the Ashford side of the city, and is in the North Downs area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, south west of Canterbury, England. The Great St ...
), 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 to treat the many hop pickers who resided ...
), and a museum (Kent Museum of Rural Life, Sandling, Preston Street,
Faversham Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, 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, which follows an ancient British t ...
, Wye College, 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. Unti ...
). The
National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
owns an oast at Outridge, near Brasted Chart, which has very rare octagonal cowls, one at
Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
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 smu ...
, 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 15 miles (24 km) inland from the port of Hastings, it is located five m ...
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 a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
,
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 v ...
, Maidstone. *
Harrietsham Harrietsham is a rural and industrial village and civil parish in the Maidstone District of Kent, England noted in the Domesday Book. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, it had a population of 1,504, increasing to 2,113 at the 2011 Cen ...
, a group of offices. * The Oast House public house, Normanton. * The Oast House public house,
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. * Langley Court, Beckenham, 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, located 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 easi ...
, 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 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. The East window was commissioned by ...
, Kent, now in residential use Image:Oast10.jpg, Millar's Farm,
Meopham Meopham is a large linear village and civil parish in the Borough of Gravesham in Kent, England, lying to the south of Gravesend. The parish covers , and comprises two villages and two smaller settlements; it has a population of 6,427 increasi ...
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 smu ...
Image:Oast7.jpg, Fake oast at
Harrietsham Harrietsham is a rural and industrial village and civil parish in the Maidstone District of Kent, England noted in the Domesday Book. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, it had a population of 1,504, increasing to 2,113 at the 2011 Cen ...
. Image:Tonbridge Oast Theatre.JPG, Oast Theatre,
Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) 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 Malling, it had an estimated population ...


See also

* Malthouse - a similarly cowled building used for sprouting barley to make
malt Malt is germinated cereal grain that has been dried in a process known as " malting". The grain is made to germinate by soaking in water and is then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air. Malted grain is used to make beer, wh ...
, also an ingredient in beer making. *
Chunche Chunche ( Uyghur:چۈنچە, 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 c ...
- a building for drying
raisin A raisin is a 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, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the d ...
s (using the natural hot dry wind) in
Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
, China.


References


Sources

* * * * * * * *


External links


Geograph Oasthouse Article
Comprehensive online article on Oasts and photo-record of Oasts
Earth Terminal Recording Studio
An Oast House converted into a music recording studio in Hampshire.
Oast Theatre
Tonbridge Oast Theatre website.
Oasthouse Theatre
Rainham Oast Theatre website
Icons
Are oasts icons?

About oasts

Herefordshire oasts.

An oast in Herefordshire.

hop picking & oasts in Herefordshire.
Hop Museum
Hopfenmuseum Tettnang website ''German''

American Hop Museum website.

Hop Gardens, Oast Houses & Farming, hopper huts are illustrated.
how an oast works
An interactive game showing an oast at work.
Oast and hop kiln history
website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oast House Agricultural buildings Architecture in England House types in the United Kingdom Vernacular architecture Humulus