TQ6936 : Oast House at Little Scotney Farm, Lamberhurst, Kent
taken 16 years ago, near to Kilndown, Kent, England
Four round kiln oast house. Built in the 1871 by Edward hussey. Grade II listed.
One of the last traditional working Oast Houses. Owned by the National Trust, drying hops to make "Scotney Ale" and other varieties made by Westerham Brewery. Retaining its greenstage to the North-West side.
At the top of each cowl is the initial of each of the sons of Edward Hussey.
An Oast House is a building used to dry fresh hops before they are sent to the brewers, to be used for flavouring beer. A traditional Oast House consists of the 'oast' and the 'stowage'. The oast was a kiln, with a plenum chamber fired by charcoal at ground floor and the drying floor directly above. The steep pitched roof channelled the hot air through the hops to the top. The stowage, was the barn section, it had a cooling floor and press at first floor and storage area at ground floor. Read more Link
A National Trust is an organization dedicated to preserving the cultural or environmental treasures of a particular geographic region. They generally operate as private non-profit organizations, although some receive considerable support from their national government. The first such organization was the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, which is the National Trust of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, formed in 1895 and operating as a charitable organisation.
Extract from Wikipedia Link
List of National Trust places Link