Ash Manor Oast and The Oast house

Ash Manor Oast and The Oast House

A former oast house of the 18th century with probable early 19th-century additions, now converted into two residential units with adjoining stables.

The building is constructed of red brick with clay tiled roofs. Windows are timber casements of 20th-century date. The stables are part brick and part timber-framed, clad in dark stained weatherboard.

The former oast comprises two principal parts: a rectangular kiln to the north with a pyramidal roof, and a two-storey, three-bay range to the south which served for storage. A brick lean-to extension extends to the north of the kiln, possibly added in the 19th century. Within the storage range are a pair of large openings, probably originally intended for carts, now used as garaging.

Ash Manor Oast occupies the oast kiln and one of the three bays of the store, with its principal elevation to the west and main entrance in the kiln. The Oast House occupies the remaining two bays of the store, with its main entrance facing south. Each house has one of the two cart openings which face west.

The original interior layout is not known but would have been relatively open within the separate spaces of the kiln, which would have been laterally divided by a drying floor, and the two-storey store. The internal arrangement is now subdivided into rooms reflecting domestic use, though later finishes do not contribute to the building's special interest.

The west elevation of the kiln has a central doorway with an open-fronted, pitch-roofed brick and timber porch. Both kiln and store have numerous window openings inserted at the time of conversion. Earlier openings have been reused in some cases, including the remodelling of the first-floor loading bay in the store into a dormer window, and the rebuilding of the adjacent dormer. Additional dormer windows have been added to the kiln and at the far end of the store. The roof of the kiln is topped with two square timber cowls, which were rebuilt as part of the conversion and have been rebuilt again since.

At ground floor the west elevation turns to the south with a radial corner. The south elevation has a gable end with a brick-banded verge and a brick band beneath a pair of small round-headed louvered openings at the top of the gable. At the centre is the main door to The Oast House, surrounded by a porch similar to that on the west elevation of Ash Manor Oast. Three windows appear to be later insertions.

The east elevation of Ash Manor Oast contains further inserted windows, a dormer in the kiln roof, and a late 20th-century timber conservatory on a brick plinth. The east flank elevation of The Oast House is largely blank and is adjoined by the stables, which form a range running eastwards.

Some of the roof structure is visible internally, including that of the lean-to to the north of the kiln. Generally, interiors and finishes are of late 20th-century date, with no visible evidence of earlier fabric.

The stables are probably of late 18th or early 19th-century date, with some later fabric, taking the form of a run of six loose boxes. The back wall is of brick; otherwise the structure is timber-framed and clad in weatherboard, with a tiled roof. The roof trusses have curved raked queen struts carrying the purlins and a ridge piece at the apex. The timbers are un-squared and some have carpenters' marks. Wall-framing between each bay is generally formed of planked infill. The surface in front of the loose-boxes is concrete, though brick setts are visible beneath where it has failed.