Brewing difference: malting, gender and urbanity in medieval England. An examination of drying and malting kilns, c.1150–1500

Abstract

Kilns used for drying grain and for malting are common features of archaeological excavations in medieval towns and in the countryside. They occur in a variety of situations, including within urban tenement plots, open spaces within the urban landscape, manorial enclosures and field systems. This paper examines what the situation of drying kilns can reveal about the ways in which household and community labour were organised and the role of infrastructure in cultivating and maintaining variegated forms of rural and urban sociality. In doing so, it seeks to contribute to ongoing debates about the legacy of ‘binary’ logics relating to urban and rural life and to the gendered use of space and forms of labour.