The High Weald was settled by individual farmers - leading to a pattern of scattered, remote farmsteads. Today, these holdings still contain a rich heritage of distinctive farm buildings: structures that add character to the landscape - and provide clues about farming traditions long passed - oast houses, for example, reflect an activity confined to a limited area: the hop-growing lands of the Eastern Weald.

The area's traditional farm buildings are typically simple, straightforward buildings constructed by local workmen. They were built to be functional - designed above all to shelter and protect. They reflect the building materials available nearby - in the case of the High Weald, wood, brick and sandstone.

Dovecotes Pigeons were originally kept to provide fresh meat - though their eggs and manure were also valued - but their importance had declined by the 18th century with the increase in numbers of other livesto... Read more	Pigsties By medieval times, pigs were no longer being driven into the High Weald's woods to feed on acorns. But pigs were still valued for their ability to fatten quickly and for eating what would otherwise be... Read more
Dairies The liquid milk trade was very restricted before the late 19th century: in the dairy, milk was converted to butter and cheese - products with much better keeping qualities. The dairy on a small farm w... Read more	Granaries Once the hard work of threshing had been done, the grain was too precious to leave in the barn for any length of time. In South and East England, small, detached granaries held grain for seed and ani... Read more
Oasts Oasts come in many shapes and sizes, but the basic principle is the same: the hops are first placed on a slotted floor over a heat source in the drying kiln. In many cases, this takes the form of the ... Read more	Cattle sheds Every farmer knows that cold animals eat more and fatten less: "A cold beast is a skinny beast." Unlike sheep, most cattle do not have warm, waterproof coats and need a warm and dry place in which to ... Read more
Barns The largest building in most farmyards is the barn. Very few farm buildings other than barns survive from the medieval period. One of the reasons for this may be that barns were built by professional ... Read more