Oasthouse kilns

[15C Mike]

Our house in Kent has a large 20ft x 30ft room with 2 large arched brick square kilns in the centre.
The plan of the room is therefore something lke a "figure 8". The kilns both have small doors and you can stand in them looking up at the old drying slats about 15ft up.
From the outside there is no indication that this was ever an oasthouse (the roof is a standard kent peg tile, now traditional round or square top assosiated with oasthouse)and there are now floorboards and rooms on top of the drying slats.
I've been unable to trace any old pictures of the house.
I am interested in finding some old photos of similar kilns and the hop drying process in action.
Can anyone recommend a resource?

 

[MdB]

Your question intregued me enough to do a bit of googling.

http://www.walkingbritain.co.uk/m/walk_d.php?id=201102
http://www.froyle.com/fhoptext5.htm
http://www.hops.co.uk/sectionthree/Growing.htm

 

[15C Mike]

Thanks for that. I've googled a bit myself too, but this seems to be a subject without a great deal of detail on the web (or at least not easily found)

Our kilns are about 7ft square and have straight sides for the first 4ft. They then arch out forming a fantastic arched "ceiling" where they meet. Both are identical.

Once inside you could (if you wished) climb up the arched wall to move from one kiln to another.

If anyone has any old photos of similar kilns and their operation I'd love to see them.

 

[Philip]

I was given a small book "Oasthouses in Sussex and Kent" by Gwen Jones and John Bell, Phillimore press ( based in Chichester) ISBN 0-85033-812-2 (£6.95), a couple of years ago so it may still be in print. It was produced on behalf of a Hop Industry reearch survey and includes an extensive Bibliography.

It has numerous photos and many line drawings of various sorts of oasts including 4 examples of "grates". I cant work out whether what you describe is shown.