TQ7353 : Court Lodge Farm Oast, Lower Road, East Farleigh, Kent
taken 16 years ago, near to East Farleigh, Kent, England
Last used to dry hops in 1977 and converted around 1982 to flats.
There were once three identical oast houses in East Farleigh, Court Lodge Farm Oast (demolished 1955), Coombe Bank Oast (demolished in 1987, one kiln remains) and Churchfield Oast (now called Court Lodge Farm Oast) which is the only complete remaining example.
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