Former oast house 20 metres south-east of Wyck Cottage, Woods Green

Summary

Oast house of early to mid C19 date.

Reasons for Designation

The oast house 20 metres south-east of Wyck Cottage, of early to mid C19 date, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: this is a distinctive regional agricultural building type built of vernacular materials with a readable plan form, exterior wooden loading door and ventilation shutters, and retaining its interior joinery including its roof structure;
* Intactness: the oast house is little altered externally and retains many original internal fittings and fixtures;
* Group value: with an adjoining listed former farm house in a hamlet with some other listed farm buildings;
* Rarity: oast houses as a building type are a comparative rarity in East Sussex and this one is particularly rare because it is unconverted and retains its wooden slatted drying floor to the hop kiln.

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History

The oast house is shown on the 1874 First Edition 25'' Ordnance Survey map, together with the main house, Wyck Cottage, at that date shown as Wick Farm. Until the 1980s the property was part of the Bayham Abbey Estate owned by Lord Camden.

On the 1874 map two small extensions are shown attached at the south-west end, but have been removed by the 1898 Second Edition. The footprint of a circular hop kiln and rectangular stowage has remained unchanged on subsequent editions up to the present day.

Details

Oast house of early to mid C19 date. There are some C20 casements, mainly within earlier openings, and a C20 lean-to greenhouse is attached at the south-west end. The greenhouse is not of special interest.

MATERIALS: the hop kiln is constructed of brick in English bond over a stone rubble plinth and has a tiled roof and wooden cowl with a fantail. The stowage has a ground floor of red brick in English bond with some vitrified headers over a stone rubble base. The first floor is tile-hung but also has some weatherboarding on the north-west side.

PLAN: a single cylindrical two storey hop kiln with a conical roof and attached rectangular two-storey stowage of three bays with stairs in the north-east corner.

EXTERIOR: the north-west side upper floor of the stowage has a plank loading door with three hinges set in a weather-boarded surround and two weather-boarded outward opening ventilation shutters on the first floor. The ground floor has two wide folding plank doors with three hinges.

The south-west end has one first floor casement window.

The south-east side has C20 casement windows in earlier openings.

The hop kiln has an entrance facing north and two small inserted C20 windows facing south.

INTERIOR: the ground floor of the stowage has exposed tie beams and floor joists and wooden half-winder stairs lead to the upper floor. This has tie beams and a roof structure with collar beams, rafters with a ridge-piece, and slender purlins. There are original floorboards and protective boarding to dado height around the walls and stairs. The walls retain original lime-washed lath and plaster.

The hop kiln retains its wooden slatted drying floor and lime-washed lath and plaster, and cross ties to the conical roof.

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