Savills Portugal

Oast houses are a distinctive feature of the Kent and Sussex landscape, with their conical roofs topped with white cowls or louvred vents.

The history of oast houses dates back to the 16^th century, when the buildings first appeared in England, designed to dry hops for the brewing of beer.

With an increase in imported hops leading to the decline of hop-growing in this country, oast houses were gradually abandoned. Many of these historic buildings have since been converted for other uses, including homes, offices, shops, warehouses and workshops, with buyers attracted to their picturesque rural locations and quirky, original features.

Traditional oasts normally have two or three drying floors and between one and eight kilns, with a distinctive cowl at the top of their towers. Kilns were originally fired by wood until the 17th century, then by charcoal and most recently by oil.

Hops were unloaded into the barn section and then dried in the drying room just above the kiln, before being cooled on the upper floor. The hops were then pressed or baled into packets for transport to the breweries.

Early oast houses were simply adapted barns and usually square, but in around 1800, roundel kilns were developed in the belief that they were more efficient. The distinguishing conical roof of the oast is necessary to create a good draught for the fire, while the cowls create the right airflow.

The buildings are traditionally found in the counties of Kent, East Sussex and West Sussex, but it was Kent in particular that proved to have ideal soil for growing hops and plenty of wood for the kilns: the earliest oast house still in existence was built around 1750 in Cranbrook.

Oast houses can also be found in other hop-growing areas further afield, including the Cotswolds, Hampshire, Surrey, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.

Here is a selection of oast houses which are currently on the market: