Screen Archive South East is a public sector moving image archive serving the South East of England. The archive's collections of magic lantern slides, films, videos and associated materials capture the many varied aspects of life, work and creativity from the early days of screen history to the present day and serve as a rich and invaluable historical resource.
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Hop Fields of Kent
A fascinating record of how Kentish hops were cultivated before total mechanisation - with hop-pickers, charcoal burners and men on stilts
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Overview
This award winning film tells the story of hop cultivation in 1930s Kent. The annual cycle begins in January with the preparation of the fields and the wooden poles on which the hops will grow. An overhead lattice is constructed using string-ties which are fixed by men working on stilts. In September, East-End families arrive to pick the ripe hops. Sacks of hops are taken to the oast-house for drying while charcoal, which fuels the drying furnaces, is made from the old poles.
Frank Perrin Barnitt, who made this award winning film, was a Tunbridge Wells solicitor who was also a highly skilled photographer and amateur film maker. Many of his films feature the natural world and range from poetical films about the land, traditional farming and rural handicrafts to natural history films on a microscopic level. In each of these films, Barnitt displays a high degree of technical skill as well as directorial ability as well as an ongoing enthusiasm for narrative film making. After retiring in 1945, Barnitt moved to Oulton Broad in Suffolk.
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