Childrens Oast

The Children's Oast comprises a stable block and an oasthouse, likely dating to the 17th century and late 19th century respectively, situated in Hildenborough. The stable block was probably originally built in the 17th century, with possible rebuilding occurring in 1791, as evidenced by a dated brick. An oasthouse was added around the late 19th century. At the time of a survey in 1988, both buildings were being converted into dwellings.

The buildings are constructed using Flemish bond brick with blue headers, with a ragstone rubble plinth to the stable block, and have a peg-tile roof with gabled ends. The stable block has a rectangular plan, a three-bay arrangement, with a contemporary two-bay coach house adjoining to the north. An oasthouse was added to the north end, incorporating a kiln to the rear (west). The internal carpentry of the stable suggests an earlier 17th-century origin, though the outer walls were probably completely rebuilt in brick during the late 18th century.

The north-facing front features an asymmetrical arrangement of windows: 2:1:2 bays. The stable block, to the left, is near-symmetrical, featuring a central doorway with a segmental arched lintel, with a dated brick above the door reading 1791 and bearing the initials GC, believed to represent George Children. It has a three-light window on each side of the doorway, with a loft door on the first floor to the left and a square-headed three-light window to the right. The coach house alongside has a similar first-floor window and a large opening supported by an iron girder below, replacing a former beam. The oast stowage to the right features a single first-floor three-light window and a two-light window. The ground floor has paired garage doors to the left, a two-light window in the centre, and a door to the right. The roof is half-hipped at the left end and gabled at the right end. The round-plan oast kiln was roofless during the 1988 survey.

Internally, the stable and coach house retain well-finished carpentry. The ground floor crossbeams are chamfered with scroll stops, with shorter sections of chamfering to the rear, indicating the former position of feeding mangers, which were filled from the loft through gaps in the floorboards. The stable has two arched braced trusses with staggered butt purlins. The coach house truss is a plain A-frame, also with staggered butt purlins. The oast stowage has two typical 19th-century king post and strut trusses.

The stable block exhibits high quality construction and good carpentry. This building contributes to the group value of the site, alongside Summerthorn Farmhouse and other listed farm buildings.