Listed Building record TQ 55 SE 85 - OASTHOUSE 75 YARDS NORTH OF MOTE FARMHOUSE

The following text is from the original listed building designation:
TQ 55 SE IGHTHAM MOTE ROAD 3/9 (west side)
Oasthouse 75 yds north of Mote Farmhouse
II
Oasthouse with 4 large roundels. Mid C19. Granary of coured rubble stone with slate roof. Two storeys; double door on ground floor to south, single door above. Two large roundels on each side of granary at western end. Coursed rubble stone with slate roofs, splaying at eaves. Cowls and wind-vanes intact.
Listing NGR: TQ5843553324

An interpretive historic building survey was carried out at the site in 2007. The report on the survey stated that the oast house was constructed between 1839 and 1867, and the original building comprised a “long main range flanked towards its northern end by two sets of two roundels. On the ground floor a four-bay open-fronted implement store and an enclosed room in two parts – a southern stowage area with, to its north, a kiln-servicing-area flanked by the roundels. On the first floor the entire length of the main range was a single space with, at the northern end, access to the drying chambers within the roundels. There were doorways at both levels within the northern end wall, and another on the ground floor in the east wall. Within the roundels only one of the four slatted drying floors now remains and all hearths have been removed, but otherwise the building is largely intact, complete with unglazed windows (fitted with sliding shutters) and some of the internal doors leading into the roundels. First-floor joists and roof intact, though the latter damaged at its southern end in 1987” (from the original report, 2)

A northern extension was added to the structure around 1867. This comprised an additional two-bay implement shed on the ground floor, and extra space on the first floor. During the 20th century, new techniques for hop drying were introduced, leading to the installation of several gas-fired dryers which were associated with the western kilns. Repairs and alterations were carried out at the site following damage from a storm in 1987. During the later 20th century, hop production ceased at the site, and the building was used for other agricultural functions. Despite this change in function, the 2007 survey found that the building had remained relatively unaltered, apart from the removal of the kilns and three drying doors. (2)

Archaeology South - East, 2007, OAST HOUSE AT MOTE FARM, IGHTHAM, KENT INTERPRETIVE HISTORIC BUILDING SURVEY (Unpublished document). SKE59035.

<1> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.