Friday Photo – Langley Maltings

Langley Maltings in Oldbury was seriously damaged by arson in 2006. This view from the Titford Canal shows the ends of the two parallel malthouses and a set of kilns between them. Walking along a curving towpath on a sunny day and seeing this huge building slowly emerge out of the greenery was a happy experience. Rail travellers between Stourbridge and Birmingham will be more familiar with the other side of the site which is less picturesque.
The maltings were built in 1870 to supply the next-door Crosswells Brewery with malt to make Showell’s Ales. They were one of the last maltings built to use the traditional method of making malt by spreading soaked grains of barley over a wide floor, turning it regularly and letting the starch locked up in the grain break down. Heating in the kilns fixed the starch before it turned to sugar. The malt was then ready to go to the brewery.
Each malthouse at Langley had five of these malting floors supported by iron columns. The walls are red brick and the roofs made of slate.
When arson struck, the maltings had been disused and empty for several years. The debris has since been cleared and some of the modern additions demolished. The remaining buildings at Langley are listed and the open land is being used for commercial operations.