insideKENT Magazine Issue 36 - March 2015 | Page 158
PROPERTY
Oast Houses
Photos © Kent Life kentlife.org.uk
When we all go hopping, hopping down in Kent…
Hopping was a major part of many people’s
(mainly Londoners) summer holidays in loving
memory, back in the early to mid-part of the 20th
century. Thousands of children and adults made
the annual pilgrimage to the Garden of England
– a far cry from the smoky streets and built up
areas of the capital. Collecting the hops for the
growers and producers was an important – some
would say essential – job, and something that
many still recall with fondness.
Hop picking holidays were already on the decline
by then, though, having been at their height in
the Victorian period, before any kind of automation
was brought in. Everything was picked by hand,
and the hops were left to dry in special, purposebuilt buildings called oast houses. The typical
oast house we think of today, so prevalent in
Kent (particularly the Wealden villages), was
developed during this particularly busy time of
hop growing, but they have been around since
the 16th century. At that point they were simple,
single storey
buildings, and the hops were just laid on the
stone floor to dry.
As time went on, and demand increased, hop
growers realised that the drying process had to
be hastened along somehow. The problem of
slow-drying hops was solved by making the oast
houses into two storeys, and placing the hops
on the upper floor, with an open charcoal or
anthracite fire burning on the lower one. The roof
was then vented – gaps were left in between the
roof tiles – and a cowl placed on the top which,
thanks to the power of wind, created a vacuum
to pull the hot air up and over the hops, so they
dried much quicker than ever before.
But experimentation and new ideas never
stopped, especially when it came to Kent’s most
famous product. Soon enough it was discovered
that hot air circulated better in a round space,
so the original square oasts were replaced with
the most familiar circular ones. Unfortunately,
building materials and tools of the time meant
that building round oasts was costly and time
consuming, and eventually the trend reverted
back to rectangular ones, with a fan to push the
air around. By the 20th century, the fans were
replaced with enclosed pipes that pumped the
hot air straight into the hop drying room.
Oast Houses You Can Visit
Oast houses were built to last, and there are
many that can still be seen dotted around the
Kent countryside. Some are private residences,
some are still used as stores or farm buildings,
and some have been turned into museums.
If you want to visit an oast house, then why not
pop along to the Museum of Kent Life in Sandling
near Maidstone? Here you can find out all about
how and why oast houses were used, and get
an up close and personal view of the inside of
one. The oast house at Kent Life is the last
remaining traditionally fired example in Kent, so
is well worth a look.
Oast Houses for Sale
If you want to do more than look at and learn about oast houses,
have you considered living in one? There are a number for sale
across Kent, including:
• 4 bedroom house in Biddenden.
This property includes an inglenook fireplace, 10 acres of land, a pool, stabling, detached
studio, and of course the oast itself with a square kiln.
Offers in the region on £1.2 million
For more details, contact Country Property Goudhurst on 01580 471022, or visit
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-49677911.html
• 3 bedroom house in Mereworth.
This