| AdminHistory | Worcestershire was an important area for hop-production and in the 19th century the area covered by hops increased by as much as 50%. There was not enough local labour to carry out this amount of extra work and therefore large numbers of women and children from the Black Country would travel to the hop-picking areas to find employment. These trips were often considered to be holidays even though they were being paid for their work. Often, whole families travelled together, returning year after year. Hop-picking provided outdoor work in fresh air, and a change in environment from the industrial towns of the Black Country. Although accommodation was basic, with families sleeping in cowsheds and barns, or on straw beds, the pickers could earn a respectable amount of money.
Groups from neighbouring streets often travelled together, originally in specified waggons - later by train. They brought their possessions in a large tin trunk or hamper, and the trains would be met at local stations by horse-drawn wagons. On their return the wagons would again convey them to the station. By the late 1960s, hop-pickers were no longer required since mechanical picking replaced the traditional hand-picking methods, and because of the reluctance of the education authorities to allow children absence from school. |