Since 1793
The Hop Pickers
Hops have been a quintessential part of the landscape here in Kent & Sussex since the 16th Century. They’ve also been central to the pottery made by us here in Rye since the 1800s – our company has always made pots decorated with hops in various forms and we used the old hop poles as fuel for the old wood fired kilns.
So what could be more natural than a Pastoral figure depicting Oast Houses and the traditional craft of Hop Picking? We still meet lots of customers who remember the annual pilgrimage at harvest time with their Mums and Aunts. Really it was temporary work for adults, but for city kids it was a country holiday.
This is a feelgood snapshot of history, filled with fond childhood memories. As ever the small scale of this piece relies on the incredible talents of our painting team who take hours with tiny brushes to paint every individual brick and hop on this piece.
Designers Tarquin Cole & Chris O’Donoghue