Hoppers Memorial approximately 20 metres east south east of the chancel of Church of St Mary

Summary

TQ 6349
7/24
HADLOW
CHURCH STREET

Hoppers Memorial approximately 20 metres east-southeast of the chancel of the Church of St Mary

GV II

Memorial. Built in 1853 and raised by public subscription. Dedicated to hop pickers and their families who drowned in the Hart Lake Bridge disaster on 20 October 1853.

MATERIALS: sandstone ashlar.

DESCRIPTION: a short obelisk on a pedestal and projecting plinth. The square pedestal has a moulded cornice and base on a one-step plinth which has sockets for iron railings. The pedestal is inscribed in capital letters. On the south side the inscription reads:

THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION
IN MEMORY OF THE THIRTY HOP PICKERS WHO WERE DROWNED
AT THE HART LAKE BRIDGE IN A FLOOD OF THE RIVER
MEDWAY ON THE 20TH OCTOBER, 1853, AND WHOSE BODIES
WERE BURIED IN THIS CHURCHYARD.
IN THE MIDST OF LIFE WE ARE IN DEATH.

The other three sides list 30 names and ages. Their ages ranged from 2 to 69 years, including four infants under 6 years old, and several members of the Leatherhead family. Until the C19, hop pickers were largely itinerant labourers and workers from Romany Gypsy and Irish Traveller communities. In the C19 working-class families from south-east and east London, and further afield, also came to work seasonally in the hop fields.
The surnames on the memorial include those associated with Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers.

The inquest on 22 October 1853 found that the hop pickers and their families were passengers travelling by horse and cart from the hop fields to their living quarters during floods. As they crossed over the bridge a horse shied, the wagon slipped, and a wheel broke through the boards that skirted the wooden structure which were in a defective state. The cart upended and the passengers were tipped into the swollen river. There were 11 survivors.

SOURCES: A memorial board in the church tower.
BBC News Report: ‘Hartlake memorial: news coverage of the tragedy’, accessed 03 March 2026 from https://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/voices/hartlake/news_report.shtml
‘Hartlake Bridge’, accessed 03 March 2026 from http://tonbridgecollectables.com/page23.php
Kent Online Report: ‘Remembering hop-picking tragedy of 1853’, accessed 03 March 2026 from https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/remembering-hop-picking-tragedy--a10328/

Listing NGR: TQ6350049686

Details

This list entry was subject to a Minor Enhancement on 11 March 2026 to amend the name and address and reformat the text to current standards

TQ 6349
7/24

HADLOW
CHURCH STREET
Hoppers Memorial approximately 20 metres east-southeast of the chancel of the Church of St Mary

GV
II
Memorial. Built in 1853 and raised by public subscription. Dedicated to hop pickers and their families who drowned in the Hart Lake Bridge disaster on 20 October 1853.

MATERIALS: sandstone ashlar.

DESCRIPTION: a short obelisk on a pedestal and projecting plinth. The square pedestal has a moulded cornice and base on a one-step plinth which has sockets for iron railings. The pedestal is inscribed in capital letters. On the south side the inscription reads:

THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION
IN MEMORY OF THE THIRTY HOP PICKERS WHO WERE DROWNED
AT THE HART LAKE BRIDGE IN A FLOOD OF THE RIVER
MEDWAY ON THE 20TH OCTOBER, 1853, AND WHOSE BODIES
WERE BURIED IN THIS CHURCHYARD.
IN THE MIDST OF LIFE WE ARE IN DEATH.

The other three sides list 30 names and ages. Their ages ranged from 2 to 69 years, including four infants under 6 years old, and several members of the Leatherhead family. Until the C19, hop pickers were largely itinerant labourers and workers from Romany Gypsy and Irish Traveller communities. In the C19 working-class families from south-east and east London, and further afield, also came to work seasonally in the hop fields. The surnames on the memorial include those associated with Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers.

The inquest on 22 October 1853 found that the hop pickers and their families were passengers travelling by horse and cart from the hop fields to their living quarters during floods. As they crossed over the bridge a horse shied, the wagon slipped, and a wheel broke through the boards that skirted the wooden structure which were in a defective state. The cart upended and the passengers were tipped into the swollen river. There were 11 survivors.

Listing NGR: TQ6350049686

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

179460

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Websites
BBC News Report: Hartlake memorial: news coverage of the tragedy, accessed 03 March 2026 from https://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/voices/hartlake/news_report.shtml
Hartlake Bridge, accessed 03 March 2026 from http://tonbridgecollectables.com/page23.php
Kent Online Report: Remembering hop-picking tragedy of 1853, accessed 03 March 2026 from https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/remembering-hop-picking-tragedy--a10328/

Other
A memorial board in the church tower

End of official list entry

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