Until 1997 the hop farm was known as The Whitbread Hop Farm and was owned by the Whitbread brewery. Originally a working farm, the brewery opened it up to visitors. As Whitbread were seeking to move out of the brewing trade, they began looking for new owners in the 1990s.[2]
In 1997, Mohamed Al-Fayed wanted to buy The Hop Farm to stable his Shire horses, and another rival wanted it for a rare breeds centre, but Brent and Fiona Pollard were successful in their purchase, at a cost of 2 million pounds (beating their nearest rival by £5000).[2] Unfortunately the business was in trouble; turnover was around £700,000 a year and in 1995 losses were £1.5 million.[2] In their first year the Pollands reduced staff from 50 to 14 and suffered a drought, floods, a gas pipeline installation and the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. However they broke even, and in subsequent years their profits grew.[2] In 2006, The Hop Farm was sold to Kent Attractions Ltd[3] and in 2007 sold again to Peter Bull.[4] In 2012, The Hop Farm underwent radical management restructure in an effort to halt a five-year slide in visitor numbers,[5] however in 2013 the company went into liquidation.[4] It was rescued by another company from within The Hop Farm group.[6]
EventsEdit
The Red Dragon Monster Truck at The Hop Farm
The main event was the annual War and Peace Show. First put on in 1982, it had grown to be the largest military vehicle show in the world, with 10,000 enthusiasts and over 3,500 vehicles attending. It moved to Folkestone Race Course in 2012, after the organiser became unhappy with the Hop Farm owners.[7] The show has been cancelled for the foreseeable future.[8]
In addition to this, the park hosts a number of events such as European Championship Monster Truck Racing,[9] The Kent County Fair,[10] and Paws in the Park (It has since moved to the Kent Showground Detling).[10]
The Hop Farm is also an outdoor music venue. In 2006 a concert starring Craig David should have launched the Tunbridge WellsSpaFest, to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of the town but it was called off due to local complaints, and a substitute concert was staged at The Hop Farm.[11] That year also saw Terry Wogan's Summer Proms staged there.[11]
^. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
^Price, Chris (15 April 2014). "War and Peace Revival at Folkestone Racecourse on three year path to profit after moving from Hop Farm which is making a comeback after administration". Kent Messenger. Kent. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
^"Hop Farm Festival cancelled". The Guardian. 3 May 2013.
External linksEdit
Official Site
August 26, 2023
farm, family, park, acre, country, park, beltring, near, east, peckham, kent, england, over, years, largest, collection, oast, houses, world, oast, houses, locationbeltringcoordinates51, 2020, 3959, 2020, 3959, contents, history, events, references, external, . The Hop Farm Family Park is a 400 acre 1 6 km2 Country Park in Beltring near East Peckham in Kent England is over 450 years old and has the largest collection of oast houses in the world 1 Hop FarmOast Houses at The Hop FarmLocationBeltringCoordinates51 12 07 N 0 23 45 E 51 2020 N 0 3959 E 51 2020 0 3959 Contents 1 History 2 Events 3 References 4 External linksHistory EditUntil 1997 the hop farm was known as The Whitbread Hop Farm and was owned by the Whitbread brewery Originally a working farm the brewery opened it up to visitors As Whitbread were seeking to move out of the brewing trade they began looking for new owners in the 1990s 2 In 1997 Mohamed Al Fayed wanted to buy The Hop Farm to stable his Shire horses and another rival wanted it for a rare breeds centre but Brent and Fiona Pollard were successful in their purchase at a cost of 2 million pounds beating their nearest rival by 5000 2 Unfortunately the business was in trouble turnover was around 700 000 a year and in 1995 losses were 1 5 million 2 In their first year the Pollands reduced staff from 50 to 14 and suffered a drought floods a gas pipeline installation and the outbreak of foot and mouth disease However they broke even and in subsequent years their profits grew 2 In 2006 The Hop Farm was sold to Kent Attractions Ltd 3 and in 2007 sold again to Peter Bull 4 In 2012 The Hop Farm underwent radical management restructure in an effort to halt a five year slide in visitor numbers 5 however in 2013 the company went into liquidation 4 It was rescued by another company from within The Hop Farm group 6 Events Edit The Red Dragon Monster Truck at The Hop FarmThe main event was the annual War and Peace Show First put on in 1982 it had grown to be the largest military vehicle show in the world with 10 000 enthusiasts and over 3 500 vehicles attending It moved to Folkestone Race Course in 2012 after the organiser became unhappy with the Hop Farm owners 7 The show has been cancelled for the foreseeable future 8 In addition to this the park hosts a number of events such as European Championship Monster Truck Racing 9 The Kent County Fair 10 and Paws in the Park It has since moved to the Kent Showground Detling 10 The Hop Farm is also an outdoor music venue In 2006 a concert starring Craig David should have launched the Tunbridge Wells SpaFest to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of the town but it was called off due to local complaints and a substitute concert was staged at The Hop Farm 11 That year also saw Terry Wogan s Summer Proms staged there 11 Over the first weekend of July between 2008 and 2012 the Hop Farm Festival was held at the park Starting in 2008 the festival grew to a capacity of over 50 000 people playing host to many internationally artists including Bob Dylan Prince The Eagles Blondie Neil Young Primal Scream The Fratellis and Florence and the Machine among others but after making a loss in 2012 12 the festival was cancelled in 2013 due to poor ticket sales 13 Since 2015 the park has been the location of Chilled in a Field Festival References Edit Time Travel Britain The Oasts of Kent a b c d Kent Online Pollarding helps Hop Farm to grow taller Archived from the original on 9 January 2006 Hop Farm sold a b Hop Farm Ceases Trading Shortly Changes at Paddock Wood Hop Farm Future of Hop Farm Archived from the original on 4 October 2013 Retrieved 21 August 2013 Price Chris 15 April 2014 War and Peace Revival at Folkestone Racecourse on three year path to profit after moving from Hop Farm which is making a comeback after administration Kent Messenger Kent Retrieved 11 July 2017 https warandpeaceshow com Monster Mania Events Archived from the original on 19 May 2007 Retrieved 15 May 2007 a b thehopfarm co uk a b SpaFest launch concert cancelled BBC News 13 July 2006 Retrieved 6 January 2010 Hop Farm Festival owner needs extra funding Hop Farm Festival cancelled The Guardian 3 May 2013 External links EditOfficial Site Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hop Farm amp oldid 1164871792, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
