Steeped in Kentish heritage.
The summer landscape at Gushmere Court Farm was once alive with a hum of activity as whole families arrived for the annual tradition of hop-picking. During these working holidays, families would stay in specially built hop-pickers huts, often returning to the same hut year after year…
Hops have been grown at Gushmere Court Farm since the business began trading.
In the early 20th century, the harvesting of hops was highly labour intensive, requiring more workers than the local population could supply. Whole families from the East End of London would migrate to the farm at harvest time to pick the hops by hand - something regarded as a holiday by Londoners who couldn’t afford a proper break. Hop-pickers were paid by the bushel and hop tokens given as temporary pay to pickers, which were exchanged at the end of the season.
Late 1800’s
Whilst hopping was a welcome break from the norm for hop-pickers, the experience was hard work and certainly not a time to relax. Nonetheless, there was a charm and simplicity of time spent on the hops, and pickers recall their time spent in the hopper huts with fondness. From the late 1800’s until the late 1900’s, up to 200,000 east-enders - mostly women and children - made the annual trip to the Kentish hop gardens, filling the Hoppers special trains which departed from London Bridge in the early hours of the morning.
Early 1900’s
Many farmers would invite the same families to pick hops on their farms each year. Often, whole streets would decamp and set themselves up in rows of hopper huts; rudimentary timber or brick buildings built in long rows, similar to the Londoners terraces. In the months leading up to their escape from the city, families saved tins of corned beef and soup, bought warm clothes from jumble sales and set aside old pots and pans. All of this, alongside essential furnishing, would be transported in old prams, tea chests and similar to accompany them on their journey down to Kent, where they’d stay and work in the months of August and September.
1950’s
By the late 1950’s, hop-picking had become an increasingly mechanised process, and the hopper huts at Gushmere Court Farm fell silent, slowly reclaimed by wildlife as they entered a state of tumbledown disrepair.
Modern day
Keen to keep the heritage value and farming history of hop-picking alive, the two remaining blocks of Hopper Huts on the South Street site of the farm have been gently rebuilt to once again provide visitors accommodation. Thoughtfully designed to meet the needs of modern-day guests, the huts retain many original characteristics, with hop-picking memorabilia displayed throughout.
With four beautifully appointed huts to choose from, wake up to beautiful views and the tranquillity of country life. Whether you’re here for rest or adventure, a warm welcome awaits.
