Amongst the Oast Houses

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My visit to Bodiam Castle reminded me that at one time this part of Southern England was known for the amount of hops grown. Hops are, of course, a vital plant used in the production of beers, especially bitter - the king of beers! In the 1900s most of the local estates, around Bodiam, were owned by the Guinness Brewing Company. Each September families from London would descend on the hop growing areas and pick the 'flowers'. The hop flowers were taken to oast houses also known as kilns. Here they were dried over a charcoal or wood fire before moving along to become a tasty beer. These days mechanisation and cheaper imports from overseas have reduced the hop growing industry and oast houses were converted into rather expensive, if picturesque, houses. Not all oast houses have become residences and some are slowly decaying. As you would expect, there are now laws to protect these buildings which go so far as to require precise rebuilding if they are a bit ruinous and you want a house.