Oasts and Hop Kilns

Tall conical and pyramidal buildings, topped by white cowls or louvred vents, are a distinctive sight on the farms and in the villages of Kent, East Sussex, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Surrey and Hampshire. In these buildings, hops were dried, pressed, and bagged for despatch to breweries. In Kent and Sussex, they are called 'oasts' or 'oast houses', and in other counties 'hop kilns'. Oasts and hop kilns are testimony to a specialised and important rural industry, and for hundreds of years, t