Was he from the South East of England?
The main Hop growing areas were Kent, Sussex, warwickshire and Herefordshire. Although Kent and Sussex produced the most.
The whole hop industry is truely fascinating particularly the oasts which I adore.
The style of the oasts changed over time as did the roofing. If you notice an oast with a black (tar covered) roof this generally indicates it was built after 1850 when then brick tax was repealed. A brick built roof with tar covering was more suitable for a roundel / kiln due to the flammability of wood and the fact there was a open fire in the base of the building to dry the hops.
Prior to 1850 the roof was wooden with clay tiles. The brick tax being in place to fund the Napoleonic war. Of course the brick tax wasn't that successful since it was based on a given amount of bricks, therefore buildings built in this period had larger bricks.
The majority of kentish and Sussex oasts being round, and the ones Worcester and Herefordshire often being insignificant or resembling a building closer to a malting.
I could talk about oasts, the styles, the differnces in cowls all day long. But I doubt many people would be interested in knowing the difference between a Kent or a Sussex cowl. Or which oast in what was Sussex sports a Kent invicta. Or how some villages changed counties due to playing arbitrage between hop rates across the border. Fascinating stuff to me, but probably very boring to most people.