Hopping (1878): missionaries to hoppers

Post date: Nov 21, 2016 1:41:5 PM

Religion and Society in Kent, 1640-1914 by Nigel Yates, Robert Hume and Paul Hastings (page 86) records that "In 1877 a Church of England Missionary Association for Hop-pickers was formed at Maidstone with an inaugural meeting chaired by Archdeacon Harrison. The association aimed to provide the parish clergy with the assistance of lay or clerical missionaries during the hop-picking season , as well as tents in which special services could be held. In 1878 tents for hoppers' services were erected in the parishes of Barming, East Malling, Nettlestead and Wateringbury. The mission employed 29 helpers and provided services for 28,000 hoppers. At East Malling over 200 hoppers attended a special service in the parish church at the end of the hop-picking season. The tent services were usually held on Sunday afternoons or evenings, the missionaries using Sunday mornings to encourage hoppers to attend. During the week the missionaries visited people at work and read to them from religious books during the dinner hour. They also encouraged the hoppers to have their children baptised. "