Oast House

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Case Study

Oast House

Oast Houses have been a part of England’s history for hundreds of years. Hillreed Residential Developments installed Sandtoft’s Alban clay plain tile to retain the original character and charm of these buildings.

Hillreed Homes Ltd, a leading property developer in the South East of England specified Sandtoft’s Alban clay plain tile in Sussex Blend for a landmark home on its Oast Court Farm development in East Malling, Kent.

The centrepiece of a private, gated development of eight bespoke properties, ‘The Offham’, a brand new Oast House was built to create a superb, individual family home. The Oast House’s three roundels topped with conical white cowls required a traditional clay plain tile that complemented the style of build.

An Oast House is a building used traditionally for drying hops as part of the brewing process and in recent times many redundant Oast Houses became popular conversion projects, creating a unique residential property.

Alban Sussex Blend clay roof tiles on oast house roof

Renovated roof on traditional red brick oast house

Oast houses with conical roof with red clay roof tiles

Three traditional oast houses against blue sky

Clive Pickard, design manager at Hillreed Residential Developments, said: “Oast Houses are a significant part of the history of this area of Kent and seen by many as a landmark of the region. The new Oast is built on the site of a former Oast and we wanted to make sure the new building truly reflected the architectural style of its predecessor. As the three roundels of the Oast House are such a prominent part of the property, it was essential that we used the most appropriate tiles. The Alban tiles matched the colourings and reflected the heritage of the property perfectly and provided us with a durable, cost-effective solution.”

The Oast Court Farm development is a great example of the Alban’s flexibility. The heritage aesthetic of the tile is a perfect fit for the new development yet sits comfortably and reflects the vernacular style of traditional Oasts in the area.