TQ9144 : The Oast House, Smarden Road, Pluckley, Kent
taken 16 years ago, near to Pluckley Thorne, Kent, England
Single round kiln oast house. A Dering Black Horse motif is depicted on the cowl vane.
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
The black horse was the family emblem of the Dering family who owned much of Pluckley and surrounding areas.
A black horse can be found on the oast house cowls and a pub called 'The Black Horse'.