Hop growing in Castle Hedingham

Excerpt on Hops from "Castle Hedingham: Its History and Associations. By H Ranger. 1887"

Hops have been grown in Castle Hedingham ever since they were first introduced in the time of Elizabeth. In a boundary paper, dated 1664, a hop ground near Pannell's Ash is referred to. About sixty or a hundred acres of unproductive marsh land were planted with hops in 1792, and yielded a good crop, bringing in about £5,000 a year. Hedingham hops were then considered of good quality, and commanded a fair price.

Mr Lewis Majendie gave £120 for half an acre of copyhold land (hop ground) at that time one of the highest prices ever known. There were at one time over one hundred and twenty acres of hop ground in the parish, and the hop picking season was an important one to numbers of families who annually flocked into the village from the neighbouring villages and towns, and who were allowed to sleep in the kilns, barns and sheds, belonging to the growers.

Young in his Survey, says Kent pickers picked twice as fast as Essex pickers, but those in the latter county did their work the cleaner. In his opinion Essex hops were not inferior to Kent hops, but not so good as Farnham (Surrey). A little prophecy of Young's that "the fifty-five acres at Hedingham, called the Marsh, are and ever will be under hops" was, however no truer than most other prophecies. But a small portion of the Marsh is now planted with the hop, the willow having taken its place. The industry has for some years been practically extinct, and at no distant period will probably be really so. It is asserted that the remaining piece of hop ground is the only representative of the hop industry in Essex.

An old account of receipts and expenditure of hop growing in the parish exists, and gives the profits as £13 15s 6d per acre. The average yield was 7cwt. or 8cwt an acre. Sold at £6 3s per cwt. The profits as here given are doubtless stated at their highest. A later average profit was quoted at £4 6s per acre. An annual "hop meeting" was held at the "Bell" in the prosperity of the hop industry, and one or two London hop merchants has residences in Hedingham.

Mr Lewis Majendie was an expert agriculturalist, and twice received the Society of Arts' medal for successful husbandry. He had the bed of the river widened, and ash and Spanish chestnut planted for hop poles. Forty acres were planted and after eleven years 3,000 poles were cut and sold for £43. Hops today

As predicted in the above excerpt, hop growing really did die out as an industry in Castle Hedingham. However hop bines can be found growing in hedgerows around the village, particularly near the river.

The garden of the Bell Inn was chosen to host a new small hop ground, maintained in cooperation with the "1630 Club" who continue to pick the crop annually in early September, using it to small batch brew or send to a local commercial brewery.