TQ6747 : Bell 4, Beltring Hop Farm, Beltring, Kent
taken 21 years ago, near to Beltring, Kent, England
The Beltring Hop Farm in Kent has the largest surviving complex of oast houses. The main site has five Grade II* listed five kiln oast houses called 'Bell 1' to 'Bell 5'. …read more Link
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