It is common today to see former Oast Houses, originally built to dry hops, converted into chic Kentish dwellings. The Waterlow family of Trosley Towers, near Wrotham, are credited with being amongst the first to see the capabilities of such redundant structures when, in 1903, they converted an oast house on their estate. Half a century later the building was renamed Tower Folly, and became home to experiments in sound.
Sir Philip Waterlow (1847-1931) restored this building on Millers Farm in 1903. It soon became the subject of picture postcards, such as this one with the wonderfully twee title of ‘Ye Olde Hop Oaste’. The Trosley Towers estate was dispersed after Waterlow’s death in 1931, and The Grange, as it is known today, has since had a number of owners. In 1959 a new resident arrived, complete with some ultra-modern technology.
This was Daphne Oram (1925-2003) who promptly renamed her new home Tower Folly. Oram was a pioneering electronic composer who had co-founded the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. In the seclusion of her studio in the folly she invented the ‘Oramics Machine’ a means of synthesising sound by drawing waveforms, pitches, volume envelopes and other properties on film (the Flâneuse highly recommends clicking the links at the bottom for a full account of Oram’s pioneering work).
A Daily Herald journalist visited Oram in 1962 after she had been awarded a grant of £3,550 by the Gulbenkian Foundation to ‘further her research into electronic music’. The journalist, yet to be converted to ‘space age music’, was relieved to find that ‘blue-eyed’ Miss Oram was ‘not in the least like a crank or an egghead’. Baffled by what he heard, the reporter went for the human interest angle: the local policeman had been told to ignore any ‘shrieks’ coming from the ‘house of strange sounds’ – they were not the cries of Oram in distress, but indicated that she was hard at work on her latest composition.
The windows have been replaced since the postcard view was taken, and sadly the pretty pinnacles on the gable above each window have been truncated, so the building has less of the air of a ‘Swiss pagoda on ecstasy’, as it was so memorably described by Headley and Meulenkamp in Follies, Grottoes and Garden Buildings in 1999.
31 December 2025 is the 100th anniversary of Daphne Oram’s birth. Her archive is now in the care of The Daphne Oram Trust and you can see and hear more about her fascinating life here and watch a wonderful short clip from the BBC archive here.
Thank you for reading. As always, you can find the comments box at the foot of the page if you would like to share any thoughts.
Judy Rossiter says:
Absolutely fascinating , we learn something everyday !
Thank you so much for introducing us to the happenings inside a Folly.
Editor says:
Thanks Judy. It is always great to find a folly where what is going on inside is as interesting as the exterior – or probably even more so in this case.
Garance says:
Yes, great to see her editing tape – most nostalgic for me and certainly the interior works as fascinating as the exterior.
Editor says:
Good evening Garance. The film clip is enchanting. I’ve watched it again and again to take it all in and appreciate the soundtrack. I’m pleased it was a nostalgia trip for you.
Nic Orchard says:
Now there’s a coincidence. I used this in my Dawn to Dusk entry this year, looking at fantasy hangar homes (or places that would be ideal to inhabit, adjacent to a grassy runway – all fantasy on my part). I spent years of my childhood wanting to live in an oast house and started off the day looking at some, including the oldest conversion – this one – and the newest oast and a few others, such as the rare octagonal ones near Hawhurst. I did not know about Ms Oram, though. I shall have to consult the FF before any future attempts, evidently! Thank you.
Editor says:
Hi Nic. Thats sounds like another great airborne adventure. I think your themed flights sound wonderful and one of these days I will be watching and ready to wave.
Nic Orchard says:
Oh yes; that would be fun.
Apologies for the typo in Hawkhurst, also.
Moira Garland says:
How interesting, the building and even more, as you say, what has gone on inside. I did follow your links – real ‘nostalgia’ to hear the BBC voice (in true RP style!) presenting Daphne Oram’s work. Also had a laugh on the other link about the attitude of the reporter who visited her, and obviously couldn’t match his presuppositions of what a woman like her might be doing. And that this genre of music was actually for real. Thanks so much, FF, for yet another interesting and deep-diving story.
You might be interested to know that I have sent the link to her life to a Facebook site called Electrifying Women, that documents the work and lives of women engineers.
Editor says:
Good morning Moira. The clip is fascinating in so many ways and the RP makes it a real period piece. Great that you are spreading the news about Daphne Oram’s work.