The Hampton Estate hop gardens provide the last commercially grown hops in Surrey.

The hop garden extends to 14 acres of ‘Fuggles’ Hops a traditional English variety revered by brewers throughout the country. The hops are grown on a narrow band of gault clay on the south facing slopes of the Hogs Back in the village of Puttenham. The plants stay in the ground throughout the year and some are over twenty years old. The growing season begins in April when the hop plants begin to shoot and the strongest shoots are trained by hand to grow up strings in a similar way to runner beans (but oddly hops go in a clockwise direction up the string whereas a runner bean goes anti clockwise).

Training is a labour intensive occupation and by mid May the hops have grown to six feet and training will be complete. The hops will grow to a final height of sixteen feet by mid June when they will have reached the top wire. During this time mildew, mould, red spider and aphids will all have been controlled to ensure a high quality crop.

The hops are harvested with the help of student labour in early September and dried in the oast before being pressed into bags or ‘pockets’ weighing approximately 85kgs.
 
The Hampton estate pocket bears the emblem of a church bell, which has always signified hops grown in the Farnham area.
The pressed hops are then dispatched to brewers including Harveys of Lewes, Adnams in Suffolk and the very local Hogs Back Brewery in Tongham.
 
Hampton hops were judged the National Champion Hops in 2003 and have won numerous awards for flavour and colour over the years.

DECORATIVE HOPS AT FARMERS MARKETS
We sell fresh green hops for decoration as dried flowers at our local farmer’s markets in August and September. We attend the local Farmer’s Market’s in Guildford and Milford and always meet many people who have been involved in the hop industry over the years, most likely when picking was done by hand. The evocative aroma always draws a crowd.

Our decorative hop garlands are easily used for flower decoration, harvest festivals and wedding venues during this period. The 12 foot garlands look extremely attractive and provide a year round dry flower display. Bought fresh the hops dry naturally in situ and can either be augmented with other dried flowers or used by themselves.
 
Please contact the Estate Office on 01483 810465 or email enquiries@hamptonestate.co.uk for further information.